Z.Vex Vertical Instant Lo-Fi Junky

The Z.Vex Vertical Instant Lo-Fi Junky is a chorus and vibrato pedal that trades hi-fi sheen for a degraded, wobbling character. Z.Vex describes the pedal's purpose as letting players "achieve new haunting chorus sounds and pulsating vibrato"¹, and press coverage of the Vertical version calls it a "lo-fidelity, warbly chorus/vibrato tone"². It is a rehousing of the existing Instant Lo-Fi Junky Vexter, not a new circuit: the Vertical edition keeps the same circuit as the original in a narrower, more pedalboard-friendly box³.

The pedal was designed by Joel Korte during his time working with Zachary Vex, and Guitar Pedal X notes that the Lo-Fi Junky was "Joel Korte's predecessor to his Warped Vinyl"⁴. Delicious Audio groups it among lo-fi pedals that produce vinyl-style artifacts rather than clean modulation⁵.

A warbly lo-fi chorus and vibrato

Where a conventional chorus pedal aims for a smooth, transparent thickening, the Instant Lo-Fi Junky leans into imperfection. The effect combines compression with a lo-fidelity treatment, so the modulated signal arrives sounding worn and unstable rather than pristine. Delicious Audio places it in the lo-fi category of pedals that emulate vinyl artifacts⁵, and Guitar World's coverage describes the resulting tone as lo-fidelity and warbly².

The pedal works for bass as well as guitar. Z.Vex's own product page for the Vertical version includes a sound sample recorded on a Fender '63 RI Precision bass with passive pickups, played through an Ampeg SVT amplifier⁷.

One point worth clearing up, because the name invites confusion: this is not a looper⁶.

The controls

The Vertical Instant Lo-Fi Junky carries six controls, the same set as the original²³:

The comp/lo-fi knob is the heart of the pedal's character: it is where the compressed, degraded quality that separates the Lo-Fi Junky from a clean chorus is dialed in. Speed and depth together govern the warble, from a slow drift to a fast pulse, and the wave shape control changes the contour of that movement³.

Vertical versus the original

The difference between the Vertical Instant Lo-Fi Junky and the original is purely physical. Guitar World reported that "this new version of the pedal is identical in every way to the original, but in a more pedalboard-friendly size"², and MusicRadar likewise called it "exactly the same as the original, but in a more pedalboard-friendly orientation"³. Gearnews confirmed that the new version is "vertical in layout while retaining the same circuit as the original"⁶.

Z.Vex itself says the parts are consistent across its versions: "The parts inside Vexters are identical to the hand painted pedals"⁷. The Vertical edition belongs to the Vexter Series and carries UV printed graphics commemorating the company's 25th Anniversary⁷.

The Vertical Instant Lo-Fi Junky is identical in every way to the original, but in a more pedalboard-friendly size². Z.Vex describes the new incarnation as exactly the same as the original, but in a more pedalboard-friendly orientation³. No price for the pedal has been made available as of yet².

Release and availability

Zachary Vex first shared a photo of the Vertical edition on Facebook in February 2019⁶. By the time of that announcement he had already shipped a few hundred pedals to US dealers, with online availability expected to follow, though no official price had been set at that point⁶. Guitar World later reported the pedal would be available starting March 29, 2019, with no price made available as of that date².

The manual

Z.Vex publishes the Instant Lo-Fi Junky instructions as a PDF on its own site, linked from the Instant Lo-Fi Junky Vexter product page at zvex.com¹. That document is the maker's own reference for the pedal's controls and operation.

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