The ZVEX Super Hard On Vexter is an ultra-transparent boost pedal, one of the simplest and most direct tools a player can put on a board: it makes the guitar louder without coloring the tone. ZVEX, which calls it the "SHO," describes it as adding "a delightful high-end clarity with its 5 million ohm input impedance," the very high input impedance that lets the pedal take signal from a guitar's pickups without loading them down.1
As a boost, it sits in the boost pedal family, and its gain control runs from unity gain, where the pedal neither adds nor removes level, all the way up to what ZVEX describes as "a whooping 60 times the original size." Pushed into a tube amp's front end, that kind of level is what players use a boost for: more drive and volume from the amp itself, with the pedal staying out of the way tonally.1
The Vexter Series
The Vexter in the name marks the pedal's place in ZVEX's two-tier lineup. ZVEX explains the difference plainly: "Vexter Series pedals are lower priced, featuring UV printed artwork." The artwork is printed onto the enclosure rather than painted by hand, which is what brings the price down.1
What matters for the sound is what is inside. "The parts inside Vexters are identical to the hand painted pedals," according to ZVEX, so the Vexter Super Hard On carries the same circuit as the hand painted ZVEX Super Hard On. The choice between the two is about enclosure artwork and price, not tone.1
The Super Hard On Vexter was listed as sold out on ZVEX's product page as of 25 October 2026. The hand painted Super Hard On remains in the ZVEX range.
Related ZVEX pedals
The Super Hard On circuit has found its way into other ZVEX designs, which is worth knowing if you are shopping this corner of the catalog:
- The ZVEX Super Duper 2-in-1 and its Vexter version put two boost stages in one enclosure.
- The ZVEX Vexter Double Rock pairs a distortion channel with a Super Hard On style boost, and the ZVEX Box of Rock Vertical comes from the same Box of Rock family of distortion-plus-boost pedals.
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Questions
What does the ZVEX Super Hard On Vexter do?
It is a boost pedal. ZVEX describes it as ultra-transparent, meaning it raises your signal's level without changing its core tone. The gain control runs from unity gain, where the pedal neither adds nor removes level, up to 60 times the original signal size. Its 5 million ohm input impedance is said to add high-end clarity to the sound.
How is the Vexter version different from the hand painted Super Hard On?
Vexter Series pedals are lower priced and feature UV printed artwork instead of hand painted enclosures. ZVEX states that the parts inside Vexters are identical to the hand painted pedals, so the circuit is the same. The Vexter Super Hard On lists for $199.00 USD.
Is the ZVEX Super Hard On Vexter still available?
As of 25 October 2026, the pedal is listed as sold out on the ZVEX Effects product page. ZVEX also makes the hand painted Super Hard On, and related pedals such as the Super Duper 2-in-1 and Double Rock include Super Hard On style boost circuitry.
Sources (1)
- Super Hard On Vexter, ZVEX Effects
