Z.Vex Vexter Box of Rock (2015)
OVERDRIVE
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ZVex Box of Rock is Zachary Vex's flagship overdrive. Its circuit is designed to recreate the atmosphere of a Marshall JTM45, although it does not reproduce 100% of its sound when cranked. Nobody minds: the Box of Rock has a very warm timbre reminiscent of the old Marshall tube amps without master volume, very dynamic, touch-sensitive, and truly versatile.
The Box of Rock is one of the few overdrives that works very well with any amplifier, although it's at its best with a Marshall. It doesn't interfere much with the amp's EQ, although it tends to bloat the bass a bit (it's a JTM45 emulator, after all, isn't it?) and it fits well with different types of guitars, such as Stratocasters, Les Pauls and Telecasters.
It's a very easy pedal to use, with only four knobs (Drive, Tone, Boost and Volume), you just plug it into your amp and start playing. As with the Super Hard on, the Boost and Drive knobs crackle a little when they are moved, which is expected and perfectly normal for this design, but the sound, even at high volumes, is particularly quiet.
Boost is based on ZVex's famous Super Hard-On circuit, “but with some modifications that make it a little less glassy,” said Zachary. It is a transparent boost that retains the original timbre. Zachary claims it can boost the guitar signal fifty-fold, but I challenge anyone to exploit it to the full!
Small in size (making it usable in the smallest pedalboards) and robust in construction, the Box of Rock can be powered by battery or a 9V power supply in the classic negative centre configuration and consumes about 3mA.
The Box of Rock is one of the few overdrives that works very well with any amplifier, although it's at its best with a Marshall. It doesn't interfere much with the amp's EQ, although it tends to bloat the bass a bit (it's a JTM45 emulator, after all, isn't it?) and it fits well with different types of guitars, such as Stratocasters, Les Pauls and Telecasters.
It's a very easy pedal to use, with only four knobs (Drive, Tone, Boost and Volume), you just plug it into your amp and start playing. As with the Super Hard on, the Boost and Drive knobs crackle a little when they are moved, which is expected and perfectly normal for this design, but the sound, even at high volumes, is particularly quiet.
Boost is based on ZVex's famous Super Hard-On circuit, “but with some modifications that make it a little less glassy,” said Zachary. It is a transparent boost that retains the original timbre. Zachary claims it can boost the guitar signal fifty-fold, but I challenge anyone to exploit it to the full!
Small in size (making it usable in the smallest pedalboards) and robust in construction, the Box of Rock can be powered by battery or a 9V power supply in the classic negative centre configuration and consumes about 3mA.
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