Back in Beige: A Whole New Look for ZOIA 10K

As noted shredder Henry Ford once said, “You can have a ZOIA in any colour you want, as long as it’s not beige.” Well, at the time, no one really knew what he meant by that. But today Henry Ford is proven wrong, because now the Empress ZOIA is available in a sleek new getup, beautiful and brimming in beige.

Behold, the ZOIA 10K.

Ooh la la. Where have you been all my life, beige ZOIA? Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, why’d that beige ZOIA 10K have to modulate into mine?

Why the ZOIA 10K?

It’s a celebration of the fact that the Empress ZOIA, since its launch, has now sold over 10,000 units. We love the community that has grown around this pedal, and we wanted to create a new look to celebrate this milestone.

But this announcement isn’t all about looks. For everyone who already owns a ZOIA, (or two, or seventeen), there’s more. We’re also launching the Firmware 5 update (available for all ZOIAs) offering a bunch of improvements and bug fixes to keep everyone ZOIAing happier and more creatively.

Firmware 5: A Need for (14% More) Speed

Ever seen Speed? Ever seen Speed 2: Cruise Control? Well, we have, and it did not in any way influence our call to speed up the ZOIA. We’ve heard your calls of “How can I get more performance out of my Empress ZOIA?” and we’ve added a 14% processing speed increase so that all the folks who have remained beholden to the 2.80 patch are finally free! We’ve been keeping them in our basement. Just kidding. Are we? Yes, we are. Are we?

What does this mean? Well, we made decisions in newer patches of the ZOIA to sacrifice a little speed for a lot of performance. But, as a consequence, some old patches weren’t working with the firmware updates following 2.80, so many users, who had ZOIA patches they already loved, opted to stay with 2.80. Unfortunately, this meant those users were missing out on new features and fixes that came with newer updates. We’ve recognized this as an issue for the community, so a few weeks back we released update 4.20 to help tame resource-hungry modules. This helped with this issue, but for ZOIA Firmware 5 we’re going one step further and boosting the ZOIA’s processing power by 14%.

We’ve also heard from time to time that the ZOIA can be a little intimidating. Okay, a lot of times. So Firmware 5 is focused on improving the ease-of-use for those who are new to ZOIA, while still keeping the complexity and customization more experienced users love.

Note: Firmware 5 is not an exclusive update for the ZOIA 10K. Every Empress ZOIA will be able to get the update, as has always been the case.

Here are a few features coming to the ZOIA with Firmware 5:

• Patches organized by type (and effects come first),
• Each patch features a description of the patch on the first display page for easy scrolling,
• The effects patches are a mix of basic guitar effects, Patchstorage favourites, and brand-new effect modules, and
• Cuckoo's stunning Voivoi patch, and the univibe and reverse modules mentioned below.

Enough talking. Download it here!

Can I Get a Univibe on My ZOIA? Two Highly Requested New Modules from the Community

We’re listening to you, ZOIA people. (Always listening. Always.) And we’ve noted your clamouring, near insatiable desire for a univibe module and a reverse module. Though these effects could be achieved before, it took a lot of workarounds and tinkering to achieve them. Though “workarounds and tinkering” could be a slogan for the ZOIA community, these new modules will save everyone a lot of blood, sweat, and tears and help you create the sound you’re craving sooner.

Check out patches 13 & 28 on the new ZOIA 5 firmware to experience NebUniVibe and Reverse Mode Z firsthand.

What’s New, Cuckoo? New Content from ZOIA Creator Cuckoo

There are plenty of people online who can help you learn every function of the ZOIA pedal – and one such creator we recommend is Cuckoo. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “How can I make my own patches for the ZOIA?” Cuckoo is your helpful ZOIA master.

In case you missed it, Cuckoo did this video covering the sampler and sequencer features we introduced in firmware update 4.0. If you think you might leave 2.80 and upgrade this would be the video to see. It doesn’t include the changes coming to 5.0, and it’s a longer watch, but Cuckoo does a great job of going through the changes.

Where to Buy an Empress ZOIA 10K: Experience All Pedals in One

“The ZOIA can open up possibilities that take your musical vision to another creative level.” – Guitar World

“In short, the ZOIA seems like everything.” - Reverb

Pick up your Empress ZOIA 10K and become a citizen of Beige-jing today on the Empress store or through participating dealers.