ZOIA 10k & 5.0 - The Complete Thread

ZOIA 10k is Here


We're celebrating having made and sold over 10,000 ZOIAs with this stunning beige ZOIA. Limited to 500 units worldwide, if you’ve been waiting to grab a ZOIA, consider this an omen (a very, very good one).

Let me buy it!

Firmware 5


We know, we know, we just released ZOIA 4.0.

But, when you hit a milestone like 10,000 ZOIAs sold, you've got to celebrate with all the people who made it happen.

ZOIA 5.0 includes bug fixes (say goodbye to endlessly scrolling patches and resource-hungry modules), but it is also a reimagining of what ZOIA can be straight out of the box.

We've restructured the factory patches to push creativity--a mix of basic guitar effects, PatchStorage favourites, and brand-new effect modules will greet you when you boot the pedal, allowing you to get to playing instead of patching.

Of course, ZOIA is still the same at its core, with self-playing synths and the power to build almost any effect you can imagine. To support this total sonic exploration, we've managed to get 14% more processing power out of our code. That's right--every ZOIA out there can install 5.0 and become even more powerful than ever before.

Download and rejoice

Don’t want to reset your patches to try the new ones? We've Zipped and uploaded them here, for your convenience! Just load the patches you want onto your SD card and transfer them to open slots on your ZOIA.

Limited Edition T-Shirts


Celebrate the milestone in STYLE with this gorgeous shirt, designed by our good friend Cuckoo

We'll only be taking orders for these shirts from Dec 10 until Dec 17, 2024, so order while you can!

Dress me up

Art Contest


We have THE 10,000th ZOIA (in its original black enclosure) and we want to make sure that it goes to a very talented artist! 🖼️

If you want to be the one to win, you just have to:

  • Go to empresseffects.com on a desktop computer
  • Paint us a pretty pixel picture on our Light Bright (no relation)
  • Export your art using the "Export Art" button
  • Post said art to Instagram
  • Tag us in the post & use #zoia10k

That's it!

The contest is open from Dec 10 til Dec 17 2024 EST. We will be reviewing all the submissions on Dec 18 and picking our favourite from there!

Good luck 🎨

Return of the Blog

Stephen Koster has written an amazing article diving into all the latest ZOIA news. He covers everything that's been going on in the ZOIAverse, from why you should feel comfortable leaving firmware 2.80 for 5.0 to delicious new patches. 

Read it now

December 10, 2024