There are not many players I want to just sit and listen to solo, with my eyes closed, not paying any attention to the world around. This is beautiful.
I've met Robin Ford a handful of times through a dear friend of mine that passed about 7 years ago named Steve Bishop. Steve was from Washington DC where I had the privilege of meeting Danny Gatton , via Los Angeles via Seattle where I met him and Robin and was privileged to see them do a show here in Seattle at the Paramount Theater. He ended up in nashville where he got really plugged into the music scene down there doing shows and recording as a side man. Sadly nobody here will know Steve Bishop but I'm here to tell you that he was a phenomenaly gifted player that could easily hold his own with Robin Ford and his good friend Danny Gatton. Steve was the kind of guy that he could pick up anything with strings on it, didn't matter what the instrument was and he could just make it talk, make it sing like nobody I've ever heard before including Robin ford, no disrespect to Robin or Danny Gatton. Steve Bishop was on a list of the 10 best unknown guitar players put out by vintage guitar magazine maybe 15 years ago. There used to be videos of Steve up on RUclips but after his passing I think that his family must have taken those videos down. I'm only able to find one or two of his videos but they're not the best example of Steve's playing. I wish the world could have heard Steve because he was that good and I was witness to how his playing affected those around him listening to him. We were all mesmerized. I miss him dearly. He was only 54 or 55 when he died of spinal cord cancer and towards the end he couldn't even hold his guitar and play which just seemed cruel.
I heard Michael Jordan once saw Robben Ford going for a jog and was so inspired he invented Air Jordans. He stopped making them when the hype got silly but eventually Nike reissued them. Robben still wears em when he can't fly to shows.
This is expressive, tasteful, sophisticated playing. Who really cares what I think, but for what it's worth, I don't hand out compliments to other players just to be polite. Wonderful stuff.
that you have the guts and skill to let people listen is fantastic. where others yell and "talk" with their axe, you are happy to have a conversation that is relaxed and intriguing. love your work
I absolutely love my zendrive. I use it next to a king of tone and a tube screamer. When I want THAT lead sound...that sort of “$300,000 worth of ridiculous gear” Los Angeles lead sound, that’s what the zendrive does. The king of tone makes for a great “core” sound in any room, the ts boosts the entire planet and the zendrive makes for an expensive sounding lead tone...and there you go.
I have an Original Zendrive. Having had one for over 10 years now, here's my .02c: The Hype - much of this has to do with the fact that Alfonso Hermida was hand-making these (with maybe 1 assistant), so if you ordered one, you might wait a couple weeks or many months to actually get one in your hands, depending on Al's workload at the time. This meant that prices would get a little silly. I think they originally went for $150 (Al refused to raise his price despite high demand), and then people were selling them for $250-300. This created somewhat of a buzz and may have led to some exaggeration as to what this pedal can do... The actual sound: When I first tried my friend's I immediately fell in love with it. It has a refined grain that is relatively unique. It's transparent and you can almost hear your original clean tone somewhere in there, and when you switch it on, if you have the level set right, you would seamlessly go from your clean tone to dirty, with no pops and no massive change in timbre other than more saturation It's extremely touch sensitive and you clean up your tone with just picking intensity and nuance. It's very responsive and will pretty much accurately give you back whatever you throw at it. One huge thing I discovered with it, is that if you have a guitar with a treble bleed, you can actually clean up the tone of the Zendrive by backing off your volume, whereas without treble bleed the difference was kind of marginal..
I've seen Robben Ford a few times, and yes, he used the Zendrive with the Dumble. I also have seen him in a video using it with a Fender amp. I'm also fortunate to have an original made by Alf. It's the one pedal I will always keep. Nice job on this demo by the way!
Stan Esposito Cheers Stan. I actually spoke to Alfonso last night via email and he said that Robben has used it with his Dumble in the past. High praise indeed...
Hey brother! Tasty AF playing! One little addition to your story from my memory, Alf actually made a pedal between hearing Roben’s recording & the Zendrive. Which was the ‘Mosferatu,’ from my understanding (I don’t remember the source, but I think it was on the Hermida website). The particular recording Alf was referencing, Roben was playing a higher gain rig than usual & that matches the Mosferatu. However he preferred a lower gain rig, which after feedback resulted in the ‘Zendrive.’ From there I believe the rest of your story is accurate. I actually own original handmade Hermida Zen 1, Zen 2, Mos, Dist, Tiki Drive. To my ears the Zen & Zen 2 are my favs, the mos is definitely geared to a higher gain & doesn’t quite have the dynamic range of the Zens. Hope that wasn’t too long winded, much appreciated for your video! All the best & great video :)
This is the first run of the Lovepedal manufactured version with SMT parts. You can tell because there’s no white washer at the base of the foot switch, and the led is blue when not lit up and it doesn’t have the black bezel around it. I just got an original Alfonso built Zendrive. It’s so good that I’m currently selling off other stuff to buy a backup since the originals are gooped, and basically can’t be easily repaired if something wears out😩. It’s the strongest and most immediate connection I’ve felt to an overdrive, or any kind of pedal for that matter.
I’ve owned a Zendrive (& a Zendrive 2) for about 10 years now. Collected them from Alf’s house while over there on holiday. He’s a great bloke. Let me try out the prototype Nuvalve that had been played and signed by Brad Paisley and Carlos Santana. Love the sounds it makes with my telecaster.
Beautifully played and I think this is a fabulous pedal made by Hermida or Shawn of love pedal I could not tell the difference between them when tested for me it's an always-on pedal
I'll tell you flat-out what the "Fender sound" is or should be IMHO: The relatively recent ' '64 Custom Hand-Wired' Deluxe Reverb. I had a real-deal '66 Deluxe Reverb when a young teen in the mid-late 60's. While my old '66 was hand-wired, of course, it NEVER sounded as good as the recent hand-wired version. They are VERY pricey at ~$3200 new. However, I found a mint used one at a great price and grabbed it. The things are awesome and worth every penny!
Hey mate I just have to say you do excellent demos. You don't just play one 3 note phrase and then repeat the exact phrase on different settings which I hate. THIS is a good demo. Chords, licks, high notes, low notes, playing hard, playing soft, bridge pickup, neck pickup.. then different settings on the pedal. Also your clean tone is a really good well rounded tone unlike many horrible demos which immediately destroy the sound of the pedal by using thin crappy sounding cleans. Great job! subscribed. Love your playing also. Cheers.
I have an original 'gooped" Zendrive. I paid $70 for it about 4 years ago. I love it and doubt I'll ever part with it. My always on OD, is the Mad Professor Bluebird, which I sometimes stack with an Xotic Effects Soul Driven or the Zen.
Awesome playing, as always! I actually enjoyed your clean tone even more than with the Zen engaged. I recommend you to give the White Zen a try if you have the chance to. It's my favourite (I use it mostly clean to low-gain) of the numerous variations of the last few years at lovepedal.
Just catching up on this one while binge watching ZenDrive vids post TPS Robben Ford. As usual your sublime playing makes me forget about the pedal/amp/tone reason for arriving. 🙏🏼💜✨
I need to check out more Robben Ford. From the 80’s to the 2000’s I listened to mostly blues but didn’t listen to him and I don’t know why. You mentioned him, and just yesterday I found a video of him talking about his tele, his main blues guitar he said. Chance upon a name 2 or more times in one day and you should go do it on purpose. I haven’t seen one of your videos in a month or so Chris I enjoyed this one thank you!
Saw you a few years back at the Newbridge Memo - the gig went up several large notches when you solo'd on that 335. Such a rich and powerful sound and a genuinely beautiful guitar in the hands of an incredible player.
The only overdrive pedal I know for certain that Robben had much involvement with was the OD pedals made by the late Taku Sakashta. Taku had made a guitar for Robben and wound the pickups for it but Taku was never quite happy with the results even if Robben liked what he heard.
Alexander Dumble designed and built the first very famous (and expensive) Dumble Overdrive amp also inspired by Robben Ford. Robben owns what I believe is the Dumble Overdrive #2.
I have to agree with the previous comment. I'm new to this channel and everytime I watch your demos, I couldn't help but care less about the demo anymore because of that lovely guitar playing :'( so striking to the soul.
There's a few pedals that I've owned then sold or traded away that i regret. 3 come to mind: 2 Klons years ago, the first one i bought with no wait because i unknowing had been talking to the builder everyday for about year at coffee shop in Boston, and he recognized me when i called him but only after i got off the phone. He showed up at the shop Monday morning with the pedal. The second one, i don't quite remember how i got it. A couple years after i was taken skydiving for my birthday, i went out the door of the plane, and within a little over a month i cleaned my savings account to get licensed, and within 4 months i quit my job, sold most my things, and was jumping full-time for 4 years. I started as a packer, then moved onto camera flying for a freefly team, and doing video for tandem students. Anyway, i traded one of the Klons for a friend who was in a pretty big east coast band for an audible altimeter, and the second for an ounce of mediocre weed 🙃. (This was a few years before they became insanely priced). The biggest regret however was the Zendrive. I don't know what i was thinking, but i traded it for a friggin FULLDRIVE, yes the pedals you can buy for $100. That was a decade ago and i still fall into depression when i think about it. I had a Mosferatu around the same time and a Hermida Distortion. The Mosferatu i never really got on with, it was darker than i like. The Distortion however was great, and i don't like distortion. It was easily one of the most transparent gain pedals I've ever owned, and i include clean boost in that. It had a shit load of gain, but when i roll thru gain all the way off, it can almost act as a linear boost. I could do set it to just add volume, or fiddle with the voice switch to focus midrange and presence, it was awesome. I don't see many of them around.
Clean and classic vibes and tone! Trying to decide what zendrive I should get for my Fender 68 CDR. Thinking black magic, but this one sounds awesome with that 335! Don’t know!
I have an original Zendrive 2 and either my 68 original twin or Fuchs ODS 30. And I get pretty close to Robben Ford tone, Particularly his tone on Sahara Moon, Peace on My Mind live version. Love your videos and Guitar work too, thanks
Tony Sap I’ve never tried a Simble but what I’ve heard of Mad Professor’s stuff sounds great. In fairness, the Zendrive is readily available as well and there’s not a massive price difference 🙂
Superb playing, my friend. Also rekindled my love of the Zendrive. I never quite used it correctly and felt like the Twimble was a better fit, but your video helped convince me to give it another go.
Zendtive(not the red, gold, etc variations) is my favorite pedal ever, but Warm Audio just made the perfect clone for cheap $. I keep the Zendrive on the shelf to keep it safe and put the Warmdrive on my board because it sounds exactly like the Zendrive. I don’t know how they got away with it, but it’s the exact same pedal, unlike many other so called “clones”. I would encourage anyone who loves their Zendrive to do the same.
Your guitar rig 5 setting is like The Stig of the guitar world. Identity never to be revealed unless it gets offered a lucrative book deal ? I have tried this Zendrive incarnation along with the Red and Black Magic. My favourite is my White one though, which I was quite chuffed to just notice has the exact same settings as you used when the drive was at 1 ‘o’clock.
Jonathan Sharp Haha! That’s brilliant 😂 No mystery Jonathan; I’ll be doing a video about it as soon as my recording setup is a little more permanent. It won’t be long ☺️
From what i`ve seen on line Robben uses a Dumkuko now. Apparently the Dumkudo has more clarity in the od and cleans up better when dialing back the vol on guitar. It also doesn`t have the slight mid-hump. I think Larry Carlton uses the Zenkudo. The Zendrive appears to have a nice thick tone, perhaps a touch too thick for H-Buckers..? Anyhow.. thanks for the great demo dude..!
Man, fantastic playing and great tone! Who should I listen to if I want to cop a style like this? Mayer is an obvious first answer, but anybody else? Also, that was an excellent review of the pedal. Subscribed!
well i use the nux steel singer as a dumble pedal and is amazing, and costs almost nothing and is very nicely sounding. i try to use cheap or used pedals to get the sound, safes a lot of money and getting the sound i need orn my tube amps (marshall, blackstar, orange, laney)
Nice video. Yes it is worth the hype if you like the Ford, Carlton type sound. I am lucky to have a SE model built by Alf in a wood case. I just bought a new version from him (thru LovePedal) just to have a second.
Great demo, stylish playing and, unlike many vids, actually gives you a good idea of what the gear actually sounds like. Great work! Oh, and beautiful 335, too...
Love Pedals was owned by 2 partners that had a falling out and the Zendrive has informally ceased to be in the Love Pedal catalog. In Dec. 2019 Pogo brought ot the Zen Ray. It sounds like the Zen Drive though whether it is a part for part replication is a mystery.
Just picked up a Lenny modded Joyo clone of this pedal for £35 - very excited to try it through the laney LC30 - 112 8 valve when it arrives . :) Thanks for the video
@@boimesa8190 This is the original pedal - decent in itself, the Joyo TAICHI Dumble emulator: bit.ly/3o0D9ET And this is what it looks like now externally after the mod. bit.ly/3iZHvZ2 I am trying to get to the bottom of who actually created the mod but so far all I have is a 'guy in Texas' who voiced it due to a local demand more towards SRV's Dumble single channel, relatively low gain Steel String Singer (and away from the more overdriven Robben Ford Dumble tone). As a fan of SRV, owning a Strat and having the Laney (which is based on a clean 60's Fender design) it was a no brainer for the cash. I bought it from a regular gigging musician who had been using it on stage successfully although had now bought an expensive Zendrive in order to chase more of a Robben Ford vibe with his 68 (ish) Les Paul Deluxe Gold Top re-issue. I appreciate that there is another 'Lenny' pedal made I believe by J Rockett out of California (it isn't that one) and also a Vertex Effects Steel String (it isn't that one either) although I suspect it will be similar to the Vertex which is going in the same direction (SRV Dumble clone).I am aware SRV also used a TS808 (or two) and I already have a Behringer T0800 which is close. PIC: bit.ly/31eX20Y. to maybe push it on a little further without adding any more colour - TBH I suspect the Laney will be able to do thats on its own as the clean channel has a (none distortion) gain control not dissimilar to what the TS is doing. I have a more modern, official Ibanez TS9DX Turbo to try with it which has the TS9 circuit and several modulations which might be interesting although likely not. The Joyo American in the picture can get the Laney closer to a 60's Blackface or Tweed through the FX bypass and a touch of the Raygun (vintage style) tremolo may help with that. The Laney has a spring reverb tank and 12" Celestion on board, so it is a great portable dual channel amp with a kick. The second channel is more Marshall JCM / DSL like so there is an opportunity to try and find Eric's Bluesbreaker tone with the set up also (sans the Lenny and adding a Gibson with 57's). It is all good fun. Laney LC30-112 (Revision 3 - 2009) bit.ly/2Hgj1gP As luck would not have it, the Laney has just blown a resister and taken two valves with it so presently with my tech guy - lucky enough to have an amp builder / engineer near me. So I haven't had chance to run it yet. Maybe next week.
Key bits:
Intro jam: 0:00
Thoughts/history/opinions: 1:40
What’s it sound like? 8:00
Buck And Evans Chris, you should string all these improv videos together and make an album, I would buy it, very relaxing stuff ,
Wow! What amp is being used? Reverb also sounds very rich. Incredible playing!
There are not many players I want to just sit and listen to solo, with my eyes closed, not paying any attention to the world around. This is beautiful.
Chris is pretty durn good and quite listenable, no argument there! 😉
I've met Robin Ford a handful of times through a dear friend of mine that passed about 7 years ago named Steve Bishop.
Steve was from Washington DC where I had the privilege of meeting Danny Gatton , via Los Angeles via Seattle where I met him and Robin and was privileged to see them do a show here in Seattle at the Paramount Theater.
He ended up in nashville where he got really plugged into the music scene down there doing shows and recording as a side man.
Sadly nobody here will know Steve Bishop but I'm here to tell you that he was a phenomenaly gifted player that could easily hold his own with Robin Ford and his good friend Danny Gatton.
Steve was the kind of guy that he could pick up anything with strings on it, didn't matter what the instrument was and he could just make it talk, make it sing like nobody I've ever heard before including Robin ford, no disrespect to Robin or Danny Gatton.
Steve Bishop was on a list of the 10 best unknown guitar players put out by vintage guitar magazine maybe 15 years ago.
There used to be videos of Steve up on RUclips but after his passing I think that his family must have taken those videos down. I'm only able to find one or two of his videos but they're not the best example of Steve's playing.
I wish the world could have heard Steve because he was that good and I was witness to how his playing affected those around him listening to him. We were all mesmerized.
I miss him dearly. He was only 54 or 55 when he died of spinal cord cancer and towards the end he couldn't even hold his guitar and play which just seemed cruel.
Sorry to hear about your friend, Steve Bishop. May he rest in eternal peace!
💙💙
What a nice tribute. So often the case that talent is taken from us too soon. It shows us that we should appreciate people while we have them.
Steven Bishop ? Didn't he write "On and on", "Sperate Lives", etc. ?
Sometimes I wanna just cry !! Wonderful playing !!!
Sean Crow Haha. Thank you Sean ☺️
I heard Michael Jordan once saw Robben Ford going for a jog and was so inspired he invented Air Jordans. He stopped making them when the hype got silly but eventually Nike reissued them. Robben still wears em when he can't fly to shows.
Hey Buddy! Yup. I was there and watched it all happen. Confirmed.
Oh ok
This is expressive, tasteful, sophisticated playing. Who really cares what I think, but for what it's worth, I don't hand out compliments to other players just to be polite. Wonderful stuff.
that you have the guts and skill to let people listen is fantastic.
where others yell and "talk" with their axe, you are happy to have a conversation that is relaxed and intriguing.
love your work
exactly
Searched for "Hermida Zendrive"...
...stayed for the playing.
Just keep doing more of it man. It's bloody hypnotic!!!
I use my Zendrive with a 1958 Tweed Deluxe. Only turned up to three, I Get superb tone with the blue light glowing.
Yes. My 2010 Zendrive is by far the best piece of guitar equipment I’ve ever owned.
I absolutely love my zendrive. I use it next to a king of tone and a tube screamer. When I want THAT lead sound...that sort of “$300,000 worth of ridiculous gear” Los Angeles lead sound, that’s what the zendrive does. The king of tone makes for a great “core” sound in any room, the ts boosts the entire planet and the zendrive makes for an expensive sounding lead tone...and there you go.
I have an Original Zendrive. Having had one for over 10 years now, here's my .02c:
The Hype - much of this has to do with the fact that Alfonso Hermida was hand-making these (with maybe 1 assistant), so if you ordered one, you might wait a couple weeks or many months to actually get one in your hands, depending on Al's workload at the time. This meant that prices would get a little silly. I think they originally went for $150 (Al refused to raise his price despite high demand), and then people were selling them for $250-300. This created somewhat of a buzz and may have led to some exaggeration as to what this pedal can do...
The actual sound: When I first tried my friend's I immediately fell in love with it. It has a refined grain that is relatively unique. It's transparent and you can almost hear your original clean tone somewhere in there, and when you switch it on, if you have the level set right, you would seamlessly go from your clean tone to dirty, with no pops and no massive change in timbre other than more saturation It's extremely touch sensitive and you clean up your tone with just picking intensity and nuance. It's very responsive and will pretty much accurately give you back whatever you throw at it.
One huge thing I discovered with it, is that if you have a guitar with a treble bleed, you can actually clean up the tone of the Zendrive by backing off your volume, whereas without treble bleed the difference was kind of marginal..
I've seen Robben Ford a few times, and yes, he used the Zendrive with the Dumble. I also have seen him in a video using it with a Fender amp. I'm also fortunate to have an original made by Alf. It's the one pedal I will always keep. Nice job on this demo by the way!
Stan Esposito Cheers Stan. I actually spoke to Alfonso last night via email and he said that Robben has used it with his Dumble in the past. High praise indeed...
I saw RF last year at the Dallas Gtr show playing the Tele w a zendrive into a Fender amp- He sounded as he always does....amazing :-)
Hey brother! Tasty AF playing!
One little addition to your story from my memory, Alf actually made a pedal between hearing Roben’s recording & the Zendrive.
Which was the ‘Mosferatu,’ from my understanding (I don’t remember the source, but I think it was on the Hermida website).
The particular recording Alf was referencing, Roben was playing a higher gain rig than usual & that matches the Mosferatu. However he preferred a lower gain rig, which after feedback resulted in the ‘Zendrive.’
From there I believe the rest of your story is accurate.
I actually own original handmade Hermida Zen 1, Zen 2, Mos, Dist, Tiki Drive.
To my ears the Zen & Zen 2 are my favs, the mos is definitely geared to a higher gain & doesn’t quite have the dynamic range of the Zens.
Hope that wasn’t too long winded, much appreciated for your video!
All the best & great video :)
This is the first run of the Lovepedal manufactured version with SMT parts. You can tell because there’s no white washer at the base of the foot switch, and the led is blue when not lit up and it doesn’t have the black bezel around it. I just got an original Alfonso built Zendrive. It’s so good that I’m currently selling off other stuff to buy a backup since the originals are gooped, and basically can’t be easily repaired if something wears out😩. It’s the strongest and most immediate connection I’ve felt to an overdrive, or any kind of pedal for that matter.
I’ve owned a Zendrive (& a Zendrive 2) for about 10 years now. Collected them from Alf’s house while over there on holiday. He’s a great bloke. Let me try out the prototype Nuvalve that had been played and signed by Brad Paisley and Carlos Santana.
Love the sounds it makes with my telecaster.
I love the sound of mine thru a twin reverb with my 335!
I keep coming back to this video of this pedal. Man you do it justice
I've been watching for a while and was blown away when I just realized I wasn't subscribed. Don't worry I fixed that problem !!!
I think it sounds great as an overdrive man you should post like on the side of your techniqes because man your style is like captivating
aaron _2don Cheers Aaron!
I agree, you are awesome Chris!
Time for a solo album if you doing just this kind of stuff, Chris. Love it.
Beautifully played and I think this is a fabulous pedal made by Hermida or Shawn of love pedal I could not tell the difference between them when tested for me it's an always-on pedal
I'll tell you flat-out what the "Fender sound" is or should be IMHO: The relatively recent ' '64 Custom Hand-Wired' Deluxe Reverb. I had a real-deal '66 Deluxe Reverb when a young teen in the mid-late 60's. While my old '66 was hand-wired, of course, it NEVER sounded as good as the recent hand-wired version. They are VERY pricey at ~$3200 new. However, I found a mint used one at a great price and grabbed it. The things are awesome and worth every penny!
Wow, awesome playing - great demo of a particular Zendrive setting that really sets off your rig (that 335 is so sweet!).
Man, just watched the first 40-50 seconds of the vid and whatever gear you use, it still sounds like you. Kudos! Hope to find my way there one day...
Hey mate I just have to say you do excellent demos. You don't just play one 3 note phrase and then repeat the exact phrase on different settings which I hate. THIS is a good demo. Chords, licks, high notes, low notes, playing hard, playing soft, bridge pickup, neck pickup.. then different settings on the pedal. Also your clean tone is a really good well rounded tone unlike many horrible demos which immediately destroy the sound of the pedal by using thin crappy sounding cleans. Great job! subscribed. Love your playing also. Cheers.
I have an original 'gooped" Zendrive. I paid $70 for it about 4 years ago. I love it and doubt I'll ever part with it. My always on OD, is the Mad Professor Bluebird, which I sometimes stack with an Xotic Effects Soul Driven or the Zen.
You make me happy!
I’d say that is a strong recommendation by the way you enjoyed that, same here. That was awesome Chris.
The only overdrive that never gets taken off my board.
prefer the tone without the drive pedal....the pedal is nice enough, but that guitar and amp combo is very sweet sounding to me.....
Awesome playing, as always! I actually enjoyed your clean tone even more than with the Zen engaged.
I recommend you to give the White Zen a try if you have the chance to. It's my favourite (I use it mostly clean to low-gain) of the numerous variations of the last few years at lovepedal.
Just stumbled here and wanted to share some appreciation for your playing!! You are a tremendous player!! Nice job!!
Nice 335. I don’t love the Zen Drive, but I stayed to hear Chris play through a lovely 335. 👍😁👍
Just catching up on this one while binge watching ZenDrive vids post TPS Robben Ford. As usual your sublime playing makes me forget about the pedal/amp/tone reason for arriving. 🙏🏼💜✨
I need to check out more Robben Ford. From the 80’s to the 2000’s I listened to mostly blues but didn’t listen to him and I don’t know why. You mentioned him, and just yesterday I found a video of him talking about his tele, his main blues guitar he said. Chance upon a name 2 or more times in one day and you should go do it on purpose. I haven’t seen one of your videos in a month or so Chris I enjoyed this one thank you!
This pedal is very touch sensitive. One of the best in that way. I like the black at a lower gain, you just get more push and balls.
So with new Helix update this pedal “Dhyanna Drive” sounds way better, really digging it now
Saw you a few years back at the Newbridge Memo - the gig went up several large notches when you solo'd on that 335. Such a rich and powerful sound and a genuinely beautiful guitar in the hands of an incredible player.
Just wonderful in every respect, you and the pedal.
The only overdrive pedal I know for certain that Robben had much involvement with was the OD pedals made by the late Taku Sakashta. Taku had made a guitar for Robben and wound the pickups for it but Taku was never quite happy with the results even if Robben liked what he heard.
Alexander Dumble designed and built the first very famous (and expensive) Dumble Overdrive amp also inspired by Robben Ford. Robben owns what I believe is the Dumble Overdrive #2.
Spot on info about the pedal history and in general. I came here cause Alfonso him self sent me the video link, so...
Hector Papo Camacho PopTweaker Cheers Hector! Give Alfonso my best; everything of his that I own is incredible! 👌🏻
A nice intro with the nice red cherry couch back there ;-)
I really enjoyed your playing and almost forgot about the pedal!!!!!! New Sub too!!
Man your playing is stellar and I really dig your playing
2nd pedal i bought after Friday Fretworks. Supro harmonic trem being the other.
Amazing phrasing & dynamics......one of my favorite u-tubers for sure!
Blooming excellent playing. 10/10.
Very nice playing. I love the balance of moderation and good tone setup.
I have to agree with the previous comment. I'm new to this channel and everytime I watch your demos, I couldn't help but care less about the demo anymore because of that lovely guitar playing :'( so striking to the soul.
Bro you need to go BIG time because your playing is good food for the soul, give thanks and play on!
I have the lovepedal version of this. Works well with all my electric guitars. SG with P"90"s Les Paul, Tele and my Strat.
yes, it worth!!!!!
I've heard so many good things about this pedal but now that I've heard it I wouldn't buy it ! Thanks for the demo !!!😎👍
There's a few pedals that I've owned then sold or traded away that i regret. 3 come to mind: 2 Klons years ago, the first one i bought with no wait because i unknowing had been talking to the builder everyday for about year at coffee shop in Boston, and he recognized me when i called him but only after i got off the phone. He showed up at the shop Monday morning with the pedal. The second one, i don't quite remember how i got it.
A couple years after i was taken skydiving for my birthday, i went out the door of the plane, and within a little over a month i cleaned my savings account to get licensed, and within 4 months i quit my job, sold most my things, and was jumping full-time for 4 years. I started as a packer, then moved onto camera flying for a freefly team, and doing video for tandem students.
Anyway, i traded one of the Klons for a friend who was in a pretty big east coast band for an audible altimeter, and the second for an ounce of mediocre weed 🙃.
(This was a few years before they became insanely priced).
The biggest regret however was the Zendrive. I don't know what i was thinking, but i traded it for a friggin FULLDRIVE, yes the pedals you can buy for $100. That was a decade ago and i still fall into depression when i think about it.
I had a Mosferatu around the same time and a Hermida Distortion. The Mosferatu i never really got on with, it was darker than i like. The Distortion however was great, and i don't like distortion. It was easily one of the most transparent gain pedals I've ever owned, and i include clean boost in that. It had a shit load of gain, but when i roll thru gain all the way off, it can almost act as a linear boost. I could do set it to just add volume, or fiddle with the voice switch to focus midrange and presence, it was awesome. I don't see many of them around.
Clean and classic vibes and tone! Trying to decide what zendrive I should get for my Fender 68 CDR. Thinking black magic, but this one sounds awesome with that 335! Don’t know!
I have an original Zendrive 2 and either my 68 original twin or Fuchs ODS 30. And I get pretty close to Robben Ford tone,
Particularly his tone on Sahara Moon, Peace on My Mind live version. Love your videos and Guitar work too, thanks
That is one beautiful guitar and delicious pedal. Cool video, very jealous here haha
Here because I just tried the Dhyana drive in my HX effects and loved it so searched the pedal, funny old world innit?. Great playing!
Super tasty playing and awesome tone bro. Refreshing to hear in today’s you tube guitar gymnastics.
I would definitely want to adabt your style
beautifull playing
you deserve the Bucks
Fantastic playing brother..
That sounds incredible. I have been tossing up whether to get a Zendrive or not. This is not helping my wallet!! Haha! Love your playing as always.
Gabe Jr Levy Cheers Gabe ☺️
I have simble drive pedal sounds awesome readily available cheaper I think too
I have simble drive pedal sounds awesome readily available cheaper I think too
Tony Sap I’ve never tried a Simble but what I’ve heard of Mad Professor’s stuff sounds great. In fairness, the Zendrive is readily available as well and there’s not a massive price difference 🙂
Superb playing, my friend. Also rekindled my love of the Zendrive. I never quite used it correctly and felt like the Twimble was a better fit, but your video helped convince me to give it another go.
Chris you are my god. You have the touch I would like💪😍the best
Zendtive(not the red, gold, etc variations) is my favorite pedal ever, but Warm Audio just made the perfect clone for cheap $. I keep the Zendrive on the shelf to keep it safe and put the Warmdrive on my board because it sounds exactly like the Zendrive. I don’t know how they got away with it, but it’s the exact same pedal, unlike many other so called “clones”. I would encourage anyone who loves their Zendrive to do the same.
Awesome playing and phrasing !
Such a great tone during the intro, wow 👍
Man that pedal is money. But with that guitar I prefer that amazing clean tone. God bless!
Robben does use it with his Dumble. Saw them at his Guitar Dojo in August. Can’t get my jaw off the floor.
Love the little reference to "Rugged road".
Your guitar rig 5 setting is like The Stig of the guitar world. Identity never to be revealed unless it gets offered a lucrative book deal ? I have tried this Zendrive incarnation along with the Red and Black Magic. My favourite is my White one though, which I was quite chuffed to just notice has the exact same settings as you used when the drive was at 1 ‘o’clock.
Jonathan Sharp Haha! That’s brilliant 😂 No mystery Jonathan; I’ll be doing a video about it as soon as my recording setup is a little more permanent. It won’t be long ☺️
From what i`ve seen on line Robben uses a Dumkuko now. Apparently the Dumkudo has more clarity in the od and cleans up better when dialing back the vol on guitar. It also doesn`t have the slight mid-hump. I think Larry Carlton uses the Zenkudo. The Zendrive appears to have a nice thick tone, perhaps a touch too thick for H-Buckers..? Anyhow.. thanks for the great demo dude..!
sweet playing
John McLaughlin uses it that's why I have one.
Lovely intro and touch! I appreciate your sound! Especially in a category of YT video that typically features lots of sloppy, noodle-y playing. :)
Man, fantastic playing and great tone! Who should I listen to if I want to cop a style like this? Mayer is an obvious first answer, but anybody else? Also, that was an excellent review of the pedal. Subscribed!
John McElroy robben ford, srv, hendrix, mateus asato, matt schofield, josh smith, allen hinds, eric gales, tomo fujita, kirk fletcher, etc...
North Mississippi allstars. Marcus king. moe.
Damn, that’s some sweet playing!
You play a lot like me, but better. Love the channel. Sounds great, mate.
well i use the nux steel singer as a dumble pedal and is amazing, and costs almost nothing and is very nicely sounding. i try to use cheap or used pedals to get the sound, safes a lot of money and getting the sound i need orn my tube amps (marshall, blackstar, orange, laney)
I dont usually like the Zendrive but gosh, you made it sound really nice
Epic tones
David Morisset Cheers David 😊
Can you please do a video on the intro's you place before demoing a pedal. They all sound similar and beautiful! How do you do it?!
I own two of them and one has lived on my board for at least a dozen years
Can I buy one off you?
Aaaaaand, sold.
Sold me, and great playing as usual.
yes, worth every cent!
Fantastic clean tone man, really beautiful.
Craig Martin Cheers Craig 😊
Vince Gill also leans on the Zendrive!
Nice video. Yes it is worth the hype if you like the Ford, Carlton type sound. I am lucky to have a SE model built by Alf in a wood case.
I just bought a new version from him (thru LovePedal) just to have a second.
Does the woodcase sound good :-)
Great demo, stylish playing and, unlike many vids, actually gives you a good idea of what the gear actually sounds like. Great work! Oh, and beautiful 335, too...
warm tone, nice.
Awsome played man🤘🏻
Chris, would love to see you and Danish Pete cook a vid up together at some point in the future, would be epic.
Love Pedals was owned by 2 partners that had a falling out and the Zendrive has informally ceased to be in the Love Pedal catalog. In Dec. 2019 Pogo brought ot the Zen Ray. It sounds like the Zen Drive though whether it is a part for part replication is a mystery.
Seriously great playing! Plan on jamming with my 335/Zen/Deluxe Reverb after hearing this!! Also, would love to hear your insight on Guitar Rig 5!
DFojas Thank you man! GR demo coming, I promise 😊
Sweet! Looking forward to it :D
Just picked up a Lenny modded Joyo clone of this pedal for £35 - very excited to try it through the laney LC30 - 112 8 valve when it arrives . :) Thanks for the video
Which pedal exactly?
@@boimesa8190 This is the original pedal - decent in itself, the Joyo TAICHI Dumble emulator: bit.ly/3o0D9ET And this is what it looks like now externally after the mod. bit.ly/3iZHvZ2 I am trying to get to the bottom of who actually created the mod but so far all I have is a 'guy in Texas' who voiced it due to a local demand more towards SRV's Dumble single channel, relatively low gain Steel String Singer (and away from the more overdriven Robben Ford Dumble tone). As a fan of SRV, owning a Strat and having the Laney (which is based on a clean 60's Fender design) it was a no brainer for the cash. I bought it from a regular gigging musician who had been using it on stage successfully although had now bought an expensive Zendrive in order to chase more of a Robben Ford vibe with his 68 (ish) Les Paul Deluxe Gold Top re-issue.
I appreciate that there is another 'Lenny' pedal made I believe by J Rockett out of California (it isn't that one) and also a Vertex Effects Steel String (it isn't that one either) although I suspect it will be similar to the Vertex which is going in the same direction (SRV Dumble clone).I am aware SRV also used a TS808 (or two) and I already have a Behringer T0800 which is close. PIC: bit.ly/31eX20Y. to maybe push it on a little further without adding any more colour - TBH I suspect the Laney will be able to do thats on its own as the clean channel has a (none distortion) gain control not dissimilar to what the TS is doing. I have a more modern, official Ibanez TS9DX Turbo to try with it which has the TS9 circuit and several modulations which might be interesting although likely not.
The Joyo American in the picture can get the Laney closer to a 60's Blackface or Tweed through the FX bypass and a touch of the Raygun (vintage style) tremolo may help with that. The Laney has a spring reverb tank and 12" Celestion on board, so it is a great portable dual channel amp with a kick. The second channel is more Marshall JCM / DSL like so there is an opportunity to try and find Eric's Bluesbreaker tone with the set up also (sans the Lenny and adding a Gibson with 57's). It is all good fun. Laney LC30-112 (Revision 3 - 2009) bit.ly/2Hgj1gP
As luck would not have it, the Laney has just blown a resister and taken two valves with it so presently with my tech guy - lucky enough to have an amp builder / engineer near me. So I haven't had chance to run it yet. Maybe next week.
Just realised that Allan Holdsworth held his pick in a similar fashion to Chris!