This new SOURCE AUDIO pedal is pure gold. The perfect analog front end for your rig! EP preamp style + boost? Check. JFET? check! Pultec magic? Check! Low cut to clean up your signal? check!
From Source Audio:
The goal in creating the ZIO Analog Front End + Boost was simple yet ambitious: “Make Everything Sound Better!” ZIO is an all-analog preamp/boost pedal that includes a choice of four distinct preamp circuits, each with up to +20dB of additional output boost. ZIO is Source Audio’s first all-analog effects pedal and designed in collaboration with Christopher Venter, the owner and sole engineer at SHOE Pedals.
ZIO is a deceptively flexible unit that can serve many different purposes at various places in your signal path. Use it at the front of your chain of effects to shape the rest of your outgoing tone, after your drive pedals as an overall tone sweetener or clean volume boost, or at the the end of your pedalboard to drive a long cable run or as a restorative device to recreate the sound of your guitar going directly into the input of your amplifier. You can also use the ZIO in your amp's effects loop if you want to drive your power amp even harder, or to compensate for a level mismatch between two channels.
Four distinct preamp circuits
The Zio delivers a quartet of unique preamp circuits to perfectly dial in your sound:
JFET: This circuit has a remarkably similar response to a low-distortion clean tube amp input. Designed to function transparently, the JFET boosts without adding in any unpleasant harsh qualities.
Low-cut: Engineered to temper the “low-lows” that threaten to cause a rumble in your mix, this mode strictly impacts the low end with no changes to the low midrange. The Low-cut works great on guitars, bass, and synths to improve headroom and clean up your mix.
Studio: This mode takes inspiration from the famous “pultec trick” of the '50s to provide greater clarity to your sound. Studio mode delivers a distinct low-mid cut, slight upper-midrange boost, and a subtle highpass filter that produces a clean and natural sound that allows your guitar or bass to shine in your mix.
E-plex: Modeled on the famous '70s tape echo, this setting has all the vintage vibe of the original unit’s preamp. As a classic FET buffer/boost tone, the E-plex provides a slightly dirty, midrange-focused boost that is dripping with analog character.