The State of the Art and General Suitability of Modular Synth Style Multi-FX Units - Empress Effects and Poly Effects Innovations and Deviations

• 83 Modules and growing in 5 Categories - Interface, Analysis, Audio, CV and Effects
• 20 Ready Made Effects Modules - Tone Control EQ, Delay w/Mod, Ping Pong Delay, OD & Distortion, Fuzz, Compressor, Gate, Plate Reverb, Hall Reverb, Room Reverb, Ghostverb, Reverb Lite, Phaser, Chorus, Vibrato, Flanger, Tremolo, Env Filter, Ring Modulator, Cabinet Sim
• Crisp (but tiny) OLED Display Screen
• Control Port and Midi Connectivity
• Triple Footswitches for easy Patch Selection / Function Activation
• Built-in Help / Quick Info at a Glance
• SD Card Included
• 64 Patches
• 64 Pages per Patch
• 40 Blocks per Page (Pair of Blocks used for Stereo Left/Right Signal)
• 7 LED Colours : Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, Aqua, Magenta, White (I thought more were going to be added?)
• Swap and Share Patches : via Patchstorage.com
• High-Quality Audio : 48kHz sampling, 24 bit conversion and 32 bit internal processing
• Extremely Low-Noise Signal Path : >105dB
• Input Impedance : >= 1MΩ
• Output Impedance : 100Ω
• Frequency Response (-3dB) : 10Hz – 23.4kHz
• Total Harmonic Distortion : 0.22%
• Output Headroom : +16.2dBu
• Power Supply : 2.1mm connector, 9VDC center negative, 300mA
• Length : 5.7"
• Width : 3.75"
• Height : 1.75" (Enclosure only)
• Weight : 1.5lbs / 0.680Kg
• Price : $499

I was first aware of Poly Effects some months after I spiritually boarded the Zoia Express. I recall reading a piece by Gabriel Tanaka on the currently on-hiatus Best Guitar Effects blog. I was obviously already on a different journey - and I wasn't initially particularly captivated by the sort of seemingly etch-a-sketch format with just two encoder knobs in either top corner. I think I was more wedded into the slightly more solid idea of a robust-looking hardware execution that the Zoia was taking, but I was also a little confused by the early messaging for the Poly Digit. I will always typically go for hardware over software - as the former is usually good for life - while the latter is only good for a few years if you're lucky! (Actually complex metaphor which differs for different consumer devices!)

The Digit was first billed as a Quad Delay, Reverb, Mixer and Cab Simulator - which I thought was a little weak tea compared to the fully Multi-FX status of the then Zoia. I gradually came to understand the unique distinction of Poly Effects' 4 inputs > 4 outputs methodology and the ability for almost limitless parallel and serial routing - obviously curtailed by the units processing power and screen dimensions and resolution.

I do admit that initially I felt that albeit a little more expensive - that the Zoia was more the kind of device I needed - as I wanted to make a fully virtualised pedalboard from my own bespoke-defined effects modules. I reasoned that right at that time I had a number of very decent Delay and Reverb units that I could by all means route in parallel if I really needed to. And I really wasn't looking for a Mixer or Cab Sim utility - so the Digit fell a little flat for me - while there were still some decent demos at the time - particularly for the Convolution Reverbs - but overall I wasn't really that tempted.

I only really got properly switched on to Poly Effects at this year's one and only NAMM Show back in January - where Poly's Beebo Multi FX Unit was first properly showcased. I had known it was Australian, but I wasn't aware before then that it was essentially a one-man band - one Loki Davidson. And while Loki is obviously an incredibly hard-working genius - you cannot do proper software unit testing with just one developer.

The Beebo is an entirely more exciting proposition (than the Digit) although it does kind of muddy the waters with the Digit as you can load up both frameworks into either Digit or Beebo units - it's the same hardware - just the paint-job is different from what I understand - sparkly pink vs sparkly blue (not sure why you shouldn't be able to load both into the one unit unless there are processing and memory limitations?).

The Beebo at last though is a worthy competitor to the Zoia - and because of its overall more intuitive Touch-Screen Graphic User Interface - it has some significant advantages over the Zoia - where it is more easily learnable and less constrained by the physical form factor and number of solid buttons that make up that hardware. The Beebo is at last another proper Modular Synth Multi-FX Unit - where you can easily pull up and arrange on-screen blocks of effects and join them up as messily or neatly as you wish - which certainly has some advantages over the more rigid nature of the Zoia.

However - the Zoia is a far more mature product, much more refined and currently with infinitely better support resources - including amazing documentation by Empress and Third Parties. By contrast the Beebo currently does not even have its own proper manual yet - it shares the Digit manual which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and then there is a link to the Poly Effects YouTube Channel for a handful of 1 and 2 minute demos - currently numbering a round half dozen!

For both the Beebo and Zoia there are support communities of influential effects purveyors and experts - many of whom have set up their own modules and shared for download. While again this is an area which the Zoia has a significant lead on. While I feel that format wise - the Beebo is quite a bit more user-friendly if it gets enough time and effort to be refined.

If you watched Henning's exemplary demo of the Beebo (as above) you will know all the pitfalls you need to be aware of - while I'm not sure Loki will grant you quite as much access as he gave Henning. And while most of the glitches and eccentricities of the Zoia have been ironed out by now - the Beebo is by contrast replete with all manner of odd implementations of inappropriate controls and numerical scales. And to some extent rather more than the Zoia - it needs some specialist knowledge for the completion of some very basic functional tasks. Like having to use secondary VC controllers to enable footswitch functions.

We are firmly in a format war now - Hardware vs GUI / Zoia vs Beebo. And these wars are never determined by the hardware or firmware but the actual software modules or core elements. The original Philips G2000 and Sony Betamax VCR solutions were far superior to VHS, but VHS won out because of licensing in the end and because they were the first to see the potential of Home Cinema and do all those licensing deals with the different film studios. Philips and Sony were largely devised as professional recording / home-taping solutions - and had far better hardware and technical fidelity - yet failed to see where the market was going.

I feel that the Zoia and Beebo are merely stepping stones to the next phase of an even better evolution of devices - where they can be seen as the Philips and Betamax - and VHS is just around the corner.

Along the way of really trying to get into the Zoia I kind of burned myself out on those sort of devices - so I have determined that I will sit out this phase of development until something a little more intuitive and more pedalboard-friendly comes along.

Both the Beebo and Zoia require enormous personal investments of time to get properly to grips with them and there is still plenty of room and scope for misadventure. I admire these pioneers and fully support their efforts - but I've decided to sit out this round for now.

• Intuitive Onscreen workflows with unparalleled hands-on tweakability
• 2 x Rotary encoders - with expansive and fine-tuning capabilities
• 3 x Footswitches
• 4 in / 4 out signal routing
• 5" GUI Touch Screen
• Core Effects include : auto swell, delay, algorithmic reverb, chorus, looping delay, mono & stereo EQ, mono & stereo compressor, pan, phaser, reverse, rotary, saturator, phaser, warmth and through zero flanger, bitmangle, freeze, granular, 6 different virtual analog filters, powerful LFOs, time stretch, turntable stop, twist delay, VCA, wavefolder, attenuverter, granular texture synthesiser, 16 model macro oscillator voice, meta modulator with 7 blendable signal combining algorithms including ring modulation, comparators and cross folding
• 30+ control parameters via Rotary Encoders
• Ability to Combine any number of effects and control one module from another
• Ability to assign different functions and parameters to foot switches
• Ability to connect up parameters to a random source, an LFO or an envelope follower
• Ability to manipulate modules with control signals
• Ability to expand and enhance effects by adding delay modules and further modulations
• Ability to send control signals out as MIDI CC to control other pedals - as Henning did with the CBA Automatone Preamp MKII
• Beebo plays well with others and It’s easy to share presets, just plug in a usb flash drive and export or import them
• MIDI to V/oct module allows you to drive the synthesis modules from MIDI note input
• Power : 500 mA 9V center negative
• Size : 152 x 125.5 x 69mm
• Price : $399

I feel that once you scratch the surface here - both these pedals are broadly targeting the same sort of functionality - the end goal to be the de facto Modular Synth Style Multi-FX unit that appeals to as broad a demographic of musicians as possible.

Had I not been an early adopter of the Zoia, it's likely I would have taken the gamble on the Beebo instead - whose interface certainly catches the eye. And while the visual GUI aspect of it is significantly more appealing than the Zoia - the Zoia is to most purposes the more capable and well-rounded device overall at this point in time. As mentioned - the Zoia is better established - and has a much more polished outlook with better established support community and superior support materials - more downloadable patches etc.

Both of these projects are still very much Works in Progress - and while the Beebo has the more appealing profile as a consumer product - I think that overall the Zoia is still likely to be a more robust and reliable unit for various reasons - they have had a lot longer and more resources to iron out all the bugs and inconsistencies. However industrious and conscientious Loki is - he will at some stage have to gear up his business / development approach and that is very likely going to bring in some significant levels of disruption as you always get with such transitions.

For professional musicians and synth guys in particular I would probably wait for the Zoia Euroburo to materialise later this year or early next. While as a consumer product - the Beebo has more appeal - and is also currently priced more aggressively. The nature of the Beebo build is generally simpler than the hardware approach of the Zoia - and obviously has far fewer moving parts.

If you had to buy one now and you're just a typical guitar enthusiast then I feel you would probably be overall happier with the Beebo - although I feel that most will get frustrated eventually and give it a rest like I did on the Zoia as such. The Zoia went in on my pedal-chain slot that was first occupied by the Strymon Mobius, then the Boss MD-500, then Zoia, and now GFI System Synesthesia. The Synesthesia is the perfect compromise on form and functionality for me - and gives me a Multi Modulation unit that is complex and fully featured, but relatively easy and intuitive to control. I've since then also added the quite superb Cooper FX Arcades Modular Multi-FX Unit - which gives me further coverage in that related area plus quite a few more unusual and glitchy effects - all with an equally innovative interface and hardware combination. So my chosen path for now is the Synesthesia + Arcades - which is also a somewhat dearer route than either of the Zoia or the Beebo - yet far more practical and usable for my own needs!

I have also mentioned the Eventide H9 Max which I also have in my chain - but don't use as much as the Synesthesia and Arcades currently. While something like the Line 6 Helix Stomp could also be a suitable replacement / alternative here for many - for how they will end up using it. Even my Zoom MS-100BT is capable of doing some really unusual combination effects - obviously not to the same degree and fidelity as these newer devices - but still perfectly usable in many scenarios.

You will need to decide exactly how you most intend to use these kinds of devices - and how the usability and workflows of each make up that experience. I feel I'm pretty well covered with the Arcades, Synesthesia and H9 Max as is. I might always revise that opinion at a later stage - and if I feel I can get more out of a Beebo - I will by all means look to getting that involved - and despite what I say here - I still haven't totally given up on the Zoia! My choice right now is however to have these types of effects primarily as floor-based stomp-boxes - and like I said - the Zoia and Beebo are really rather programmable desktop computers!