Electro-Harmonix Tube Zipper

Easy And I mean easy. If it wasn't easy then I wouldn't say it was because it is. you're gonna love it. Turn the knobs and your heart will... well it'll probably still beat... but it sounds damn cool and it is easy. So ease-of-usey.

Fender gear to give this beast wings to fly and soar and kill all the peasant-vermin-bad-tones out there with its glorious, awesome super blinding white tone! what a monster. not one but two juicy power cells under this hood(especially if you swap them out for tung sol's. Let your ears runneth over with pure cream. And if you like weird, well guess what...you're already there!

Be nice to it and it will be nice to you...just like an eastward breeze on a western bent hot summer day with big mosquitos and even bigger mosquito gyms! Oh what a breeze soft and gentle and that's the way you should treat this pedal.

I don't think there's anyone you can contact about this pedal. And if there was, you definitely would not want to anyway. the bad-ass that made this pedal would probably chew you up on site and spit you out later, somewhere off site maybe. i wouldn't want to find out, soo....(the rating is to deter you from seeking the master. Don't do it

i don't really play a style of music anymore. I play tube zipper. simply tube zipper. all else falls away in a haze of wash-about noise and vermin fecal decal murmurs. Tube Zipper has changed my life. For the better I can't say but the impact is equally catastrophic. If only I could rid myself of this horrible curse of a pedal that has possessed me and caused my oatmeal to turn into maggots of melody in the mouth of my musical soul. I've taken it too far. The Tube Zipper was the edge and I've plunged over. Leave it alone. it's bad news man. Bad, bad news

The top 3 knobs (resonance, frequency & sensitivity) are highly interactive and slight adjustments produce big changes, like previous reviewers have stated. They'll all behave with varying degrees of sensitivity in relation to the amount of input gain and drive dialed in as well. The number of possibilities is enormous. There really is a big learning curve associated with the use of this pedal--I've had it for 8 months now and have found great sounds using it, but I feel like I've only scratched the surface of what's possible. The manual's suggestions for settings are useful starting points for exploration.

This pedal sounds incredible to me. The envelope is smooth, nuanced and oh so tweakable. The tube driven overdrive/distortion/fuzz section produces a huge range of superb distortion sounds from light overdrive to sizzling, ultra-saturated fuzzy distortion (vintage though--not modern metal sounds). In higher gain settings there is noise of course. With the drive and input gain all the way down and the master volume up though it's totally transparently clean and dead silent--you can hear just how good the envelope filter sounds when playing this way. I usually use it just as an envelope filter and use other distortion or fuzz units in conjunction with it. The filter sounds excellent with distortion and/or fuzz after it. After digging in and experimenting, and finding sounds I like I'm finding I use a wah wah pedal less often and leave the envelope filter on a lot of the time. It's sooo responsive to picking strength that I feel I get better, more controlled wah effects with the filter than I can using my foot on a wah wah pedal. The envelope filter is quieter with fuzz or distortion than a wah wah pedal as well.

My current setup (which has gone through a lot of changes in the last year or so):

Les paul > ernie ball volume pedal w/ tuner out > Snarling Dogs Super Bawl Whine-O-Wah > Tube Zipper > Fulltone Distortion Pro > Fulltone Ultimate Octave > Marshall 60 watt combo amp set to light breakup with guitar volume all the way up.

I'm really digging my current setup. Everything is all analog with true bypass. I just need an analog delay in there to really round things out. I also want a good univibe effect.

I have a hard shelled pedal board (by MKS) that the Tube Zipper has been permanently affixed to for 8 months. It's still working and always has. I try not to throw the the pedal board around. I couldn't afford to have a backup of the Tube Zipper or any of the pedals I own for that matter. I wouldn't want to drop the Tube Zipper, it has tubes in it.

I've no experience with Electro-Harmonix customer support.

I'm a bluesy guitar player with a fondness for psychedelic sounds. This pedal is great for what I do and inspires my playing. I believe, like other reviewers have said, that the Tube Zipper could find a niche in any genre of music.

I've played a Q-Tron and a Mini Q-Tron at the music store, and once briefly owned a Boss AW-3. The Boss was a piece of ****, and the other Electro-Harmonix pieces didn't sound as good as the Tube Zipper.

I wish it's overdrive/distortion section and it's envelope filter section were each seperately footswitchable. I like to be able to leave the filter on and turn a distortion sound on and off without bending over and twiddling knobs. This necessitates the use of another distortion device.

Overall, the Tube Zipper is a fabulous device.

With six knobs and two switches there's enough here for any technophile guitarist. I thought this would give me huge scope to create a wide variety of sounds to give different voices to songs, but it quickly became clear that minor adjustments to any one of the knobs can have a dramatic impact. This causes two problems: first, if you find a good sound you've got to find some way of recording the exact positions of the knobs on the Zipper. Second, it's going to be difficult to find a proper musical use for 90% of the noises this thing creates unless you have hours of free time, and have developed a decent method of recording the settings.

What I've done is found a pretty good sound I'm happy with, adapting this with minimal alteration of the settings between songs. I'm sure there's a whole lot more to discover with this piece of kit, but I'm not sure I'll ever have the time to do so.

The Tube Zipper offers a high quality overdrive/distortion sound that can range from a mild, tube-amp crunch to a real bumblebee-in-a-sack-type sound. The envelope filter offers sounds that range from auto-wah effects to sounds like loose elastic bands over a cardboard box. Again, getting the most out of this is going to depend on having the time to experiment with it.

Overall, the sound is great. I particularly like the ease with which feedback can be achieved.

It's worked without problem so far, although I haven't gigged with it yet. I'm pretty careful with my gear, and when it's not being used I keep the Tube Zipper in its box, in the bubble-wrap and plastic bag it came in. I would gig without a backup Zipper (I'm not buying TWO!) but I would have a spare set of tubes, just in case.

I emailed once to ask about maintaining the Tube Zipper and when the tubes should be replaced and got a friendly reply within 24 hours. That's pretty good in my experience.

I recently formed a band having been away from playing music for 17 years. We do dark indie-pop along the lines of Nick Cave and Bad Seeds, Echo and the Bunnymen, that kind of thing. As I sold a lot of my gear (everything except the guitar and amp) in the intervening period, I've had to buy new cabling, effects, etc, hence the Zipper.

I don't use much else, just a BOSS DD3 and a George Dennis GD120. This is partly to keep the complexity of my setup down, and also due to the fact that the Tube Zipper offers such wide ranging possibilities. When I want to adjust my sound between songs, I tweak the Zipper, mainly the distortion and input gain. I haven't yet used it on the trill setting or the down envelope.

If it were lost or stolen would I buy another one? I don't know. I would probably try something less complicated, to be honest.

Well, you got a total of 6 knobs and 2 switches and a decent amount of exploring to do. Sometimes with these Electro-Harmonix pedals a simple nanometer twist of a knob creates a big change. Plus the switches [envelope up/down and tron/trill] change the sound to a great degree. Plus there's two tubes and the drive knob.

The envelope filter works great, you can get any number of wah wah sounds, plus I think it does react to how hard your attack is. It's not particularly noisy. With a bit of tweaking, and add a slight delay [analog], and you can make some nice sergio leone western sounds. Also if you turn up the drive, these tubes are hot, man, it produces a niiiice distortion/fuzz, almost to a synth-like extent.

I think it's dependable, got it new with a warranty. It seems reliable, just don't damage those tubes.

Never used it...yet.[fingers crossed]

I've been playing music in general for 10 years. Right now, I play something like shoegaze, alternative, americana, experimental. I use some interesting pedals, I'm kind of selective. This thing is valuable, as an envelope filter, it's wonderful and as a fuzz, it's really great. Just wish, you could switch between the two with a foot switch. But if you mix the two, you can produce some nice sounds. Also, it could be a bit easier to use. Overall, I'd use this for a long time.

Six knobs and two switches either intimidates or excites, depending on one's point of view, but I found it to be less a learning curve than a graph representing the unique joys of guitar/sound expermentation. The manual is helpful in its way, but itself states that the Tube Zipper is designed to be experimented with, and "truly outrageous" -- not unlike a certain cartoon rock-staress we children of the 80s all know and love. The Tube Zipper is ADVENTURE. The Tube Zipper is EXCITEMENT. But I digress. The point is, there is something in this pedal for every player, every style, every genre, and unearthing those tones is half the fun. Be prepared, in mad-scientist boy-scout rocker fashoin, to write down settings you blisfully stumble upon, as this pedal is analogue to the bone. It will make you want to play guitar more, and better. That and the ability to create sounds and textures you've never heard before are what, to my mind, mark a truly great pedal.

The Tube Zipper is driven by two 12AX7 vacuum tubes. It's an envelope filter with adjustable frequency, resonace, and sensitivity, which basically means that effects can be triggered by how hard you pick. In adition, there is an input gain knob which works during the filter, a drive knob which works after it, and a master volume control. This thing would get a 10 for the mind-blowing tube distortion it produces alone (it can be used purely for distortion), but when combined with a flexible filter such as this the results are utterly unique. I play several guitars through an early-70s SG tube amp. My effects include a noisy but mean Maestro phaser built into the amp, a Boss PS-3 pitch-shifter/delay, a Boss Loop Station, DOD EQ, and, most recently, an Electro-Harmonix 16-SECOND Digital Delay. I may as well toss my Tube Screamer clone out of the proverbial space-pod escape hatch. The sustain, cascading warmth and harmonic response of the Tube Zipper's distortion is unlike anything I have ever owned or played with. The Tube Zipper seems to do somethin cool and weird to every effect thrown at it. It flirts, teases, drops funky analog-synth laser-beams of orange sunshine into the drink of, and gently but deftly finger-bangs other stompboxes, or straddles and rides them to shared bliss til the break of dawn, depending on how you turn the knobs. Four control perameters for the envelope: Up/Down and Trill/Tron. One of my favorite things to do is to crank the gain and drive, turn the resonance up until the pedal begins to self- oscillate, and then "tune" the frequency knob til it matches the pitch of or harmonizes with the feedback produced. With an E-bow and rythmic switching of the pickup selector, note sequences become pinballs in a machine whose spiraling maze of psychedelia was just too much for most hippies. If you open this thing up, i am fairly certain its circuit-board looks something like the blueprints for said machine. With the master volume control you can achieve this and other awesome feedback-driven effects at any output level. Taut vowely wahs, burbling rollercoasters, dying battery decays, my bottom end is in a space-ship attacks. I tried matching the sweep of the envelope to the sweep of my phaser and listend in awe as the buzzing noise from the phaser bagan to appregiate, and nearly ejaculated when i found i could control the pitches of the appregiation by further tweaking the resonance and frequency knobs. Endless hours of a more fun word than fun...

Just whatever you do, for God's sake, do not drop your Tube Zipper. It may be built like a tank, but it's like a tank whose engine is protected by a flimsy plastic guard-rail. It also gets real hot real quick. wish it had a little fan. Still, it works and it works WELL. Be careful.

Haven't had to deal with them, but a company is only as awesome as its product line.

I've beeen playing guitar and experimenting with effects for 13 years. As stated, the Tube Zipper encompases everything I love in an effect. It's versatile and responsive. It plays with, not against or for you. I am also a big fan of pedals that allow you to "play" them like an additional instrument. When it oscillates you can get trippy, and completely controllable. theremin-like tones. i've had this pedal 3 weeks and have only touched its ice-berg's icy icy tip. Awesome. Buy it, you crazy guitarist you.

ok, im a BASS PLAYER, so everythong i write is related for using the zipper you a BASS.

its a very hard to use unit, since (i think) it was designer for guitar. very difficutl to get a good sound AND still have the low end, but NOT IMPOSIBLE. i have it for 2 weeks now and did some experimenting..... i manage to use 3 seting in which the effect is usable with bass.

EVERY LITTLE turn may change sound dramasically, so its hard to archive the sound you already had written the setting down.... the way for succeding using the pedal is practicing with t a lot, trying and trying, and not giving up. ITS NOT A PLUG AND PLAY PEDAL!!! dont expect to buy it and that it will magically sound good.

i give it a 7 cause i can do pretty good stuff, but its VERY difficult to use.

ok, here is what i manage to do: i made a couple envelope filters wich sound pretty good, and i did a distorion that blow my head.

usint the tubes i got this distorion that is worth buyin it just for this. (the 3 upper knobs at 0, vol at 12, dist at 12, and gain and 1 or 2 oclock) youll have to adjust the frq/ress it theres something you want to correct.

you can also archive a lot of weird-psycoidelic-noyse-space sounds, but it works better with a delay or looper or anything you can thet the sounbd coming in and start tweaking knobs....

also can self-oscilate, which can be awfull..... or great depending in what you are into.....

im giving it an 8 cause the envelops aren GREAT, or at least i coulnd archive this great sound for bass.

feels pretty fragil...... and the tubes ar semi-exposed so ill try not to drop it....

its a prettety expensive unit, so having a buckupo is not for everyone..... but if i was a pro touring i wold have a buckup for sure.

im giving a 6 cause i feel like if it fall it breaks.

no opinion here.

the only time i dealt with them was to ask them who was the official distributor of EHX in argentina (cause i was travelling there to get one) and they mailed 3 days later.....

for bass id rather go for other unit if i was in the search on an envelope filter, for it sounds SO good as a distrion that im not selling it. and also as im planning some experimental tripy prject , this will fit me perfectly

After reading the rave reviews about this guy I guess I'll be the odd one.
Controls are easy, after spending some minutes with it I was able to manage them with a comfortable understanding. However to get a convincing sound was a different thing.
The manual was not technically very helpful at all. The suggested settings are a good place to start from.

It is not a noisy pedal, dead quiet true bypass,excellent there.
Now, I was not keen at all on the drive,I always use the drive feature to the max unless not required, it is very reminiscing of that of the Hot Tubes, powerful but not very agressive, with not much attack resolution, warm but uncrispy, good for rythm though, nothing I will kill for.

The controls for the envelopes are fun to play with, however I didn't find them to be very musical, the auto wah results are good if you actually will use such treatment. The theremyn like results and pitch portamentos possiblities although kind of unique are also nothing I'm impressed with.
After a while of dedicated palying and tweaking results became very predictable and uninteresting to me.

I tried it for some guitar synth shapes or resonances but frankly I achieve better results using my other gear.

I have not run into any trouble w/Electro Harmonix equipment yet. I'm a happy EH user so far.

Never dealt with.

Although I assumed it was a good bet for the type of textural work we do I didn't find a reason for this pedal, so after a couple of days of giving a opportunity to it I returned it.

I own a variety of stuff ranging from modern to real vintage stuff, my other Electro Harmonix pedals (and I LOVE them) are: Russian PI Big Muff, guitar Microsynth, Frequency Analyzer, Small Clone and a Holy Grial

Not the easiest of pedals to get to grip with but all the same the controls are very well laid out and at least its all in front of you!
Manual provides a good scope of settings for beginners

Set up, Ibanez Gsx32(Guitar) into line 6 fm4- mxr distortion+ - Electro Harmonix Double Muff - Morley Power Wah - Electro Harmonix Tube Zipper -
Laney Vc30 112 (amp) Parallel Fx Loop - Mxr Phase 100 - Boss DD20 Digital delay
Sounds absolutely beautiful!!Really warm no matter what the settings,really great trashy lo fi distortion when cranked but also really rich clean boost if needed! Filter is out of this world,does things i could never expect of a normal envelope filter!!!With the resonance on max the unit goes into self oscillation with which you can get some great sound scape noises,especially with a delay placed afterwards!This can do any genre basically,it's that versatile!

Wouldn't want to chuck it around!Feels fairly light but sturdy enough to stomp on,like most electro harmonix pedals!If I take it out it goes in the wooden box!

Only time will tell...

No regrets about buying this.Its unique and like most ehx stuff fails to sound bad!Its perfect for my brand of space rock!Compared to the mu-tron model on my line 6 fm4 this wins hands down for warmth, if you're interested in the line 6 its worth it for the synths but thats about it,the filters are not a patch on this.

At first, you pretty much have no idea of how to use it. This is brutally analog, haha.
However, I recommend you follow the example settins on the blue "manual" (A4 folded in half, haha)
Once you know what each dial and switch does, it's plain sailing after that :-)

In a word: Immense!
There's nothing like it!
As well as being an autowah, it acts like a synth line, with sounds that Zappa and Fripp would be proud of.
It can also act as a tube distortion box too. Turn off all the goofiness (the top three dials then, haha), go onto your amps clean channel (gets way too muddy in lead channel, especially with tube amps) and it nearly rivals the Big Muff and the Hot Tubes for distortion quality.
I personally use it for a synthy type dive, makes it sound like a toy gun...... or an audio-nuke as my friend calls it.

My first one had broke in the post: long story short, the (gas filled) tubes had exploded on the courier plane, so that meant knackered tubes..... and one knackered volume dial.
No problem, Hot Rox UK did a straight swap for me. This one's good. Really good. :-)
I have a Graphic Fuzz pedal too, and nothin has gone wrong with that. so it's safe to say the "dodgy" EH of old has gone.

Swapped my first one no quibbles..... wasn't really their fault either!

I wanted this pedal for my ever growing "bizarre effect" section. It's great! I can't wait to get a Line6 FM4 to complement it, or an EH Micro Synth!
Works well with delay, flanger and tremolo too..... and with a fuzz boostin after it :-)

6 spots- alot to do and to find out
it takes some time.....alot of sounds are possible

best pedal i ever owned!! it cost's much but with time you'll see that there is nothing to compare with it!!!
i run it trough a 68 tele pink paisley-ibanez ts808-tech 21 sans amp classic-ehx tube zipper-ehx polychorus-boss bf3-marshall tsl 122.
i play indie, punk, experimental and with the tube zipper i'm ready to die. distortin is very dirty(i like it) and perfect for velvet underground, stooges style. but the filter is the heart of this stompbox!!if you like something NEW, buy it....you'll be surprised.
i have nothing more to say

metal box. have it for half a year and no problems.
i NEVER use backups...

never contacted them

with electro harmonix you can do nothing falsh!
it takes time to get in the spots but then you'll make big eyes (ears). i had a lot of fx in the past and most of it i sold but with my current setup i'm as happy as i can be
BUY IT (if you have the money)

preety easy to use, no manuel. I wish that you could download at their
website.

Incredible sound. I use a single rectifier and various boutique pedals
with strats, esp. If you are a innovative fusion rock player you will
be able to express yourself.

I am having huge issues with the weird power supply tip and housing on
the unit. mine failed and the worst connecter I have seen yet. Very frustrating because I have to change but will be way better off after I do. And It is in my bourd so it goes wherever I play.

No phone number at the site but it is on their products I have to call just qwerk them.

this pedal is not for the faint at heart. 6 knobs, with 3 doing most of the work, it can be a slight bit difficult at first. then there are the 2 switches which change the sweep from a normal phase type sweep to almost a deep vibrato. i mainly use it for the insane noises that can come out of it. but funk players can get into this as well as experimental and rock players.

american strat w/ red lace sensor at bridge & 2 gold lace sensors>mxr blue box>sovtek/EH greeb big muff>boss ph 1-r>EH tube zipper>5150II. depending on how you have the zipper set will depend on how much noise will come out of it. since the filter is manual, you can turn up the resonance and turn the sensitivity down turn it on to the lowest frequencies audible. that is really cool since you can manipulate the sweep from sub-bass to almost alien spacecraft highs. with the switch to trill and the resonance about 3 or 4 o clock, you can get these self oscillating noises. or if you want a good auto wah sound, back off of most of the knobs and presto...
the distortion on this is very dirty and grungy. i really dont use it souly for the distortion, but with the distortion cranked, it makes the filter more dramatic. honestly, this pedal will surprise you every time you turn it on with new textural sounds and sick-ass noises. and i've been told that replacing the stock tubes with higher end tubes will make this sound a lot better. if you have the cash and are in to really whacked out noises...get one.

usually EH makes some sturdy pedals. but this type of pedal with the 2 12AX7s in them are very light weight and almost cheap feeling. i try not to slam on it since it cost so much, but sometimes i cna't really help myself. i do gig without a back up and unless you're rich you will too. but this pedal could be a strictly studio pedal with no problems.

when i got this, i figured i should send in the warranty card at least just in case something with the parts went wrong. but the warranty card was sent back...i've sent emails and no word about what i should do...so i guess they're not very supportive.

i play rock music. some experimental sounds are usually thrown in for good measure so this thing does the trick beautifully. i've been playing guitar for about 8 years and i've come to know good sound IMO. these pedals are great, expensive but great. if it were lost, i would probably cry for a few days over the loot i didn't have...if it were stolen, i would definitely become a bounty hunter and track down the bitch who stole my shit. there are a few other pedals out there that will do about the same things this pedal will, but those are mainly boutique pedals that cost more than this one. and i wouldn't say this helps me create music, but it definitely doesn't get in the way. if anything its just gravy on top...
here it in action
www.sideaonly.com

I absolutely love this pedal, but it can be extremely hard to use the top three knobs. Bottom three are a piece of cake. (Top 3 - Resonance, Frequency, Sensitivity/ Bottom 3 - Master, Drive, Gain) In addition, it has two modes (Tron and Trill) and env up/down. As endless as the possibilities may be with this pedal, unless you use pretty mid-range settings (Which still sound great!), this pedal is NOT for beginners. I lost my settings sheet, which was a bummer, so I've had to figure out this tone monster for myself.

For the trouble involved in getting your optimum sound out of this, it is WELL worth it. I have NEVER heard a pedal I liked better than this one. I own four, and it blows two of the three others completely away (Funnily enough, the third is another Electro-Harmonix). If you play rock, there is no doubt that you can find your tone on this spectacular-sounding, versatile pedal.

It seems very sturdy. It has a guard for the tubes so you can't break them by missing a step (say, in a dark gig). Having said that, I would take anything to a gig without a backup. Just the smart thing to do. I'd definitely take my other EH rather than anything else though (For the record, the other's a Hot Tubes). I don't think it'll ever break down, though, unless I do something stupid. The one feature I don't like is the fact that the tubes appear to be turned on even when I bipass the pedal. It's pain to plug and unplug this at home whenever I stop practicing.

Never had to deal with 'em.

I play several kinds of rock. Blues, metal, alternative, general. I own a Les Paul '57 Black Beauty and a BC Rich Beast. Both ROCK on this pedal. It also goes well with my Fender 90 Watt DSP. To the beginning player, it seems expensive, but I can't imagine a better distortion pedal. If it were stolen, I'd instantly be online to order another one. I absolutely love the sound and versatility of this pedal. My favorite feature is definitely the trill/tron mode switcher. Very unique. My least favorite is the tubes staying on as mentioned before.

I could not get along without this pedal as far as distortion is concerned. I wonder how I ever bothered with my Boss, DOD, or amp distortion. From this experience, it would take a lot to convince me to buy pedal products from any company besides Electro-Harmonix (I'm even considering gettings their new strings!)

This pedal is a challenge. There are 6 knobs and 2 slider switches to contend with. Knobs for: Resonance, Frequency, Sensitivity, Master Volume, Drive, and Input Gain. The last 3 knobs are easy, they control the distortion effect and your overall volume levels. I'm actually using this pedal as my main distortion effect right now. The distortion sound can be killer, but tweaking those bottom 3 knobs is essential. Resist temptations to max out the Drive knob, because it can get muddy. The top 3 knobs and 2 switches control the filter...they are what control all the craziness of the pedal. The manual is actually quite long by EH standards, and actually gives you a full page of sample settings! Messing around with the pedal and investing some time will prove invaluable.

Dead quiet - true bypass! This pedal is a truly unique item...and honestly a bit challenging to describe. You can get a really good distortion sound, and many, many different filtered effects. Mutron-like effects, typical wah type sounds, crazy bleeps and blips, and unexplainable noises that you simply have never heard before. I've had it for a couple weeks and I still feel like there is so much left to be discovered. The sound quality is really brilliant though. The tube warmth is unmistakable.

Very solid. The only issue is the weird power supply, which has a specialized tip on the end of it - so if you lose it or break it, you'll have to order one from EH. No radio shack replacements here. Also, it gets plugged in on the SIDE, which I could do without.

This pedal scores big points for originality. The tube warmth and true bypass also won me over. As for the effect itself, it's unbelievable...you can create sounds with this thing that you probably never even thought were possible.

THERE ARE A COUPLE OF LINKS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT if you are interested in this pedal.

http://buzzfox.com/el-zipper-swf.html - This is a "virtual" Tube Zipper! Not nearly as cool as playing the real thing, but a decent demo.
http://www.ehx.com/ - EH has MP3s on their site of the Zipper.

Overall, I love this pedal. It's a bit pricey and slightly hard to find in stores, but the sounds you can create are almost limitless.

Good luck if you're looking for something out of the box with this unit; the manual is informative, but you'll need lots of time to get to know your TZ. There's just so much going on with it since it's so versatile...but beware the oscillation!

I tried it out of the box with my '92 American Standard Strat into a Bedrock 600 Series 1x12 Combo. The TZ sounds like nothing else I've heard. Everything from killer distortion to Mutron-type stuff to things yet to be described.
The coolest thing I've found so far is that I can get a grungy open chord thing on the upper strings, edgy but quiet, and then hit the low strings and CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY things happen. It's like a whole bunch of pedals chained weirdly that self-activate on attack. You have to hear to know what I mean.

It seems rock-solid, but it will live in its groovy stash box and not be allowed out of the house. Were I gigging, this would be part of the arsenal and I'd use it without fear.

Haven't yet, but the folks at EH seem to be quite proud of this pedal, so I'd think they'd give me help if I asked.

I've been playing for 20 years. I have an '82 Schecter PT, a '72 Les Paul Custom (McCarty pickups), a '99 Ampeg AMG-1 and the Strat. For effects, a PEI Yardbox, ProCo TurboRat, a Distortion+, an old EH Soul Preacher, a '75 EH Crying Tone, a Wah Face, and some 80s Boss and Ibanez stuff. I'm currently playing through the Bedrock solely.
This pedal is the most amazing device I've ever heard for the electric guitar, hands down. It has a lot of sounds I know, but lots that I heard for the first time tonight. It has already inspired a really cool new riff, and I expect it will continue to do so. I look forward to trying some of my old standby stuff (blues and rock) out on it to see where it can take me.
This is the best money I have ever spent on a pedal, except for the $25 I spent to buy the Crying Tone back in '81 (it's appreciated a bit in value!)
BUY ONE NOW!

Killer Sounds - Period !!!
This is a Killer Effect -
no Presets - is a bummer - dialing in the right sound live
will take practice @ home for sure
simple - easy to read manual

50's reissue Strat(Vintage Hot fralins)>Fender Deluxe 40W Tube Amp
NOISE IS MY COMPLAINT - I am waiting for EH to respond to my email -
my unit pops crackles - buzzes out my speakers - YUCKO -
I can run my hands around the box & get all kinds of static buzz -
when bypassed my other effects are fine - clean tone - I tried diff cables - location - nothing works - very frustrated w/ the purchase -
I know I must have a faulty unit - the sound samples just sounded too good & w/ my CC2 > TS9/808 > FD2 > SHO i get wonderful tones & I wanted the ZIPPER to add my Jerry Wah joy & more but.... hmmmmm

@ this point - I can't even use it -
It ruins my tone - & it would send the fans packing....
I would not take it to a gig - unless it gets fixed or exchanged...

We will see about that ....
EH has my email .....
I will post a new review about the result of my experience ....

I play ROCK !!! - if it becomes functional - it will be my fave pedal - I love the way you can tweek it into a frenzy - very handy
for a long jam where you want the kids to start melting....
If it was stolen - I would try one in a store & hope for a solid unit
It was between the Line6 Filter - & the Zipper - the zipper sounded more radical & I sold my dead quiet yet somewhat sterile FM4 to obtian this device of crackles, pops, & BUZZZZZZ
even when I don't play & just sit the guitar down - it just makes horrid noises - YUCKO !!!!
I wish it had Presets like the Line 6 FM4
Just look for a follow up review ....don't let this stop you -
I think in the end - I will have a quiet ZIPPER
please email me if you have info on the possible problem....

A little hard to get used to but it's got a lot you can adjust and it comes with a cheat sheet to get you started. They have done quite a bit with 6 knobs, 2 switches and on on/off foot switch! It's NOT a typical stomp box, the knobs change the sound a lot...

This baby really cranks out the trippy sounds. It was hard for me to get used to the envelope filter but once I did I loved it. I use a Fender strat / SD pickups / Fender HR Deville 4x10. One thing I noticed is that you need to get your amp up to tone in order to get the full sounds out of the zipper. Just like any of your effect pedals, it sounds better cranked. The distortion is similar to the big muff distortion sound. You can turn the distortion on / off if you want to use it with your current distortion pedal. You can also turn most all of the effects on or off. Very nice! I would give it a 10 except that it really only has one "sound" and the knobs change that one sound greatly. Two or three sounds would have been great for the price!

Seems very reliable.

Never have needed it with these guys.

If you want an evelope filter sound with a wild twinge that is all tube, this is your pedal. If you don't know what that is, perhaps the term porno distortion will help you. Maybe not, get some sound files to make sure you like this sound. I can't live without it now.

Well, ease of use??? Not really. It's a typical stompbox, only it has 6 knobs, and 2 toggle switches. It will take some getting used to. :)
The manual shows a few suggestions for effects, but this is one of those pedals where you really have to sit down with it for HOURS before you start to understand what it's capable of. It's definetely NOT a "plug-in-and-play-right-away" kind of pedal.

I currently use an early 80's Laney TUBE 1/2 stack, 2 Fender American Deluxe Strats, 80's USA Kramer Baretta, ...etc

Noisy: Uh, not too noisy....No more than any other pedal. The effects are NOT weak in this pedal. Just takes a while to get the "right" effects. Being an Envelope Filter/Distortion pedal, it's kind of a "wild" sounding pedal. Gets some STRANGE sounds....But, COOL!

I'm not too keen on the distortion, only because I'm not really a fan of "fuzz box distortion". However, being a tube pedal, and having this really wild Envelope filter, one can really be inspired to write some cool new songs.

Well, Electro-Harmonix is not well known for building the most "sturdy" of pedals, so, I'd always have a backup. However, I mostly use this pedal at home.

Never dealt with EH.

Been playing for approximately 20+ years.

What I love about it: The weird, wacky effects this pedal gets.
What I hate about it: The "fuzz" distortion.

With all the other "tube dist pedals" out there, I thought this pedal might be a bit more agressive sounding. It's your typical Big Muff/Fuzz Box sounding distortion. However, it's a bit warmer sounding, and smoother. However, I DO find it pretty good for 70's classic rock.


Overall, this pedal is really fun, fun to play with, and fun to listen to what comes out of it. The more you mess around with it, the more you'll appreciate what it can do. However, you HAVE to give this pedal some time to grow on you.

I bought it on a whim, just because I wanted something different.

If it were stolen or lost, I'd be pissed that they stole a $260.00 pedal, on the other hand, I'd just save my money, and put it towards a nice HIWATT head instead. :)

Hey...I'm first. Wow! This thing can be a bit daunting. It's an envelope filter/distortion pedal that can modulate and act as a synth. It has resonance, frequency, senstivity, master volume, input gain, and drive knobs as well as two dip-switches for up and down modes and tron (smooth follow) and trill (modulated follow) modes. Whew. These controls are processed by two life giving 12ax7's. The plethora of options is not the stumbling block rather it's the high degree of interaction the knobs have on each other that is daunting. While it's not hard to get a good sound it is complicated by wide sweeping pots and that touch interactivity. However this should not be construed as a negative as it is the source of the Tube Zipper's magic. It's not that hard to get used to but there is a higher degree of difficulty than a Boss pedal or something. The manual is very helpful w/ good suggestions to play around w/ right out of the box however it seems geared solely towards guitarists. Oh well, bassists just cut the frequency and and resonance to taste and the tolerance of your cab for highs. All in all, an easy to use considering that this pedal is designed to have very few boundries.

My guitar setup:
Fender Am Std Strat (Ash) -> Crybaby 535Q -> EH Tube Zipper -> EH Big Muff Pi (NYC RI) -> Boss PH-3 Phaser w/ EV-5 foot control -> Epiphone Tube 10 or Ampeg VT-120

My Bass Setup
Mongrel Squier P-Bass Body w/ EMG P pickup (soon to recieve Warmoth ebony J-neck) -> Crybaby 535Q -> EH Tube Zipper -> EH Big Muff Pi (NYC RI) -> Boss PH-3 Phaser w/ EV-5 foot control -> SWR Workingman's 300 -> Mesa 1x15 Diesel Cab

Sound quality...Electro-Harmonix is thy name. While not necessarily boutique EH pedals conjure up pretty sweet tones and this is no different. Convention envelope setting ring through w/ warmth. Distortion tones can be high eq'd and lower in gain but sweet. The combined distortion/filter produces strange sounds w/ good tone in the midst of chaos. Trill mode is nice as it seems non-sinusoidal at times but usable and predictable (this is because you can make it zig zag the filter to a crescendo). Very nice sound quality. Has true bypass.

Don't know about reliablity, just got it. 12ax7's seem well mounted but I'm tempted to get a pedal board w/ a true bypass switch to keep my pedals nice and unstomped. Has one year warranty. Backups are out of the question w/ my finances.

Don't know. I guess I'll find out if something goes wrong

I like making noise. I like playing conventional rock, space rock, emo, hard rock, punk, and hard industrial noise. Been playing a tad more than 2 years on guitar and a couple months on bass. On bass I slap, pluck, and pick. Haven't gotten fingerstyle down that well. My other gear listed above should give some insight as to my style. Obvious Tom Morello fan. I love strange barely musical sounds and pushing my equipment. Love the whole thing, love the price. This thing helps my creativity, though one should be able to creative w/ a clean signal or an acoustic. Saw it's specs and the price and heard the samples on Musictoys and new I had to have it without having played one or physically seeing or hearing one. Wish it had parameter controls for resonance at least but big deal. It helps a great deal. Equally great for hitting groovin' rhythmic min7 chords or for wild noises or right hand mutes or anarchic solos. Love this thing goes from plain Jane to Wild thing w/ the flick of a few knobs. Very versatile. Like a multi-effect that doesn't suck and is analog.