Apologies.
Mods feel free to merc this thread
1 Like
The Interface Looks fiddly to use. As Synth i d say the Digitone is easier to use. And probably Sounds better too.
1 Like
The earliest videos posted by Empress a year ago made it look like more of an effects box with a crazy amount of routing options. They suggested it could be used as a synth, but my take on it was thatâs just one of the many things it can do. Looks too fiddly? I fear that too. Hoping it will have a good editor and I wouldâve been happier if it was about 4x bigger, personally. Still, on the surface it looks pretty groundbreaking and Iâll most likely give it a try.
1 Like
They said no editor awhile back. Who knows though.
I am much less interested in it as a synth than a modular fx processor, Empress style.
5 Likes
Same 
1 Like
Yup. As a modular easy to use Audio mangling fx unit i am in. For modular Synth stuff i have a modular Synth.
5 Likes
For me it comes down to how much of the excellent algorithms from their other pedals Empress is willing to incorporate into that device and how much of them can run in parallel without sacrificing the quality.
If it can fully replace a - letâs say - Echo System, Nebulus and Multidrive this would be a definitive Must-Have. But Iâm quite sceptic this will be the case.
3 Likes
I think the idea is that all the ingredients are there but you - as opposed to Empress - do the preperation.
I speculate theyâll upload some choice Empress presets. In addition to offering an online bank where users can upload their own. Basically a more customizable, Empress H9
EDIT: the multidrive is analog.
2 Likes
Recalling all the hard earned things i learned about the Zoia interface, from studying the many videos a year back â I think of it something like Max/MSP in a little box, with some very high level sound generation and manipulation functions. When you add a function it gets put up as a box of buttons on (edit) the button area all of one color. You then can hook various connections from it into other things by pushing buttons between your various functions. (So output of a sequencer goes to a synth, which is sent to a reverb that is connect to midi input, etc.) There is a small b&w screen with text and image that helps you pilot around. The button area scrolls so you can have a field of functions larger than the button area. I could be wrong on details here, but at least thatâs the gist.
So that can be in the category of fiddly. But thatâs for set up â typically youâre just using it to make music, with patches youâve already set up, or ones you found that someone else did. Whether there is a computer based editor or not, i donât know, perhaps thatâs something that has been done over the past year. Regardless weâll be seeing a lot more on this thingy soon.
The Organelle is something similar, you set stuff up for it to run in Pure Data (which is similar to Max). But there you do the set up on a computer. Axolotti is similar too.
I completely agree with you tnussb, what is crucial with this is how well they carry off the built in parts. Their pedals are in general are really good, so i think that augurs well.
Iâve already set aside the 500.
BTW: On the size, itâs totally portable, and big enough to be useful. Funny how it seems whatever size something is, it is simultaneously both too big and too small. Could they make it inflatable somehow?
5 Likes
At the end of Cuckooâs video â what does YEEEEEAAHMUARY mean? Looks like a month of the year, in some strange language. Is this some sort of code?
Ignore this, iâm just picking at fluff.
Itâs a video heâs done for his Jamuary project, and Cuckoo does tend to say âyeahâ a lot 
1 Like
Looking pretty interesting so far. Thatâs a ton of connections to manage via the tiny screen. Also wondering if an editor is in the works. They said something about a big repository of patches. If done well, that could be really fun. ala Reaktor blocks.
Haha! Yeah, itâs gotta be hard for these companies. Some (most?) folks want very small and portable, which makes sense, especially if youâre trying to fit lots of gear on one desk. I tend to like fewer, but chunkier pieces. It wonât stop me from buying a Zoia from what Iâve seen
1 Like
Empress is planning on shipping Zoia units on April 15th 2019
6 Likes
Notice the date that this video was released!
There are lots more videos through this link.
Yeah⌠just ordered one. I was looking at the OP-Z but saw the videos on YouTube. Couldnât not have one!
Yes. Yesyesyes. Had gone numb to this pedal after the second deadline passed for fear of being disappointed again.
Congratulations Steve and the Empress team. I could see from IG and NAMM vids (and now that Zoia film above) it was no small feat and patience had worn thin. I hope it works out well for yaâll.
Now influencers: less talk and more FX processing please! Like the last video on that page.
Still not available at my usual store here in Europe but Iâm definitely getting one as soon as it is.
Iâve been crazy for this thing ever since the first videos that were released, but Iâm totally sold after seeing Oprah listed under the âBad Robotsâ list in the promo video 
Hey now Oprah was on both sides!!
Hahahahahaha youâre right!!!