Zoia Empress, User Manual

Page 1: ...U S E R _ M A N U A L F I R M W A R E _ V E R S I O N _ 1 0 0 ...

Page 2: ...ects com FOR FIRMWARE UPDATES empresseffects com ZOIA firmware FIND GREAT ZOIA PATCHES patchstorage com platform ZOIA TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ALL THE VARIOUS MODULES DO CHECK OUT THE MODULE INDEX empresseffects com ZOIA module index TO MAKE FEATURE REQUESTS JOIN OUR IDEA FORUM empresseffects com idea forum ...

Page 3: ...LS STOMPSWITCHES THE BASICS CONNECTIONS PAGES PATCHES STARRED LIST CONFIG MENU TYPING TEXT MIDI CONTROL PORT POWERING THE ZOIA FIRMWARE UPDATES SAVING AND LOADING PATCHES THANK YOU LEGAL STUFF SPECIFICATIONS 4 6 7 9 11 14 18 20 22 24 25 27 27 29 30 31 31 32 33 34 3 ...

Page 4: ...arole of interfacing a studio full of music gear and condenses it into one handy little box which you can then interface with your own studio full of music gear In short ZOIA is an infinite trick pony whose utility is limited only by your imagination We re stoked you ve chosen to make the Empress ZOIA a part of your life Please enjoy responsibly Steve Bragg Designer Jason Fee Designer 4 ...

Page 5: ...erience with synthesizers the ZOIA probably seems a little scary But the good news is that guitar effects are built using the same basic blocks that make up modular synths For instance the tremolo effect is just a VCA voltage controlled amplifier being controlled by an LFO low frequency oscillator A delay effect is just a delay line with its output fed back into its input To jazz it up you can put...

Page 6: ...PEDAL LAYOUT CONFIG MENU BUTTON CONTROL PORT UTILITY BUTTONS ACTION BUTTONS HELP BUTTON 9VDC AUDIO INPUTS AUDIO OUTPUTS MIDI I O KNOB UNDO BUTTON 6 ...

Page 7: ...n views The patch screen above is visible when no module list or connection is selected It gives you general information at a glance as to the patch you re on and the performance of the ZOIA You can always get to the patch screen by pressing the back button several times CPU USAGE PAGE PATCH PATCH NAME 7 ...

Page 8: ... value position is represented by the small line When an incoming CV signal from a connection changes the parameter you ll see the bias point stay in position while the line moves according to the change See Signals page 14 for an explanation of what a CV signal is PARAMETER VALUE POSITION CV BIAS POINT PARAMETER NAME PARAMETER VALUE MODULE NAME PAGE 8 ...

Page 9: ...ld the knob down while turning to fine tune a parameter Hold shift while turning for a super fine tune ACTION BUTTONS Move Moves modules pages or patches Copy Copies modules pages or patches Edit Edits modules page names or patch names Delete Deletes modules pages or patches Star Press star on a parameter or connection to add it to the starred list Press star with nothing selected to view the star...

Page 10: ...BUTTONS Page Left Right Scroll to next previous page Back Back out of active selection or menu Shift Hold to access action buttons or to capitalize text Note Auto shift feature inverts function of this button for the top row of the button grid This allows one touch interaction with the action buttons When Auto shift is active hold shift to access grid buttons as normal See Config Menu page 25 10 ...

Page 11: ... character at cursor Config Press Shift and Config to open the config menu See Config Menu page 25 STOMPSWITCHES The stompswitches can be used to navigate through and select patches This can be done in two different ways Scroll Mode or Bank Mode You can choose which mode to use in the Config Menu under Patch System In either mode the four grid buttons below the screen indicate whether the pedal is...

Page 12: ...y pressing select SELECT This switch will engage the patch you are on as selected by the scroll switch In Scroll Mode the select switch has no other function than to interact with the scroll switch This makes it an ideal choice for use with the stompswitch module which can be done by selecting stompswitch left as you place the module See Using the Stompswitches Within Modules for more information ...

Page 13: ...interfaced to perform functions using ZOIA s stompswitch module However since the bypass and scroll switches have primary functions they must be toggled to auxiliary mode to function in this way This can be done by holding bypass and scroll together for one second until the shift button turns cyan ZOIA s stompswitch module will now respond to the scroll switch middle and the bypass switch right fo...

Page 14: ...me way and output CV signals CV control voltage signals in the ZOIA are a lot like the CV signals you may be familiar with from the synth world Like CV in the synth world they transmit information from one module to another In the synth world however CV signals range from 15 volts to 15 volts In the ZOIA CV signals range from 0 to 1 or in some cases from 1 to 1 If a button is a CV input it can be ...

Page 15: ...E CATEGORIES Interface Modules modules that import the audio control voltage MIDI stompswitch expression pedal or grid button presses from the outside world for use in the ZOIA Audio Modules these audio processing modules are more commonly found in the world of modular synthesis VCAs filters oscillators and many more utilities and effects Control Modules modules that generate and manipulate CV sig...

Page 16: ...wn don t worry You can move it after by using the move key SELECT A MODULE Press one of the grid buttons occupied by the module That button will light up allowing you to adjust its parameter This also selects the whole module for moving copying or deleting EDIT A PARAMETER Select a grid button on the module and use the rotary knob to modify the value of the selected parameter Hold the knob down wh...

Page 17: ...ess move navigate to the destination page then press an unoccupied grid button COPY A MODULE Select a module and press copy Select where you want to place it on the grid then from the menu select which connections if any you d like to keep for the new module then select Done To copy a module to a different page simply select the module press copy navigate to the destination page then press an unoc...

Page 18: ...t of hand very quickly Be sure to get familiar with the undo button MAKE A CONNECTION When two parameters buttons you wish to connect are on the same page hold them down at the same time The screen will show you what you re connecting Turn the knob to adjust the strength of the connection or click the knob to change units When two modules you d like to connect are on different pages press one butt...

Page 19: ...again to save or press back to cancel DELETE A CONNECTION This can be done by selecting the connection and pressing delete SEE WHAT IS CONNECTED TO A MODULE PARAMETER When you press a button all the buttons it s connected to will light up You can also see which connections exist in the connection list screen FINE TUNE YOUR CONNECTION When using connections to alter parameters it s important to und...

Page 20: ...dio connections Note you cannot set a bias point for audio connections Note while you can make module connections across pages you cannot make connections across patches See Patches page 22 PAGES A page is represented by one full 8x5 grid of buttons Each patch can contain up to 64 pages numbered 0 through 63 Each page can be named and connections can be made across pages PAGE LIST Press page left ...

Page 21: ...l to the page you want to move Press move Now select another page The page that you are moving will be inserted in front of the 2nd page that you select COPY A PAGE Scroll to the page you want to copy Press copy Now select another page The page that you are copying will be inserted in front of the 2nd page that you select DELETING A PAGE Press page left or page right to enter the page list scroll ...

Page 22: ...lso select a patch from the Patch List and press edit See Typing Text page 27 for more information Click the knob to confirm the name or press back to cancel Make sure to save your patch or the name will not be saved SAVE A PATCH Whether a module is selected or not you can save your patch by pressing save It is always a good idea to save often Note Saving a patch will write to ZOIA s internal memo...

Page 23: ...3 MIDI Method Using an external MIDI controller you can send the ZOIA a Program Change command on any MIDI channel as selected in the Config Menu MOVE A PATCH In the patch list scroll to the patch you wish to move and press move Then place your patch in the desired location and click the knob to save or press back to cancel COPY A PATCH In the patch list place your cursor next to the patch you wis...

Page 24: ...ly adjust frequently used parameters from the same place you can add them to the Starred List Simply select your desired parameter or connection and press star You will see asterisks around the parameter or connection name and that parameter or connection will appear in the Starred List View the Starred List by pressing star with nothing selected You will see a list of parameters or connections yo...

Page 25: ...I channel ZOIA will respond to when sending Program Changes from 1 16 See MIDI page 27 and Control Port page 29 for more info Patch System Select whether you d like to use Scroll mode or Bank mode for recalling patches with the stompswitches See Stompswitches page 11 Num Patches This sets the number of patches you can scroll through using the stompswitches in Scroll mode The ZOIA can save up to 64...

Page 26: ... handy when building a patch You can still place edit and connect modules on that row by pressing shift while pressing a grid button It s basically reversing the behaviour but only for the top row We recommend avoiding placing modules like keyboard or pushbutton in the top row if you make regular use of the Auto Shift feature Patches to SD Manually export all the patches from ZOIA s internal memor...

Page 27: ... the delete key or enter a capital letter by pressing the shift key and the letter Use the rotary knob to move the cursor around and click the knob to enter your changes or press back to cancel MIDI PHYSICAL CONNECTIONS The ZOIA can interface with MIDI in two different ways using the on board MIDI ports and with the Control Port On board MIDI ports These can be used with the included to 5 pin dong...

Page 28: ...ontrol Port will no longer accept MIDI in but will still be able to send MIDI out If you re using the included dongles you can still use the Control Port for any of its other functions CONTROLLING THE ZOIA WITH MIDI While any MIDI module can be set to interact with any MIDI channel from 1 16 the ZOIA has some basic functionality that is not directly module related You can activate patches bypass a...

Page 29: ...d MIDI messages on the ring of a TRS connector Note that when the MIDI ports are in use the Control Port will only be able to send MIDI out and not accept MIDI in Be sure to use a TRS connector instead of a standard TS patch cable if you wish to send MIDI messages from the Control Port EXPRESSION PEDAL EXP The ZOIA is compatible with expression pedals that output signal on the tip You can enable e...

Page 30: ...lities for experimentation Be sure to use a TRS connector instead of a standard TS patch cable if you wish to send CV from the Control Port EXTERNAL SWITCH The ZOIA can be used with either a normally open or normally closed momentary or latching external switch Select your switch type as either open sw or close sw The switch will be read as engaged when there is connectivity between the tip and th...

Page 31: ...ff the website www empresseffects com zoia firmware 2 Copy the bin file to the root directory of the microSD card The card must be specifically be SDHC or SDXC and it must be formatted FAT32 with a single partition 3 Insert the microSD card then power on the pedal Make sure that the orientation of the card is such that the pins are facing upward or else the ZOIA won t see the card 4 The ZOIA will ...

Page 32: ... to keep at another location before loading new patches You can also mitigate the risk of losing your favorite patches by simply making sure the file names don t start with the same number THANK YOU The ZOIA wouldn t be possible without our team of beta testers factory patch makers videographers and co op coders Thanks to KNOBs Andreas Paleologos Daniel Fisher Mitch Lantz Simon Labelle JT Norton A...

Page 33: ...at interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna Increase the separation between the equipment and recei...

Page 34: ... 300mA 1 75 2 625 5 7 3 75 1 5lbs Input Impedance Output Impedance Frequency Response 3dB Total Harmonic Distortion Dynamic Range Input Headroom no pad Input Headroom 6dB pad Input Headroom 12dB pad Output Headroom Power Voltage Power Input Connector Required Current Height enclosure only Height including controls Length Width Weight ...

Page 35: ...ects com FOR FIRMWARE UPDATES empresseffects com ZOIA firmware FIND GREAT ZOIA PATCHES patchstorage com platform ZOIA TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ALL THE VARIOUS MODULES DO CHECK OUT THE MODULE INDEX empresseffects com ZOIA module index TO MAKE FEATURE REQUESTS JOIN OUR IDEA FORUM empresseffects com idea forum ...

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