Zvex 59 Sound Vertical User Manual

MODEL: ‘59 Sound™ Vertical

Congratulations! You’re the proud owner of the ZVEX Effects ‘59 Sound!™

OVERVIEW

The ZVEX ’59 Sound is a distortion pedal we’ve designed to
emulate the sound of a classic Fender® 1959 Tweed Bassman®.
Use the ’59 Sound™ with any amp set warm and somewhat
clean, and you’ll get a taste of the rich naturally transparent and
dynamic distortion tones that make the ’59 Bassman® one of the
most sought after vintage amps ever built.

The ’59 Sound loves to stack with other distortions, compres­sors, overdrives and fuzz pedals.

Electric guitars are sonically complex. Different pickup com­binations, different woods, different build types are all part of
the formula. The ’59 Sound compliments these differences. The
dense singing tones of a Les Paul, the twang of a Tele, and the
sparkle of a Strat are accentuated, while subtle changes in pick
attack and palm muting are preserved.

Another cool thing about the ’59 Sound is how interactive it is
with guitar volume. Try backing off your guitar’s volume and
you’ll discover a lively, clean, sparkling tone that is noticeably
different from the amp’s clean tone which makes it microphone­ready.

The ’59 Sound™ also contains an extremely high-head room, uni­ty-to-50X gain booster with 1 megohm input impedance and low
hiss. It is very similar to the SHO boost circuit with refinements
to make it sound more like a standard amp input and less glassy.
The boost channel can be used alone or in conjunction with
the distortion channel. The boost channel follows the distortion
channel so that the distortion is able to hit your amp harder (at
a higher volume) when both switches are engaged, for boosting
solos and what-not. Look out when boosting what-not. 8^)

OPERATION

Plug your guitar (or any effect’s output) into the right hand input
jack. Plug the output into an amp or other effect’s input. Rock
out. Careful with the Boost setting when using a high-powered
amp with lots of headroom... you may be shocked at how loud it
can get!

The best way to complete this pedal is to run it through a tube
amplifier on a warm clean setting (try strapping the channels, set-

ting the volumes below 3, and setting all other controls to 6 as a start
point.)

BATTERY CHANGE

If the performance of your pedal seems diminished or the LEDs
become very dim, it’s time to change your battery. Remove the
four screws on the bottom of the pedal and carefully remove
and replace the old battery, putting it back exactly in the center
of the pedal on edge so that it is gripped tightly by the lid when
it is screwed back in place.

SPECIFICATIONS

Uses 1 9V battery (preferably alkaline, but the unit is shipped with a car-

bon-zinc battery). The low current operation of this pedal’s circuit

will give you a long battery life. Current draw is approximately
3mA. A DC power jack (standard Boss configuration with center

negative) is provided on the side of the pedal. Use a high-quality

9V adaptor for all high-gain effects!

WARRANTY & SERVICE

Your ‘59 Sound™ is warranted for 1 year from date of purchase,
or 2 years if you register at zvex.com. For any repair questions,
consult http://zvex.com/repairs for more information.

CONTROLS

BOOST:

VOLUME:

TONE:

DRIVE:

Sets the boost level, which is engaged with the left
stomp switch. [Start around 11:00 o’clock]. The Drive and
Boost controls are based on my original Super Hard
On™ gain control, so they may crackle when turned.
This is perfectly normal.

Adjust for distortron engine volume level. [Start around

9:00 o’clock].

Adjust for treble content. [Start around 12:00 o’clock].

Sets the amount of distortion. [Start around 1:00 o’clock].

Enjoy!

P.O. Box 16078 | Minneapolis, MN 55416

www.zvex.com | [e-mail] | [e-mail]

Last Updated: December 2017