Zuul vs Endless blockade

[vultures]

The problem is.. Who the fuck sets their gate that hard? I only just got a Zuul and I don't need to set it past a quarter turn. Kemper Guitar+Proc out to Key, Zuul in the loop. I can sustain as long as I want and the moment I stop it clamps down hard. Maybe my Kemper Guitar DI out is super hot?

 

[maddnotez]

The problem is.. Who the fuck sets their gate that hard? I only just got a Zuul and I don't need to set it past a quarter turn. Kemper Guitar+Proc out to Key, Zuul in the loop. I can sustain as long as I want and the moment I stop it clamps down hard. Maybe my Kemper Guitar DI out is super hot?

Or maybe the video was skewed im starting to wonder.

 

[psychodave]

The problem is.. Who the fuck sets their gate that hard? I only just got a Zuul and I don't need to set it past a quarter turn. Kemper Guitar+Proc out to Key, Zuul in the loop. I can sustain as long as I want and the moment I stop it clamps down hard. Maybe my Kemper Guitar DI out is super hot?

Or maybe the video was skewed im starting to wonder.

I have never needed to turn my Zuul/Phalanx past 10-11 o’clock when using it. Including using it with a crazy high gain amp and an additional pedal out front. I highly doubt anyone is using much more gain than that.

That said. If people like it, I’m all for it. Who am I to tell other people what they can and can’t like.

 

[psychodave]

What's a gate? Asks the Boogie owner! No boost or gate needed for extreme useable gain. I haven't heard hiss in years.

You must not turn the gain knob up past 4. The 15+ Mark series Boogies I’ve owned all hissed and hummed... including the ones I had fully serviced.

 

[maddnotez]

Well not what I was expecting here. I rewatched the video and noticed you guys were right. The "sustain" portion the pedals were set at 50%. I went back to ask about that. Basically saying yes at 60% the blockade wins but can the zuul sustain at 10% and still gate?

The only response I got was arguments from the builder. Maybe he felt I was attacking him but I wasnt. It was a fair question.

Anyway fuck everyone ill just stick with isp and boss for now.


post image online

 

[errrrrl]

Murdered. Hopefully the link works. Full disclosure this group supports Lone Wolf and hates Fortin but it is an honest shootout.


https://www.facebook.com/groups/HEAVYME ... 971503611/

Oh yeah I saw that vid and honestly made me want to try one... I'm glad you guys chimed in about tone suck, I'll pass. And when the guy turned his zuul up to anything past 11 I was cracking up.. who does that?

 

[RedB4Black]

Murdered. Hopefully the link works. Full disclosure this group supports Lone Wolf and hates Fortin but it is an honest shootout.


https://www.facebook.com/groups/HEAVYME ... 971503611/

Oh yeah I saw that vid and honestly made me want to try one... I'm glad you guys chimed in about tone suck, I'll pass. And when the guy turned his zuul up to anything past 11 I was cracking up.. who does that?

Any tone suck kills it for me as well. I have 2 zuuls and they work fine for what I want...getting rid of any hiss without sucking the tone. I don't ever need to turn the gate up that high.

 

[JerEvil]

The problem is.. Who the fuck sets their gate that hard? I only just got a Zuul and I don't need to set it past a quarter turn. Kemper Guitar+Proc out to Key, Zuul in the loop. I can sustain as long as I want and the moment I stop it clamps down hard. Maybe my Kemper Guitar DI out is super hot?

Yup. My Zuul works great and I have had no issue with decay. I also don't need to set it super high to quiet my shit down.

 

[maddnotez]

Yeah fo sho. I honestly didnt notice the settings or think it through. I edit my OP and say while maybe it was fair, it may not have been a "proper" shootout.

I'd be curious to see the same A/B at low (real world) settings. Tbh after a brief interaction I've lost all interest and feel like I should have never wasted my time with this.

 

[K-Roll]

I had a zuul but sold it maybe 5 months after the purchase. The first piece i got locked itself, one day it just stopped working and the gate remained fully shut.
I got a second one from the seller which functioned well. The reason I ditched it was - it was boosting the high end/treble/presence too much. It sounded like there's a TS in front of the amp and it made the sound thinner no matter what i did to the amp EQ. 2 years later I'm running no amps/cabs/pedals - just a kemper and I could not be happier.

 

[stephen sawall]

Santiago at Marshall designed the Kerry King signature amp, the 2203KK JCM800 has been around since 2007. It only took a decade for people to start cloning the noise gate.

This noise gate was cloned in the Zuul, Cock Blocker, Phalanx, Endless Blockade, Tannhauser, etc....

"Marshall’s engineers developed a special noise gate circuit with a threshold control.
Most noise gates completely kill the sound once it drops below a certain threshold,” Bowcott says. “This noise gate has an ultrafast expander circuit that’s similar to what you’ll find in a studio-quality noise reduction unit. It will work extremely fast during tight, precise staccato rhythms, giving you those desired ‘holes of silence.’
When it comes to sustained notes, though, the expander gradually attenuates the signal by following the dynamics of the note, giving you a much more natural-sounding gating that won’t prematurely cut off the end of a note or chord that you want to ring.”

This is considered by many to be the best noise gate for guitar.

Personally I use a BOSS NS-2. It adds a bit of midrange. But the only time I use it is when using a OD / boost....and they all pretty much add midrange.

 

[ClintN667]

Yeah I dont have any noise with my Zuul and I dont even have it a quarter of the way turned up. I dont have any issues with tone suck or sustain. The only way I know I have a gate on is that if it goes off I have a bit of hiss..


I wouldnt buy from Lone Wolf Audio cause that guys is a prick. If I had an issue with his pedal I wouldnt want to have to deal with a man baby to get the issue solved.

Having said that the way Fortin handled that guy's issue about the standby not working was bad form. A customer is going to get pissed off when they drop 1400 on an amp that doesnt function properly then you tell them that a button doesnt work by design and pay to send it back so we can look at it. They should have created an RMA with a return label then just looked at it. The "it doesnt work by design" answer sounds like an excuse for we have a design flaw that we dont know how to fix.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

The Endless Blockade sucks the tone a bit more compared to the Zuul but will let you control the decay a bit better. I had them all at some point, the best for me now is The Key And Gate from Lichtlaerm Audio. It's like the Zuul but with a pass thru and envelope filter instead of a preset chip to tracking the signal.

I want to try the key and gate pretty badly. Its a great idea.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

What's hilarious is they are probably the same damn circuit with a couple of the input parameters on pots for the Lone Wolf...

Pretty sure thats exactly what it is.

 

[psychodave]

The Endless Blockade sucks the tone a bit more compared to the Zuul but will let you control the decay a bit better. I had them all at some point, the best for me now is The Key And Gate from Lichtlaerm Audio. It's like the Zuul but with a pass thru and envelope filter instead of a preset chip to tracking the signal.

I want to try the key and gate pretty badly. Its a great idea.

I’d like to try one as well...but it’s $250 USD.

 

[RedB4Black]

The Endless Blockade sucks the tone a bit more compared to the Zuul but will let you control the decay a bit better. I had them all at some point, the best for me now is The Key And Gate from Lichtlaerm Audio. It's like the Zuul but with a pass thru and envelope filter instead of a preset chip to tracking the signal.

I want to try the key and gate pretty badly. Its a great idea.

I’d like to try one as well...but it’s $250 USD.

How much are they charging to ship. Says 189 euros including VAT. They should remove the 19% VAT, but then the Euro/dollar exchange rate is 1.18 - so it puts you about $188 before shipping costs

 

[fek]

Personally I use a BOSS NS-2. It adds a bit of midrange. But the only time I use it is when using a OD / boost....and they all pretty much add midrange.

With the NS2's that I have tried to use, there was a very noticeable lower mid push when activated that drove me nuts. I just couldn't deal with it. Muddied up my tone. I bought an ISP G String II and it was better but still very noticeable tone suck when engaged using the 4 cable method. I have it last in front of the amp now after the OD boxes and I don't notice any major tone suck but it also doesn't work very well in that spot. Cuts of sustained notes in an ugly way. If I cut the threshold all the noise is still there.

Tried both with several amps and have the same results. The only gate that seems to work without all of that hassle for me is the gate in the RP1000. Might need to go back to that set up.

 

[psychodave]

The Endless Blockade sucks the tone a bit more compared to the Zuul but will let you control the decay a bit better. I had them all at some point, the best for me now is The Key And Gate from Lichtlaerm Audio. It's like the Zuul but with a pass thru and envelope filter instead of a preset chip to tracking the signal.

I want to try the key and gate pretty badly. Its a great idea.

I’d like to try one as well...but it’s $250 USD.

How much are they charging to ship. Says 189 euros including VAT. They should remove the 19% VAT, but then the Euro/dollar exchange rate is 1.18 - so it puts you about $188 before shipping costs

I went to their website and it was charging both shipping an VAT when I entered in my address in the shopping card. It even took me to paypal showing $249.

 

[RedB4Black]

The Endless Blockade sucks the tone a bit more compared to the Zuul but will let you control the decay a bit better. I had them all at some point, the best for me now is The Key And Gate from Lichtlaerm Audio. It's like the Zuul but with a pass thru and envelope filter instead of a preset chip to tracking the signal.

I want to try the key and gate pretty badly. Its a great idea.

I’d like to try one as well...but it’s $250 USD.

How much are they charging to ship. Says 189 euros including VAT. They should remove the 19% VAT, but then the Euro/dollar exchange rate is 1.18 - so it puts you about $188 before shipping costs

I went to their website and it was charging both shipping an VAT when I entered in my address in the shopping card. It even took me to paypal showing $249.

I'd email them. Probably just the way their system is set up. They shouldn't charge VAT if it is shipping out of the EU.

 

[stephen sawall]

Personally I use a BOSS NS-2. It adds a bit of midrange. But the only time I use it is when using a OD / boost....and they all pretty much add midrange.

With the NS2's that I have tried to use, there was a very noticeable lower mid push when activated that drove me nuts. I just couldn't deal with it. Muddied up my tone. I bought an ISP G String II and it was better but still very noticeable tone suck when engaged using the 4 cable method. I have it last in front of the amp now after the OD boxes and I don't notice any major tone suck but it also doesn't work very well in that spot. Cuts of sustained notes in an ugly way. If I cut the threshold all the noise is still there.

Tried both with several amps and have the same results. The only gate that seems to work without all of that hassle for me is the gate in the RP1000. Might need to go back to that set up.

I use the NS-2 out front of the amp with overdrive / boost in the loop of the NS-2. Absolutely adds midrange. Not a problem since I am using the boost / overdrive to add midrange. I prefer the feel of the NS-2 over the others.