MXR ZW-44 Zakk Wylde Overdrive Pedal Review

This muscular stompbox will turn your clean amp into a heavy, chunky crunch machine. Or, use it like Zakk does and kick it in front of a dirty amp for a screaming, sustaining lead tone.

Ease of Use:	9
Sound:	8
Reliability:	9.1
Impression:	7.9
Overall rating:	8.5
Users rating:	7.5
Comments:	19

overall: 8

Featured review by: Hypnot1st, on march 31, 2005

Ease of Use: // 8

Sound: Basically, I am generally running a Fender Strat (with custom humbuckers), Zakk Wylde Overdrive, Fender Amp (very clean). The pedal will only sound good if it produces what you want, this pedal is not an oustanding Overdrive combined with an outstanding distortion. I would say it is a very mediocre pedal, but for me, it helps me develope my good signature tone. This will not make you sound like Zakk Wylde, instead it will give you some Overdrive with some distortion, allowing you to expand your horizons with your own tone, and that's what you want isn't it? I just wish I could achieve a more bluesy tone.

The pedal isn't worth getting if you want to simulate other major artist's tones, if you want a sample of what this pedal sounds very much like with all the settings at about 1/2 maybe 3/5 you can sound like the intro to Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These) - Marilyn Manson. This pedal is becoming a stable/staple part of my sound because with the settings low, you eliminate the mud (which can be good or bad depending on your preferences) you give your pinch, natural, and artificial harmonics major power. Power chords sound menacing, and single notes draw attention. Again, achieving the tone you want exactly is difficult because the knobs are not fine-tuning, they are pretty much a lot or a little of something.

Overall, the effects themself are mediocre, but if you want a diverse rock pedal, this is your choice. Here is basically what happens with the knobs turned up quite a bit. Sound, distortion/with slight Overdrive, menacing sounding, slight tremelo waving effect after a while of holding a chord approx. More than 3 notes. I love this, I believe it happens because of something poorly made within the pedal, but it does give a more signature sound. // 8

Reliability & Durability: // 8

Impression: This pedal is not for getting Zakk Wylde's tone. This is one of those pedals that you will love or hate. I play rock with blues edge, but I try to not let the standard blues shine through. I have been playing a couple of years and my gear is listed above, even though I do have more pedals and such. I personally like it a lot and I will rate it very highly because it is a tone I love and use all the time, but there are problems that develop that give you a signature tone. Chart at bottom again. I gave mostly 4's because I cannot give 4.5's. I like the pedal a lot and think anyone with an amp that just doesn't give you enough rock "guts" this may be your temporary fix. I will give a final 4 because the pedal is a good choice, but of course it is your decision that will make or break if it is a good pedal.

I wish the effects would be individually more powerful, maybe modding would achieve this. I doubt I would buy this pedal again if it were stolen/lost/broken. While I love it and have it a staple part of my sound, I just can't justify another purchase of it. // 8

overall: 10

Reviewed by: metal fury, on october 14, 2004

Purchased from: eBAY

Ease of Use: This stomp box is pretty easy to use. There is three nobs so it's not that hard. It is a little hard to get the sound you want. A red led light comes on so you can tell when it's on, and believe me, you can tell when it is on anyway. Can be used without wall plug-in, by battery of course, it's not magic. // 10

Sound: I love Zakk's sound. That is one of the reasons I wanted the pedal. If the only reason you want the pedal is for his sound. The sound is amazing never the less. Great sustain and great crunch. I would definately get it if you want more power from your amp. I use a Vintage Crate amp, Aspen guitar and a DigiTech RP200A pedal and it makes every note have its own soul. I play heavy metal and it kicks but in sound. A DigiTech pedal is not the best but this "Wylde" beast takes it to a new level. // 10

Reliability & Durability: The thing is built like a tank. It would bring your whole pedal board with it if you accidentaly stepped on the cord. Everything is secure. It is the toughest pedal I have seen. // 10

Impression: Every pinch harmonic stands out. It will give your sound balls. I think it is a good pedal for any type of music. It gives you more for your money and offers exactly what it is called. It overdrives your rack 10 fold to me. I don't exactly have a rack but I can tell by what it does for me that it should get all 5. // 10

overall: 7.5

Reviewed by: unregistered, on january 02, 2006

Price paid: $ 130

Purchased from: local store

Ease of Use: About as simple as it gets. With just three knobs it makes your day alot easier (they don't make too much of a differnce though). No matter which way you turn the knobs you get an excellent clean sound out of it although the gain knob for the distortion doesn't do anything (basically no distortion). // 9

Sound: The sound of the pedal is not very impressive. I use a Fender Strat with a Laney amp and as far as distortion goes my amp doesn't provide very hard crunch. That's why I wasn't impressed with the Zakk Wylde pedal at all. When you turn the gain knob up the distortion is still non existent. Don't get me wrong though this is an excellent pedal for getting a good clean unique sound that defines each string extremly well. If your looking for a distortion or if you want to sound like Zakk Wylde this is not the pedal for you. If you want a clean sound that is very unique go right ahead, but make sure the 130$ price tag is not too much of a chunk out of your wallet. // 6

Reliability & Durability: This is a tank. It must be bullet proof or something. The armored sides make it more durable than any other pedal I've ever seen (why they did this I do not know). // 10

Impression: This 130$ pedal is not worth the money at all. Its just a Zakk Wylde trademark scam. Nevertheless it provides an excellent clean soft sound. The box states "This muscular stompbox will turn your clean amp into a heavy, chunky crunch Machine." This is a lie. All I'm trying to say is to test it out first before you buy it. I'm giving this product a low five because of the lies and use of the Zakk Wylde name to get you to buy a crappy pedal. // 5

overall: 6

Reviewed by: unregistered, on august 22, 2005

Purchased from: Musician's friend

Ease of Use: While this pedal is relatively easy to use, I am not sure that there is even a reason to use it. It has three knobs and they are easy to adjust. The manual also comes with some suggestions of settings. // 8

Sound: The sound is far from impressive, no matter what gear you play in conjunction with. For instance, I have played Fender, Schecter, Washburn, and Gibson guitars and Crate and Peavey amps with it and they all result in a bland, disappointing sound. I was excited about getting this pedal, but it seems that the marketing of this effect is to sell a mediocre pedal with a guitar icon's name on it. For instance, the so called "Zakk Wylde" settings do not remotely resemble the original. // 4

Reliability & Durability: It is built very well and appears to be pretty rugged. Also, it is very dependable. However, I would never use it at a gig in the first place. // 8

Impression: I have been playing guitar for twelve years and while I play all different styles of music from time to time, I mainly play alternative rock, classic rock, and metal. With that said, this pedal is very much inferior to the Boss, DigiTech, Zoom, and DOD overdrives/distortions that I have owned. If this pedal where lost or stolen then I would just wait for whoever stole it or found to return it because they would not keep it either. // 4

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: xguyx, on february 27, 2005

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: This pedal is very easy to get a good sound out of. One of the best overdrives out there I think. Three controls on it, output, tone, and gain. Unlike most overdrives this one has a very good and dynamic tone control. It gives a great sweep of sounds. // 10

Sound: I am using a Fender Fat Strat, a Marshall MG15DFX, and this pedal. I'm positive it would sound great through a better amp, but it sounds great to my ears through mine. The effect is noisy on high settings, a good noise gate would surley cure this. This thing is an Overdrive but it has a lot more gain than most units, this is most likely the reason for the noise. As I'm sure someone has said, this will not give you Zakk's sound. Zakk plays all tube heads with his gain near 10, he uses this to push them a little more. However, I still recommend this to anyone looking for a quality Overdrive unit. It can give you a light overdirve or sear your face off, whichever you prefer. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I would definitley depend on it. I do not gig yet but it will be with me when I do. It weighs a good pound or so. Made out of solind steel, you could use this as a weapon no problem. // 10

Impression: I believe this would be suitable for any style of music you think you would need it for. It is not however in my opinion suited to blues. It has a little too much hair on it for that. A Tubescreamer is likely your best bet there. For Rock, Metal, etc however, this thing shines. If it were lost I would replace it and probably buy a Smart Gate or something to cure the noise, which is this units only fault I can think of. I compared this too the TS-9, and SD-1 when buying. Both were great, but the SD-1 was a little too weak for me, and the TS-9's mid-boost and bass-cut were not what I was looking for. I tired this and loved it. // 10

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: unregistered, on december 27, 2004

Price paid: $ 89.99

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: This has to be the simplest way to get a great sound out of a distortion pedal. It's as simple as walking over to the box and stomping on it and when the light is red then let it rip with awesome Zakk sound. Wylde has a good sound but I prefer Rhodes. Either way easy way to get great sound. // 8

Sound: The sound is the best I've ever gotten from a distorion pedal and you arn't limited to sounding like Zakk with the right adjustment I sounded alot like Page and Vai. The pedal was made for the enhancement of Marshalls which is the amp on which this pedal sounds best on. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I would defenently use this because distortion pedals were ment to last and this one defenently does. I'd use it with a backup, defenentely. // 8

Impression: I have been playing classic rock for four years and this distortion goes great with my Marshall. It is the best distortion pedal I have ever used. I highly recomend buying it. // 8

overall: 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on january 14, 2005

Price paid: $ 118.5

Purchased from: Music Stop,Sydney Nova Scotia

Ease of Use: This is one of the greatest pedals I have ever used. This is a huge part of my sound now. It gives off great distortion which is perfect for high pitched solos and crunching chords. For anyone who loves Zakk's sound or just wants to make there sound louder and more aggressive this is the pedal. // 10

Sound: When I went in to try this pedal out, there was 2 people about age 16 looking at me. Thinking they were so much better but when I got this pedal, a Les Paul and an MG100DFX with the Wylde Overdrive (my set up at home) and kicked out a few solos. They wouldn't even look me in the eye. For me being younger then them (15) and showing them up was a treat. This doesn't give me much troble feedback-wise, I'd get a noise gate just incase. I recently blew my amp with this pedal because it just sounds so damn good turned up so loud. It makes sliding down ur strings sound like a thunderstorm! // 10

Reliability & Durability: This thing is a tank just like Zakk himself. I could probubly drop this pedal off a 15 story roof and it would still be in good shape. And for a gig there's no way youd need a back up. // 10

Impression: I play mainly classic rock and metal. I've been playing for 5 years and I must say the sound I'm getting now is probubly the best I've ever had. I love how it just brings so much power even playing on my practise amp sounds like a Marshall with this baby on. I have a Boss distortion pedal that doesn't even come close to this pedal. I'd recommend this to any player. Simply one of the best out there. // 10

Comments

[powerage225]

ok just for the record, unlike the wah, this is just more expensive because its got the Wylde name on it.
all he uses it for is more gain into his amp, and it wont make you sound like Zakk unless youre playing a Paul with EMGs, 60 guage strings and a JCM 800
Zakk bassicly replaced the BOSS Overdrive pedal...(the yellow one)...uses it to put more gain into a cranked amp to get the Black Label sound...so if thats what youre going for, go with the boss, its half the price

[cerveza]

this pedal was really noisy. If it was on and i wasnt playing, it would either feedback or buzz a lot. i agree with powerage225, just buy the boss

[Csquared1001]

you do realize if you want that zakk wylde tone you need to run the pedal through a high gain overdriven marshall amp. the pedal is to ajust the distortion you get out of the amp and maybe a bit of the tone. that's why zakk wylde uses it to ajust the distortion of the amp not so much the tone. that's why you probaly find it hard to ajust the tone

[UnsignedRecords]

somehow i find it way less noisy if you put it after a noise gate in your rig. i like it, adds good tone, pinch harmonics and high end.

[Grunger Aj]

For those he can't get the crunch of zack wylde. Set your amp to your distortion channel then use the overdrive to boost it. THat is exactly what he does. Though if you don't have a marsharl or an amp with a distortion setting you will need to buy 2 pedals. Which isn't the best option.

[garrettwichert]

YOU GUYS NEED TO PLAY THE ZW EMGS THROUGH IT!! 11/10.

[distilledspirit]

This pedal is designed to be kicked on while playing through a distorted amp. This pedal by itself sounds like shit, but when amplied correctly it turns your whimpy choo-choo train riffs into full fledged battles cries from armies of thousands of berserkers. OK. I may have gone too far but I use this thing as more of a boost pedal. 9/10

[xenocide01]

This pedal is amazing. I used a MXR DD-11 for my distortion and this pedal to crank some tone. My Devlin has Spitfire's (designed by EMG) and it sounds awesome through my mg412. Im glad i spent the $99 on Music123.

[68_SG]

This Pedal only serves it's purpose on a all tube amp, don't bother buying it if you have a solid state amp you won't hear a difference for its tube driving properties, and the pedal is noisy as hell. Even a noise gate didn't tame it, if someone has some tips lemme know

[68_SG]

garrettwichert wrote:

YOU GUYS NEED TO PLAY THE ZW EMGS THROUGH IT!! 11/10.

People freak out over EMGs, I find they aren't as true to your guitar's body, giving them less tone, they just sound like EMGs... I guess no one hears about the Ceramic Magnets nowadays. Just like finding an all tube practice amp is a little hard depending on your location.

[the.spine.surfs]

^Aye, I'm so glad that GC stocks Crate V8's and Valve Juniors...there MIGHT just be hope for the budget amp buyer, if he/she can avoid being blinded by the shiney MG's and Spiders.

[Jhachey22]

i want to set the record straight: IT IS NOT A DISTORTION PEDAL! DON'T EXPECT ZAKKS TONE FROM IT! HE USES IT IN FRONT OF HIS JCM800'S! IT IS MEANT TO BE PLAYED IN FRONT OF A DIRTY AMP!

[fifer]

can this thing push my amps sound a stronger overdrive? I have a vox ac30cc2 and I think the overdrive isnt enough...

[TSCREAM420]

fifer wrote:

can this thing push my amps sound a stronger overdrive? I have a vox ac30cc2 and I think the overdrive isnt enough...

if it is a tube amplifier then YES, that is what it is meant for!!!

[ierostyle]

is this worth it as a solo boost pedal?

I'm looking to build up a monster of tonal posibilities, I wanna know if this is worth it to overdrive and define parts of my playing and go from a edgey aggressive punk rhythym tone to a screaming metal lead tone,
Is it worth getting the mxr boost pedal and this seperately or get the mxr boost/overdrive?

I wanna overdrive my distortion into a new level which is why I thought this would be cool, I thought I could put my boost after and the ZW infront of my Crybaby Wylde to give you that high gain boosted wah tone

[skateandrock_13]

its an O.K pedal, nothing i'd ever use of live situations, but for home it is good for jammin

[twistudriffer]

to everyone saying just get the boss I will disagree. I have a 81' jcm 800 with kt88's and the boss leaves out some low end compared to the zw od. the boss also sounds less tight and more "grainy" (only word I could think of). overall its a quick fix but the gt od or zw od is a solid thing for a decent price

[deanplayer18]

alright people if you want to get zakks sound or something simaler to it then you need to realize that this pedal is just a standard overdrive with more gain in it just becuz you have this pedal doesnt mean your gonna sound like zakk becuz one he uses many other pedals in his rig such as the mxr evh phase 90, the mxr stereo chorus, the dunlup rotovibe, and his signiture wah plus a ferw other pedals like the dunlup univibe, the mxr flanger and blue box and he tells his prefered settings for them all on the dunlop website if you really wanna get his sound that bad just go to the site and click backstage and he'll tell you plus a few more things about his gear and sound is that he runs his od threw a dirty tube amp which are his jcm 800 marshalls with different tubes so his shit is custum with grove 6505 tubes and black label speakers in his cabs to bust his sound plus the emgs in his bullseye are pretty much metal pickups the 81 is used best when overdriving your amp with a master volume for leads hence his od pedal and marshall jcms with master volume an the 85 is a good natural rythm pickup for heavy blues and the natural distortion out of your amp which he probly use whn running his amp dirty since he has custom tubes in it with the od for solo boost idk but sounds right to me for his specks so if your that obsesst with zakks sound then this is probly the best way to understand how he gets it consisdering zakk is one of my fav guitarest and a big influence on me

[marianoarnaiz]

ANY BODY KNOWS HOW IT WORKS ON A SOLID STATE AMP?