The last couple of pedals we’ve checked out from ZVEX Effects have been pretty wild, untamed and crazy, to say the least. Today’s pedal brings us back into reality, if just a hair, for a truly powerful and rocking overdrive/distortion effect, via the Box of Rock. A classic in its own right, this little silver gem appears on pedalboards and in rigs throughout the world, and we were lucky enough to get our hands on one to see what all the fuss was about…
Simulating a classic amp from 1966, the Marshall JTM45, the Box of Rock is an overdrive with distortion properties as well. The JTM45 didn’t have a master volume control, so this pedal emulates that amp with everything cranked to 10. The Boost function is engaged with the left footswitch, and is a high headroom, unity-to-50x gain booster with nominal input impedance and low hiss. Pushing your tone and amp to the edge, the Boost really makes this pedal come alive!
Volume, Tone and Drive are the remaining controls, as they are with many overdrives. The great thing about the Box of Rock is that you can set your distortion just perfect for what you need, then use your guitar’s Volume control to clean it up in an instant, giving you a wide range of sounds without ever having to throw out your back. The distortion circuit has been given the moniker “Distortron Engine,” and after listening to the sweep of the dirt here, that name seems to fit just perfectly.
Classic tones from a classic pedal based on a classic amp – what more could you want in an overdrive? As with all ZVEX pedals, the Box of Rock is super pedalboard-friendly, built with quality parts and will absolutely stand the test of time. We love checking out these pedals, and are looking forward to reviewing and demoing many more in the years to come. Cheers to Zack and his team for their continuing ingenuity and creativity – make sure to go check out their entire lineup after you watch the demo below!
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