Zvex True or False?

[Jawbone]

I read somewhere that the Zvex Mastotron is a modified Woolly with an impedance control (Push Knob)? True or false, if it's true then we can have the joy of the Wooly in the dumb down version of Vextron. Heard it can easily be removed from the circuit if you want a Woolly only.

Any truth to this rumor?

[jetofuj]

I had both and they don't sound the same. Woolly is a one trick pony, but what it does, it does good. Mastotron offers wider varity of tones, the knobs are very interactive. It won't do the heavy gate as the first on though.

[G.Bisson]

Originally Posted by jetofuj

I had both and they don't sound the same. Woolly is a one trick pony, but what it does, it does good. Mastotron offers wider varity of tones, the knobs are very interactive. It won't do the heavy gate as the first on though.

+1
Very different sounding effects. Mastotron doesn't gate anywhere near the same as the Mammoth. And the Mastotron can't reproduce the same sounds as the Mammoth.

Wouldn't call the Mammoth a one trick pony. At low 'pinch' settings it acts like a warm distortion pedal. Past noon on the 'pinch' and it becomes the splattery gated fuzz it is known best for.

[Testing_123]

OP: Why not go to the source? There's a contact ZVex link at Welcome to Z.VEX EFFECTS.

Zach has been reasonably active/responsive in engaging with the DIY pedal building community, so he (or someone else within ZVex) might answer your question directly.

[kaputsport]

OP, you are 100% correct. The woolly Mammoth and Mastotron are exactly the same circuit with a 100K pot placed on the input. The reason it does not sound exactly like the WM, is because of the additions.

This has been verified by pedal builders around the world.

[Jawbone]

Originally Posted by Testing_123

OP: Why not go to the source? There's a contact ZVex link at Welcome to Z.VEX EFFECTS.

Zach has been reasonably active/responsive in engaging with the DIY pedal building community, so he (or someone else within ZVex) might answer your question directly.

Well hobbiest around the world think they're similar - I think I'll buy them both, rip them apart and put an end to this mystery.

Save me some time in my troubles - does Zvex grind all the nomenclature off their parts? I really don't want to open them up and find a bunch of crap and have the mystery continue.

[TomA1234]

Originally Posted by Jawbone

Well hobbiest around the world think they're similar - I think I'll buy them both, rip them apart and put an end to this mystery.

Save me some time in my troubles - does Zvex grind all the nomenclature off their parts? I really don't want to open them up and find a bunch of crap and have the mystery continue.

You can very easily find a circuit diagram for a woolly mammoth, so I would also think that you could find one for the Mastotron.

I don't think they are the same as Zvex says that the Mastotron has a draw of 1mA and the mammoth of 0.4mA.

[kaputsport]

Here is what effects clone builders are saying regarding the two...

Guitar FX Layouts: ZVex Woolly Mammoth - vero

Zach will tell you they use different components, and I am sure there are a fe values that are different, but for the most part, they are the same, with a 100K pot in line for the Mastotron...

[Etchbass]

all i know is that the woolly mammoth is the biggest waste of money i've ever personally experienced. you really do "pay for paint"--- then when the excitement wears off, you have to knock off a hundred bucks just to sell the thing and recover some of your losses.

you could get two or three excellent bass fuzzes for the price of one woolly mammoth.

a couple good things about them though (figured i'd throw something nice in here too) is that

-the batteries last for years, maybe even forever, if you remember to unplug it when you're done playing.
-the paint jobs do look kind of cool
-plays well with other pedals
-you can play muse covers all day long (if you're into that)
-cranking the gate all the way up makes your rests DEAD SILENT, which was it's coolest feature IMO
-good customer service
-doesn't fizzle out on the low notes
-evil sounding synth-type fuzz---good for alt/indie-rock
-very small pedal, so it conserves a lot of space on your board

STILL not worth nearly 400 bucks IMO. If that price were cut in half, I would buy another one.

[TomA1234]

Originally Posted by Etchbass

STILL not worth nearly 400 bucks IMO. If that price were cut in half, I would buy another one.

Well that's why you spend just over a tenth of that on a soldering iron and components and build your own. It is ridiculously easy to clone and can be built in a couple of hours.

If you want to build a pedal the mammoth is a great place to start.

[insomniac2295]

Originally Posted by TomA1234

Well that's why you spend just over a tenth of that on a soldering iron and components and build your own. It is ridiculously easy to clone and can be built in a couple of hours.

If you want to build a pedal the mammoth is a great place to start.

I actually just built myself a mammoth clone using a MadBean pedals PCB. I have yet to box it up, but it only took like an hour. Plus it only uses like 10 components. So far, it's the easiest build I've ever done

[kaputsport]

Originally Posted by Etchbass

-you can play muse covers all day long (if you're into that)

Not quite...