Fortin Zuul Plus Blackout Noise Gate

I’ve had my eyes on the Zuul for a while now and finally decided to give it a shot, especially since this version finally does not require to have another splitter pedal due to it’s new key-through output. Using it with the recommended setup (4 cable method with the guitar signal going directly into the key input, while putting the noise gate into the fx loop after the pre amp) yields great results with all the noise from the amp being removed when there’s no signal coming from the guitar. The hold and release knobs allow you to get a really tight and precise response which is especially great for achieving this modern “djenty” kind of tone. For leads, you will definitely have to play around with those controls to get enough sustain while still keeping your rig’s noise under control, but after some experimentation I got it to work well enough for that as well.
All in all a great noise gate, especially for metal players

I've always been an ISP guy, especially dual gating. But, when I bought my first Randall Satan, the ZUUL+ came out. For almost $300, I figured it had to be awesome, plus they added the Key Thru. Then I got it. I tested it with my SATAN and my EVH Stealth (100S..on the Red channel). No matter how I dialed it in, it would either chop off my notes, or "squeak" every time I stopped. After a few days, I gave up. I can see it being useful for styles like Djent or THALL, but my style is like a mix of Decapitated, Alluvial, UABB, Suicide Silence, etc. So, I quickly sold it and also complained to someone at Fortin.. who then talked me into trying the original Zuul. When it showed up, I noticed he gave me a 2nd one for free! Anyway, other than not having a Key Thru, the Zuul was much better, at least with the SATAN. So, just be cautious. If you like choppy, stacatto type stuff in Drop F, you'll like this. For me, I now have 2 Satan heads with the Zuul PCB's modded into them, but I'll stick with ISP with my Stealths.