The EarthQuaker Devices Sunn O))) Life Pedal V3 is a heavy, crushing octave distortion tailor-made for droning, metallic textures. This ratty-sounding dirt pedal houses a tweaked version of its predecessor’s circuit, along with a third footswitch with Flexi Switch Technology for extended real-time control of the octave effect. The distortion side of the Life Pedal V3 features Distortion, Filter, and Amplitude knobs for dialing in your grindage, while an Octave knob blends the analog octave-up effect with your signal. A footswitchable Magnitude function, which is EarthQuaker’s clever name for an all-discrete MOSFET booster, dishes out all the punishment your amplifier can handle. You also get a 3-position Clip knob for tailoring the stompbox to your rig. If you dig the ear-splitting guitar tones on Sunn O)))’s Life Metal album, the Life Pedal V3 belongs on your short list — it delivers down-tuned, drone-metal riffage by the truckload.
A hotchpotch of droning distortion
Patterned after the guitar tones on Sunn O)))’s Life Metal album, the Life Pedal V3 combines a classic “White Face”-style distortion with an analog octave effect and an all-discrete MOSFET booster. The distortion section includes three knobs: Distortion for adjusting the amount of clipping, Filter for dialing in your tone, and Amplitude for controlling the output volume of the distortion. The Octave knob blends in the analog octave-up effect as you turn it clockwise. The Magnitude knob controls the output volume for the booster. You also get three footswitches: Magnitude for kicking in the booster function, Octave for deploying the octave-up effect, and Amplitude for engaging the distortion effect. To top it off, the Octave switch uses Flexi Switch Technology, allowing expressive real-time control over the octave-up effect.
Pro tip: Flip to your neck pickup and play single notes above the 12th fret for maximum octave-up merriment!
Three ways to dial in maximum grindage
The original rodent-style circuit employed a single pair of silicon diodes for its signature grit. The EarthQuaker Devices Sunn O))) Life Pedal V3’s Symm setting allows you to dial in this double-silicon-diode configuration for the classic sound you know and love. But that’s not all! You can also select OpAmp to remove all diodes from your signal path for full, grinding op-amp carnage or Asymm, which deploys two silicon diodes and one LED in an asymmetrical clipping configuration. The guitarists here at Sweetwater have found the Asymm setting to be quite tube-like: slightly compressed, smooth, and crunchy.
EarthQuaker Devices Sunn O))) Life Pedal V3 Octave Distortion + Booster Features:
- Combines a classic ratty distortion with an analog octave-up effect and an all-discrete MOSFET booster
- Patterned after the guitar tones on Sunn O)))’s Life Metal album
- Distortion side features Distortion, Filter, and Amplitude knobs for dialing in your grindage
- Octave knob blends in the analog octave-up as you turn it clockwise
- Magnitude knob controls the output volume for the booster
- 3-position Clip knob for tailoring the stompbox to different rigs
- 3 footswitches: Magnitude, Octave, and Amplitude
- Octave footswitch uses Flexi Switch Technology for expressive real-time control over the octave-up effect
- Exp jack allows connection of an external expression pedal for the octave effect
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