Recording - July 2018 - 46

EarthQuaker
Devices

Westwood, Avalanche Run,
Rainbow Machine, and
Data Corrupter

Four studio-ready guitar effects-
from the mild and sweet to the utterly insane
REVIEWS BY PAUL VNUK JR.

E

arthQuaker Devices is a popular manufacturer of guitar pedals large
and small. This month, for our issue focused on recording guitar, the
EarthQuaker folks were kind enough to send us four of their devices,
ranging from standard guitar effects fare to the weird and wonderful.
All EarthQuaker pedals are hand-wired and assembled in the company's
Akron, OH headquarters. They feature silent momentary switches, super-bright
power and function LED lights, and require an external 9V DC power supply
(sold separately). It's well worth your time to check out more about the company
and its full line at the EarthQuaker website, where you'll find a choice of over
40 pedals (and growing), including the four we're reviewing today.

Westwood

Reading the name "Westwood Translucent
Drive Manipulator," you might think I am starting
with one of EarthQuaker's more whacked-out
devices, but the Westwood is a bread and
butter overdrive pedal. It measures 4.75" x
2.50" x 2.25" and comes dressed in shades of
green, with a pretty silkscreen forest on the top
and four simple controls: Level, Drive, Bass and
Treble. It's a mono pedal with 1/4" I/O jacks on
the rear, along with a 9v DC input. The pedal
features a single relay-controlled true bypass
stomp switch and a white status LED.
According to EarthQuaker, 'Translucent' refers to the fact that your guitar (or any source for
that matter) retains its original tone, regardless
of how much drive and grit are being added by
the Westwood. Level controls the master output
46

RECORDING July 2018

level for the pedal, and Drive controls
the level of drive and distortion added
to the signal from super-subtle to
super-edgy. Both of the EQ controls
have a center detent/Off position, and
fixed frequencies of 80 Hz and 2 kHz
that can be boosted or cut to carve out
the perfect tone.
The Westwood is very sensitive to
input level, making it easy to push and
pull the drive of the pedal not only with
its own controls, but also by rolling off
or pushing the volume controls of your
guitar. It also responds well to the nuances
of your picking and strumming style.
The EQ is very powerful, and the
Westwood's low end is of special note.
Often overdrive pedals muddy up the
low end fast, and most guitar players
I know cut lows much more than they
boost. However, the Westwood is
fantastic when pushing the low end-it
gets big, but it retains the sonics and
punch of the low notes in great detail
and never gets murky. This makes the
Westwood a great overdrive pedal for
bass as well; seriously, if you are a bass
player, you need to demo one now!
The Westwood also pairs beautifully
on smaller amps like the Fender Princeton,
where it can add a nice controllable
breakup without cranking the amp past
3, which is great for compact live and
recording setups. Its throw is very broad,
from a gentle thickening of notes to a
gorgeous detailed drive at extremes.
Beyond guitar, I enjoyed using the
Westwood to gently color and break
up the sound of my Fender Rhodes, and
also add drive to my Moog Voyager
synth, especially on bass lines. Lastly,
because of its transparent nature, I also
like the Westwood as a mixdown tool
for adding gentle grit to vocal tracks
and even mono drum room mics. I have
no complaints or reservations about
this pedal, and it would be a great
house overdrive box for any studio to
have on hand.

Avalanche Run

Thanks in part to its initial and
exclusive launch on Reverb.com a few
years ago, the Avalanche Run Stereo
Reverb & Delay with Tap Tempo is one
of EarthQuaker's best known pedals.
http://www.Reverb.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - July 2018
