Earthquaker Devices Speaker Cranker

Last week I got an EQD Speaker Cranker pedal, which is a single-knob overdrive. I love it, its simplicity and clarity, and the voicing is perfect for my rig. It's quite bright, and adds volume.

I replaced the single chicken-head knob with an oversized knob like on the Fulltone vibe (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102829) so I can roll the overdrive up and down with my foot. When the knob is rolled all the way down, the pedal adds a little brightness and presence, like a buffer would, with minimal overdrive. Roll the knob up and it adds volume and overdrive until it's pretty saturated all the way up.

At 12 o'clock, the pedal sweetens up my non-master silverface Twin Reverb beautifully. I'm very pleased with the Speaker Cranker.

The one-knob simplicity is certainly appealing, and I really enjoyed it at first, but over time I have found that the lack of any tone control in particular maybe starts to limit the usefulness of the pedal.

Yeah, I can see that. I like the pedal's voicing, but it doesn't give you any options if you want to tweak it. What overdrive do you prefer?

Tiny

I have the Wampler Paisley Drive and Wampler Tweed 57.

Both offer lots of control (certainly more than the Speaker Cranker, much as I like the one knob !) but I am starting to prefer the Tweed - gets a fuller, darker tone that I like, whereas the Paisley seems a bit 'sharper', although it too has plenty of room to tweak.

The EQD Speaker Cranker is a freakin' GREAT pedal! No extra knobs needed! As a matter of fact, upon receiving my 1st one, I proceeded to pimp that thing all over the interwebs for months on end. Just do a search on this site, you'll find all my EQD SC posts. (I liked it so much that I later purchased a 2nd one.)

If need be, I could easily get away with just using the SC and nothing else. A perfect desert island pedal for me -- all the dirty and clean tones I need at the touch of my guitar's volume knob. Also, it works its magic equally well with single coils or humbuckers. I'd recommend it to anyone, no reservations!

I should add, I found that adding a second SC allows for some wonderful pedal stacking. Set the 1st SC for your dirty rhythm tone and kick in the 2nd one for solos. I really like that setup because it allows me to solo without sounding like I've suddenly switched rigs. And again, I can get ALL my dirty/clean tones from manipulating my guitar's volume knob, but with a 2nd SC you have the option of some tasteful higher gain tones.

effcee

I'm certainly not knocking the Speaker Cranker - I actually bought it largely on the strength of your own support for it on this forum - and I am also aware that it is simple by deliberate design, not by default.

But I do still maintain that tone-hounds who like having lots of knobs to twiddle may find it limiting after the first flush of one-knob love wears off.

You may be right. I'm just one of those guys who seek simplicity in *every* possible aspect of life! LOL :-D

I really like that setup because it allows me to solo without sounding like I've suddenly switched rigs.

I thought sounding like you completely switched rigs was a good thing :confused:
Really, I understand what your saying. But its also cool to step on a pedal and turn a clean amp into a 4x12 marshall stack or a crancked tweed in an instant.:grin:

I thought sounding like you completely switched rigs was a good thing :confused:

The Speaker Cranker seems to be marketed as being a "more" pedal, if that makes sense.

And since it only has one knob, if it is supposed to ape certain distinct amp emulations, it would probably be a problem, oftentimes. Guitarists do default to grabbing for tone controls, and "other controls." IMO, that isn't what the SC was designed for.

I guess it could also be called a "simplicity pedal." For someone that wants a combo of OD, dist, not really clean boost, it has all 3 in one pedal, just minus a tone and level control. Simplicity.

I have to admit that I like the simplicity of two knob drive boxes, so I can imagine the appeal of knocking it down to just one.

11 Gauge, that's right. It is like a "more" pedal, in that it gooses my amp and leaves the tone of the amp intact. But it does this not as a simple boost. It adds a particularly transparent drive.

It wouldn't work for people who want a drive pedal that will give them a tone distinct from the base sound they're getting from their amp. It also wouldn't work for someone who wants the gain at unity. With no level control, what you get is the amount of boost that's built in, and it does boost volume, especially when you have the knob cranked up. I'm using it to sweeten my very clean amp and I leave it on almost all the time, using my guitar's volume knob to regulate my level.

So far it works great.

Effcee, I have to admit I read your reviews of the pedal on this forum and I bought the pedal in spite of them. They were so ardent, I assumed you either worked for Earthquaker or you were the owner's mother. :) I guess I was wrong and you just really, really like this pedal. I can respect that. Thanks for plugging it, because I quite like it.

It also wouldn't work for someone who wants the gain at unity. With no level control, what you get is the amount of boost that's built in, and it does boost volume, especially when you have the knob cranked up.

Actually, that could be easily addressed. The next "pedal" in line could simply be a passive level control. It wouldn't require power or anything - just a DPDT switch and a level pot.

Then you could dime the thing and reign it back in to unity. Might seem a little clunky, but it would almost be like adding a "channel" to the pedal.

It's really no different than the "master volume" that was added to "boost two" of the Vex Super Duper. That's one of the few complaints I've heard over the years with the singular SHO - when it is in the "sweet spot," it can typically be a bit too far beyond unity gain for many folks' preferences.

That's a great idea, 11 Gauge! Does anyone market a passive level control like you're talking about, for us solderingly challenged?

That's a great idea, 11 Gauge! Does anyone market a passive level control like you're talking about, for us solderingly challenged?

I know there are "passive technology" companies, but I don't think they're cheap!

Just corner someone you know who is handy with an iron - it's a quick and cheap build.

I love my stompboxes, but I wish we could get back to a less-is-more approach. I love the idea of one knob. It does it's thing, and me, my git, and my amp do the rest!

Maybe I'm not smart enough to figure out 7 knobs on a distortion pedal?:lol:



Currently trying to simplify my gear down to the essentials, and right after sound, simplicity is important.

Oh, and congrats on the pedal! It seems awesome. JustNick, who is a member here, and a real cool dude, did a good demo for this pedal

"I assumed you either worked for Earthquaker or you were the owner's mother."


Hey, Tiny, apparently I gotta stop pimpin' so hard! LOL

I'm just a genuinely enthusiastic person when it comes to displaying my appreciation of things. Glad you ended up liking the pedal! :-D

Oh, yea, and Just Nick's Speaker Cranker demo is spot on! Then again, I've quickly become a fan of everything that guy does. :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rCQG5NDe-4

yeah, he's great and really down to earth. i like the way he says, "i'm going to starting about sh-- I don't know anything about." lol. .

Mildly off topic, Nick's currently doing really cool Funk lessons on thee ol' Utoob