Earthquaker Devices Pyramids

ManualsBrandsEarthQuaker Devices ManualsChorus/Flanger/Phaser PedalsEffects Pedal

116

GUITARIST AUGUST 2018

hen plugging in to a new pedal, it’s

always a good sign when you suddenly

find that two hours have gone past in

the blink of an eye and a bunch of new riffs have

appeared out of nowhere. This was our immediate

experience with EarthQuaker Devices’ new

stompbox: the Pyramids stereo flanger. With a

huge range of flanging effects to explore, it is,

in the best possible sense, easy to get lost in its

mesmerising maze of bugged out modulation.

If you want to quickly take full advantage of the

pedal’s extensive creative potential, however,

I highly recommend spending a few moments

reading the manual beforehand in order to

familiarise yourself with some of the fresh

concepts the guys at EarthQuaker have cooked up,

or you might find yourself a bit too lost.

The Pyramids’ wet/dry Mix control is a tasteful

addition to the standard flanger parameters of

Rate, Width and Feedback, while the Manual

knob adjusts the effected sound’s delay time and

is assignable to an expression pedal. Each of the

Pyramids’ eight modes – effectively five distinctly

different sounding flange effects (Classic, Barber

Pole Up/Down, Through-Zero, Trigger Up/

Down and Step/Random) – includes a unique

parameter which can be adjusted with the

Modify knob.

SOUNDS

The Pyramids’ range of sounds extends from

mild to extreme, from a subtle undercurrent of

movement and enhanced dimension, to the

sound of a fleet of flaming UFOs crash landing in

a giant kettle drum. If you happened to be going

for the much less subtle end of things, keeping

the sound of your guitar faithfully intact might

be a bit of a moot point, but it’s worth mentioning

that the Pyramids keeps the dry signal within the

analogue domain at all times. Having said that,

with ADCs and DACs operating within a range

of 20Hz-20kHz at a 24-bit depth and 96kHz

resolution, most non-super heroes would be hard

pressed to hear the difference… And, yes, it does do

‘that jet plane thing’ rather well.

VERDICT

The Pyramids’ features an incredibly

comprehensive and inspiring array of studio

quality flanger sounds crammed into a very

approachable pedal that should easily keep you

tweaking for years to come.

Pyramids

EARTHQUAKER DEVICES

EarthQuaker Devices go deeper than adding extra dimension

to your sound with their new bells and whistles stereo ﬂ anger

Words Rod Brakes Photography Olly Curtis

Tech Spec

ORIGIN: USA

TYPE: Flanger pedal

FEATURES: True bypass,

stereo/mono option and

side chain triggering

CONTROLS: Manual,

Rate, Width, Feedback,

Mix and Modify knobs;

5x Presets; 8x Mode

switches, Rate & Tap

toggle, Activate and Tap/

Trigger footswitches

CONNECTIONS: Stereo/

mono inputs & outputs,

expression pedal

POWER: Centre negative

9V DC adaptor

DIMENSIONS: 118mm (w)

x 105mm (d) x 57mm (h)

MANUFACTUR ER

EARTHQUAKER DEVICES

MODEL

PYRAMIDS

CONTACT

WWW.GUITARGUITAR.CO.UK / 0800 456 1959

PRICE

£319

PEDALBOARD

VIDEO & AUDIO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra

PROS:

Extensive flanging effects; broad parameter

ranges; stereo and mono connectivity

CONS:

Not MIDI compatible; expression pedal

controls ‘Manual’ function only

GIT435.peds_earthquake.indd 116 6/13/18 3:54 PM