EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker All-Discrete Analog Overdrive

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EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker All-Discrete Analog Overdrive

In stock

£105.00 £135.00
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EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker All-Discrete Analog Overdrive Overview

EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker
An Overdrive you can trust


The Special Cranker is an all-discrete analog distortion enhancement device designed to give your signal some extra grit and boost without drastically altering your tone and retaining all of the natural nuances and character of your amp. Think of it as sticking an extra preamp tube in your amplifier for more saturation. Single notes will blossom and bloom with rich harmonics and singing sustain with responsive, tube-like sag. Power chords will sound thicker and crunchier, a little more ragged around the edges. Complex chords will remain distinct and complex, as the Special Cranker is designed to preserve your tone’s integrity without muddying up the low-end or smearing the midrange.


The Special Cranker picks up where our beloved Speaker Cranker left off. It has the same spongy, dynamic, and touch-sensitive character of the original but with more gain, double the output volume (now with a user-friendly Level control), an added Tone control to shape your signal, and a diode selector switch featuring the original asymmetrical Silicon diodes as well as a hot, new Germanium diode option.




Main Features:
• Gives your signal extra grit and boost without drastically altering your tone and retains all of the natural nuances and character of your amplifier.
• Two distinct clipping modes that are both exceptionally responsive
• to playing dynamics: Germanium and Silicon
• Germanium mode delivers a softer, more rounded response with tamed highs and lower output.
• Silicon mode delivers a brighter, more modern response with higher output.
• At maximum gain, the Special Cranker can achieve explosive overbiased tones depending on the output of your pickups.
• Flexible Tone control to give the user full command over the treble frequencies for excellent tone shaping and clarity.
• All-analog signal path
• True bypass
• Silent relay-based switching with Flexi-Switch® Technology
• Powered by regular 9 V DC PSU
(centre -, 2,1 mm, ~15 mA current draw)


The More control goes from nearly clean to a medium gain overdrive when at maximum. This control adjusts the bias of the transistor, so you may hear a little noise as you turn the control. Don’t freak out; it’s totally fine. The gain characteristics are dependent on which diodes are chosen. When the Germanium diodes are selected, the Special Cranker delivers a softer, more rounded response with tamed highs and lower output, while the Silicon diodes add a brighter, more modern edge and higher output. Both are exceptionally responsive to playing dynamics and have excellent clarity. The Tone control gives the user full command over treble frequencies, cutting the highs when counterclockwise and adding a slight high-frequency boost when turned clockwise. The Level control adjusts the output from
nothing to nearly double at maximum.
5 out of 5
3 reviews
  • 5 stars (3)
  • 4 stars (0)
  • 3 stars (0)
  • 2 stars (0)
  • 1 star (0)
Rated 5.00 out of 5 13/4/2024

It's difficult not to like what this pedal does. It's not a straightforward overdrive or distortion. It seems to add a grit and grind to specific frequencies without completely overwashing the input signal. Fits well within the 'always on' bracket. A definite keeper!

A Customer

Rated 5.00 out of 5 04/9/2023

Fantastic transparent overdrive, great at volume adding a degree of warmth and punch. Very pleased!

Neil

Rated 5.00 out of 5 02/2/2023

Awesome. Perfect for a range of styles of music. A full sweep of tones is available on both the Tone & More (drive) knobs. Could easily be an ‘Always On’ pedal or useful for whether you’re playing rhythm or lead. The Ge | Si switch is the icing on the cake offering even more sounds to sculpt your tone. I’m going to have to build a new board around this pedal as it’s super inspiring to play and I’ve found minutes disappear with ease once switched on.

Richard

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