Review Demo - Earthquaker Devices Pyramids

Описание: Read the review: http://bit.ly/EQDPyramidsPG

If EarthQuaker Devices has managed one thing in the last decade (and clearly they’ve managed many impressive pedal tricks), it’s a magic mix of the weird and the practical. And though they’ve made stranger pedals than the Pyramids DSP stereo flanger, it’s hard to think of one that better embodies EarthQuaker’s walk in the shadowlands between the odd and the approachable.

As the compliment of eight knobs, two footswitches, and a lone mini toggle suggests, it’s deeper than the average flanger. At times—especially in the get-to-know-you phase—that complexity makes it tricky to find flanger recipes that are easy to coax from simpler units. But if Pyramids isn’t always exactly intuitive, it’s forgiving—offering accessible points of entry useful for old-school flanger fans and the multi-function averse. And for those willing to take the trip, Pyramids willingly moves between familiar flanging textures and more intense, synth-like sound worlds.

A Deep and Sensitive Soul
Sometimes the trickiest thing about Pyramids is not the number of knobs, but the sensitivity, nuances, and intricacies of the controls themselves. The eight voices (accessed via the rotary mode switch) include a “classic” flanger, a through-zero mode (a rich voice derived from a modulated signal preceding a dry signal), barber pole up and barber pole down modes, trigger up and down modes (where pick attack, the tap tempo switch, or a side-chain external source triggers a return to the beginning of the phase cycle), a sequencer-like step mode, and a random phase mode that will please chaotically aligned spirits and weirdoes. Between these eight modes, Pyramids generates innumerable voices. But the differences can be very subtle—especially at low volume and at nuanced wet/dry mix levels.

Two controls are especially critical to understanding, unlocking, and managing Pyramids’ sensitive side. The first is the mix knob: a simple wet/dry control that helps you foreground or duck the modulated signal as needed. It’s positively invaluable, especially when wilder phasing textures are in the mix. It’s also very satisfying to use in a painterly sort of way, enabling subtle shifts in shade and color with small, incremental adjustments. The feedback control is equally critical, but it’s a trickier-to-wrangle function—especially if you’re accustomed to the more gently tapered and nebulous shifts you get from an analog phaser’s feedback control. Keep in mind: This sensitivity is a good thing when you master it. And the ability to dial in small amounts of positive or negative feedback on either side of the 12 o’clock position enables pointillist-level detail when you’re shaping a radical phase tone to suit a specific instrument, amp, or effects chain. But it is highly interactive with the other controls and it takes practice to master it.

Continue reading: http://bit.ly/EQDPyramidsPG