Earthquaker Sunn O))) Life Pedal V3 Distortion Octave Up and Booster Pedal Overview
Sunn O))) and EarthQuaker Devices are pleased to bring you the Life Pedal Volume III. The Life Pedal V3 circuit has been meticulously tweaked from the original to squeeze every last drop of heavy crushing tone available.
The octave section has been fine tuned to make it more pronounced without losing the bottom end and we added a third footswitch, utilizing Flexi Switch Technology, for the octave to allow an additional method of quick and radical tone shaping. We are excited to have this back in permanent production, it is a true labour of love.
Main Features:
- Distortion pedal with a blendable analogue octave up and a booster
– for instant earth-shaking Sunn O))) signature tones - Version 3 of the popular Life Pedal designed in collaboration with Sunn O)))
- Features 3 different clipping options:
– Symmetrical Silicon
–Asymmetrical Silicon & LED
– Pure OpAmp Drive - Distortion and booster can be used independently
- Expression and Footswitch control over analog octave up
- Octave blend allows total control over how much Octave is mixed into the circuit
- All-analogue signal path
- True bypass
- Silent relay-based switching with Flexi-Switch® Technology
- Powered by regular 9 V DC PSU
(centre -, 2,1 mm, ~25 mA current draw)
Life Pedal V3 is a distortion with a blendable analogue octave up and a booster combined in one compact package. The “Amplitude” side is faithfully modelled after the classic “White Face” distortion unit, using modern, reliable components to last a lifetime. The only modifications made to the original circuit are in the clipping section. The traditional circuit uses a single pair of silicon diodes for a tight, compressed crunch.
As with version 2, Life Pedal V3 offers two additional clipping options to better adapt to different rigs. The first position is no diodes to allow for full, grinding Op Amp assault at maximum volume. The second position utilizes two silicon diodes and one LED in an asymmetrical clipping configuration. This delivers a slightly compressed and smooth crunch, similar to a valve amplifier. The last position is the stock double silicon diode configuration which provides that classic tone you know and love.
The Octave in Life Pedal is an all-discrete, analogue full-wave rectifier base on a classic vintage design. Located at the input of the circuit, the Octave control slowly blends in the octave effects as you turn it clockwise. This feature can also be used via expression control allowing for wild, hands-free octave swells mid-riff or using the footswitch for immediate octave fuzz destruction.
Because this is an analogue octave effect, it is monophonic and works best playing single notes above the twelfth fret while using the neck pickup. Playing chords with the analogue octave will sound clanging and chaotic.
Using the bridge pickup and playing below the twelfth fret will produce a very subtle octave effect. Going full Octave transforms Life Pedal from a simple distortion device into a swelling, raging fuzz similar to the classic Super Fuzz!
The “Magnitude” section of Life Pedal is a simple all-discrete MOSFET booster designed to blast your preamp tubes and drive them wild. It is a 100% clean, no-nonsense, high impedance booster that adds very little colour to your tone. It does not add distortion on its own but has plenty of output to push your amp into saturation.
The signal path goes Octave>Distortion>Boost. The octave distortion and booster can be used independently with their own respective foot switches. The Petrine Cross is the octave distortion and the Christian Cross is the booster.
