The Earthquaker Devices Afterneath is not, strictly speaking, just a reverb guitar pedal. This pedal essentially provides a special kind of reverberated sound that is made up of a bunch of short delays.
An otherworldly reverberation machine.
It is described by Earthquaker Devices as an otherworldly reverberation machine that uses a swarm of short delays to create wild and cavernous reverbs and scattered, short rhythmic delays with bizarre characteristics. The reverb created is beyond massive and goes well beyond the territory of most reverb pedals.
The end result is an ethereal, ambient wash that goes from hall to an infinite glitched-out orchestra pit warming up in a canyon at the bottom of another canyon inside a well.
Even though it is not like the other guys in the best reverb pedal buying guide, I decided to include it just because it’s different and it’s great. It is worth bringing here just because of the fact that it’ll take your playing to places you wouldn’t go otherwise.
But you can be sure about this: you’ll either love it or find it useless. You can read what other people say about this earthquaker devices afterneath review here.
Earthquaker Afterneath Features and Controls
Earthquaker Devices Afterneath is powered with a 9V negative power supply, and it requires a minimum current of 65mA. It has mono connections at both input and output.
The controls of this pedal are very different from what you may see in any other reverb pedal. It has 6 knobs: Length, Diffuse, Dampen, Drag, Reflect, and Mix. It also has a single (true bypass) stomp switch:
- Length controls the length (i.e. decay) of the reverb.
- Diffuse adjusts the spread of the reverb. You will hear more delays when turned counterclockwise and more wash ambient as you turn it clockwise.
- Dampen is something like tone control. Roll it clockwise for brighter tones counter clockwise for darker tones.
- As said by Earthquake Devices (and as you will probably agree), Drag is the coolest control on the Afterneath. It separates the delay lines creating a stuttering, pingy effect. More delay as you turn it counterclockwise, more reverb as you turn it clockwise.
- Reflect acts as a feedback control in a delay pedal. It controls the regeneration of the reverb: turn clockwise for more echoes. You can make the sound self oscillate if turned up high.
- Mix blends the wet signal into the dry. You won’t strictly get a fully wet sound by rolling it all the way up, but it would seem like you do. It is because the dry sound level will decrease as you turn the knob clockwise.
Sound
I can’t just say that this reverb pedal sounds great, but it does. Put another way, this reverb can’t sound great (from a pure reverb sound perspective) because it isn’t like other reverb pedals, but it sounds great because it is a crazy device that will take you to unexpected places when you play with it.
You can check the earthquaker devices videos playlist to see what this pedal is capable of and think about if you like what it does more than the classic reverb tones will give you.
One thing is clear: the Afterneath is not a simple guitar pedal; you will have to spend some time catching up with it, but you’ll enjoy doing it.
Earthquaker Devices Afterneath Pros and Cons
This is a brief summary of my review of the Earthquaker Devices Afterneath:
PROS
- It is a unique pedal
- True bypass
- The fully analog dry signal
- Hand made
- It will take your playing to unexpected places
CONS
- It is a little pricy, but it is unique anyway
- It would be so cool if it was stereo
- Difficult to use
Alternatives to the Earthquaker Devices Afterneath
I had written about some alternatives to this pedal, but it was just bullshit. There ain’t no alternatives to the Afterneath; it is a unique device. You better see my list of the best guitar pedals if you’re looking for a more conventional stompbox.
Should You Buy This Guitar Pedal?
This question is difficult to answer in the case of the Afterneath. It’s not a typical reverb pedal, so you won’t want to think about it if you’re looking for a pedal that recreates springs, plates, or even room reverbs.
When you listen to this pedal (or try it taking your time), you’ll either love it or hate it. If you love it, you’ll buy it, because you won’t find anything similar from other vendors. The Afterneath is unique, and when you play with it, it will inspire you and will take you playing to places that you wouldn’t go otherwise.
If you like playing with knobs and researching for new sounds, this pedal may be a good guitar pedal to consider.
Conclusion
I’ve said it a couple of times already, but I will summarize my review by saying that the Afterneath is a unique pedal. It is not just like any other reverb pedal; either it emulates spring reverbs or natural room ambiences. You will either love it or hate it. If you’re looking for a more classic reverb pedal, buy one. But get an Earthquaker Devices Afterneath too!!!
