Don’t fear the Reaper
Fuzz is a subjective thing, really. Some folks dig it while others don’t. We’ve always been partial to fuzz around these parts… so many different pedals, tonal options via build style: original… versus clone… versus clone with upgrades, etc… We first took notice of the Earthquaker Devices Tone Reaper when it was a limited edition (30+ pcs) pedal. The Reaper is a vintage style fuzz based on the three-knob Tone Bender. It is a silicon/germanium hybrid capable of producing a wide range of tones with careful tweaking of the tone and fuzz controls, according to builder Jamie Stillman. Once the Reaper entered the regular production line, we jumped to land one.
The production EQD Tone Reaper is the same circuit as the limited edition, but packed into a smaller footprint. Jamie’s goal with the production model was to have it clean up better and have an improved tone control over the LE. The Tone Reaper comes in the standard little white pedal box. Besides the pedal, inside the box is a short and sweet instruction sheet, a sweet linen drawstring pouch for the pedal and an EQD sticker. The pedal itself is blood red in color and sports three control knobs – Tone, Fuzz and Level. The Tone knob adds treble to the left of noon, and bass to the right of noon. The Fuzz knob controls the sustain and nature. The Level knob controls the overall output.
Starting off, we’ll dial back the Tone knob for a little spitting fuzz. Using the Strat, bridge pick-up, we keep the Fuzz at noon, but roll back the Tone knob to around 9 o’clock and Level at around 10 o’clock. First clean, then the Reaper.
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Rolling the Tone knob to the treble side results in a more brittle sounding fuzz… as rolling the knob right beefs things up. Twisting the Tone knob can also get you more crunch introduced into your fuzz tone… if you dig that hybrid distortion/fuzz territory. Shifting up the neck pick-up on the Strat we work more fuzz into the equation and roll the Tone knob back to center. So… Tone at noon, Fuzz is dimed and Level remains around 10 o’clock, here is the Reaper again. Clean, then mean.
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Noticeably hairier, but never out of control, the Tone Reaper can get nasty without becoming unruly. Moving to the Les Paul, we keep the Fuzz dimed, but roll back the Tone again to brighten the humbuckers up a bit. With the Tone knob around 10 o’clock, the Fuzz full right and the Level constant at around 10 o’clock, here is a simple chord progression. Clean tone first, then the wall.
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The wall of fuzz tones here near ground shaking territory, especially if you go bass heavy via the Tone knob. We really liked the orchestral overtones and fluidity to this wall of sound setting, almost as if it could be a distorted keyboard playing that progression, and not a guitar.
Hey, we said it at the top… we like fuzz! And we like the Tone Reaper. It has enough versatility to run with many of the ‘bender family tones. It won’t be mistaken for a smooth, singing-type fuzz, because that’s not its game. We found it great for a variety of styles from ’60s psychedelia to nasty modern blues and beyond with just a few tweaks of the Tone and Fuzz knobs. At $145, there is nothing to fear from the Tone Reaper… unless you’re a fuzzaphobic! That’s our opinion anyway… your mileage may vary!
PLEASE NOTE: All YMMV Review clips are played through a Fender ’65 Princeton Reverb RI using Lava Clear Connect cables. No reverb or other effects were added to the clips. Guitars used in this review include a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1998 Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster.
