EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker
- Boost / Medium-Gain Overdrive
- Gives the signal extra grit and a rich boost without changing the tone
- Exceptionally dynamic response to the guitar’s volume control
- True Bypass
EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker Review
Building on the beloved Speaker Cranker, the EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker is an all-analog boost and overdrive pedal made to push your amps hard while still preserving your original tone.
On guitar, the Special Cranker delivers everything from powerful clean boosts to gritty overdrives, all while letting your instrument’s natural character and clarity shine through—so your notes and chords always stand out. But when you run more adventurous sources like synths or drums through it, the Special Cranker gets even wilder and crunchier, bringing out all the rich harmonic details in your sound.
The Special Cranker is a fully discrete analog distortion enhancer, designed to add grit and boost to your signal without drastically changing your tone—keeping the natural nuances and personality of your amp intact.
With even more controls at your fingertips to shape your tone, the Special Cranker sets itself apart as more versatile than its discontinued predecessor, though the concept remains similar. As EQD puts it: it’s like adding another preamp tube to your guitar amp. That means it won’t override your guitar’s natural sound—instead, it enhances it with vibrant drive, rounding out harmonics and adding depth, crunch, sustain, and all that good stuff.
This pedal picks up right where the beloved Speaker Cranker left off. It has the same spongy, dynamic, and touch-sensitive feel as the original, but now with more gain, double the output volume (thanks to a new, user-friendly Level control), and the addition of a Tone control to shape your signal. There’s also a diode selector switch, featuring the classic asymmetrical Silicon diodes as well as a hot, new Germanium diode option.
The More control goes from nearly clean to a medium-gain overdrive at its maximum. This knob adjusts the bias of the transistor, so you might hear a little noise when you turn it—don’t worry, that’s completely normal. The way the gain behaves depends on which diodes you select.
Unlike its predecessor, the Special Cranker features three distinct knobs, giving you much more flexibility to shape your sound, with independent control over gain (More), tone, and output level.
The impact of the More control on your incoming signal is determined by the Mode selector, which offers both a Germanium clipping option for a smoother, fuller-sounding boost, and a Silicon clipping option for punchier, more aggressive tones and higher levels.
Both pedals are highly responsive to playing dynamics and offer outstanding clarity. No matter how you use the Special Cranker, it delivers just the right amount of texture for any musician seeking attitude, all without sacrificing tone.
The Tone control gives you complete authority over the treble frequencies—roll it counterclockwise to cut the highs, or turn it clockwise to keep a subtle high-frequency boost. The Level control lets you adjust the output from total silence up to nearly double the original volume.
EarthQuaker makes plenty of stompboxes, and they’re usually quite good. But lately, the company’s lineup of natural-sounding overdrives has been so consistently excellent, it’s almost frustrating. This pedal is right up there among their very best.
- Analog overdrive pedal boosts your signal without muddying or coloring your natural tone
- Level control adjusts overall output; nearly double the original model
- More knob takes you from subtle dirt to amp-pummeling distortion
- Tone control tames and adds high frequencies when necessary
- 2-position diode selector switch takes you from silicon (brighter, modern response) to germanium (softer, rounder tone)
- True Bypass operation always preserves your tone
- Silent Flexi-Switch allows for momentary and latching-style switching in the same pedal
Why You Need the Special Cranker
Is it time to update your overdrive pedal? The Special Cranker from EarthQuaker Devices might be just what you need! This compact and affordable unit adds rich harmonics to your signal, whether you’re using it with a guitar or another instrument.
Small, budget-friendly, and easy to use, you can’t go wrong with this little pedal. With straightforward and effective controls, shaping your sound has never been easier!
Conclusion
This wraps up our brief but thorough review of this new pedal. We featured this unit because it’s both new and high-quality, and it adds another great option to the world of overdrive pedals.
If you have any questions or concerns about this pedal, please let us know in the comments below or contact the developer’s customer service team.
