EarthQuaker Devices Grand Orbiter V3

The Grand Orbiter V3 is a phaser pedal from EarthQuaker Devices that covers two modulation effects in one box. Its 4-stage phasing can be switched into a true vibrato mode, so a player gets both the moving, swirling character of a phaser and the pitch-wobbling character of a vibrato without changing pedals¹.

Gearnews, in a 2025 phaser buying guide, calls it "one mighty versatile" modulation box, and describes it as ideal for players seeking nuanced analog modulation that responds dynamically to their playing, whether on guitar, bass, or synths¹.

A 4-stage phaser that switches to true vibrato

A phaser splits your signal and shifts the phase of one copy through a series of stages, then blends it back with the dry signal. Notches in the frequency response move up and down as an internal low-frequency oscillator (LFO) sweeps the stages, which is what creates the classic sweeping, jet-like motion. The Grand Orbiter V3 uses four of those stages, which puts it in the same general territory as compact 4-stage phasers rather than the deeper 8- or 10-stage designs¹.

The V3's distinguishing trick is that the phasing can be switched into a true vibrato mode. In vibrato mode the pedal produces a genuine pitch modulation rather than a phase-based imitation of one, which Gearnews frames as "two modulation flavors in one pedal"¹. For a player deciding between a phaser and a vibrato pedal, that switch means the Grand Orbiter can stand in for either.

The pedal also carries an LFO kill switch, which stops the sweeping oscillator entirely. With the LFO off, the moving notches freeze in place, and Gearnews notes that the switch "turns it into a fixed resonant filter for rich, synth-like sweeps"¹. That gives it a third personality: a static filter whose position you set with the controls, closer in spirit to a wah or filter pedal than a phaser.

The controls

The Grand Orbiter V3 has four knobs and a three-position range control, which is what lets it cover slow, subtle movement and fast, choppy modulation from the same panel¹.

Gearnews describes the pedal as having "three modulation ranges and controls for Resonance, Rate, Depth, and Sweep," which is the full control set¹. The three ranges mean the Rate knob is not doing all the work alone: a player can pick a coarse range first, then fine-tune within it, which keeps slow ambient swirls and fast rotary-style churn both reachable.

Switching, versions, and price

The V3 designation is not cosmetic. In late 2017, EarthQuaker Devices updated four of its pedals, including the Grand Orbiter, and the new version gained Flexi-Switch footswitches and a Soft-Click Relay circuit³. MusicRadar reported at the time that "all four of the new stompboxes... now feature soft-click relay switching systems to boot"³. Relay switching uses an electronic switch rather than a mechanical true bypass, and the soft-click design keeps the footswitch quiet.

The Grand Orbiter V3 carried a UK list price of £209 at launch in 2017³, a figure Gearnews repeated as the GBP price when it covered the update².

Does it work on bass?

Yes. Gearnews describes the Grand Orbiter as suited to nuanced analog modulation that responds dynamically to playing on guitar, bass, or synths¹. There is no separate bass version in the facts, and no reviewer caveat about low-end loss, so bass players can treat it as one pedal for both instruments.

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