The EarthQuaker Devices Westwood is an overdrive pedal built around the idea of the transparent overdrive: a pedal that pushes your amp without stamping its own character on your guitar's tone. What sets it apart from most overdrives is its tone section. Instead of a single tone knob, it carries a two-band active EQ, so you can cut as well as boost both the low end and the top end. EarthQuaker Devices announced the Westwood Translucent Drive Manipulator at NAMM 2018, with a US list price of $17912.
Transparent overdrive with an active EQ
MusicRadar's NAMM report described the Westwood as promising clarity-rich low-to-medium overdrive, and Guitar.com called it a mild-mannered light to medium gain overdrive pedal43. Guitar World's review explains the design: it combines true clean boost functions with a two-band active EQ to provide a wider range of musically useful tones1.
The transparent-overdrive idea has a history. Guitar World's reviewer notes that pedals of this type became widespread ever since the legendary Klon Centaur was discontinued in 20091. The Westwood sits in that family without being a copy: Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson wrote that "This pedal is rather a 'in the ballpark of' than directly inspired by the Klon"5.
Where the EQ is set to neutral, the pedal stays out of the way. Guitar World found that the Westwood provides truly transparent boost and overdrive when the EQ controls are set to the center detents1. EarthQuaker Devices' own description, quoted by Delicious Audio, says it goes "into anything from cutting, edge-of-breakup rhythm tones, all the way to articulate, singing lead tones stacked high with pleasing even-order harmonics and sweet sustain"2.
It is also aimed at players running smaller amps. Paolo De Gregorio of Pedals and Effects described it as designed to work with low wattage amps, pushing them2, and Guitar World's reviewer added that the Westwood also can improve the tone of a lackluster, dark or wimpy-sounding amp1. Bass players get a use case too: Guitar.com reports that on the bass guitar, the Westwood provides warm low-mids and a smooth top end with enough vintage grit3.
The controls: Level, Drive, Bass and Treble
The Westwood is a simple four-knob design1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Level | Output volume, alongside Drive for gain1 |
| Drive | Sets the amount of overdrive, from clean boost to the edge of distortion1 |
| Bass | Active EQ band, 20dB of boost/cut around 80Hz1 |
| Treble | Active EQ band, 20dB of boost/cut around 2kHz13 |
Guitar World describes the range of the Level and Drive controls as dialing in anything from clean boost to aggressive overdrive pushed just to the edge of distortion, but with no signal compression1. That lack of compression is part of the transparent-overdrive approach: the pedal adds gain without squeezing your playing dynamics.
The active EQ is where the Westwood differs from a typical overdrive. Because both bands are active, each knob cuts as well as boosts. Guitar World's reviewer found the treble boost and bass cut capable of adding attractive sizzle and slice, the bass boost delivering beefy thump and "woman tone" howl, and the treble cut taking the edge off of shrill single-coil pickups1. Guitar.com's announcement specifies that the Treble control affects the area around 2kHz3.
Because the Bass and Treble knobs are active, their center detent positions are the neutral settings. Guitar World found the pedal truly transparent with the EQ controls at those center detents1, so that is the natural starting point when dialing it in.
What reviewers said
Guitar World's 2018 review is the fullest published verdict. Its reviewer summed up: "If you want true transparent overdrive with a wider range of gain as well as flexible EQ for refining your amp or guitar's tone, the EarthQuaker Westwood Translucent Drive Manipulator will truly rock your world"1.
Guitar Pedal X, listing it among Klon-style pedals in 2019, praised the tone circuit: "It is very much a natural sounding overdrive this time with Baxandall EQ over just the typical tone dial"5. A Baxandall EQ, in this sense, means the two-band active Bass and Treble arrangement described above, rather than the single tone dial most overdrives carry.
For context within EarthQuaker Devices' overdrive range, the maker also offers the Plumes, the Palisades V2, the Dunes V2 and the Talons, among others on the overdrive pedals type page.
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Questions
What does the Baxandall EQ do on the EarthQuaker Devices Westwood?
A Baxandall EQ is a two-band active tone circuit with separate Bass and Treble controls, rather than the single passive tone dial found on most overdrives. On the Westwood, Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson described it as Baxandall EQ over just the typical tone dial, and Guitar World measured 20dB of cut or boost around 80Hz for the Bass knob and around 2kHz for the Treble knob.
Is the EarthQuaker Westwood a Klon clone?
Not exactly. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson wrote that the pedal is rather an 'in the ballpark of' than directly inspired by the Klon. Guitar World notes that transparent overdrives became widespread after the legendary Klon Centaur was discontinued in 2009, and the Westwood belongs to that transparent-overdrive family rather than being a direct copy.
How much does the EarthQuaker Devices Westwood cost?
At its 2018 introduction the Westwood was listed at $179 in the US, a figure given by both Delicious Audio and Guitar World's review. Guitar Pedal X later listed it at £185 as of July 2019.
Does the Westwood work with low-wattage amps?
Yes, that is part of its design intent. Paolo De Gregorio of Pedals and Effects described the Westwood as designed to work with low wattage amps, pushing them. Guitar World's reviewer also found it could improve the tone of a lackluster, dark or wimpy-sounding amp.
How much cut and boost do the Westwood's Bass and Treble controls give?
Each band is active and gives 20dB of cut or boost. Guitar World's review specifies the Bass knob works around 80Hz and the Treble knob around 2kHz, matching Guitar.com's announcement figure of a two-band active EQ with 20dB of Bass and Treble cut/boost.
Sources (5)
- Review: EarthQuaker Devices Westwood Translucent Drive Manipulator, Guitar World, 2018-02-06
- Pedals And Effects' Best 10 Pedals Of 2018, Delicious Audio, 2019-01-14
- NAMM 2018: EarthQuaker Devices releases Westwood Drive Manipulator, Guitar.com, 2018-01-10
- NAMM 2018: EarthQuaker Devices introduces Westwood Translucent Drive Manipulator and 5 V2 pedals, MusicRadar, 2018-01-10
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2019-07-23
