Sunn O))) x EarthQuaker Devices Life Pedal V3

The Sunn O))) Life Pedal V3 is an octave distortion and booster pedal from EarthQuaker Devices, devised and honed in close collaboration with the drone and doom band Sunn O)))¹. It packs three effects into one box: a blendable analog octave-up fuzz inspired by the vintage Shin-Ei FY-2 and FY-6, running into a RAT-inspired distortion, followed by a loud clean boost². The pedal takes its name from Sunn O)))'s 2019 album Life Metal³.

Where the original Life Pedal and version two were limited runs, V3 is here to stay as a permanent production model, with a new enclosure, a tweaked circuit and an extra footswitch². It was announced on 4 November 2022 at a list price of $299²¹.

Octave fuzz into RAT-style distortion with a clean boost

The signal chain runs in three stages. First is a blendable octave fuzz inspired by the Shin-Ei FY-2 and FY-6 octave-up fuzzes. This feeds a RAT-inspired distortion, and after that a switchable clean boost drives your amp's front end²⁹. GuitarPlayer's Dave Hunter describes the lineage in more detail: the circuit re-creates the analog octave effect from a vintage Shin-Ei FY2 fuzz and FY6 octave-fuzz into a white-face RAT distortion, with a MOSFET booster following⁸.

The Octave knob blends in the analog octave as you turn it clockwise¹⁰. EarthQuaker says that going full Octave transforms the pedal from a simple distortion device into a swelling, raging fuzz similar to the classic Super Fuzz⁴. guitar.com's reviewer found that blending the octave into the already-saturated distortion "invites a choir of harmonics to sing, shift and transform over the course of a chord's decay"².

The octave distortion and booster can be used independently, each with its own footswitch¹⁰. With a low-tuned guitar, the reviewer at guitar.com found the pedal instantly takes you to the territory of Life Metal and Pyroclasts, the band's 2019 albums².

The controls and three footswitches

The V3 carries five knobs, a clipping selector and three relay-based footswitches².

The three footswitches are laid out as follows⁶:

• Octave footswitch: the Octave Activator, new in V3, simply turns the octave on or off without blending²¹⁰
• Amplitude footswitch: the Distortion Activator¹⁰
• Magnitude footswitch: the Boost Activator, on the leftmost switch, usable with or without the rest of the pedal²¹⁰

All three sections use Flexi-Switch relay-based switching, which supports both momentary and latching operation: hold for momentary, tap for latching⁸⁷. The Octave EXP jack takes any expression pedal and hands it control of the octave blend, so you can sweep the octave in and out of the signal while keeping your hands free⁴¹¹. EarthQuaker advises inserting the expression pedal only while the pedal is powered off¹⁰.

What reviewers said

guitar.com's review rated the Life Pedal V3 9 out of 10, calling it "a surprisingly versatile distortion pedal" and finding that the third iteration refines the formula².

That reviewer found the pedal has a much tighter feel than a reference RAT: palm-mutes feel percussive rather than mushy and fast playing stays clear². The filter control was usable throughout its sweep². On the critical side, the footswitches create a slight clanging noise when pressed, most noticeable when engaging the distortion, though the reviewer did not consider it a major issue². The $299 price "might strike you as a little steep for a single stompbox," in the reviewer's words, but becomes more reasonable when you consider the cumulative cost of a good octave fuzz, a boutique RAT with clipping options and a good clean boost². Gearnews likewise judged the price point not exactly cheap, but probably about right for a boutique pedal¹³.

GuitarPlayer's Dave Hunter called it an extremely powerful and controllable distortion, fuzz and booster in a single package, and found the Magnitude boost great used subtly, adding a perceived volume lift for soloing and enhancing articulation, as well as slamming the amp as intended⁸. Guitar World's Paul Riario praised the quality build⁷. A later guitar.com buying guide noted the voicing can get surprisingly bright for such a doom-inspired pedal⁹.

Premier Guitar's demo video walks through the V3's changes, including the dedicated soft-relay octave footswitch, the three-way clipping switch and the expression pedal jack that blends the octave in and out of the signal⁵¹¹.

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Sunn O))) and the Life Pedal

The Life Pedal is a collaboration between Sunn O))) and EarthQuaker Devices, an Akron-based effects manufacturer⁴⁸. The pedal is named after the band's 2019 album Life Metal³, and its enclosure was built after the sounds the band recorded with Steve Albini².

The V3 is the third iteration of the Sunn O))) Life Pedal⁵⁶². EarthQuaker Devices describes it as devised and honed in close collaboration with the band¹³, and it is available now¹³. A silver artist edition of the pedal, a new version of the Sunn O))) collaboration, has also been unveiled by EarthQuaker Devices¹⁴.

The Life Pedal V3 is in production and available now³. An update the band wanted, the octave section, should help make the pedal even more fun to use, according to the collaboration's announcement¹³. Players comparing distortion and octave circuits can also read about distortion pedals and octave and pitch pedals more broadly.

Videos

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Questions