@@thepedalzone totally agreed! i’ve been researching overdrive pedals for the last few days and this is the first video i’ve seen that’s made me get up and run to the store to pick one up right away. your playing is amazing but also more descriptive if what i would actually be playing. not just blues licks. fantastic video and your playing is rad!
It's new demo day once again, gang! And it's always a good day when the demo is of a new EarthQuaker Devices pedal. Special Cranker RIPS! If you dig the demo, then please consider leaving a comment, like or sharing the video. Every little action goes such a long way. Thank you for being who you are. You're the best - Stefan
That's as lovely as a dirt pedal can get. Really impressive dynamics and response that fits your playing like a glove because it lets your musicality shine through. Never becoming too saturated at the expense of your tone. The boost/edge of breakup function - just wow! Superb my friend.
Adam! You're too kind. Thank you so much for your heartwarming words, my friend. Means a ton to me ❤ But I totally agree with your description of the pedal. It is an ultra-dynamic and responsive experience to play. Just a treat!
I had no idea that this update to the discontinued Speaker Cranker was dropping! These are often the tones I'm seeking out of my amps and overdrives. Thanks for the great riffs and alt tuning melodic passages, as usual, while you tweak & reveal the range of the tone/saturation options. Also, the Dispatch Master shines again as an instant box of subtle ambience, and the obne Reflector knocks it out of the park.
Thanks, Andy! Kind of you to take the time to write such a sweet and in-depth comment. Really appreciate it! Definitely recommend you check out this pedal, if you get the chance. Highly affordable and highly awesome 😊
Sold ... That's the tone and versatility I want. It sounds absolutely mind bogglingly good. Maybe THE perfect bist/Overdrive pedal for post rock and ambiente
You made a great video showcasing the dynamics of the pedal. I especially appreciate the demo of the tone roll-off/on, not to mention your riffs are stellar. Great job! I think I'm ordering one today.
Man! Thank you so much! Yeah, this pedal is really responsive to input strength/dynamics, so there's a ton of different shades of dirt to explore, just through the volume knob on your guitar and through your picking dynamics. Wonderful pedal. Honored to hear that my demo has inspired you to potentially pick one up.
I’m def an “EarthQuaker Bro” or whatever. Haha.. I get excited when I hear they have a new pedal. I wasn’t totally excited by this 1 until this demo, so thank you for showcasing the aspects of pedals that seem to overlap w/ what I care about a pedal doing.
I've got the speaker cranker on my board and since the first stepp on it I would never take it off again. It really is a "makes the sound better" pedal. It has some kind of light "natural compression" goin on... All sounds better with it than without. Really love the "one knob" philosophy at the version one, it has his own magic.
I really liked the original as well, and I'm in general a fan of super simple one-knob pedals, but there were times when I wished for more control over the overall output level of the pedal, and the Special Cranker delivers that and more. But I'm really happy that the OG one works for you, your style and your rig. It's really satisfying to just have a pedal with a single knob labelled MORE that just delivers what you need 😊
As usual Stefan your hyper melodic demo songs immediately demonstrate the artistic potential of this piece of gear. One day you should think about making a full album with these pieces. Again a wonderful magic box from EQD. Thank you Stefan.
Man, I always love it when you demo drives, because I know the playing will be tasteful, the sounds varied and your use of dynamics is just *chef's kiss*! I love everything about the Special Cranker except maybe it's looks, and at the $99 price tag it's probably gonna wind up on my board sometime soon. Sick demo, Stefan!
Thank you so much, friend! Yeah, it's weird. I really didn't use to like to demo dirt pedals, but I've really started to appreciate it over the last couple of years. Forces my mind and hands to leave their comfort zones, which is healthy. Really appreciate your support, bud. Always means a lot to me!
Man you make the best demos! Exactly the type of stuff I want to hear when watching a demo for a pedal, not some dude from a guitar shop testing it that only knows blues licks.
Awww, man! That means the absolute world to me. Thank you! You should definitely check it out if you get the chance. Really lovely drive pedal. Really open and responsive :)
@@thepedalzone I've just done the biggest overhaul of my board in a couple of years, and of the three pedals I swapped out, two of them (OBNE Sunlight and Boss SY 200) the clincher decision came after watching your vids. Looks like a new dirt pedal is following suit 🙂
I couldn’t decide on what pedal to get next. I’m not a huge fan of over drive or distortion. I do like Fuzz. Anywho, this video truly informed my decision. I’m in love with this pedal. You’re playing a similar style to what I play and in that context it’s PERFECT.
Really happy to hear you enjoyed the demo. Special Cranker is awesome. And I think the reason why it might resonate with you (definitely the reason why it resonates with me) is because it actually captures those grungy harmonics that you get from real amp breakup, and those harmonics are often also very prevalent (although in a more exaggerated way) in Fuzz. This thing really sounds like you just installed another pre-amp tube in your amp. It doesn't mess with your core sound at all. Just makes it more harmonically rich
Well, here you have it! Get angry, my friend ☺ Yeah, I really enjoyed the low gain settings in this thing. The dirty boost tones are incredible, and I'll probably put it on the board just for that always-on slight breakup tone.
MOST UNDERRATED PEDAL OF ALL TIME. It does it all. I use it to crank my ac15 with guitar / and on my bass / it goes to overdrive to fuzzy tone / transparent sound. All of that for only 130€ .. god
I own the dispatch master. Noticed yours.. I currently have a Dallas rangemaster copy I built but think this may be a better option. Less noisy. I don't need the whole ceiling of sound raised. Just Want more of the amps natural overdrive hit harder.
I think it’s one of the greatest dirt pedals. a true classic!! Just like it’s cousin the dispatcher which is one of the best delay reverb units ever made.The great thing about them is they are not expensive like all classic pedals that started their journey and they sound spectacular. I love your demos and your presentation, it’s tasteful and to the point. $99.0 just buy one ☝️
Thank you! Unbelievably kind of you. I normally play a lot in EAEABE, which my Jennings Navigator (the black Tele-style guitar) is tuned to. But in this demo I chose to dive into the iconic math-rock tuning FACGCE, which my Jazzmaster is tuned to, in order to get some new inspiration.
It does! Since it's so full frequency it will not alter the sound of your other drives. Simply just add more grit and character to them, which is amazing. I like to keep it on lower gain settings, but keep the volume up, and then slam the front of more high-gain distortions and fuzz pedals. Makes them sing endlessly while adding a touch more clarity and bite.
Came here for the pedal review - stayed for the beautiful melodies you're playing. Perfection to a fan of melodic post-rock like me. Do you have any tabs or guitar tutorials online?
Very very sweet of you to say. Thank you! No, I don't do tabs or guitar tutorials. I have no real clue what I'm doing playing-wise. I just noodle around in open tunings and find some melodies I like :)
@@thepedalzone thanks so much for your response. I haven’t experimented with open tunings yet. Do you remember what open tuning you had the guitar set to for this video?
Wish more people would do demos like this… more textural post-rock / shoegaze -- less blues noodling. Inspirational playing and tone! Would love to see some tabs for the stuff you're playing here.
Stefan, your demos are always spot on. I picked this one up, it nails the low gain low end rasp that I was looking for without muddying the signal-think 90's mid-fi indie and slowcore. Also, the Dispatch Master is still a top five desert island pedal!
Thank you so much! And I totally agree on its low-gain tones. They are just spectacular. It's actually a "transparent" drive pedal with a noticeable sonic character. Not something you encounter often.
great demo my man. i love the riffs you use in your dirt pedal demos. quick question: what tuning are you using for the jazzmaster? i think it would fit a sound i've been going for
Amazing as always! I would love to see you do the freezer test with this pedal and maybe some more to test how it sounds got vs cold. Have you seen Sylvia Massey’s video on freezing germanium pedals? It’s literally super “cool” 😎
I enjoy your demo videos. They are musical and far from the usual blues-rock licks ans patterns. Where do you find the nice pickguards we can see on your guitars?
Sounds killer!!! But dunno why this demo kinda makes me want a dispatch master instead😅 Also that second to last tune is dope! What’s the tuning for that?
Thank you! Everybody should own a Dispatch Master. There's simply not a bad sound in that pedal, and it's applicable across every single genre out there. And thanks for the kind words about that composition. Personally also think it's one of the best I've ever written. It was written in FACGCE.
Godmorgen! Jeg skal sgu også have hældt noget kaffe i min kop, og det kan kun gå for langsomt ☺ Alt er godt her. Håber kaffen og de beskidte drive toner gør din morgen ekstra god!
Pretty nice, this reminds me of the Zvex Channel 2 (which is just a SHO with a master volume knob as well as the gain knob) and the Boss OD-3. Just valve-y, good and simple. I’d buy this if I didn’t have other things like it.
Never played a Channel 2, but I've owned an OD-3, and that's probably my favorite Boss Overdrive. I totally get that you're getting similar vibes from the Special Cranker. Special Cranker sounds bolder, heftier and more harmonically rich than the OD-3 though, and OD-3 is a tad more compressed to my ears. I'm sure they would stack wonderfully together 😊
So would you say this is one of the most dynamic drive pedals you've ever played? If not, I'm curious to know what is, or maybe your top 3 if it's too hard to choose just one. Excellent demo as usual, my friend!
Love both of those bands to the moon and back. I'm a huge EITS fan, but somehow never really got into exploring their soundtracks. I'll definitely give that a go. Cheers 😊
I can give you a quick written comparison/impression, since I've made videos for both of them. Special Cranker is definitely your more "conventional" overdrive affair. It doesn't really color or compress your core signal. Just adds warm and dynamic overdrive to it. Germanium Filter, on the other hand, is all about color and compression. It will heavily shape your tone, no matter what setting you choose, and it also has a much much MUCH wider gain range, that goes from gritty jangly boost to full-on blooming destructive fuzz. So it all depends on what you're looking for.
I'm finding that as I research more and more distortion, overdrive, and fuzz pedals, I care less about the shape of the tone or transparency (or lack thereof), and more about the character of the gain itself. The texture of the distortion, in other words. For this reason I prefer the sounds of Rats, HM-2s, and most fuzz pedals over something more neutral like a Klon. I like the slightly fuzzy quality I'm hearing in this pedal. Probably because they're using Germanium and Silicon.
Totally agree! Character/harmonic content is everything, and this is most definitely an overdrive with character. Has a ton of harmonics that both bloom and at times fold in on each other, which creates this light pseudo-octave fuzz texture. I love it.
It would definitely get very close to their rhythm tones. Might need a fuzz and delay as well for the melodic leads and textures they sprinkle here and there, but a solid overdrive like the Special Cranker will definitely get you far into Silversun Pickups territory.
@@thepedalzone Great, thanks for the info. I'll take a look straight away. I love my j mascis jazzmaster and she really deserves an individual pickguard! Thank you for your fantastic videos, which always inspire me and give me a different perspective on pedals and playing techniques. stay healthy!
There's no real overlap. Dunes is more mid-focused and tighter and has a totally different gain character. Special Cranker doesn't do any real tone shaping. It simply sounds like your guitar and your amp, only dirtier. It has a more loose and slightly fuzzy gain character. I'm sure it would stack well with Dunes.
A lot of overdrive pedals are sensitive to input dynamics. But the most insanely dynamic pedal I've played in a long time has to be the Death By Audio Germanium Filter. That thing can go from completely clean to full-blown fuzz simply through you volume control and playing dynamics. Check it out. I have a full demo of it on my channel.
That would honestly all depend on context. If I was looking for a lot of sonic color/tone shaping and absolutely insane amounts of grainy gain, then Germanium Filter. If my context calls for transparency and amp-like low to medium gain, then Special Cranker. They are so different.
Wow this sounds incredible. Always love your playing dude. Suits the pedals.. not just bloody blues
Rad to hear you like it! And thanks for the sweet words about my playing. Warms my heart ❤
@@thepedalzone totally agreed! i’ve been researching overdrive pedals for the last few days and this is the first video i’ve seen that’s made me get up and run to the store to pick one up right away. your playing is amazing but also more descriptive if what i would actually be playing. not just blues licks. fantastic video and your playing is rad!
your tone is so great in this video. i've been listening to this video over and over today. i wish it was just hours of you jamming on this pedal.
have you ever played the walrus lore? i'd love to hear you demo that pedal.
It's new demo day once again, gang! And it's always a good day when the demo is of a new EarthQuaker Devices pedal. Special Cranker RIPS! If you dig the demo, then please consider leaving a comment, like or sharing the video. Every little action goes such a long way. Thank you for being who you are. You're the best - Stefan
Love your demos as always Stefan!
is it kind of like a klon or a Timmy?
@@loganhall7776 - No, far from it.
@@thepedalzone word; what would you say its most like?
Dude, I don't think enough people give you credit for you tasty your chops are. That song you start playing at 6:55 is simply DIVINE!
THANK YOU! Unbelievably kind of you to take the time to write such a sweet comment ❤
It kinda sounds like a Wolf Alice song.
Brilliant playing! Gorgeous.
Yeah, low key wide pallete, unpredicatable.
That's as lovely as a dirt pedal can get. Really impressive dynamics and response that fits your playing like a glove because it lets your musicality shine through. Never becoming too saturated at the expense of your tone. The boost/edge of breakup function - just wow! Superb my friend.
Adam! You're too kind. Thank you so much for your heartwarming words, my friend. Means a ton to me ❤ But I totally agree with your description of the pedal. It is an ultra-dynamic and responsive experience to play. Just a treat!
Always a pleasure to check in and hear your playing again Stefan. Beautiful
Gosh! Thank you for the sweet words
I had no idea that this update to the discontinued Speaker Cranker was dropping! These are often the tones I'm seeking out of my amps and overdrives. Thanks for the great riffs and alt tuning melodic passages, as usual, while you tweak & reveal the range of the tone/saturation options. Also, the Dispatch Master shines again as an instant box of subtle ambience, and the obne Reflector knocks it out of the park.
Thanks, Andy! Kind of you to take the time to write such a sweet and in-depth comment. Really appreciate it! Definitely recommend you check out this pedal, if you get the chance. Highly affordable and highly awesome 😊
Your enthusiasm for pedals influences my happiness. Thanks.
Oh my! Your kind comment just put the biggest smile on my face. Thank you so much!
Sold ... That's the tone and versatility I want. It sounds absolutely mind bogglingly good. Maybe THE perfect bist/Overdrive pedal for post rock and ambiente
Happy you like it! It's a really great dirt pedal. A steal at that price point.
You made a great video showcasing the dynamics of the pedal. I especially appreciate the demo of the tone roll-off/on, not to mention your riffs are stellar. Great job! I think I'm ordering one today.
Man! Thank you so much! Yeah, this pedal is really responsive to input strength/dynamics, so there's a ton of different shades of dirt to explore, just through the volume knob on your guitar and through your picking dynamics. Wonderful pedal. Honored to hear that my demo has inspired you to potentially pick one up.
I’m def an “EarthQuaker Bro” or whatever. Haha.. I get excited when I hear they have a new pedal. I wasn’t totally excited by this 1 until this demo, so thank you for showcasing the aspects of pedals that seem to overlap w/ what I care about a pedal doing.
I'm stoked to hear that I was able to present the pedal in a context that resonates with you. This pedal is delightfully dynamic 😊
I love the passion you have for pedals, your playing is outstanding and the sounds you get inspiring. Love your reviews
Oh boy! You're making me blush here... Thank you so much for your incredible kindness. Made my day ❤
That entire Are We Breaking Up? section starting at 7:00 speaks to my soul my man. Beautiful playing!
Thank you so very much! Deeply honored to hear that the music carried you somewhere else ❤
Just... great melodies Stefan... it's always so good to hear you play!
Thank you very very much!
I had been trying to decide if I wanted one of these, this video convinced me. I got one today, and it's very nice. Thanks for posting this!
Spectacular! Wonderful playing demoing this pedal. I just ordered one and can't wait to try it out.
Thank you so much! This pedal is awesome. It's become an always-on pedal for me.
Man! I love watching you play. You are a phenomenal guitar player and your pedal overviews are out of this world. Really appreciate what you do!!’
Another one of your demo where I will come back just to listen to your amazing playing.
Great demo by the way 👍
Dude! Thank you so much. Really cool to hear you enjoy the playing so much 🙏
I've got the speaker cranker on my board and since the first stepp on it I would never take it off again. It really is a "makes the sound better" pedal. It has some kind of light "natural compression" goin on... All sounds better with it than without. Really love the "one knob" philosophy at the version one, it has his own magic.
I really liked the original as well, and I'm in general a fan of super simple one-knob pedals, but there were times when I wished for more control over the overall output level of the pedal, and the Special Cranker delivers that and more. But I'm really happy that the OG one works for you, your style and your rig. It's really satisfying to just have a pedal with a single knob labelled MORE that just delivers what you need 😊
I love when i search for a pedal and there is your demo on it
Awwwwww ❤
I am sold. Beautiful demo. Your playing is awesome too. Just what a wanna hear.
Thank you so much! Means a lot to me 🙏
As usual Stefan your hyper melodic demo songs immediately demonstrate the artistic potential of this piece of gear. One day you should think about making a full album with these pieces. Again a wonderful magic box from EQD.
Thank you Stefan.
Your playing - wow - the pedal is at home with your riffs. Thank you for doing a great, fitting demo.
Gosh! Thank you so much!
Man, I always love it when you demo drives, because I know the playing will be tasteful, the sounds varied and your use of dynamics is just *chef's kiss*! I love everything about the Special Cranker except maybe it's looks, and at the $99 price tag it's probably gonna wind up on my board sometime soon. Sick demo, Stefan!
Thank you so much, friend! Yeah, it's weird. I really didn't use to like to demo dirt pedals, but I've really started to appreciate it over the last couple of years. Forces my mind and hands to leave their comfort zones, which is healthy. Really appreciate your support, bud. Always means a lot to me!
Amazing. Can’t wait to get my hands on it.
Cheers! Awesome to hear you're getting one. This is a serious bang for the buck overdrive
enjoyed the playing on this vid; thanks! nice demo of the cranker too
Thanks, man! Means a lot to me!
Watched the video cause of the pedal, rewatched it because of your playing, ordered the pedal...watched the video 10x more... Great as always!!!
Beautiful playing. Kept my interest all the way through. The pedal is a must have for me.
Thank you very much for the kind words!
I actually bought this pedal this morning. Running it through a Jordin BA-50 and I'm stoked with the sound I have now using the Special Cranker !
Your playing is just otherworldly :) and the pedal is amazing, I order it right away...I also play J Mascis, what agreat affordable guitar !
Thank you, man! Incredibly kind of you ❤ And yes, the J Mascis Jazzmaster is a wonderful guitar. One of the best gear purchases I've ever made
Fantastic demo, some beautiful sounds and exactly how i want to hear that pedal used. And as Robert said below, that composition at 6:55 is glorious!
Dude! Thank you so much. Warms my heart ❤
Agreed. Very explosions in the sky but dirtier. Fantastic harmonics.
Great demo as usual Stefan! Love this!
Thank you, Mike! Best wishes to you and yours ❤
Everything about "Are We Breaking Up ?" is totaly awesome...
THANK YOU! I'm really pleased with how that composition turned out as well
Whoa! Unbelievable playing as always!
Man! Thank you!
Always awesome, inspiring riffs!
Thanks a lot!
Beautiful playing, sir!
Thank you kindly!
Man you make the best demos! Exactly the type of stuff I want to hear when watching a demo for a pedal, not some dude from a guitar shop testing it that only knows blues licks.
Wow, thanks! Insanely kind of you to say ❤
I love your channel because you put the pedals in different contexts in your demos. Your playing is amazing, too. Thanks for this video!
Thank you so much! Happy that the way I demo pedals resonates with you 😊
Wow Stefan, I rarely get excited about dirt pedals but between your playing and the dynamics of this pedal, I'm blown away! Nice job 🙏
Awww, man! That means the absolute world to me. Thank you! You should definitely check it out if you get the chance. Really lovely drive pedal. Really open and responsive :)
@@thepedalzone I've just done the biggest overhaul of my board in a couple of years, and of the three pedals I swapped out, two of them (OBNE Sunlight and Boss SY 200) the clincher decision came after watching your vids. Looks like a new dirt pedal is following suit 🙂
Amazing playing. Nailed this demo.... so expressive with its sonic color. 💯
Oh boy! Thank you so much!
It's got a subtle green ringer thing going on in the overtones at times. Very cool!
Yeah, there's some wild harmonic content going on as the notes start to stack up, that's for sure. I love it!
wow, i need this pedal. thanks for the demo!
Heeeey! Happy you like it, man. Definitely go for it. It's a really great dirt device.
Really nice playing man. Well done.
Thank you so much!
I always thought that the Speaker Cranker isn't for me, but this would could be right up my alley. Sounds awesome!
Happy you enjoyed the sounds, man. It's a killer pedal. It has quickly become the foundation for my core tone in my band.
That's a lovely shade of gain. I want one.
Go for it! It's rad.
Great playing!
Thank you very much!
I couldn’t decide on what pedal to get next. I’m not a huge fan of over drive or distortion. I do like Fuzz.
Anywho, this video truly informed my decision. I’m in love with this pedal. You’re playing a similar style to what I play and in that context it’s PERFECT.
Really happy to hear you enjoyed the demo. Special Cranker is awesome. And I think the reason why it might resonate with you (definitely the reason why it resonates with me) is because it actually captures those grungy harmonics that you get from real amp breakup, and those harmonics are often also very prevalent (although in a more exaggerated way) in Fuzz. This thing really sounds like you just installed another pre-amp tube in your amp. It doesn't mess with your core sound at all. Just makes it more harmonically rich
@@thepedalzone dude, beautifully stated. You’re completely right.
you have impeccable taste in pick guards, my dude!
Thanks! Indra Guitars made them. He's a wizard!
Love it......get mine tomorrow. It's like the Bows and the Arrows in one groovy orange box.
Nice! Sure you're gonna love it
I always want something that sounds like me, buy only dirtier and angrier! Haha, lovely sweet low gain rolled back tones here... Lovely job good sir
Well, here you have it! Get angry, my friend ☺ Yeah, I really enjoyed the low gain settings in this thing. The dirty boost tones are incredible, and I'll probably put it on the board just for that always-on slight breakup tone.
Insane video
Thanks, bud! I hope you're doing well ❤
MOST UNDERRATED PEDAL OF ALL TIME. It does it all. I use it to crank my ac15 with guitar / and on my bass / it goes to overdrive to fuzzy tone / transparent sound. All of that for only 130€ .. god
I own the dispatch master. Noticed yours.. I currently have a Dallas rangemaster copy I built but think this may be a better option. Less noisy. I don't need the whole ceiling of sound raised. Just Want more of the amps natural overdrive hit harder.
Great song
Thanks!
amazing tones! Dispath Master aways a good companion
THANK YOU! Yeah, it's never a bad idea to include the Dispatch Master in the mix 😊
I think it’s one of the greatest dirt pedals. a true classic!! Just like it’s cousin the dispatcher which is one of the best delay reverb units ever made.The great thing about them is they are not expensive like all classic pedals that started their journey and they sound spectacular. I love your demos and your presentation, it’s tasteful and to the point. $99.0 just buy one ☝️
sounds sick man! :)
Thaaaaaaaanks! Hope you're doing well, guys. Miss ya ❤
@@thepedalzone come to Australia! 😜
man your playing always inspires me, so insanely good. Do you mind if I ask what tuning you're normally playing in?
Thank you! Unbelievably kind of you. I normally play a lot in EAEABE, which my Jennings Navigator (the black Tele-style guitar) is tuned to. But in this demo I chose to dive into the iconic math-rock tuning FACGCE, which my Jazzmaster is tuned to, in order to get some new inspiration.
@@thepedalzone Thanks for sharing those tunings! I'm almost never in standard, so this goes a long way.
Sounds like it would compliment other dirt pedals really well in theory. Now I need to buy one to see if it does in practice too....
It does! Since it's so full frequency it will not alter the sound of your other drives. Simply just add more grit and character to them, which is amazing. I like to keep it on lower gain settings, but keep the volume up, and then slam the front of more high-gain distortions and fuzz pedals. Makes them sing endlessly while adding a touch more clarity and bite.
Came here for the pedal review - stayed for the beautiful melodies you're playing. Perfection to a fan of melodic post-rock like me. Do you have any tabs or guitar tutorials online?
Very very sweet of you to say. Thank you! No, I don't do tabs or guitar tutorials. I have no real clue what I'm doing playing-wise. I just noodle around in open tunings and find some melodies I like :)
@@thepedalzone thanks so much for your response. I haven’t experimented with open tunings yet. Do you remember what open tuning you had the guitar set to for this video?
Well, I use two amps, looks like I need two of these; one on germanium and on silicon! Oh happy days!
That would be a rad way to rig things up!
Wish more people would do demos like this… more textural post-rock / shoegaze -- less blues noodling. Inspirational playing and tone! Would love to see some tabs for the stuff you're playing here.
Incredibly kind of you, man! Thank you!
Stefan, your demos are always spot on. I picked this one up, it nails the low gain low end rasp that I was looking for without muddying the signal-think 90's mid-fi indie and slowcore. Also, the Dispatch Master is still a top five desert island pedal!
Thank you so much! And I totally agree on its low-gain tones. They are just spectacular. It's actually a "transparent" drive pedal with a noticeable sonic character. Not something you encounter often.
Obrigado pelos seus vídeos! São sensacionais! Há paixão neles!
great demo my man. i love the riffs you use in your dirt pedal demos. quick question: what tuning are you using for the jazzmaster? i think it would fit a sound i've been going for
Awww! Thank you so much for your kindness. The Jazzmaster is tuned to FACGCE. Really fun tuning
I don’t even watch for the pedals anymore, just the playing.
Amazing as always! I would love to see you do the freezer test with this pedal and maybe some more to test how it sounds got vs cold. Have you seen Sylvia Massey’s video on freezing germanium pedals? It’s literally super “cool” 😎
Nowadays I First click like then watch. It is always good
Dude! Thank you for the kindness and support
Hey Stefan,
Your videos are fantastic!
Have you done a demo of the Walrus Audio Slö / Slötvå? I would love to hear your take on this ambient reverb.
I have a Palisades, which I love... but now wondering what if I ran a Crancker into a Dunes instead...
I enjoy your demo videos. They are musical and far from the usual blues-rock licks ans patterns. Where do you find the nice pickguards we can see on your guitars?
Thank you very much for the kind words. My pickguards are made by Indra Guitars
@@thepedalzone Thanks.
Sounds killer!!!
But dunno why this demo kinda makes me want a dispatch master instead😅
Also that second to last tune is dope! What’s the tuning for that?
Thank you! Everybody should own a Dispatch Master. There's simply not a bad sound in that pedal, and it's applicable across every single genre out there. And thanks for the kind words about that composition. Personally also think it's one of the best I've ever written. It was written in FACGCE.
Dispatchmaster is the best pedal of the modern age! 100% satisfaction guaranteed
@@grantdickey - I wholeheartedly agree! :)
G'morgen ven, sikke en dejlig overraskelse til morgenkaffen også lige op til weekenden. Håber alt er vel :)
Godmorgen! Jeg skal sgu også have hældt noget kaffe i min kop, og det kan kun gå for langsomt ☺ Alt er godt her. Håber kaffen og de beskidte drive toner gør din morgen ekstra god!
Well heck. I want one.
Rad! It's a great pedal.
Where do you get your puck guards from? Really dig the brass look 🤌
Hey! Glad you like it! It's a pickguard from Indra Guitars
Pretty nice, this reminds me of the Zvex Channel 2 (which is just a SHO with a master volume knob as well as the gain knob) and the Boss OD-3. Just valve-y, good and simple. I’d buy this if I didn’t have other things like it.
Never played a Channel 2, but I've owned an OD-3, and that's probably my favorite Boss Overdrive. I totally get that you're getting similar vibes from the Special Cranker. Special Cranker sounds bolder, heftier and more harmonically rich than the OD-3 though, and OD-3 is a tad more compressed to my ears. I'm sure they would stack wonderfully together 😊
I want to know who’ll be doing EQD’s custom colours of this one!
I'm sure you get asked this a lot, but where did you get that awesome pickguard?
It was made by Indra Guitars :)
this could well be the first EQD pedal I buy (or perhaps the Afterneath...)
Both of those pedals would be a great way into the world of EQD 😊
@@thepedalzone indeed
Your playing was a piece of art. Alcest fan ?
Awwww! Thank you so much! Yeah, I love Alcest 😍
@@thepedalzone Nice ! Do you have a band with your work on the guitar ?
Lot of Smashing Pumpkins tones and chords in here. Not a downside, just a comment. Tasty tones in here.
Okay! Think that's a first time anyone has thought of Smashing Pumpkins while listening to me play. I'm honored though. Love that band :)
So would you say this is one of the most dynamic drive pedals you've ever played? If not, I'm curious to know what is, or maybe your top 3 if it's too hard to choose just one. Excellent demo as usual, my friend!
Explosions In The Sky / …Trail Of Dead all over this. Love it. Check out the Friday Night Lights OST if you haven’t already.
Love both of those bands to the moon and back. I'm a huge EITS fan, but somehow never really got into exploring their soundtracks. I'll definitely give that a go. Cheers 😊
update, I bought one. : )
Rad!
Hey I’m always curious, what tuning do you use most often? I can see it’s standard in some cases, what’re the others? Jw
I have to try this pedal 😅 would love to see if anyone compares this to the germanium filter that came out this year
I can give you a quick written comparison/impression, since I've made videos for both of them. Special Cranker is definitely your more "conventional" overdrive affair. It doesn't really color or compress your core signal. Just adds warm and dynamic overdrive to it. Germanium Filter, on the other hand, is all about color and compression. It will heavily shape your tone, no matter what setting you choose, and it also has a much much MUCH wider gain range, that goes from gritty jangly boost to full-on blooming destructive fuzz. So it all depends on what you're looking for.
@@thepedalzone thank you !!!
So I’m stuck between this or the plumes? If you can only get one, which would you go for?
What tuning is the melodic bit starting at 7:00 in? it's so good
The entire demo is in FACGCE. Happy you enjoyed the tunes. Means a lot to me 🙏
Sounds great esp. with the p90s Cheers 🌞
Thank you! Happy you liked it.
Pleeeeeease tell me where you got those pickguards. They are so sick!
Indra Guitars made them for me. He's a wizard!
@@thepedalzone Sick!! Thank you :)
I'm finding that as I research more and more distortion, overdrive, and fuzz pedals, I care less about the shape of the tone or transparency (or lack thereof), and more about the character of the gain itself. The texture of the distortion, in other words.
For this reason I prefer the sounds of Rats, HM-2s, and most fuzz pedals over something more neutral like a Klon.
I like the slightly fuzzy quality I'm hearing in this pedal. Probably because they're using Germanium and Silicon.
Totally agree! Character/harmonic content is everything, and this is most definitely an overdrive with character. Has a ton of harmonics that both bloom and at times fold in on each other, which creates this light pseudo-octave fuzz texture. I love it.
Sweet! Cranked Fender Tweed tones here we come! I can now do Neil Young meets post rock … great demo, and the pedal is awesome value too
Yeah, the way the low-end saturates definitely has some Tweed feel to it. Harvest Moon would be a delight in a post-rock arrangement
I'm pretty sure you could play the majority of songs by Silversun Pickups with just this pedal alone.
It would definitely get very close to their rhythm tones. Might need a fuzz and delay as well for the melodic leads and textures they sprinkle here and there, but a solid overdrive like the Special Cranker will definitely get you far into Silversun Pickups territory.
This seems like the type of pedal that excels at stacking with other dirt
Definitely. I'm surrently using it as a gritty boost in my setup, using it after distortion to give dirty rhythms more bite and punch.
Please tell me what you did with this lovely pickguard!
I didn’t do anything. Indra Guitars made it for me. He’s a design wizard 🧙♂️
@@thepedalzone Great, thanks for the info. I'll take a look straight away. I love my j mascis jazzmaster and she really deserves an individual pickguard! Thank you for your fantastic videos, which always inspire me and give me a different perspective on pedals and playing techniques. stay healthy!
I wonder how well this stacks with the Dunes and wether they overlap?
There's no real overlap. Dunes is more mid-focused and tighter and has a totally different gain character. Special Cranker doesn't do any real tone shaping. It simply sounds like your guitar and your amp, only dirtier. It has a more loose and slightly fuzzy gain character. I'm sure it would stack well with Dunes.
@@thepedalzone 🙏🏻thanks for the informative reply ✨
Know of any pedals that have similar volume Interaction like this does?
A lot of overdrive pedals are sensitive to input dynamics. But the most insanely dynamic pedal I've played in a long time has to be the Death By Audio Germanium Filter. That thing can go from completely clean to full-blown fuzz simply through you volume control and playing dynamics. Check it out. I have a full demo of it on my channel.
Great demo man! I would like to find a demo of using this pedal to boost a driven amp though!
hey, what was the pedal order of this demo with respect to the front of the amp and the effects loop? Thanks!
Everything is going into the front of the amp. I never use amp FX Loops. I'm too lazy for that 😂😊
if you had to chose between this one and germanium filter by DBA what would you chose? :)
That would honestly all depend on context. If I was looking for a lot of sonic color/tone shaping and absolutely insane amounts of grainy gain, then Germanium Filter. If my context calls for transparency and amp-like low to medium gain, then Special Cranker. They are so different.