Which Earthquaker Devices Overdrive Pedal is Right For Me?
Gain Tones Galore! Lots of versatility with ease of use in all three options of the Palisades, Dunes and Plumes overdrive pedals.
Earthquaker Devices knows a thing or two about making an overdrive pedal. So well that we'd like to bring you their three most popular overdrive options: the Palisades, The Dunes, and The Plumes. All of which all provide overdrive capabilities but with slightly different features. For those who are in the market for another stompbox, we're breaking down the difference between the three so you can decide which one is the best for you and your style of playing. Scroll below for the full scoop on these models from Earthquaker, and check out the side-by-side photos while you're at it!
Earthquaker Devices Palisades Controls
The EarthQuaker Devices Palisades V2 overdrive pedal is based on that, but with two gain channels, five bandwidth settings, and six clipping modes for amazing sonic flexibility. This second-generation version adds EarthQuaker's flexi-switch silent-relay-based switching for, well, silent switching. The Gain knob interacts with the Voice and Bandwidth knobs to cover a wide range of overdrive tones: transparent and open, tight and crunchy, thin and light, fat and heavy, you name it. There's even a footswitchable volume boost to punch up your solos! If you need multiple flavors of overdrive but only want one overdrive pedal on your pedalboard, the Palisades is our pick for what you'd want to use. We also can't overstate how helpful this pedal is when recording guitars. Many of us have used this pedal in studio sessions to really dial in how the heavy guitars sit in the mix.
Earthquaker Devices Dunes Controls
The Dunes features the same Gain, Tone and Level controls as the Palisades, along with our favorite voice and bandwidth settings, as well as the Normal/Bright toggle. The selectable clipping Voices are: MOSFET for a tight crunchy sound (Palisades’ Setting 3); Silicon Asymmetrical clipping for tighter light gain OD closest to the classic 808 sound (Palisades’ Setting 4), and None, which goes from clean boost to gritty, pure op-amp distortion with a massive volume boost (Palisades’ Setting 1). The two Bandwidth settings are Stock for the classic tone (Palisades’ Setting 3) and Full Range for more low end (Palisades’ Setting 5). Think of the Dunes pedal of the pedal you want if you like the tweakability of the Palisades but want to save on some pedalboard real estate and already perhaps own a boost pedal separately.
Earthquaker Devices The Plumes Controls
The Plumes has three different clipping options for your consideration. Mode 1 is symmetrical clipping utilizing a pair of light emitting diodes. This is the crunchiest setting the Plumes has to offer. When played through a clean amp, it’ll deliver a reasonable facsimile of that classic black and gold British valve amp tone. If you already set your amp dirty, using this mode will make it filthy. Mode 2 is clean boost mode. This eliminates the soft clipping diodes altogether and leaves you with straight OpAmp drive. This is perfect for pushing your clean tone out in front or driving the preamp of an already overdriven amp into tasteful breakup territory. Mode 3 is an asymmetrical silicon diode arrangement similar to the stock screamer but with more output and clean clarity; the tone some people describe as “transparent”.
Earthquaker Palisades, The Plumes, & The Dunes Sound
The Voice and bandwidth controls of the Palisades allow it to go from nearly-transparent amp-pushing tones, to a fat-sounding fuzz. Cleans glisten through, while there is still a ton of gain available, switching from one end to the other is easy with the two adjustable channels and boost.
The Dunes tends to be more on the creamy side in terms of tone, but with no shortage of gain for aggressive styles. Its mean when it needs to be, and still retains clarity and note definition!
The Plumes is very transparent sounding, retaining your original tone while adding some flavor to it. Its more on the fuzz side than the others, but every time we plug into this thing we've ended up with a huge grin on our faces.
Which one is right for you?
If you want ultimate versatility, the Palisades is the only way to go. The multitude of controls really makes this box shine as a worthy contender for someone playing in the studio or on stage.
The Dunes is for those after a more traditional boost with a little less mid-range-y grit, but at no sacrifice to gain for aggressive tone seekers. You'll get a smooth and overdriven sound that doesn't cloud the base-tone you started with. If you're a lead player that needs every note to sing, this is the one for you.
The Plumes works great for those looking for a stompbox on the fuzzy side, but without clouding your amp and guitar tone. It sounds organic and tube-driven, and that is what we like most about it. If you want something for aggressive rock lead and rhythm tones while maintaining space on your pedalboard, look no further.
Earthquaker Palisades, The Plumes, & The Dunes Price
Earthquaker Palisades retails at this point in time for $249.00
Earthquaker Dunes retails at this point in time for $189.00
Earthquaker Plumes retails at this point in time for $99.00
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