With its light/optical circuit, EarthQuaker’s The Depths is inspired in no small measure by the Uni-Vibe. But in typical EarthQuaker fashion, it tweaks a classic formula to more expressive and more practical ends.
Compact, Potent Vibrations The pedal’s exterior is dressed up with a hybrid octopus/bathysphere graphic that gets our vote for coolest stompbox art of the year. Just above, five knobs are arrayed in an X-shape: control, intensity, level, rate, voice, and throb. The first three are self- explanatory. The latter two shape the output tone and add low-end emphasis to the modulation, respectively, expanding the range of musical scenarios where The Depths can shine.
There’s a lot going on in the depths of The Depths’ compact enclosure. Cracking it open reveals a tidy PCB-mounted optical circuit. Such circuits work by placing a small lamp adjacent to a light-sensing photocell so that the rate and intensity of the light control the effect. You can actually observe the lamp reacting as you adjust controls: Turning the voice control clockwise makes the lamp brighter. It blinks faster as you advance the rate settings. And intensity adjustments make the light swell in brightness more or less gently. In a number-crunching DSP age, it’s a fascinatingly anachronistic technology that generates organic and nuanced modulation tones.
Ratings
Pros:
Deep, beautifully countered modulations. Great speed and depth range. Powerful tone-shaping controls.
Cons:
No expression pedal option.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build:
Value:
Street:
$195
Company
earthquakerdevices.com
Bubbling Up, Getting the Bends Like most good Uni-Vibe style effects, The Depths is beautifully musical at mellow settings. Keeping the rate low and the intensity at about noon that adds a funky, psychedelic character to slow, bluesy Hendrix-style licks or meandering Jerry Garcia-style lead runs. Slow rate settings also make it easy to hear the gently contoured waveform that defines The Depths’ basic voice. It’s fluid, harmonically rich modulation that can be tailored to fit an arrangement, mood, or rig via the voice and throb knobs.
Bass-heavy voice and throb settings add emphasis and power to low-end modulations, making The Depths sound positively abyssal at slow rates. Fast rate settings, meanwhile, benefit from treblier voice settings and less pronounced throb settings, which sharpen modulations and lend definition as things speed up.
The level knob is a valuable and powerful addition, given how intense and how focused in the EQ spectrum these modulations can be. Aggressive voice and throb settings blunt high-mid content and emphasize the volume drop most players perceive in heavy modulation situations. I typically kept the level at two o’clock or higher, which kept the modulations pronounced while adding a little overdrive color.
The Verdict The Depths addresses nearly every complaint anyone ever had with a Uni-Vibe. For some purists, the lack of a rate pedal like that on the original may offset the added tone-tailoring power. But with its improved tonal range and musical versatility, The Depths can be an invaluable weapon for studio and stage players who like to hone modulation sounds for a given song. The Depths delivers all this flexibility with an analog circuit and a beautiful, vintage-flavored voice. It’s a cool evolution of a cool effect.
Rocking and Rolling The Talking Pedal’s large, eye-catching logo glows red when the unit is engaged. To bypass, just rock the pedal forward, and the logo light turns off. Rolling it forward again re-engages the filter circuit.
Ratings
Pros:
Exciting new take on pedal expression. Formant filter tones are rich and throaty. Fuzz circuit is an excellent addition. Great price.
Cons:
Can’t rest pedal in fixed position. Attaching to a pedalboard requires $13 Cradle add-on.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$95
Electro-Harmonix Talking Pedal
ehx.com
One significant difference between the Next Step design and standard expression pedals: Gravity returns the pedal to its horizontal resting point, so you can’t park it in a fixed position, not can you Velcro its bottom to a pedalboard. (Thankfully, not long after debuting the Next Step line, EHX released their $13 Cradle—a “holster” for the unit so it can be strapped down for secure transport.)
Talk Dirty To Me The Talking Pedal is dead silent when engaged, but its vowel sounds are rich and bold. You get a beefier tone than from a typical wah because the filters sweep multiple registers simultaneously. Paired with the neck humbucker on my Gibson SG, the pedal absolutely growled with overtones. A slow sweep through the pedal’s range produces vowel sounds from “EE-OW” to “AH-EYE” to “YA-OH,” much like the range of tones available on EHXs Stereo Talking Machine. Sweeping quickly provides fast-talking vocal expressiveness that can focus your tone and make riffs stand out.
The fuzz circuit is a useful addition, because a bit of drive and compression can push those filtered frequencies to the forefront. You control the fuzz content via a small side-mounted dial. The distortion has a squishy yet powerful tone that’s almost Big Muff-like. The more fuzz you add, the more compressed the signal, and the squelchier the formant tones. At extreme settings, you get an awesome megaphone-like effect.
The Verdict Time will tell whether EHX’s new take on the expression pedal paradigm will last. I encountered few frustrations other than the inability to set the pedal in a fixed position. The vocal formant sweeps are bold and throaty, while the fuzz circuit elevates those tones to new heights. The Talking Pedal is an exciting effect that may inspire new playing approaches.