EarthQuaker Devices Sea Machine V3 Chorus & Modulation

EarthQuaker Devices Sea Machine V3

The EarthQuaker Devices Sea Machine is a chorus pedal with as many modulation varieties as there are fish in the ocean. That’s a lot of fish and a lot of modulation.

From subtle, shimmery chorus sounds to wobbly, seasick, warbly pitch-bent detuning that rocks the boat, the Sea Machine is the audio bait that’ll help you reel in the big one.

The Sea Machine ain’t no one-trick seahorse because it has a mix of standard and unique controls. Everything from subtle warble, classic Leslie, and seasick pitch bends.

Strangled alien sounds, stunted arpeggiations, and many more far-out sounds are also available, or you could just use it as a chorus!

That works, too. Oh, and if you’re a bass player who fancies yourself as a fan of the classic 80s bass sound, then the Sea Machine is pretty much just like tone heaven.

We’ve designed the Sea Machine to work well following fuzz/overdrive/distortion pedals without getting muddy, lowering in output, or breaking up, because we like running distortion pedals into things.

Also, when engaged, the Sea Machine’s buffer leaves the all analogue dry signal unaltered and crystal clear.

The Sea Machine is true-bypass, uses silent relay-based switching, and is built one at a time in the belly of the great white whale along the shores of the Ohio & Erie Canal in Akron, Ohio, USA

There are a few Sea Machine video demos here.

Controls:

The delay line has controls for Dimension, Animate, and Intensity.

Dimension

The Dimension control adds a slightly detuned slapback at low levels, reverb-like ambience at mid-levels, and a trippy echo resonance that leads to self-oscillation when cranked.

Animate

The Animate control is the real pearl in the Sea Machine’s oyster, if you will.

This controls how far the pitch swings. At lower settings, you’ll hear slight detuning for a subtle double-tracked thickening effect, á la traditional chorus pedals.

As you increase the Animate control, the pitch swings further and further away from the root note.

This gives an effect that lies somewhere between chorus and vibrato, before landing at full tilt on sonar-like oscillations. In this setting, it sounds more like a giant monster-movie beast waking from its undersea slumber than any effects pedal we’ve ever heard.

Intensity

Finally, the Intensity control rounds out the delay line, adjusting the blend between the wet and dry signals.

Controls Summary

• Animate: How far the pitch-shifted signal swings, lower levels equal a tighter and more focused shift à la traditional chorus. As you increase the control a more wild and animated pitch shift begins to emerge.
• Dimension: Adds a slight slap-back at low levels, reverb-like ambiance at mid levels and an echo-resonance that will lead to self-oscillation at max.
• Intensity: Adjusts how much modulated signal is blended in with the dry signal. Unity for this control is right around noon, everything above that is boosting the modulated signal.
• Depth: Adjusts how strongly the LFO modulates the delay time.
• Shape: Goes from triangle wave to square wave as you turn clockwise.
• Rate: This sets the speed of the LFO. The miniature LED will blink to the tempo, even in bypass mode.

Flexi-Switch® Technology

This device features Flexi-Switch® Technology! This relay-based, true bypass switching style allows you to simultaneously use momentary and latching style switching.

• For standard latching operation, tap the footswitch once to activate the effect and then tap again to bypass.
• For momentary operation, hold the footswitch down for as long as you’d like to use the effect. Once you release the switch the effect will be bypassed.

Since the switching is relay based, it requires power to pass signal.

This device takes a standard 9 volt DC power supply with a 2.1mm negative center barrel. We always recommend quality power supplies or multiple isolated-output supplies. Draws approx 40 mA

Pedals will make extra noise if there is ripple or unclean power. Switching-type power supplies, daisy chains and non-pedal specific power supplies do not filter dirty power as well and let through unwanted noise. Do not run at higher voltages