Oftentimes, trying to represent Death on the guitar would involve using amplification and effects that would equate to something like the sound of grinding or gnashing of teeth. Would warm and creamy fit the bill? I would think no. Some warmth maybe but it has to be harsh. Think about it; have you ever handled a warm cadaver? Medical school experience tells me no. While having a cold body to dig into inside a hot anatomy laboratory in a tropical country brings in quite an experience, it is what the EarthQuaker Tone Reaper is trying to exhibit: a "paradoxical" tone.

The Tone Reaper is a vintage style fuzz unit with three-knob control. At its core is a silicon-germanium hybrid that is capable of producing tones from various eras courtesy of careful tweaking of the tone and fuzz controls. This pedal is that straightforward.

Talking about its sound, the impression the MP3 demos gave me is that of Tony Iommi. Given the imagery that the actual Tone Reaper unit provides, it must have taken a page sonically and visually from the Black Sabbath axeman. Even the MP3 demo with the drums gave that kind of vibe. If you would think of another band that started a whole darker concept way before Sabbath, King Crimson is what springs up to mind, and this pedal can reproduce that early Robert Fripp overdrive. This pedal can be powered up by either a 9-Volt battery or any standard 9-Volt DC power supply with a negative center 2.1-mm barrel. The EarthQuaker Devices Tone Reaper is now available from EarthQuaker Devices dealers for 145.00 USD.