Earthquaker Devices Arpanoid review

Get a scale from just one note...

  • £199
  • €249
  • $295

MusicRadar Verdict

Not the most universally useful pedal, but creative sonic explorers will have lots of fun here.

Pros

  • +

    Clever.

Cons

  • -

    Limited use.

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Want to hear a scale when you play a single note? The Arpanoid will oblige you by taking what you play and transforming it into an ascending or descending scale or one that ascends and descends continually.

Wet and Dry knobs let you set the relative levels of the generated sequence and your dry sound while two more determine the speed of the sequence and how many notes are in it.

There are eight sequence modes: four follow a major scale and four follow a minor scale. The sequence can variously run from an octave down to the root, the root to an octave up or an octave down through the root to an octave up. The adventurous can select a random pattern instead...

A very clever pedal, if you can find a musical use for it other than to simultaneously surprise and baffle your audience.

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.