EarthQuaker Devices Westwood Translucent Drive Manipulator Reviews

This purchase was a successful one as the tone of EQD Westwood is what I was looking for.

And I like that it can add a good amount of distortion. Sounds awesome with other effects too.

the peddle does drverything as advertised will buy more earthquake products

This pedal is amazing! It works well as a clean boost, Classic Rock overdrive and it even gets some very cool and thick fuzz tones that are great for Doom Metal. The active EQ is a joy to use. Leave that Tubescreamer on the shelf and get this instead. You will be glad that you did.

Forget the TS9, this is the pedal you need to tighten up your tone. I use this with my Orange amps to get the edge needed to cut in the mix better and it's all thanks to this beauty. I haven't tried it with a 5150 style amp yet but I can only imagine you can dial in that perfect tone to cut in the mix.

Works great with Les Paul style single cuts and high output humbucker loaded guitars. I can't recommend it enough!

First and foremost, I have had this pedal for a month (ish) as of writing this. So far, I love the Westwood. With this review, I hope to create an all encompassing report as to the Westwood.

Appearance:
-First of all, I find the color to be kind of ugly. Some of my buddies like it, but it's not my thing. I'm not going to ding it for it's color though, I care about how it sounds.
-The indicator light is stupid bright. We had a church service where the lights were dimmed and you could see the blue light on the ceiling.

Quality/Craftsmanship:
-The switch is one without a loud click. I like it.
-The EQ knobs have a notch at the noon position which keeps the knob in the center if you want it there.

Sound:
-This has a good range of sounds on the gain knob. Noonish and below is transparent, while above noon it loses some transparency in exchange for nice cranked Fender Champ-esque grit.
-The EQ is very effective. However, it's only useful from 9 to 3.
-One of my favorite things to do: Crank the bass and gain, and it becomes a fuzz!
-It actually is an OK tube screamer alternative for boosting a high gain amp.
-Mine tends to have bass around 3, treble at noon, gain at 10-11, and volume at unity. Works great with some reverb for Sunday worship.

Overall, this is a great pedal for many styles of music. It is very versatile and would fit in on most pedalboards. I would recommend it to anyone.

Just got this pedal today, added it to my board, and played for the next three hours. It gives me the sound of my guitar, the sound of my amp (both of which I love), and a wide range of drive options - clean boost to near fuzz, with a simple two-knob EQ to shape it how I want. Couldn't be happier with this thing. Works and plays well with others, too. When I called Taylor (my SE), on a Wednesday, I asked if he could get it to me by Saturday because I was going to be re-configuring my board over the weekend. He said they were out of stock, but expected more to come in the following Monday - bummer. Magically, though, the new stock arrived the next day, and Taylor got it to me by Saturday morning! Taylor rocks! (literally, as a guitarist - but also as an SE).

As soon as I tried this pedal out I knew that it was for me. The drive is very nice and the EQ is incredible for fine tuning the tone. I primarily use this for adding a little edge for rhythm parts. I would for sure recommend this pedal!

I have been playing bass for 40 years. I currently run some vintage Epiphone basses through a Fender Rumble stack (500w head, 1x15 cab, 4x10 cab). The rig is loud as sin, but a bit sterile sounding, so I use a Darkglass Vintage preamp as an always-on box to warm up the tone. For about a decade, I have been using a Cusack Bass Screamer for overdriven tones.

My problem with almost all bass overdrives/distortions/fuzzes is that they suck low end, and sound too "fizzy." Like there's a layer of "fizz" on top of the fundamental bass tone, while at the same time sucking much of the fundamental bass tone away. The Cusack was the least offensive pedal in this regard that I'd ever found.

But now I found the Westwood. Goodbye Cusack. This thing is simply monsterous on bass. Rather than give you sizzle, it gives you GRIND. The distortion seems to hit the low mids more than anything else, so instead of sounding like a bass player with a guitarist using fuzz next to you on stage, your whole tone goes into this massive, crunchy roar. I've never, in 40 years, heard anything like it. I can tromp this thing on stage, and with proper adjustment of the bass knob, I lose absolutely NO low end... the walls keep shaking. And the treble knob allows me to dial OUT the fizzy bit that I don't care for. What I end up with is an overdriven bass tone that sounds like the crust of the earth has opened up to swallow everyone in earshot. It is HUGE.

If you're looking for extreme overdrive/fuzz effects, this is probably not for you... it's a "low to mid gain" distortion effect, and it's extremely transparent (it doesn't change the tone of your instrument at all). But if what you want to do is have a "GRIND" effect at your feet, you cannot go wrong with the Westwood. The use of separate bass and treble controls instead of a "tone" knob is the stroke of genius here... seems like a simple concept, but in the way it's executed in this pedal it is a game changer. It's the best pedal I've added to my bass effect arsenal in longer than I can remember. Total winner.

I have been using the Westwood overdrive for close to a year now. I am very very pleased with this pedal. I was looking for an overdrive that sounded warm, sweet and clear with a to be specific very pleasant voice. This is easily my favorite dirt pedal hands down. It is said to be a low gain drive and it is but let me tell you.. I don't know how they built it but it has a very wide sonic range dispite being low gain. The sound is crystal clear and the pedal is dead silent with not the slightest hum. It does the clean boost very well. With the gain just over 1/4, the bass at 2:00 and the treble at 1:00 it sounds wonderful, warm articulate single notes with lots of sustain, chords have a slight low growl with nice string definition. Leaving the bass and treble there and moving the gain up over 1/2 way puts you in the threshholds of shred territory and the harmonics start ringing if you want them to. Crank the gain and increase the bass and treble and you can actually play some fairly heavy riffs. I play an ESP MH1000 tuned in drop C and it has a Duncan Mayhem at the bridge so of course things are gonna sound fairly heavy anyway right, But yeah pinch harmonics no problem. Its obviously not a "metal" pedal but It has its own kind of heavy tone if you want it. Lots of beauty with shade of beast, some people say it has some fuzz to it. That could be its secret.

Ok. Fair enough. You win Earthquaker. You win. Westwood is one of the clearest, most articulate and beautifully transparent overdrives I"ve ever played. It shares some of the classic "green pedal" characteristics while still having its own voice. Wow. I"m truly stunned at the touch response and volume control response. It stays clean when the volume is cranked and it can also get pretty dirty when needed. It"s super versatile and super well built. Skip the other guys and buy the Westwood.

Can't make it sound bad. I've has a rat, a blues driver, and a soul food, and while all had things I liked about them, they were always the first piece of gear to go when I needed some extra cash. After playing with this pedal for ten minutes I can tell that it will from now on be a vital part of my process. Also, Sweetwater is the best and Chris is my dude.

I was looking for a tube amp on the verge of breaking up type sound for my bass. Didn't want fuzz or heavy distortion. The Westwood fit the bill. I was able to easily dial in the sound I was looking for.

The performance is exactly as promised and as shown on Don's demo video, and exactly what I needed. First, I want to adjust volume for lead sections or when horns get added, with only a little fatness and minimal distortion, and without reaching for the amp. Second, I need to adjust the tone when switching from single coils to humbuckers, again without going to the amp. It allows me to do both with only occasional adjustment right where I'm standing. I can't think of a better solution, and I've looked. It can also provide more punch and sustain when needed, but there are options that might be better for that specific purpose, and they can't do the above. All-in-all, it's great for what I need, truly transparent, well designed, and well built. Note that it will not run on a battery and does not include a power supply. I thought about taking off a half-point for that, but most of us understand the logic for both, so I didn't.

I've never had a TS style pedal that I liked cause none of them seemed to have that extra kick I've been wanting. Every green box I've tried before didn't drive the amp the way I expected. But with the Westwood, I'm pleasantly surprised and honored to know I have some real power in my chain when I need it.

Pros: Goes from light boost to hard drive; the treble/bass boost and cut knobs help balance the flub out of any signal; Plays nice with other pedals; Soft-latch ensures this never pops during play

Cons: A mid switch would've been nice to get some mid-boost; May have more drive than others like in a TS drive.