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EarthQuaker Devices

Every control on the unit, explained in plain English.

Front panel

Knobs

Up

Adds a higher, brighter organ note sitting an octave above what you play. Turn it up for a chimey, top-heavy organ tone; leave it down if you only want the lower voices.

tip: The octave-up voice is where most of the 'combo organ' sparkle lives. A little goes a long way on chords — too much can sound thin, so balance it against Down and Direct.

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Sets the output level of the octave-up voice generated by the pitch shifter (one octave above the note you play).

Down

Adds a deep, fat organ note an octave below what you play. This is the knob that gives you that big, cathedral-like low end. Great for making a guitar sound like a bass-heavy organ.

tip: Bass players and anyone wanting a huge, subby organ tone should lean on this knob. It tracks low notes surprisingly well for a polyphonic shifter.

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Sets the output level of the octave-down voice generated by the pitch shifter (one octave below the note you play).

Choir

Stacks even more octaves on top of the ones you've already dialed in, adding a slight delay for a swelling, full 'church organ' effect. It makes the sound bigger and more three-dimensional. Important: it does absolutely nothing unless both the Up and Down knobs are in use.

tip: Because Choir only works with both octaves active, always set Up and Down first, then bring Choir in. Dial it up gradually — full Choir can get overwhelming and washy fast.

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Takes a mix of the Up and Down octave voices and regenerates them, producing an additional two octaves up, two octaves down, and a slightly delayed direct signal. Only functions when both Up and Down are turned up.

Lag

Adds a short delay to the organ voices so they bloom in slightly behind your playing, creating that warbly, breathing quality. Fully left is nearly instant; turning right makes the effect swell and lag further behind the note.

tip: A small amount of Lag gives the pedal its signature 'analog Leslie' warble. Crank it higher for a slow-swell, almost pad-like effect that's beautiful under chords.

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Controls the amount of delay applied to the wet (processed) signal. Fully counterclockwise is minimal delay; delay time increases as you turn clockwise.

Tone

Controls the brightness of the organ voices. Turn it clockwise for a brighter, more present organ; turn it counterclockwise to warm things up and tame any harsh or digital-sounding highs.

tip: Rolling Tone back is the fastest way to make the octave voices blend smoothly with your dry signal and sound more vintage and organic.

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A low-pass filter on the wet signal that rolls off high frequencies as it is turned counterclockwise.

Direct

Controls how much of your original clean sound is mixed in with the organ voices. Turn it up to keep your instrument's natural attack and clarity; turn it down to hear only the organ effect.

tip: Keep Direct fairly high if you want your playing to stay articulate and recognizable. Turn it all the way down for a pure synth/organ voice with no clean guitar underneath.

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Sets the output level of the fully analog dry (unprocessed) signal.

Footswitches

Footswitch

Step on it to turn the organ effect on or off. When off, your signal passes through completely unaffected. Remember the pedal needs power to pass any signal at all — with no power, nothing gets through.

tip: Because it's relay-based true bypass, there may be a tiny click when switching. It won't color your tone when bypassed, so you can leave it in your chain worry-free.

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Engages or bypasses the effect using electronic relay-based true-bypass switching.

Display & indicators

Status LED

A simple light that tells you at a glance whether the organ effect is currently on.

tip: If the LED won't light, check your power supply first — the Organizer draws a relatively high 81mA and won't function on an underpowered or shared supply.

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Indicates whether the effect is engaged (lit) or bypassed (unlit).

Side panels

Jacks & connectors

Input

This is where you plug your guitar, bass, or other instrument in. The high input impedance means it plays nicely with passive pickups without dulling your tone.

tip: Place the Organizer early in your chain (before drives and modulation) so it tracks your clean note cleanly, or after a compressor for even more consistent tracking.

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1/4-inch mono instrument input with a 1M Ohm input impedance.

Output

This sends the blended organ-and-clean sound out to your amp or the next pedal.

tip: The organ voices sound huge into a slightly overdriven amp — try running a bit of gain after it for a gritty, rock-organ tone.

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1/4-inch mono output with a 500 Ohm output impedance.

9V DC Power Jack

This is where the power plugs in. The pedal has no battery option, so it must be powered to work at all. Use a proper pedal power supply — never anything higher than 9 volts.

tip: Use an isolated, transformer-based power supply. Daisy chains and cheap switching adapters let dirty power through, which this DSP-based pedal will translate into extra noise. Never exceed 9V or you risk damaging it.

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Accepts a standard 9V DC power supply with a 2.1mm negative-center barrel connector. Current draw is 81mA.