OVERDRIVE- EARTHQUAKER DEVICES Acapulco Gold ...Sunn Model T vs. Pedal

EARTHQUAKER DEVICES ACAPULCO GOLD 

$130.00 USD

I reviewed a quite good clone the D-Sound Sunny and thought I should compare it. 

I stumbled onto the 'D' and was impressed with the sound and the price. To be honest I expected the Earthquaker to be at least a couple of hundred bucks or more. They are a well established brand with a very good rep. So I had a WTF moment when I found out it is only $15 more to get the original.

A guitar signal is mostly full of mid range content and every OD will have an EQ curve in the mids that pushes one area of frequencies higher than the other. For example the Tube Screamer boots out hard around 1K which is in the uppers mids. It makes the sound cut thru the mix. The magic of the original Marshall 100 watt Plexi is it boots out lower mids and is incredibly fat because of it. The Acapulco has it's kick in the low mids and the 'D' is slightly higher. In short the Earthquaker is simply fatter sounding. That alone puts it in the lead.

CONCLUSION

I have and use a lot of ODs and have reviewed several takes on the SUNN Model T. 

One even has cloned the entire preamp with NOS. They were twice the price and more. 

I could not justify the price as I would only use it in a few tunes and even then maybe just in part of the tune. For example listen to the riff used to demo the pedal in the last video I posted below. It is the kind of thing I might use for a middle 8 in a tune and then I would hit on a MIAB and play a part where every 4 bars was a different riff or in 'music speak' ...I would play something melodic. It is why I have so many pedals, lol. 

So this ideal. It really has nailed the guts of the sound which for me is really the point of having it. It is like a meal ...this pedal is the desert, not the whole meal.

I have the Supro Drive it does a beyond killer rep of a Supro amp. I don't use it a lot but it a refreshing change from my steady diet of MIAB pedals. I am sure having again another amp, the SUNN will be equally refreshing.

If you check out the first video. I think one could indeed have that 3rd amp.

HANDS ON

...yes, I got one, almost 2 years since writing this Post

since then about a dozen SUNN Model T-in-a-Box have 

kept this pedal on my mind. The original Doomers teamed

the amp up with a ProCo Rat II. I have owned my Rat for some 

time so I have the whole deal. Love it.