EarthQuaker Astral Destiny Octave Reverb Pedal

The Astral Destiny is wonderfully transcendent multi-mode octave reverb pedal with a lush built-in chorus. The sheer under-the-hood power, flexibility and unique sound make this one of the best reverb stompboxes for the price. As it’s an pedal, you’re guaranteed stunning build-quality as each pedal is made with love - one-at-a-time - by the team in Akron, Ohio.

The Astral Destiny is an octave-based reverb pedal, with 8 modes to choose from. Whilst the Astral Destiny ships in Live Mode (where what you see is what you get), there’s also a Preset Mode.

With this mode engaged, you can store up to 8 of your favourite dialled-in tones for later recall (which is particularly handy for live and studio use). All of the Astral Destiny’s reverb modes can be used as a basis for a patch.

In addition to the gorgeous reverb algorithms, the Astral Destiny boasts a built-in chorus - which adds another string to the its feature-rich bow. It can add an instant lush texture to your patches and thanks to its wide range, it can go from a subtle shimmer to a full-on vibrato.

For quick variation that doesn’t require to bend down to adjust the knobs, have included the fun Stretch switch and an expression pedal input.

The Stretch is a momentary effect that doubles the reverb’s decay time, warping the pitch as it settles back down, as well as affecting the speed of the chorus section. It works well when adding spice to a song transition or if you need to inject some weirdness during a jam session.

The expression pedal input allows you to assign favourite EXP pedal to any parameter, which is perfect for on-the-fly adjustments. For you synthesists out there, this jack also receives Control Voltage.

The first reverb mode available is Abyss. This reverb doesn’t use any octaves, making it ideal for when you need a tamer, more traditional verb sound. It pairs beautifully with the built-in chorus.

The Shimmer, Sub and Sub Shimmer modes provide that classic ethereal sound by adding either one octave above, one octave below or above and below to the reverb’s tail. These modes are our go-to for when we want to turn our guitar in an angelic choir or, when used subtly, thicken up a more overdriven sound.

The Astral mode utilises an upper and lower octave with a cascading, regenerating tail. As the octaves of the trails leap, they begin to transcend the range of your instrument and soar into the stratosphere!

The Ascend and Descend modes are where things start getting out-there, as they add upward or downward pitch-bending. These modes are particularly suited to held notes and chords.

The final mode is Cosmos, which creates expansive pad-like textures by adding a regenerating perfect 5th to the tail of the reverb.

The Astral Destiny has everything you’d expect from a high-end pedal, with silent soft-touch switching, True Bypass, and a choice between analogue dry-through or buffered bypass (with tails or no tails when deactivating the effect).

have done it again, creating a feature-packed and well-priced stompbox. If you’re looking to add a truly otherworldly effect to your sound, the Astral Destiny is a top choice.