Cusack Music Orthrus Distortion vs Electronic Audio Experiments Surveyor Instrument Voicing Preamp
The Cusack Music Orthrus Distortion and the Electronic Audio Experiments Surveyor Instrument Voicing Preamp are both pedals sharing bright. The Cusack Music Orthrus Distortion leans mid-forward and crunchy. Current prices: $189 vs $249.
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Blended from circuit-archetype lineage, dynamic feel, tone-signal overlap and tone-vector distance — the tone vector itself is derived from editorial description text, not a measured acoustic signal, so this reflects how similarly the catalog copy describes the two, not a lab measurement. Shown only within a gear class, and only where there's enough evidence to be meaningful.34% — somewhat different
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Derived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.- bright
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$189via Reverb
$249via Reverb
The Cusack Music Orthrus is a US-built high-gain distortion pedal based directly on a true amplifier preamp circuit, with an unconventional three-band EQ where Treble reaches into very high frequencies, Mid works more like a pick-attack and sizzle control centered on the upper midrange, and Bass behaves closer to a cabinet-resonance control than a simple low-end knob. Gain and volume run deep, giving serious headroom for everything from crunchy rhythm to saturated lead distortion, with the reworked EQ voicing doing most of the tonal heavy lifting rather than the gain stage alone. A momentary or latching boost, switchable between 3, 6, and 9dB, adds a warm, saturated push for solos, and a stutter/kill switch chops the signal for rhythmic effects. It suits players chasing trash and metal tones who want an amp-derived EQ with real character rather than a standard three-band voicing.
The Electronic Audio Experiments Surveyor Instrument Voicing Preamp is a compact reinterpretation of EAE's discontinued rackmount preamp, applying transformer-based "Tube Voice" distortion after a 2-band Baxandall EQ, so bass and treble shaping happens before the clipping stage rather than after. Level, Gain, Bass, and Treble controls are joined by a Hi/Lo gain-range switch, giving both subtle preamp coloration and more overtly driven tones from the same circuit. As the original-generation Surveyor, it predates the V2 hardware revision that added the Hi/Lo toggle and a new enclosure format.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Metal
- Electronic
- Alternative Rock
- mid-forward
- crunchy
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Occasions this gear suits — judged per model, or derived from its wattage, connectivity and category.- Live
- Silent Recording
- Studio