EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker vs MXR Super Badass Distortion
The EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker and the MXR Super Badass Distortion are both pedals sharing tight, transparent, dynamic. The EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker leans saturated and fuzzy. The MXR Super Badass Distortion leans crunchy and warm. Current prices: $99 vs $99.
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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.45% — somewhat different
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Derived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.- tight
- transparent
- dynamic
- harmonically rich
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$99via Reverb
$99via Reverb
The EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker is a warm, ultra-touch-responsive medium-gain overdrive built as the successor to the discontinued Speaker Cranker, adding more controls and a diode selector switch to that pedal's spongy, dynamic character. It responds like adding another tube to an amp's preamp stage, keeping the core guitar tone intact while adding articulate, controlled snarl and sustain. A Germanium setting delivers a softer, more rounded response with tamed highs and lower output, while a Silicon setting is brighter and more modern, with higher output, a fatter low-mid bloom, and chords that stay distinct without turning muddy. It suits players wanting a reliable, touch-sensitive overdrive that behaves like an extra tube gain stage, with real tonal choice between soft germanium warmth and bright silicon punch.
The MXR Super Badass Distortion is a versatile analog distortion with a three-band active EQ and a wide gain range, designed to cover decades of dirt from one box. With the distortion low it produces a bold, beefy clean boost and light crunch, and as gain increases it moves through classic-rock midrange grind into harmonically rich, saturated, scooped-mid metal roar. The Bass, Mid, and Treble controls reshape the voice dramatically, going from thick and beefy to bright and aggressive while staying tight rather than flabby. Notes remain clear and dynamic, responding to picking. Suited to rock, blues, punk, and metal, it is praised as a do-it-all distortion with warm, sustaining tone. Its only real coloration is a trace of modern distortion character across its range.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Alternative Rock
- Classic Rock
- Rock
- Blues
- Metal
- Punk
- saturated
- fuzzy
- crunchy
- warm