EarthQuaker Devices Zoar vs Suhr Riot
The EarthQuaker Devices Zoar and the Suhr Riot are both pedals sharing dynamic, bright, harmonically rich. The EarthQuaker Devices Zoar leans edge of breakup and crunchy. The Suhr Riot leans mid-forward and tight.
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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.47% — somewhat different
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Genres both listings are associated with.- Rock
- Hard Rock
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Derived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.- dynamic
- bright
- harmonically rich
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$129via Reverb
The EarthQuaker Devices Zoar Dynamic Audio Grinder is a medium-to-high-gain discrete distortion built entirely from transistors with no op-amps or clipping diodes, giving it a touch-sensitive, amp-like character. It spans fattened clean boost, crunchy speaker breakup, muscular distortion, and stabs of hi-fi fuzz, with a dynamic response reminiscent of cranking the master volume on a Marshall or Orange. A three-band active EQ plus a distinctive Weight control sets how much low end feeds the circuit, dramatically reshaping the voice from tight and crumbly to thick and blown out. It is highly tweakable and reactive to picking and guitar volume, suiting rock and heavier styles that want amp-like grind from a pedal.
The Suhr Riot is a high-gain distortion pedal voiced to sound like a cranked, modded high-gain tube amp rather than a typical pedal, often compared to a hot-rodded Marshall. It features Volume, Gain, Tone, and a three-way voicing toggle that shifts its character and clipping for different gain structures and feel. It ranges from gritty, overdriven crunch to a big, focused wall of saturated distortion, staying smooth, tight, and touch sensitive with abundant sustain and harmonics for leads. Players use it to transform a clean amp into an aggressive lead and rhythm machine, and it is a favorite for melodic rock and metal. It sits well in a mix with an in-your-face midrange, responding to pick attack and guitar volume like a real high-gain amp.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Blues
- Metal
- edge of breakup
- crunchy
- transparent
- fuzzy
- saturated
- mid-forward
- tight
- high gain
- aggressive