The Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2 is a Cusack Music preamp pedal. Close alternatives include the Acoustic NUX Stageman Floor NAP-5 and the EarthQuaker Devices Zeqd. It pairs well with the Benson Amps Stonk BOX and the Electro-Harmonix Crayon.
Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2
Cusack Music · pedal
The Cusack Music Pedal Cracker is a utility pedal that lets anyone with an XLR microphone output run standard guitar stompboxes, opening guitar style effects to vocalists, keyboardists, horn players and percussionists. You plug an XLR source into the Pedal Cracker, connect a pedalboard through its quarter inch send and return jacks, and the buffered, low noise effects loop is folded back into the XLR output. A three way toggle selects trails, normal and pre send modes for flexible routing. The V2 refines this concept for live and studio use, acting as a clean interface between mic level sources and instrument level effects rather than a tone effect in itself.
What stands out
“the cusack music pedal cracker is a utility pedal that lets anyone with an xlr microphone output run standard guitar stompboxes”
— from the listing
“low noise effects loop is folded back into the xlr output”
— from the listing
“and the buffered”
— from the listing
“connect a pedalboard through its quarter inch send and return jacks”
— from the listing
“acting as a clean interface between mic level sources and instrument level effects”
— from the listing
Trade-offs
“It is used by vocalists, horn and keyboard players who want delays, reverbs and other guitar pedals on their signal, with the buffered effects loop keeping noise low”
— from the community notes
- xlr
- effects loop
- buffered
- send
- low noise
- instrument level
- reverb
- decay
Good for
- Live
- Studio
Pedals that stack with the Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2
Benson Amps Stonk BOX
Benson Amps
8% matchBenson Amps Stonk BOX leans toward germanium, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Electro-Harmonix Crayon
Electro-Harmonix
8% matchElectro-Harmonix Crayon leans toward bright, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress
Electro-Harmonix
7% matchElectro-Harmonix Electric Mistress's lush voice goes after Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2 in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2's own transparent character
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Ashdown Macchiato Compressor Guy Pratt Signature
Ashdown
6% matchWhat Ashdown Macchiato Compressor Guy Pratt Signature brings here leans toward compressed — that's worth building a pairing around
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Crazy Tube Circuits White Whale
Crazy Tube Circuits
5% matchPut Crazy Tube Circuits White Whale after Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2 in the signal chain, clear of Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Cusack Music Delay TME
Cusack Music
5% matchKeep Cusack Music Delay TME after Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2 in the signal chain, clear of Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Matthews Effects The Pocket Drive Overdrive Boost
Matthews Effects
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
Put Matthews Effects The Pocket Drive Overdrive Boost in front of Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2
MXR CAE Wah
MXR
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
MXR CAE Wah belongs in front of Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2, since a wah tracks picking dynamics best on the raw signal
Alternativessee all similar tone character →
Acoustic NUX Stageman Floor NAP-5
Acoustic
50% similarityShared character: effects loop, reverb
EarthQuaker Devices Zeqd
EarthQuaker Devices
49% similarityShared character: single rig, studio
Airis Effects -Nemesis Preamp
Airis Effects
47% similarityShared character: effects loop
Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII
Benson Amps
46% similarityShared character: signal
Boss IR-2 Amp
Boss
44% similarityShared character: effects loop
Tone King Imperial Preamp
Tone King
44% similarityShared character: reverb, studio
Dunlop MXR M294 Sugar Drive
Dunlop
44% similarityShared character: single rig
Xotic RC Booster
Xotic
44% similarityShared character: low noise floor
Ashdown Woodsman Acoustic
Ashdown
43% similarityShared character: reverb
67Audio Harry Balz
67audio
43% similaritySimilar role and voicing
Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra Blackout
Catalinbread
42% similarityShared character: noise, studio
Dunlop MXR M78 Custom Modified OD, also known as the Bad Ass Modified OD
Dunlop
42% similarityShared character: limitation
See all alternatives to the Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2 (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2?+
The closest matches in character are the Acoustic NUX Stageman Floor NAP-5, the EarthQuaker Devices Zeqd, the Airis Effects -Nemesis Preamp.
What pairs well with the Cusack Music Pedal cracker V2?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Benson Amps Stonk BOX, Electro-Harmonix Crayon, Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress — Benson Amps Stonk BOX leans toward germanium, and that's a real, usable character to pair with.