EarthQuaker Devices has revisited the archives and reanimated the OG version of its Disaster Transport delay pedal, adding some new features and improving its performance.
Described as a Delay Modulation Machine, Disaster Transport is one of the most significant designs in the EGD lineup, and we have seen a few variations over the years. There was the slimmed down and compact Jr version, a four-knob slip of a thing. There was the expansive Sr version, as used by the likes of Dan Auerbach, Lee Kiernan of Idles, Gina Gleason of Baroness and Periphery’s Misha Mansoor.
The original sits somewhere in between. It’s not small necessarily, though top-mounted jacks should make it easier to arrange on your pedalboard, and you have got five dials to play with: Speed, Intensity, Mix, Repeats and Time. There are two footswitches. One activates or bypasses the effect, the other brings the modulation online.
EQD head honcho Jamie Stillman is not one to simply perform a straight reissue however – especially since this pedal dates back to 2007 – so we have a suite of updates. First off, the delay has been improved, there is a lower noise floor, a boosted output and it now sounds more like an analogue delay than it did before. And, drum roll, there are two new switches to set Mod Speed and Mod Mode.
The Speed dial interacts with the Mod Speed three-position toggle switch. Set the Mod Speed toggle to slow, fast or medium – the latter described as Memory Man-esque – and then adjust the waveform’s rate with the dial. Intensity controls how much modulation is in your repeats. Set it low for mild chorus effects. Crank it up and get wild with the pitch-shifting.
Mix controls the volume level for your delay. Repeats sets the delay feedback, from no repeats to self-oscillation, while the Time dial sets the delay time, with the range set at 30ms fully counterclockwise to 600ms when maxed out.
Finally, the Mod Mode switch is where you can toggle between “Bend” and Stretch” voicings for the modulation, with the former more traditional chorusing, the latter more wack-a-doodle pitch shifting.
Those who have been paying attention might find this new/old Legacy Reissue version of the original Disaster Transport somewhat familiar, and it’s not a flashback to a more innocent time.
EDQ and Reverb teamed up with the artist, skater and, of course, guitar player Pieter “Parra” Janssen for a special limited edition version of the Disaster Transport that sports enclosure art from Parra, and the same features.
It is pictured above, limited to 500 units and is available now via Reverb, priced £210 / $249. And remarkably, it’s still available.
The Disaster Transport Delay Modulation Machine Legacy Reissue is priced £235 / $219, and they’re only making 3,500 of them. See EarthQuaker Devices for more details.
