EarthQuaker Devices Towers: Cast Your Signal Into the Void

EarthQuaker Devices has been building some of the most creative effects pedals on the planet out of Akron, Ohio for over fifteen years. The Towers is their latest, and it might be their most ambitious yet — a stereo reverberant filter that doesn't just add space to your signal, it completely reimagines what that space can sound like.

This isn't a reverb pedal with a filter tacked on. It's an instrument in its own right.

What Is the Towers?

At its core, the Towers feeds your input signal into an array of micro-echoes that build into a massive cathedral-style reverb. But layered on top of that reverb is a resonant low-pass filter — the kind you'd expect to find on a beloved vintage synthesizer — that intersects the reverb and delay pathways at multiple points simultaneously.

The result isn't just a filtered reverb. It's a reverb that breathes, morphs, and evolves in real time based on how you play, how you set the controls, or simply the passage of time. Reflections don't just decay — they radiate and drift.

And because it's fully stereo, the filter movements happen differently on the left and right channels — creating a spatial, three-dimensional quality that mono reverbs simply can't replicate.

Three Modes, Three Completely Different Pedals

The Towers has a three-position mode toggle that fundamentally changes how the filter behaves. This isn't a subtle voicing switch — each mode makes the pedal feel like an entirely different instrument.

The Envelope mode in particular is something special for players who want their effects to respond to their technique. The harder you attack the strings, the more dramatically the filter opens — creating a dynamic, almost vocal quality that rewards expressive playing.

Stretch: The Feature That Breaks the Rules

There's a dedicated Stretch footswitch on the Towers, and it's unlike anything on a standard reverb pedal. Activating Stretch slows down the entire digital system — which doubles the reverb length, lowers the frequency response, and introduces a lo-fi pitch-bending quality as the system descends into the new state.

Tap it for an instant effect. Hold it and watch the whole sonic architecture of the pedal reshape itself in real time. EarthQuaker describes the results as "pleasant surprises and delightful musical inaccuracies" — which is a pretty accurate description of what happens when you let a reverb pedal fall apart on purpose.

The Length knob also doubles as a Stretch speed control, giving you command over how fast or slow the system makes that transition. Fast Stretch is dramatic. Slow Stretch is cinematic.

Controls Breakdown

Tech Specs

Who Is This For?

The Towers is built for players who think of effects as part of their voice rather than an add-on. If your pedalboard already has a standard reverb and you want something that pushes further into ambient, experimental, or textural territory — this is the move.

It's equally at home in a post-rock rig running stereo into two amps, a studio setup where you want evolving pads without a dedicated synth, or a solo artist who uses looping and ambience as the foundation of their sound. The Envelope mode alone makes it worth serious consideration for any player who's been searching for a reverb that actually responds to how they play.

EarthQuaker backs every Towers with their limited lifetime warranty — if it breaks, they fix it. That's been the standard since day one in Akron.