Earthquaker Sea Machine V3

A Super Chorus Designed to Break New Ground

The Sea Machine lives up to its name: it starts from a classic chorus base, then opens the door to deeper and more unpredictable modulations. While a "standard" chorus mainly aims for widening and shimmer, the Sea Machine embraces a more experimental territory: shifting detunings, Leslie-type rotary sensations, and resonance/echo effects that can become truly hypnotic. If you're looking for a modulation with character that remains musical, this pedal embodies that spirit perfectly.

Who Is It For, and In Which Styles?

The Sea Machine is aimed at both guitarists and bassists who want a chorus pedal capable of covering multiple eras and aesthetics. In conservative settings, it fits perfectly with pop/rock, post-punk, new wave, and spacious "clean chorus" tones. Pushed further, it becomes a formidable tool for shoegaze, indie, ambient, and any parts where modulation becomes a texture in its own right.

On a pedalboard, it is easily placed after distortions for a well-defined chorus, or before them for more organic and "blended" modulations. In the studio, it's an excellent source of layers: chorused doubles, unstable arpeggios, or evolving pads throughout the performance.

Settings and Features: From Classic Chorus to Controlled Drift

The control panel mixes familiar parameters with more unique ones. Rate adjusts the LFO speed, with a mini LED blinking at the tempo even when the pedal is in bypass-handy for syncing modulation to a track. Shape changes the waveform from a smoother motion (triangle type) to something more abrupt (square type), ideal for shifting from a "smooth" chorus to a more choppy effect.

Depth sets the modulation amount (the movement's intensity), while Intensity controls the blend between modulated and dry signals: around noon, the balance is natural, and beyond that, the modulation clearly takes over. The Animate control tightens or frees the pitch behavior: low keeps it in a focused chorus spirit; higher settings make the pitch shift livelier and wilder.

Finally, Dimension is the "parallel world" knob: it can add a slap-back feel at low settings, then bring a more reverberant ambiance in the middle, and push to an echo-resonance that can approach self-oscillation when turned up. On the switching side, the Flexi-Switch (relay true bypass) allows classic toggling (one press = on, one press = off) or momentary mode (effect active only while holding the footswitch down). Note: since the switching is relay-based, power is required to pass the signal even in bypass.

The Sound

The Sea Machine stands out with a chorus that can remain shimmering, wide, and precise while retaining a true personality when pushing the controls. Subtly, it adds musical brightness and thickness, with modulation that follows playing dynamics well. At the extreme end, it shifts to more "unstable" textures: warble, pitch drift, rotary effects, and almost three-dimensional movement sensations.

This versatility explains why it's found in genres ranging from indie and shoegaze to more alternative rock contexts, used by guitarists known for their textures and modulated sounds (for example members of DIIV, as well as Paul Banks, Jay Watson, Tyler Bates, Hester Chambers, Jenn Wasner). Whether you're looking for a "signature" chorus for open chords or a soundscape generator, the Sea Machine inspires without becoming unmanageable.

Technical specifications

Effects	Chorus	Use	electric guitar
Format	Pedal	Color	Green
Type	sector

Dimensions	121 x 64 x 57 mm (including knobs)	Connector	2.1 mm barrel
Input impedance	10 kOhms	Precaution	do not use higher voltage
Output impedance	less than 1 kOhm	Consumption	40 mA
Flexi-Switch	latching and momentary via footswitch	Required voltage	9V DC
Power	9V DC, center negative