Sunn O))) and EarthQuaker Devices are pleased to bring you the most compact, pedalboard-friendly version of the Life Pedal distortion circuit to date – the Sunn O))) HalfLife Octave Distortion + Booster. Half the size, just as heavy.

What Is It?

HalfLife is a distortion with a blendable analog octave up and a booster combined in one compact package. The “Amplitude” side is faithfully modelled after the classic “White Face” distortion unit. The only modifications made to the original circuit are in the clipping section. The traditional circuit uses a single pair of silicon diodes for a tight, compressed crunch. HalfLife introduces two additional clipping options to better adapt to different rigs. The first position is no diodes to allow for a full, grinding Op Amp assault at maximum volume. The second position utilizes two silicon diodes and one LED in an asymmetrical clipping configuration. This delivers a slightly compressed and smooth crunch, similar to a valve amplifier. The last position is the stock double silicon diode configuration, which provides that classic tone you know and love.

The Octave in HalfLife is an all-discrete analog full-wave rectifier circuit. Located at the input of the circuit, the Octave control slowly blends in the octave effects as you turn it clockwise. This feature can also be used via expression control, allowing for wild, hands-free octave swells mid-riff. Because this is an analog octave effect, it is monophonic and works best playing single notes above the twelfth fret while using the neck pickup. Playing chords with the analog octave will sound clanging and chaotic. Using the bridge pickup and playing below the twelfth fret will produce a very subtle octave effect. Going full Octave transforms HalfLife from a simple distortion device into a swelling, raging fuzz similar to the classic Super Fuzz!

The “Magnitude” section of HalfLife is a simple all-discrete MOSFET booster designed to blast your preamp tubes and drive them wild. It is a 100% clean, no-nonsense, high impedance booster that adds very little color to your tone. It does not add distortion on its own but has plenty of output to push your amp into saturation.

The signal path is Octave > Distortion > Boost. The octave distortion and booster can be used independently with their own respective footswitches. The right footswitch is the octave distortion, and the left footswitch is the booster.

Key Features:

• Compact version of the Sunn O))) Life Pedal circuit with octave distortion and clean boost in one enclosure
• Blendable analogue octave-up effect for fuzz-rich harmonic saturation
• White Face-inspired distortion circuit with up to +60dB of gain
• Three clipping modes: OpAmp, Asymmetric and Symmetric
• Independent MOSFET clean boost for driving amps harder without colouring tone
• Expression pedal input for hands-free octave control
• Octave > Distortion > Boost signal path
• Monophonic analogue octave circuit inspired by vintage Shin-Ei FY2/FY6 designs
• Flexi-Switch® true bypass switching with momentary or latching operation
• Handmade in Akron, Ohio with limited lifetime warranty

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