Photo of EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid and more gear in a pedalboard, guitar, and signal chain

Photo of EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid and more gear in a pedalboard and signal chain

EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid

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$249.00 Price Tier: Standard

4.5 (20)

3 Reviews

Find out who is using EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid

5 community setups

54 wishlisted

87 saved

Page last updated Jun 29, 2026

Pricing and availability

We compare 600+ stores and found this item at 1 store. Prices updated June 29, 2026.

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Reviews

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5.0 (5)

$249.00 4 available New

$225.00 1 available Used

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Average Price: $237

Standard/Professional

$100

$301+

Price Tier

In the Harmonizer & Octave Effects Pedals category, EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid is priced in the Standard/Professional range. This is quality gear at a fair price point, suitable for beginners, hobbyists, and pros alike.

Budget

Standard

High-end

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Description

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The first dedicated, compact polyphonic pitch arpeggiator effect pedal for electric guitar!

The Arpanoid takes whatever you play and transforms it into an adjustable ascending or descending scale. It features 8 intuitive and expandable modes and will work on complex chords as well as single notes in any key. The Arpanoid has an all analog dry signal, all digital wet signal and true-bypass switching.

Controls
Wet- Level control for the effect signal. Unity is around noon.
Dry- Level control for the dry signal. Unity is around noon.
Rate- Adjusts the speed of the sequence.
Step- Selects how many notes there are in the sequence which determines the overall feel and timing.
Toggle Switch- Controls the direction of the sequence. All the way left is up, the sequence will continually repeat going up. In the middle is up/down, the sequence will continually repeat going up then back down. All the way right is down, the signal will continually repeat going down.

Mode: 8-position selector switch to choose the octave and key:

1: Major: -1 octave to root.
2: Major: root to +1 octave.
3: Major: -1 octave through +1
4: Major: Random pattern
5: Minor: -1 octave to root.
6: Minor: root to +1 octave.
7: Minor: -1 octave through +1
8: Minor: Random pattern

Product specs

Analog/Digital	digital
Power	9V
Bypass	true bypass
Current Draw	65ma

Videos

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ProGuitarShopDemos

Earthquaker Devices Arpanoid

ProGuitarShopDemos

EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid Polyphonic Pitch Arpeggiator

EarthQuakerDevices

Arpanoid Polyphonic Pitch Arpeggiator

Prymaxe

EarthQuaker Devices: Arpanoid Polyphonic Pitch Arpeggiator

Brett Kingman

EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid Polyphonic Pitch Arpeggiator

Prymaxe

Earthquaker Devices ARPANOID pedal demo with overdriven amp tone

gearmanndude

EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid Sound Demo (no talking)

Guitar Bonedo

Earthquaker Devices Arpanoid

TheSuperFunAwesomeHappyTimePedalShow

Earthquaker Devices Arpanoid Demo

Joby

EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid Demo by Scott Sill

sillennium

EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid Polyphonic Pitch Arpeggiator

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Reviews

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PROS

Produces warm, accurate echo/octave/synth sounds
Minimal, effective controls offer a wide range of sounds
Can act as a clean boost, bass simulator, double tracker, and more
Polyphonic capability handles chords well for unique arpeggios
Durable, solid construction with visually appealing editions available
Encourages creativity with its versatility and unique effects
Can complement other pedals well for layered soundscapes
Responsive to playing dynamics, adding an expressive dimension

CONS

Specialized effect with limited everyday utility
Requires a good grasp of music theory for full utilization
Lack of MIDI or CV inputs limits tempo synchronization
Can produce a chaotic sound when handling multiple notes simultaneously

Owner Insights

We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid.

Use cases and applications

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Using the Arpanoid with a looper and in random up/down mode creates shifting drone sounds, ideal for experimental music.
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Integrating the Arpanoid with a Strymon Volante in a home studio setting can produce chaotic, "nightmare fuel" sounds, perfect for creative looping sessions.
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The pedal shines after a loop pedal, allowing live tweaking to inspire new melodic ideas, integrating into broader sound design and composition.
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While not ideal for band contexts, the Arpanoid excels in ambient music and interludes, especially when paired with the Superego for added movement.
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Combining the Arpanoid with fuzz pedals can produce unique synth-like tones, enhancing home experimentation.
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The Arpanoid can double as an octave-down effect with slight tracking delay, useful for ambient swells.
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Features and functionality

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The pedal can transform a guitar into a synth-like instrument with its random note minor setting, particularly effective when the notes knob is set to one.
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The Arpanoid tracks flawlessly on pitch-based effects, even with lower register notes, although it can get muddy unless the rate is set to slow.
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Users desire more control over parameters, like start and stop points of the arpeggio, to enhance versatility and creativity.
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The Arpanoid lacks a separate jack for sequencers, which some users wish for in future iterations to expand its functionality.
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The Arpanoid's dry/wet knobs can be used for fading effects, useful in ambient music setups.
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User experience

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Some users find it challenging to use musically, describing the Arpanoid as more of an experimental tool than a traditional music pedal.
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Some users find the mode selector knob slightly difficult to turn, though it's not a major issue for most.
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Comparisons

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Compared to the EarthQuaker Devices Rainbow Machine, users find the Arpanoid's chaotic sounds more manageable, though both pedals are noted for experimental use.
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It's often compared to overdrive pedals; both can be seen as "one-trick ponies" but offer diverse applications when paired creatively with other effects.
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Compared to the Pitchfactor, the Arpanoid is more affordable, though it lacks intelligent note detection which some users desire.
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4.5 out of 5

Based on 3 Reviews and 20 Ratings

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1 star

moogbadger

3982

almost 9 years ago

If I was a better guitarist...it'd get four or five stars!

Aside from the more famous Rainbow Machine, this is Earthquaker's weirdest pedal. It's a pitch arpeggiator capable of tracking chords. It takes whatever note you play into it and transforms it into an adjustable ascending or descending scale. That's right; you play a single 'C', and if you're in Mode 1, it will play a C major scale from -1 octave to the note you've played. If you're in Mode 6, it will play a C minor scale from the note you've played to one octave above. There are wet-dry controls, a rate knob for adjusting the speed through which the scale plays, a step knob for adjusting how many 'steps' of the scale are played, from 'one' to all of them, and a toggle switch for adjusting whether the scale plays up, down, or does a palindrome.

Now, this is all very well and it's totally amazing! The pitch tracking and the smoothness of the scale interpolations are very good indeed.

But...

Well, to be honest, this is a pedal for those of us who are really shit-hot at music theory. The sort of people who know which Phyrigian or Locrian mode goes with which diminished 19th or whatever. Most of us will want to play chords on our guitars, and things are pretty involved playing just one single note on this thing. Things get even more complex throwing in a fifth. Add a third and you'd better be pretty sure whether that's a minor or major third you've got there! And then...your song changes key...argghh....

So, I'm not saying this is a bad pedal. It isn't. It's extremely clever and it sounds good. But to get the most out of it, don't expect instant gratification. It's one for really just sitting down and experimenting with, and you might find that it only fits with one passage of one verse or whatever. It's similar to a frequency shifter in that respect; you could spend years trying to master this pedal!

One thing which could be better: I wish it had MIDI or CV inputs, or even just a tap tempo, so that you could lock the speed of the arp to a beat. So far, I've found that it gives a pleasing effect when the number of steps of the arp are low (say, 2), and the rate of stepping through fairly high. Used like this, the pedal can give you a really quirky and unusual sort of 'pitched tremolo' effect, especially when used with a delay to smear the pitch changes a bit. Also, when there's only one step, it becomes a good-quality octave pedal or simple pitch-shifter.

Andy from Pro Shop guitars makes it sound amazing in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-N_Ar3xfak

But he knows what he's doing, of course!

Roles:

Guitarist Bassist Keyboardist

Genres:

Electronic Rock Pop