You can trust Guitar World
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
What is it?
The original EarthQuaker Devices Plumes has become something of a collector’s item, thanks to a steady stream of limited editions and extravagant colorways.
It has been a pedalboard staple for many since its 2019 release, yet the circuit inside has stayed the same.
So perhaps it’s time for a refresh?
Latest Videos FromGuitar World
Enter the Limited Edition Plumes Jr MOSFET Mod, which squeezes the Plumes’ Tube Screamer-inspired overdrive circuit into a smaller enclosure and adds a new MOSFET clipping mode.
Specs
- Price: $129 | £149 | €165
- Type: Overdrive pedal
- Controls: Level, Tone, Gain, Clipping Switch (Symmetrical LED/No Clipping/MOSFET), Bypass footswitch
- Features: True Bypass
- Connectivity: Standard input, standard output
- Power: 9V DC adaptor (not supplied) 25mA
- Dimensions: 38 (w) x 95 (d) x 51mm (h)
- Contact: EarthQuaker Devices
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★½
EarthQuaker Devices is one of the few builders whose pedals you can spot on a board from a mile off.
Even with the Plumes Jr’s mini enclosure (and my bad eyesight), the identity and aesthetic is immediately recognizable as a pedal of the Akron, Ohio shop.
The original Plumes’ cascading green and yellow circles are still here, just shrunk down and set on an ever-so-tasteful, very on-trend cream-colored enclosure.
The input and output jacks feel as sturdy as those on EarthQuaker’s full-sized pedals and the footswitch has the same satisfying click.
Mini pedals can suffer with the reduced sturdiness of their smaller pots and toggle switches, but that isn’t the case here. The pots turn smoothly with a reassuring resistance and the toggle switch, while tiny, has very little play in it.
Usability and features
Usability and features rating: ★★★★☆
Its side-mounted jacks mean it can take up almost as much real estate as a bigger top-mounted pedal once it’s cabled up
If you’ve ever laid eyes on a three-knob overdrive pedal before, then you’ll already know the score with the Plumes Jr.
Level, Tone and Gain are all a circuit like this needs and it’s easy to get close to classic Tube Screamer tones straight out of the box.
In my testing, though, the Tone knob does more than a typical treble roll-off, seeming to emphasize the bass, mids or treble depending on where it sits.
Mini enclosures are ideal for sneaking one more pedal onto a board, but they come with some practical trade-offs.
The Plumes Jr’s footprint is much smaller than a standard pedal’s, but its side-mounted jacks mean it can take up almost as much real estate as a bigger top-mounted pedal once it’s cabled up.
Shrunken pedals can also be less stable, rocking side to side under a heavy stomp. I tend to avoid mini pedals for this reason, but I can’t deny the appeal of being able to fit the Plumes Jr almost anywhere on my board.
Before I move on to how it sounds, I need to bring up my bad eyesight again.
Shrinking the pedal has shrunk its text too and while the knob labels are fine, the L, N and M labels on the Mode toggle are tiny. I’d have liked the text a size or two bigger across the board.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★★
The original Plumes is popular for a few reasons: it looks great, it’s affordable in a sea of boutique overdrives and, most importantly, it sounds fantastic.
The Plumes Jr keeps that core sound, with one change: the original’s third clipping mode has been swapped for a new MOSFET mode.
I have previously owned an EarthQuaker Devices Blumes, the low-end bass brother of the Plumes, which sounded thunderous on guitar too. There is a new Blumes Jr MOSFET Mod also.
I plugged the Plumes Jr straight into the clean channel of my Victory Amps MKX with my Heritage Guitars H-150 P90 Goldtop and it instantly reminded me why I liked the Plumes.
Back those controls off and you’re quickly into Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Mayer territory, which is where I like to use it most
The first thing you’re struck by is how much sheer power is available. In my testing it has a lot more output and gain than a traditional TS9 Tube Screamer, which makes it more flexible.
There’s enough level to boost the loudest of amplifiers and enough gain to add real heft to every note.
Back those controls off and you’re quickly into Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Mayer territory, which is where I like to use it most.
The Mode toggle drastically changes the texture and feel of the overdrive.
In Mode L, the pedal clips symmetrically through a pair of LEDs, making it the most compressed and mid-focused setting and the one I’d start with out of the box.
Mode N removes the clipping completely, leaving a wide-open op-amp drive. It’s loud with a capital L and perfect as a clean boost or for pushing your amp into characterful saturation.
Mode M, the new MOSFET mode, replaces the original Plumes’ third mode, which, funnily enough, was its most Tube Screamer-like setting.
It’s the most distinctive sound here and my personal favorite. It somewhat reminds me of my old Fulltone Fulldrive 2 MOSFET, which I loved dearly.
It’s powerful in a way you don’t often hear from Screamer-type pedals, sounding closer to a cranked amp. It’s harmonically rich, more strident in the mids and fuller in the lows. Once I’d had my fun with Modes L and N, I set it to MOSFET and left it there.
Verdict
If you’re short on board space and want something a little different, the Plumes Jr MOSFET Mod is an excellent little overdrive pedal
EarthQuaker probably didn’t need to refresh the bestselling Plumes, but the Plumes Jr shows that it was worth doing.
The new MOSFET mode is the standout, delivering amp-like thickness that sets it apart from most Screamer-style pedals.
Losing the original’s most Tube Screamer-like clipping mode is the trade and if that’s what you’re looking for, the full-size Plumes is still the one to get.
The small text and mini enclosure won’t suit everyone, but if you’re short on board space and want something a little different, the Plumes Jr MOSFET Mod is an excellent little overdrive pedal.
With only 2,000 being made though, I wouldn’t wait too long to set yours to MOSFET and leave it there.
Guitar World verdict: The Plumes Jr MOSFET Mod squeezes one of the most popular Screamer-style overdrives into a board-friendly mini enclosure and its new MOSFET mode is the best sound in the pedal.
|
Test |
Results |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Build quality |
A solid little mini pedal as you’d expect from EQD. |
★★★★½ |
|
Usability and features |
Small text under the knobs lets it down a little. |
★★★★☆ |
|
Sounds |
All three modes are superb but that MOSFET setting steals the show. |
★★★★★ |
|
Overall |
The MOSFET Mod is a compelling update and even more pedalboard friendly than its sibling |
★★★★½ |
Also try
Hands-on videos
EarthQuaker Devices
B’s Music Shop
Mako Gold Shark
