EarthQuaker Devices Afterneath Settings Guide
The EarthQuaker Devices Afterneath is an otherworldly reverb pedal based on a bank of short delays that can be pushed into self-oscillation, shimmer, and metallic resonance. It is not a conventional room, hall, or plate reverb — the Afterneath creates spatial effects that range from ghostly trails to complete textural destruction. The Drag control allows the reverb delay bank to be swept in real time for pitch-shifting reverb effects.
The best EarthQuaker Devices Afterneath settings start with: Reflect at 5/10, Drag at 5/10, Depth at 5/10, Length at 6/10, Size at 6/10, Mix at 5/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Ambient / Experimental: Reflect 7/10, Drag 6/10, Depth 7/10, Length 8/10, Size 8/10, Mix 6/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Reflect | 5/10 | Short → Inf |
| Drag | 5/10 | Fast → Slow |
| Depth | 5/10 | None → Full |
| Length | 6/10 | Short → Long |
| Size | 6/10 | Small → Large |
| Mix | 5/10 | Dry → Wet |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
High Reflect approaching self-oscillation — the Afterneath in its ambient mode produces cascading, layered reverb tails that sustain and build. Drag at 6 slows the delay bank slightly, producing a darker, more dense reverb character. Size at 8 creates a very large virtual space.
Moderate settings for post-rock texture — the Afterneath adds an unconventional, somewhat metallic reverb that suits post-rock's atmospheric approach. Not a natural-sounding reverb; its artificiality is part of its character.
Near maximum settings for total reverb immersion — the Afterneath at high Reflect and long Length approaches self-oscillation where the reverb sustains indefinitely. Drag at 8 (slow) produces a dark, glacial reverb. Used for drone and soundscape performance where the reverb IS the sound.
A moderate, controlled setting keeps the reverb as a supporting wash beneath fuzz and layered guitars rather than dominating the mix, useful when the reverb needs to sit under other dense effects.
Low settings across the board tame the Afterneath unconventional character into a usable, if still slightly unusual, general-purpose reverb for clean playing that does not need an experimental texture.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The Drag control is the most unique feature of the Afterneath — it adjusts the speed of the internal delay bank in real time, which changes the pitch and character of the reverb. Turning Drag while playing produces a pitch-shift sweep within the reverb, making it also function as a real-time pitch and reverb hybrid effect.
- The Afterneath sounds most effective into a clean or slightly dirty amp — its complex, multi-layered reverb structure becomes uncontrollable into an already-saturated amp. It is primarily an atmospheric and experimental tool rather than a conventional spatial reverb.
- Reflect near maximum pushes the pedal into self-oscillation, where the reverb sustains and builds without new input — a genuinely usable creative tool for drone textures, not a fault to avoid.
- Unlike a conventional reverb, Size and Length interact rather than simply stacking — experiment with both together rather than adjusting one in isolation to find a specific decay character.
- Because this pedal is not a natural-sounding reverb, blending it in parallel with a conventional hall or plate reverb (via an effects loop mixer or a second reverb pedal) can add unusual texture without losing a natural-sounding foundation.
FAQ
EarthQuaker Devices Afterneath — Common Questions
Best starting settings for EarthQuaker Devices Afterneath: Reflect at 5/10, Drag at 5/10, Depth at 5/10, Length at 6/10, Size at 6/10, Mix at 5/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Ambient / Experimental: Reflect 7/10, Drag 6/10, Depth 7/10, Length 8/10, Size 8/10, Mix 6/10. High Reflect approaching self-oscillation — the Afterneath in its ambient mode produces cascading, layered reverb tails that sustain and build. Drag at 6 slows the delay bank slightly, producing a darker, more dense reverb character. Size at 8 creates a very large virtual space.
For Post-Rock: Reflect 6/10, Drag 5/10, Depth 6/10, Length 7/10, Size 7/10, Mix 5/10. Moderate settings for post-rock texture — the Afterneath adds an unconventional, somewhat metallic reverb that suits post-rock's atmospheric approach. Not a natural-sounding reverb; its artificiality is part of its character.
Reflect: Feedback / reverb tail length — near max can self-oscillate (Short to Inf). Drag: Slows down the internal delay bank — lower values = faster, brighter; higher = slower, darker (Fast to Slow). Depth: Amount of reverb relative to dry (None to Full). Length: Reverb decay length (Short to Long). Size: Virtual space size (Small to Large). Mix: Wet/dry balance (Dry to Wet)
The Drag control is the most unique feature of the Afterneath — it adjusts the speed of the internal delay bank in real time, which changes the pitch and character of the reverb. Turning Drag while playing produces a pitch-shift sweep within the reverb, making it also function as a real-time pitch and reverb hybrid effect. The Afterneath sounds most effective into a clean or slightly dirty amp — its complex, multi-layered reverb structure becomes uncontrollable into an already-saturated amp. It is primarily an atmospheric and experimental tool rather than a conventional spatial reverb. Reflect near maximum pushes the pedal into self-oscillation, where the reverb sustains and builds without new input — a genuinely usable creative tool for drone textures, not a fault to avoid. Unlike a conventional reverb, Size and Length interact rather than simply stacking — experiment with both together rather than adjusting one in isolation to find a specific decay character. Because this pedal is not a natural-sounding reverb, blending it in parallel with a conventional hall or plate reverb (via an effects loop mixer or a second reverb pedal) can add unusual texture without losing a natural-sounding foundation.
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