The Life Pedal V3 is basically a full heavy-guitar front end in one enclosure: an octave-up fuzz feeding a RAT-style distortion circuit (LM308-flavoured “rodent” brutality) plus a dedicated clean boost to push your amp harder.
If your playing ever lives in the orbit of doom, drone, sludge, industrial, or “make-the-amp-feel-like-it’s-about-to-apologise” rock—this pedal was built for that. But the real surprise is how well it can behave when you dial it back. Multiple reviewers note it’s not only a Sunn O)))-only hammer; it can do articulate leads and detailed rhythm sounds, too.
What it is
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Octave section: an analog octave-up effect you blend in (great for harmonic “clang,” synthy grind, and feedback textures). EQD describe it as an all-discrete, analog full-wave rectifier style octave design.
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Distortion section: a RAT-inspired core with three clipping modes (OpAmp / Asymmetric / Symmetric), so you can go from tighter bite to more saturated, compressed grind.
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Boost section: a pure clean boost after the dirt to slam an amp’s input and extend sustain/feedback control.
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Extra control: V3 adds a third footswitch for the octave, using EQD’s Flexi-Switch style momentary/latching behavior for more “performance” control.
How it sounds and feels
1) The core distortion: “huge,” but not one-dimensional
The RAT-inspired voice is the backbone—mid-forward, aggressive, and harmonically rich. The clipping selector matters a lot: it’s not just “more gain,” it’s different textures of collapse and bite.
2) The octave: best used like a spice rack
Full octave can get wild fast—glitchy, metallic, and synth-adjacent—especially with chords. But blending it in low-to-mid adds that signature “ringing doom halo” without turning your notes into a blender. EQD notes the V3 octave was refined to be more pronounced without losing low end.
3) The boost: the secret weapon
A lot of heavy pedals forget the “amp interaction” part. The Life Pedal’s clean boost is there specifically to finish the job—to overdrive your amp’s preamp and turn good distortion into the kind of sustain/feedback that feels alive.
Practical settings to try
(Knob names can vary, but these concepts translate well.)
1) “Modern Doom, still defined”
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Distortion: medium-high
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Filter/Tone: slightly darker than neutral
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Octave: 9–10 o’clock (just a hint)
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Boost: to taste (start low, increase until the amp starts to “bloom”)
2) “Lead sustain + controllable feedback”
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Distortion: high
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Octave: off or very low
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Boost: higher, to push the amp into singing sustain
3) “Octave shards / broken synth grind”
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Distortion: medium
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Octave: 1–3 o’clock
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Use the octave footswitch momentarily for bursts (great for transitions).
What it’s best for
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Doom/drone/sludge walls (obviously)
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Heavy lead tones that still cut
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Post-metal textures, noise rock, industrial riffing
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Anyone who wants one pedal that can be “dirt + octave + amp-push” without stacking three boxes
Why might it not suit everyone?
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Not a subtle pedal: even at polite settings, it has a strong personality.
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Octave + chords can get chaotic (that’s the point, but worth saying).
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It shines most when you give it an amp (or amp sim) that likes being hit hard.
Verdict
The Sunn O))) Life Pedal V3 earns its reputation: crushing octave grind into a refined RAT-style distortion, plus a clean boost that turns “big” into “unreasonable.” And unlike a lot of signature doom gear, it can absolutely step outside drone-land—tight rhythms, articulate leads, and nasty octave accents all live here if you take five minutes to learn the clipping options and octave blend.
If you’re thinking about adding the Life Pedal V3 to your board, grabbing it from Colemans Music is the easy win—especially if you want the confidence of buying from a real, Melbourne-based music store with a team that actually understands gain stacking and “does this pedal suit my rig?” questions. You’ll get proper advice on pairing it with your amp (or modeller), help choosing the right power/patch setup, and local support if you ever need it—so you can spend less time second-guessing and more time making gloriously excessive noise.
