In Action

Tonal coloration is a major dividing line between good- and bad-sounding pitch effects. The best ones leave the tone alone, the worst make every note sound metallic and robotic. The Whammy Pedal scored very high marks for transparency. Distortion can mask that metallic effect, so I tested the pedal through a clean tube amp and found the results very natural. My guitar's attack, tone, and dynamics stayed intact.

The Whammy Pedal's tracking speed is very impressive. Even when playing a relatively fast run, I detected no lag. It handled all single note runs very well, even tracking bends with smooth response (some pitch-shifters will "stair step" through a bend, changing the pitch in chunks instead of in a smooth and continuous curve).

As you might expect, the effects generally worked better when I played single notes, rather than chords. The Whammy section settings - especially Drop Tune - handled chords better, but close intervals, such as a major 2nd, caused beating. I experienced similar issues when I hit my open low E string hard. Most pitch shifters are very sensitive to tuning instability, and the Whammy was no exception; if your guitar is out of tune, it may wreak havoc with your Whammy sounds.

Because the pedal action was so smooth, I was able to generate a variety of unusual effects with the unit. One of my favorites was using the Dive Bomb setting in combination with my guitar's volume control to create some spacey bleeps.

Vital Stats

Price: US $250 (MSRP)

Manufacturer reported specs:

Sample Rate: 46.875 kHz
Frequency Response Dry: 20Hz to 20kHz
Frequency Response Wet: 20Hz to 12kHz
A/D and D/A conversion: 24-bit

Contact:
DigiTech
www.digitech.com
(801) 566-8800