DigiTech Whammy

Last updated

Whammy
DigiTech Whammy DT (2011) - NAMM 2013.jpg
Manufacturer DigiTech
Dates1989–1991 (IVL Technologies)
1991–present
Technical specifications
Effects type
Pitch shifter
  • Whammy mode
  • Harmony Bend mode [1]
Wah-wah pedal (on XP-100 )
Hardware Digital
Polyphony supported (on Whammy DT & V )
Filter 1 wah-wah (on XP-100 )
Controls
Pedal controlExpression pedal   for pitch bend
Input/output
External control MIDI I/O (on Whammy IV )   for pitch bend via CC [1]

The DigiTechWhammy is a pitch shifter pedal manufactured by DigiTech. It was the first widely used effects pedal with foot-controlled pitch shifting effects. The pedal emulates sounds that a guitarist normally makes using the vibrato ("whammy") bar on the guitar, but with a greatly enhanced pitch range and without the tuning problems associated with traditional vibrato bars.

Contents

Its users include Ed O'Brien [2] and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, [3] Matt Bellamy of Muse, [4] Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, [5] and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. [6]

Use

Pitch shifters typically combine the workings of an octaver (which adds a synthesized sound one or two octaves higher or lower than the original) sound with pitch bends and harmony shifts. [7] The Whammy digitally produces such sounds in a variety of preset settings and adds expression control by the foot pedal. A noteworthy user of the Whammy is Tom Morello, who with Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave used the Whammy to create otherwise impossible effects. [8]

Arto Lindsay using the effect Arto lindsay 05N3758cr.jpg
Arto Lindsay using the effect

Besides Morello, Dimebag Darrell, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Jack White of the White Stripes are often mentioned as expert users. [7] David Gilmour has been using one since his Pink Floyd song "Marooned" ( The Division Bell , 1994). Noel Gallagher of Oasis used a Whammy IV in his pedalboard for the Dig Out Your Soul tour in 2008-2009. Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine used two Whammy IV pedals whIle on tour for the album MBV . The Whammy is popular among heavy metal guitarists, with guitarists such as Virus of the bands Dope and Device, and Mikey Demus of the band Skindred using it to great lengths in both their riffs and solos alike. Other users include Jimmy Page and Page Hamilton. Guitar World described the Whammy as "one of the most iconic guitar pedals recognized by guitarists around the world". [9]

History

A DigiTech WH-1 Whammy with power adapter DigiTech WH-1 Whammy Pedal with power adapter.gif
A DigiTech WH-1 Whammy with power adapter

The WH-1 Whammy pedal, the original whammy, was first engineered and manufactured in 1989 by IVL Technologies and discontinued in 1993.

It is controlled by a pedal for the pitch, and a single rotary knob that selects from 16 presets—five Whammy effects, nine Harmony effects, and two Detune effects.

DigiTech Whammy II

A DigiTech Whammy II with power adapter DigiTech Whammy II with power adapter.jpg
A DigiTech Whammy II with power adapter

The DigiTech Whammy II featured a black chassis (in contrast with the series' now famous 'Ferrari red' colour).

It is controlled by an expression pedal and a button which selects the settings, which are nearly the same as the WH-1. It also has the ability to store one preset setting, which allows the user to choose any two modes and toggle between them using the setting select button.

DigiTech XP-100 Whammy-Wah

The XP-100 Whammy/Wah was more complex, incorporating both whammy and wah-wah possibilities.

It is controlled by a rocker, and a button which selects the 29 different presets; "Volume" effect, five "Wah-Wah" effects, six "Auto Wah" effects, eight "Whammy" effects, and nine "Harmony" effects.

DigiTech Bass Whammy

The Bass Whammy is a Whammy pedal built for bass guitar. Originally released alongside the Whammy II, it was built in the same chassis but in a deep blue color. It also featured a different set of shift and harmony options, more appropriate for use with a bass instrument.

DigiTech re-released the Bass Whammy at the 2014 Winter NAMM show. Housed in the same chassis as the DigiTech Whammy V, but again in blue, it also features the new classic/chords switch and true-bypass switching. Like the original, it is equipped with a unique set of shift and harmony options more appropriate for bass.

DigiTech Whammy IV

The Whammy IV; the fourth edition, is closer to the WH-1 in terms of design but with several additional features, such as MIDI control and a 'Dive bomb' feature.

DigiTech Whammy DT

The Whammy DT was released in 2011. It was the first Whammy model to use polyphonic pitch shifting as well as a host of new features including true-bypass.

The controls are similar to the controls on the previous model, but one additional knob and two additional footswitches, one of which is momentary, have been added for the new "Drop Tune" section of the pedal.

Whammy V

The Whammy V was released in 2012. It adds additional pitch intervals, true bypass (meaning the input sound is completely unaffected when the pedal is turned off) and the ability to switch between the newer and older pitch-shifting algorithms. [10] [9]

MIDI controllers

Later Whammy pedals can be controlled via MIDI program changes and control changes. In 2009, Molten Voltage released a dedicated MIDI controller for the Whammy called Molten MIDI. [11] In 2015, Molten Voltage released G-Quencer, which works with all four modern Whammy pedals and provides eight unique ways to control the Whammy and expand its sonic potential. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects unit</span> Electronic device that alters audio

An effects unit, effects processor, or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass pedals</span>

Bass pedals are an electronic musical instrument with a foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a pedalboard and analog synthesizer tone generation circuitry packaged together as a unit. The bass pedals are plugged into a bass amplifier or PA system so that their sound can be heard. Since the 1990s, bass pedals are usually MIDI controllers, which have to be connected to a MIDI-compatible computer, electronic synthesizer keyboard, or synth module to produce musical tones. Some 2010s-era bass pedals have both an onboard synth module and a MIDI output.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mofo (song)</span> 1997 single by U2

"Mofo" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track on their 1997 album Pop, and was released as the album's final single on 8 December 1997. The song was partially written about lead vocalist Bono's mother, who died when he was 14 years old. Other songs which Bono wrote about his mother include "Lemon", "I Will Follow", "Iris " and "Tomorrow".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitch shifting</span> Audio processing technique that changes the original pitch of a sound

Pitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval (transposition) are called pitch shifters.

"Know Your Enemy" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine. It features Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan on vocals during the bridge section, and Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins playing additional percussion. Allmusic describes the song as "immediately memorable" and "surprisingly straightforward" while music critic Joel McIver cited it as "a standout track" of the album.

DOD Electronics, or simply DOD, is a Cort Guitars company that makes guitar effects pedals, many of which are now discontinued. Additionally, the company has made active crossover gear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auto-wah</span>

Auto-wah is a type of wah-wah effects pedal typically used with electric guitar, bass guitar, clavinet, and electric piano etc. The distinctive choppy rhythm guitar sound on many funk and disco recordings from the 1970s popularized the effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calm Like a Bomb</span> 1999 song by Rage Against the Machine

"Calm Like a Bomb" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine from their third album The Battle of Los Angeles. Like their song "Tire Me" from the 1996 album Evil Empire, “Calm Like a Bomb” never had a music video or was released on any media formats. It did, however, receive enough radio airplay to become an album favorite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Testify (Rage Against the Machine song)</span> 2000 single by Rage Against the Machine

"Testify" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine. It is the opening track from their third album The Battle of Los Angeles (1999), and was released as the third single from the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Gibson (musician)</span> American musician

Brian Gibson is an American musician, artist, and video game developer based in Providence, Rhode Island. Gibson is best known as the bassist for the band Lightning Bolt. In the summer of 2015 he co-founded the game development company Drool. At Drool, he created the art and music for the video game Thumper and co-designed the game alongside Marc Flury. Thumper was released with critical acclaim in October 2016. He was previously a lead artist working at video game company Harmonix since 2001, but quit in the summer of 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Original Fire</span> 2006 single by Audioslave

"Original Fire" is a song by American hard rock band Audioslave. It was released in July 2006 as the first single from the album Revelations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guitar synthesizer</span> Electronic system to modify guitar sound

A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revelations (Audioslave song)</span> 2006 single by Audioslave

"Revelations" is a song by American rock supergroup Audioslave. It was released in November 2006 as the second and final single from their third album Revelations and also the final single of their career.

The Roland GR-500 is a guitar synthesizer. Manufactured by the Roland Corporation and FujiGen in 1977, it was one of the first guitar synthesizers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guitar Rig</span>

Guitar Rig is an amp and effects modeling software package developed by Native Instruments. The software can function either as a standalone application, or as a plug-in for other software. It was originally released in 2004.

Source Audio is a guitar effects pedal company based near Boston, Massachusetts. They produce modular effects pedals for electric guitar and bass, such as the Nemesis Delay, Ventris Dual Reverb, and Collider Delay+Reverb, as well as the C4 Synth, a modular rack synthesizer in pedal format, the Aftershock Bass Distortion, and the EQ2, a 10-band parametric equalizer with a plug-in style desktop interface. They are also the creators of the Hot Hand Wireless Effects Controller, a device worn around the finger that uses an accelerometer to send expression signal to an effect like an envelope filter. Source Audio mainly uses DSP to create their effects, and are known to program their own processor chips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Promenade (Street Sweeper Social Club song)</span> 2010 single by Street Sweeper Social Club

"Promenade" is the second single by rap rock supergroup Street Sweeper Social Club from their debut self-titled album. The version that was released as a single differs from that on the album, the original version on the album is 2:31 in length whereas the extended version is 3:40 in length. The extended version features a guitar solo by Tom Morello, the extended version is also on The Ghetto Blaster EP, but is listed as the 'Guitar Fury remix'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass chorus</span>

A bass chorus is an electronic effect used with the electric bass. It creates the same "shimmering" sound as a chorus effect for electric guitar chorus pedals, which recreates the sound of having multiple instruments doubling the same musical line. The difference is that bass chorus pedals are modified in various ways to suit the low pitch register of the electric bass. While several bass chorus pedal manufacturers have modified the chorus circuit so that it does not affect the lower register, others have designed the effect so that it can have an effect on even very low pitches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yamaha DX21</span> 1985 digital FM synthesizer

The Yamaha DX21 is a digital controlled bi-timbral programmable digital FM synthesizer with a four operator synth voice generator which was released in 1985. It uses sine wave-based frequency modulation (FM) synthesis. It has two FM tone generators and a 32-voice random-access memory (RAM), 32 user voices and 128 read-only memory (ROM) factory preset sounds. As a programmable synth, it enables users to create their own unique synthesized tones and sound effects by using the algorithms and oscillators. The instrument weighs 8 kg (17.6 lbs). On its release, it sold for $795.

The 12 Step foot controller is a bass pedal-style programmable MIDI controller pedal keyboard made by Keith McMillen Instruments which was released in 2011. It has small, soft, rubbery keys that are played with the feet. As a MIDI controller, it does not make or output any musical sounds by itself; rather, it sends MIDI messages about which notes are played to an external synth module or computer music program running on a laptop or other computer. Each key on the 12 Step senses the velocity, aftertouch pressure, and the amount of tilt the player is applying with his feet. The messages from the player's foot presses can be sent via USB to a computer-based virtual instrument or to a synthesizer or other electronic or digital musical instrument.

References

  1. 1 2 "Whammy (4th Gen)". DigiTech. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  2. Michael Astley-Brown, Rob Laing (November 14, 2017). "Radiohead's Ed O'Brien: "I was always drawn to sounds that didn't sound like the guitar". MusicRadar. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  3. "Iron man". Total Guitar . Future plc. October 19, 2018 via PressReader.
  4. May 2020, Stuart Williams 14 (May 14, 2020). "Matt Bellamy reveals plans for Manson Guitar Works pedals, plus a Whammy-loaded guitar". MusicRadar. Retrieved September 15, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. December 2020, Rob Laing 29 (December 29, 2020). "Tom Morello: "I've been accused countless times of using a ton of effects - but I've used the same four pedals for the last 30 years"". MusicRadar. Retrieved September 15, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. "Sounds of Silence" interview, Guitar World, September 1994 Archived 20 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine , retrieved 28 July 2010
  7. 1 2 Brewster, David M. (2003). Introduction to Guitar Tone & Effects: An Essential Manual for Getting the Best Sounds from Electric Guitars, Amplifiers, Effect Pedals, and Digital Processors. Hal Leonard. pp. 38–39. ISBN   9781617743757.
  8. Newquist, H. P.; Maloof, Rich (2004). The New Metal Masters. Hal Leonard. ISBN   9780879308049.
  9. 1 2 June 2012, Nick Vallese 05 (June 5, 2012). "Digitech Releases New Whammy With Chord Shifting". guitarworld. Retrieved September 16, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. "Digitech Whammy (5th Gen)". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  11. Dan Kern (May 19, 2015). "MIDI Madness: Interview with Molten Voltage". Six String Soul. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  12. "G-Quencer || Guitar Sequencer Effect Pedal by Molten Voltage by Molten Voltage". Kickstarter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2016.