I have a ricochet and it's pretty kickass. Funnily enough, I got a whammy dt earlier this year only to do what a nano pog does despite the fact i could've just bought the EHX for less. Instead I have a T-Rex Quint now but i still have my Whammy(s) (v4, v5, DT), I also got a drop for the sake of it.
As much as I love this video for being extremely helpful and informative with awesome riffs selected for their usefulness in demonstrating the very-well put together concepts and observations that make for the kind of stellar review that players such as myself are looking for, my favorite thing about it is most definitely how the positioning of your microphone makes it appear as if it were another pedal sitting between the pedals on your shirt. Bravo.
Man, this time and research you put into your videos really goes a long way to better understand these pedals. I actually owned the BOSS Harmonist. I used it for some recording back in the day. This type of pedal doesn't particularly fit my current play style however I have a better understanding of these pedal types and feel like I could make a decision on one of I chose too. Great playing as usual. Thanks for the comparison!
Cool! New content from one of my favorite youtubers. I always wanted a whammy but ended up with the Boss PS-6 and it definitely does the trick for me. Anyways, nice video as always
Wow, Brainwaves has an unforgivable latency issue. You were playing slowly, and it was still awful. As for the PS6 Harmonist: I can't believe that there's no successor to it yet. But, one could argue that it was ahead of its time. This is a very useful video. Thanks for shooting it! I wish that I'd seen it before buying 2 HUMONGOUS and EXPENSIVE Whammy DTs. ❤ PS: I didn't even know that Eventide (the originator) is still around.
IMHO, Digitech is THE Brand for pitch shifting pedals! I own since ages the Drop (which is my main octave down pedal) and the Whammy. I used to have also pedals by Boss and EHX (PS6 and Micro POG), but Digitech sounds and tracks way better! Yes, you don't have mix knobs, and all the extra features, but I always enjoy the barebone-ness these pedals offer: sometimes less is more!
First off, thanks for a great instructional video. I am a huge fan of Digitech's pitch shifting engine, the Ricochet is always on my board, however, I want to do justice to the Pitchfork: You do have the ability to control the glissando rate between the root note and the interval, using the expression pedal ) This is exactly what the expression pedal does in momentary mode. However, unlike the Ricochet, you cannot control the rise and fall rates separately - you set the glissando rates for both the "pitch shifting" direction and the "return" direction. When no expression pedal is connected - the gliss rate is fixed @60ms.
@JasonAyalaSpare honestly without opening them both up, or looking at schematics online, I'm sure there not twins or anything. I use to do electronics repair. Maybe some shared chips but I/O would definitely be different. The Drop is cool just for drop tuning for me because most of my guitars have Floyd Rose bridges, so it's just easier for me lol. I honestly don't notice any lag or anything. I run from my pedalboard to a Radial JD7 Injector rack unit then 4 amps out of that. I wish I had bought the pedal a long time ago lol
@@charlesb7831 I recall reading an online post from a Digitech rep that both, the Drop and the Ricochet use the same algorithyms for their processing, so I guess they also share the same hardware.
Very good video. I learned a lot. I was surprised that the PS6 is an old pedal. They should bring it up to date . Ricochet with blend control would be great. What I like about the Whammy, and that depends of your needs, is the total smooth control in bending. With my EV 5 on the Pitchfork I was far from that. Ev 5 is off course not a smooth EP.
Umm, the Pitchfork does have a detune mode. It's the very first option on the mode selector (D). And the rise and fall times can be set using an expression pedal, although it's a bit cumbersome.
I have a Behringer pedal that does pitch shifting, harmonies, detune and a few other things, with all the controls you need for everything. I've been gigging with it for almost 2 years, never had an issue.
man, what a great comparison video , kudos ;) . it’s videos like this that make this sort of thing all worthwhile. in recent videos, TH-camrs have often fallen to the seller side of things, with paid promotions and all those pseudo reviews. this is the OG approach, right here. and a really informed one, that shows most of the features on these pedals, and a few more suggestions for the ppl, like me, that are looking for FX like these, but aren’t seasoned guitarists, and need an initial presentation of each, before figuring out what the reviewer is even talking about. thanks so much, i came in for the whammy, and now i realize that i am actually more interested in a harmonizer. Does the quintessence pedal have a expression IN ? i’m going to check it out. thanks again ! cheers from a Portuguese that has lived in Oz-land for a while ;)
@duarteestelita7257 🇵🇹 my mother is from Madrid 🇪🇦. The quintessence doesn't have an expression in, it has a similar pressure switch to the Brainwaves.
@@middleagedgearjunkie ..yeah...somehow I didn't get that from your video... Must've been my wishful thinking.. :P. What's up with these big enough companies that have no MIDI implementation.. I just wanted to control some of the parameters with an ext MIDI footswitch and an exp pedal ... Pfff... What happens if I want to change scale/key mid track, or I want to change the interval I am using, or even if I just want to control the Dry-Wet ratio.. The pressure switch's better than nothing,,,,, but it isn't going to cut it, for most of that. Have you got any suggestions for a harmoniser with MIDI capabilities ? I'll be happy with a VST/PlugIN ..as .. more and more I realize that I'll have to gig with the MacMini, and Amplitube..even if I want a handful of dedicated pedals . Have you reviewed the MXR Layers, btw ? PS: I lived in Madrid for a few months. Great great town. Ppl, namely non-Europeans often go reference Barcelona, but they miss out ..because Madrid is, imo .. at least, if not more interesting. Where are u, in Australia ? I was down in Adelaide and also in Melbourne.
@duarteestelita7257 I'm near Byron Bay, about 2 hours from the Gold Coast. I would say if you wanted an intelligent harmonizer pedal with MIDI capabilities there's only 1 option; the Eventide H9.
@@middleagedgearjunkie oouuufff..... That's a lot of dough... even if it is 'just' the 9. I haven't gone ALL Out on the pedalboard scenario, just yet. In truth, im still contemplating using the Mac plus Ableton, when gigging. And I was thinking I might be able to find a solid PlugIn, that I'd be able to control with MIDI pedal and expression pedal. Having said this... I'll consider your suggestion, surely. Have you got any on the PlugIn side ? PS: funny enough, when I replied you last time, I was gonna say that my only gripe was that I hadn't been able to go to Hobart and to Byron Bay, when I was there. I'm not a surfer... but I know the artsy scene and general good vibes are plentiful, over there.
Just so many realistic and solid points made here. The whole fake octave/harmony pedal world contains so many squeaky, harsh, rumbly, brittle, shrill, artificial and downright shithouse tones. If you've got a pedal that does one of these things right, then you're pretty much doing okay. I recently saw a Whammy pedal at a Cash Converters (a chain store pawn shop, for you non-Australian viewers). It was expensive, but not overly so. A reasonable price actually. I considered buying it but, as you said, you may use it once for one moment in a live gig but it takes up so much real estate on the pedal board. But when you're recording, it's so much more fun and satisfying to do all of those harmonies etc. one-by-one in true Brian May fashion. Another top notch video.
had a ricochet for the downtuning, it couldnt follow with fast stuff even on polyphonic mode, but on monophonic it was good for a Like a stone cover, but was almost all of the time out of the board because it sucked some tone, and was a problem at the beginning of the chain. I was thinking on getting a getting a Boss PS-6, but thankfully with your honest review I know that I will regret gettink one, I will go for a DigiDrop or a Eventide H9
What's the overdrive distortion sound you're getting in the 4:00+ areas? That sounds great! Kinda barks harder than the tdy and sounds a bit more like the revolution.. sounds good. The chorus detune is probably my favorite sound that thing makes, but it also has that digital artifact sound that is part of the magic on this pedal especially on higher treble parts like Radiohead use
I have the brainwaves. And that same exact tele funny enough. I don’t like pitch shifters much. But my cover band uses many alt tunings, so I’m gonna swap it for a digitech drop.
Nice video. I really like pitch shifters and my favourite is the Whammy DT but the real estate it takes up just sucks. And too bad it hasn't got the classic mode, I wish they made a Ricochet-sized one. I also like the Boss PS6 but only subtilty, I haven't played the EHX Pitchfork but the POG is cool, if you're looking for a cheap alternative than take the T-Rex Quint. I also haven't played the TCE Brainwaves but I had both the Sub 'n' Up and Mimiq and they both sucked.
Thanks for the video! I'm really just looking for a whammy capability. My band covers Killing in The Name Of and my multi-effects board has a whammy feature, but it sounds really bad and too digital compared to the actual sound in the song. I want an alternate to the digitech whammy as its way too much to spend for basically one solo in a song. I'll have to look at one of these instead.
I have a Ricochet. I can set it to where I like it, but there is a noticeable lag (latency) when I have it in momentary mode and I'm not actively using it. As such It's not practical for my board.
My first experimentation with this was with a TC Electronics Sub N Up, and I think it's kind of a garbage pedal. It may just not be a good pedal for me, but the lag was pretty noticeable and that "fake organ" effect of the high octave is extremely digitaly on it. It has a "Sub 2 Octave" mode which is hilarious though. The low E can get much lower than a bass guitar, to the point that a speaker doesn't really track it.
unfortunately, the Brainwaves falls short from more aspects. I m very angry of myself buying it anno. Dive bomb: significant volume drop, pitch shift: terrible delay a,d sound as u pointed out at the octave up
@@Gliese710_ You are wrong. You're saying something that costs a certain amount of money to produce shouldn't be sold at a higher amount of money. You either don't know how production of a product and its associated costs works, or you truly believe that everyone should be ok with losing money on their product. You are objectively and inarguably wrong, regardless of what you can afford.
@@Gliese710_if you don’t want to pay that much, there is nothing wrong with that, but your personal opinion doesn’t change how much it costs to run a business
The Whammy 4 is good, the 5 has a couple of upgrades. You can switch between classic glitchy mode and the smoother polyphonic mode and it takes a regular 9v DC power supply.
@@middleagedgearjunkie I think it was march 1990 whan I was at their Gig in Zurich,…. That is when I first heard the pedal, mindblowing. I ended up buying it later and paid whopping 600 bucks back then, but it still works,… So 2 years later when I heard killing in the name of,….
I had the TC Electronic Brainwaves. It's great if you use octave up and octave down, with the dry signal. But... Like you said, the delay on this pedal is awful. It's not that the octave up with the mix at 100 % sounds terrible, the problem is the lag. That made me sell that pedal. I tried to tune down for a melodic part, but it sounded very off, out of tune. I recorded it to listen closer and I realized that the dry sound comes out first and THEN it becomes pitched. The lag just ruined it! It was a great idea for a pedal, but they fucking ruined it. I would have been ashamed of putting that pedal out.
Thanks for making such an in depth review and comparison of these pedals. I really enjoyed and it helped me a lot. Cheers!
Thanks mate
I have a ricochet and it's pretty kickass. Funnily enough, I got a whammy dt earlier this year only to do what a nano pog does despite the fact i could've just bought the EHX for less. Instead I have a T-Rex Quint now but i still have my Whammy(s) (v4, v5, DT), I also got a drop for the sake of it.
As much as I love this video for being extremely helpful and informative with awesome riffs selected for their usefulness in demonstrating the very-well put together concepts and observations that make for the kind of stellar review that players such as myself are looking for, my favorite thing about it is most definitely how the positioning of your microphone makes it appear as if it were another pedal sitting between the pedals on your shirt. Bravo.
I'm not that clever 👍
Dude. Really phenomenal video. The last comparison was perfect. Great to see that!
Man, this time and research you put into your videos really goes a long way to better understand these pedals. I actually owned the BOSS Harmonist. I used it for some recording back in the day. This type of pedal doesn't particularly fit my current play style however I have a better understanding of these pedal types and feel like I could make a decision on one of I chose too. Great playing as usual. Thanks for the comparison!
My pleasure
Cool! New content from one of my favorite youtubers. I always wanted a whammy but ended up with the Boss PS-6 and it definitely does the trick for me. Anyways, nice video as always
Thanks man
You're the man!! Thanks for your content.
Thanks 🎸
Jason, what a great informative video! You deserve A LOT more subscribers (I found your channel just now). Keep up the good work!
Thanks man
Wow, Brainwaves has an unforgivable latency issue. You were playing slowly, and it was still awful.
As for the PS6 Harmonist: I can't believe that there's no successor to it yet. But, one could argue that it was ahead of its time.
This is a very useful video. Thanks for shooting it! I wish that I'd seen it before buying 2 HUMONGOUS and EXPENSIVE Whammy DTs. ❤
PS: I didn't even know that Eventide (the originator) is still around.
IMHO, Digitech is THE Brand for pitch shifting pedals! I own since ages the Drop (which is my main octave down pedal) and the Whammy. I used to have also pedals by Boss and EHX (PS6 and Micro POG), but Digitech sounds and tracks way better! Yes, you don't have mix knobs, and all the extra features, but I always enjoy the barebone-ness these pedals offer: sometimes less is more!
First off, thanks for a great instructional video.
I am a huge fan of Digitech's pitch shifting engine, the Ricochet is always on my board, however, I want to do justice to the Pitchfork: You do have the ability to control the glissando rate between the root note and the interval, using the expression pedal ) This is exactly what the expression pedal does in momentary mode. However, unlike the Ricochet, you cannot control the rise and fall rates separately - you set the glissando rates for both the "pitch shifting" direction and the "return" direction.
When no expression pedal is connected - the gliss rate is fixed @60ms.
this is an excellent video. really helpful and objective.
I agree with you entirely. If you want to save space go with the ricochet.. I did
Thanks, this was very helpful comparison. The full whammy pedal would be an overkill for me. Ricochet offers enough to spicy up some ideas.
Thank you for the video.
I have the Mooer Pitch Step. Small footprint and a similar peda to the Whammy.
I know you didn't have it on this episode, but I love my Digitech Drop pedal is outstanding!
I'd imagine that the Drop has the same processor as the Ricochet.
@JasonAyalaSpare honestly without opening them both up, or looking at schematics online, I'm sure there not twins or anything. I use to do electronics repair. Maybe some shared chips but I/O would definitely be different. The Drop is cool just for drop tuning for me because most of my guitars have Floyd Rose bridges, so it's just easier for me lol. I honestly don't notice any lag or anything. I run from my pedalboard to a Radial JD7 Injector rack unit then 4 amps out of that. I wish I had bought the pedal a long time ago lol
@@charlesb7831 I recall reading an online post from a Digitech rep that both, the Drop and the Ricochet use the same algorithyms for their processing, so I guess they also share the same hardware.
Very good video. I learned a lot. I was surprised that the PS6 is an old pedal. They should bring it up to date . Ricochet with blend control would be great. What I like about the Whammy, and that depends of your needs, is the total smooth control in bending. With my EV 5 on the Pitchfork I was far from that. Ev 5 is off course not a smooth EP.
Thnks 🤙
Umm, the Pitchfork does have a detune mode. It's the very first option on the mode selector (D). And the rise and fall times can be set using an expression pedal, although it's a bit cumbersome.
@@polaroidleftist how did I miss that?
I have a Behringer pedal that does pitch shifting, harmonies, detune and a few other things, with all the controls you need for everything. I've been gigging with it for almost 2 years, never had an issue.
what's it called?
@@NotBadForATarget i bet its Behringer US600
man, what a great comparison video , kudos ;) .
it’s videos like this that make this sort of thing all worthwhile. in recent videos, TH-camrs have often fallen to the seller side of things, with paid promotions and all those pseudo reviews.
this is the OG approach, right here. and a really informed one, that shows most of the features on these pedals, and a few more suggestions for the ppl, like me, that are looking for FX like these, but aren’t seasoned guitarists, and need an initial presentation of each, before figuring out what the reviewer is even talking about.
thanks so much,
i came in for the whammy, and now i realize that i am actually more interested in a harmonizer.
Does the quintessence pedal have a expression IN ? i’m going to check it out.
thanks again !
cheers from a Portuguese that has lived in Oz-land for a while ;)
@duarteestelita7257 🇵🇹 my mother is from Madrid 🇪🇦. The quintessence doesn't have an expression in, it has a similar pressure switch to the Brainwaves.
@@middleagedgearjunkie ..yeah...somehow I didn't get that from your video...
Must've been my wishful thinking.. :P.
What's up with these big enough companies that have no MIDI implementation..
I just wanted to control some of the parameters with an ext MIDI footswitch and an exp pedal ... Pfff...
What happens if I want to change scale/key mid track, or I want to change the interval I am using, or even if I just want to control the Dry-Wet ratio..
The pressure switch's better than nothing,,,,, but it isn't going to cut it, for most of that.
Have you got any suggestions for a harmoniser with MIDI capabilities ?
I'll be happy with a VST/PlugIN ..as .. more and more I realize that I'll have to gig with the MacMini, and Amplitube..even if I want a handful of dedicated pedals .
Have you reviewed the MXR Layers, btw ?
PS: I lived in Madrid for a few months. Great great town. Ppl, namely non-Europeans often go reference Barcelona, but they miss out ..because Madrid is, imo .. at least, if not more interesting.
Where are u, in Australia ?
I was down in Adelaide and also in Melbourne.
@duarteestelita7257 I'm near Byron Bay, about 2 hours from the Gold Coast. I would say if you wanted an intelligent harmonizer pedal with MIDI capabilities there's only 1 option; the Eventide H9.
@@middleagedgearjunkie oouuufff.....
That's a lot of dough... even if it is 'just' the 9.
I haven't gone ALL Out on the pedalboard scenario, just yet.
In truth, im still contemplating using the Mac plus Ableton, when gigging.
And I was thinking I might be able to find a solid PlugIn, that I'd be able to control with MIDI pedal and expression pedal.
Having said this... I'll consider your suggestion, surely. Have you got any on the PlugIn side ?
PS: funny enough, when I replied you last time, I was gonna say that my only gripe was that I hadn't been able to go to Hobart and to Byron Bay, when I was there. I'm not a surfer... but I know the artsy scene and general good vibes are plentiful, over there.
I have the Ricochet and I would love it even more if it had a mix knob through all the modes.
Just so many realistic and solid points made here. The whole fake octave/harmony pedal world contains so many squeaky, harsh, rumbly, brittle, shrill, artificial and downright shithouse tones. If you've got a pedal that does one of these things right, then you're pretty much doing okay. I recently saw a Whammy pedal at a Cash Converters (a chain store pawn shop, for you non-Australian viewers). It was expensive, but not overly so. A reasonable price actually. I considered buying it but, as you said, you may use it once for one moment in a live gig but it takes up so much real estate on the pedal board.
But when you're recording, it's so much more fun and satisfying to do all of those harmonies etc. one-by-one in true Brian May fashion.
Another top notch video.
I’ve had a DT for years, it’s huge 😂
Yes, while a Whammy 4 or 5 is large, the DT is enormous.
had a ricochet for the downtuning, it couldnt follow with fast stuff even on polyphonic mode, but on monophonic it was good for a Like a stone cover, but was almost all of the time out of the board because it sucked some tone, and was a problem at the beginning of the chain. I was thinking on getting a getting a Boss PS-6, but thankfully with your honest review I know that I will regret gettink one, I will go for a DigiDrop or a Eventide H9
Can you demo mooer pitch box?
That weird octave up on the Brainwave kind of sucks but it could also be really cool in a mix. But not enough for me to want one haha
Do they make a pedal that allows you to drop tune just one or two strings while the other strings are left alone?
@@dhanabaytimberlake0718 I don't believe so
I have a Whammy. I’m looking for a smaller alternative. I mostly used it as an octave up blended in.
Maybe the pitch fork would work for you.
What's the overdrive distortion sound you're getting in the 4:00+ areas? That sounds great! Kinda barks harder than the tdy and sounds a bit more like the revolution.. sounds good. The chorus detune is probably my favorite sound that thing makes, but it also has that digital artifact sound that is part of the magic on this pedal especially on higher treble parts like Radiohead use
It's the Ultra Gain channel of my Marshall DSL40
Cool
I have the brainwaves. And that same exact tele funny enough. I don’t like pitch shifters much. But my cover band uses many alt tunings, so I’m gonna swap it for a digitech drop.
Good call
Nice video. I really like pitch shifters and my favourite is the Whammy DT but the real estate it takes up just sucks. And too bad it hasn't got the classic mode, I wish they made a Ricochet-sized one. I also like the Boss PS6 but only subtilty, I haven't played the EHX Pitchfork but the POG is cool, if you're looking for a cheap alternative than take the T-Rex Quint. I also haven't played the TCE Brainwaves but I had both the Sub 'n' Up and Mimiq and they both sucked.
I would have liked to hear what these pedals sounded like when not put through a stack of three dimed MetalZones
Thanks for the video! I'm really just looking for a whammy capability. My band covers Killing in The Name Of and my multi-effects board has a whammy feature, but it sounds really bad and too digital compared to the actual sound in the song. I want an alternate to the digitech whammy as its way too much to spend for basically one solo in a song. I'll have to look at one of these instead.
@@larr3073 I made this video for people like you 👍
I have a Ricochet. I can set it to where I like it, but there is a noticeable lag (latency) when I have it in momentary mode and I'm not actively using it. As such It's not practical for my board.
it seems to me that the Boss PS6 w/exp pedal gets the closest to a whammy pedal sound doing glides
Very cool! Which model Tele is that?
Just a standard. It has the best neck.
@@middleagedgearjunkie sounds and looks the business, cheers brother!
The Whammy V harmony of the 5th up to the 6th sounds like it's made for faking pedal steel?
what about Pitch Fork Plus ?
@@MrSigitar I mentioned it, but I don't have one.
@@middleagedgearjunkie momentary has been improved and the benefit of presets is invaluable. I'll test it out and compare it to my Ricochet.
My first experimentation with this was with a TC Electronics Sub N Up, and I think it's kind of a garbage pedal. It may just not be a good pedal for me, but the lag was pretty noticeable and that "fake organ" effect of the high octave is extremely digitaly on it.
It has a "Sub 2 Octave" mode which is hilarious though. The low E can get much lower than a bass guitar, to the point that a speaker doesn't really track it.
I tried the Sub'n'Up, I found the same thing that you described.
unfortunately, the Brainwaves falls short from more aspects. I m very angry of myself buying it anno. Dive bomb: significant volume drop, pitch shift: terrible delay a,d sound as u pointed out at the octave up
Niceee
Run the Boss Harmonist after the overdrive(s) or into the effects loop...
Interesting 🤔
Ummm, no. ☺️
Idk if they’ve put some super computer tech into these things but $300 is insanely ridiculous for a pedal, anything over like $150 is overpriced imo.
Your opinion is wrong. Learn the cost of things before forming an opinion on it
@@rmaxtpmx too bad, I’m not made of money and neither are the majority of people. Just cus youre glazing doesn’t mean I’m wrong.
@@Gliese710_ You are wrong. You're saying something that costs a certain amount of money to produce shouldn't be sold at a higher amount of money. You either don't know how production of a product and its associated costs works, or you truly believe that everyone should be ok with losing money on their product. You are objectively and inarguably wrong, regardless of what you can afford.
Do you build pedals for a living?
@@Gliese710_if you don’t want to pay that much, there is nothing wrong with that, but your personal opinion doesn’t change how much it costs to run a business
I have whammy 4
The Whammy 4 is good, the 5 has a couple of upgrades. You can switch between classic glitchy mode and the smoother polyphonic mode and it takes a regular 9v DC power supply.
@JBuz4asonAyalaSparethe glitchy mode is not the same as the 4 thats why i kept the
Vernon Reid was in my opinion the first one to utilize the pedal,…..
@ivicapavlovic3879 Really? He's a kickass player
@@middleagedgearjunkie I think it was march 1990 whan I was at their Gig in Zurich,…. That is when I first heard the pedal, mindblowing. I ended up buying it later and paid whopping 600 bucks back then, but it still works,…
So 2 years later when I heard killing in the name of,….
I had the TC Electronic Brainwaves. It's great if you use octave up and octave down, with the dry signal. But... Like you said, the delay on this pedal is awful.
It's not that the octave up with the mix at 100 % sounds terrible, the problem is the lag. That made me sell that pedal. I tried to tune down for a melodic part, but it sounded very off, out of tune. I recorded it to listen closer and I realized that the dry sound comes out first and THEN it becomes pitched. The lag just ruined it! It was a great idea for a pedal, but they fucking ruined it. I would have been ashamed of putting that pedal out.
@nedim_guitar they've done some great pedals, the Brainwaves isn't one of them.