There are few pedals as iconic—and instantly recognizable—as the DigiTech Whammy. Many players originally cast it aside as a novelty effect, but the pedal found its purpose and realized its potential with a new breed of guitarists in the mid and late ’90s that recognized its expressive pitch-shifting capabilities as an avenue for sculpting new, otherworldly tones.
The pedal has gone through several revisions and build changes since its inception, but real pitch-shift connoisseurs still turn their gaze back to the pedal that started it all, the coveted and highly regarded WH-1. And the fifth-generation Whammy reviewed here gets ever so close to the original’s famed sound, while packing in some much-needed modern updates.
Wham Bam, Thank
You, Ma’am
With a depth of 7 3/4" and
length of 6 1/2", the newest
issue of the Whammy is
closer in terms of look and
size to the original than the
fourth-generation model.
This might not seem like
something worth mentioning,
but if you’ve ever played an
original Whammy, it’s kind of
a big deal. They were pretty
small pedals, which gave them
a very different—some say
more immediate—feel beneath
the player’s foot. Under the
hood, the pedal’s pitch-shifting
algorithms have been updated
for smoother response. The
update also includes true-bypass
switching and 9V DC
power-supply operation so
the pedal can finally run off
of the power bricks on most
pedalboards without a special
adapter. There are also four
additional Whammy modes
taken from the Whammy DT
pedal. And a polyphonic pitch-shifting
mode has been added
too, just in case you don’t like
the Whammy’s chaotic, glitchy
reaction when playing chords
(don’t fret noisemakers, you
can switch between the two).
The Whammy IV’s drop-tune
mode has been scrapped, along
with the dedicated dry-output
jack, though you can achieve
the same effect using the new,
2nd DN mode.
Ratings
Pros:
Smooth-as-silk pitch shifting. Long-overdue
true-bypass switching.
Cons:
Quick riffing in its polyphonic mode can
cause the pedal to glitch ever so slightly at times.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build:
Value:
Street:
$199
DigiTech
digitech.com
Pitch Perfect
Many—including DigiTech
themselves—have tried for
years to capture the same
magic of the first Whammy.
And doubtless, many will find
that the Whammy V gets the
closest. Employing a Les Paul
Custom and a Mesa/Boogie
Dual Rectifier, there was a
perceptible improvement in the
smoothness of the pedal’s pitch
bending as I moved up and
down through the octave-up
mode. There were no hiccups
anywhere in the sweep. And
as I moved down the neck
to try and confuse the pedal
and upset the tracking with
low, guttural notes, the effect
remained slick and very precise.
The harmony modes are excellent, and offer up a smorgasbord of wild, dual-guitar lead possibilities, thickened single-note drones, and oddball, dissonant textures. Creative possibilities aside, you can still hear digital artifacts in the harmony mode. When I would play a melody and shift up or down, then move to where the previous notes had been shifted, there was a slight, digital sheen to the attack. You don’t lose all the warmth though, and I don’t recall using a Whammy that was this natural and smooth sounding since the years I owned an original Whammy II.
In the polyphonic mode, the pedal handles simple and complex chords with ease. Throwing a 9th chord or tritone in the mix can induce a little glitching for just a fraction of a second, but generally only when playing fast rhythms. DigiTech also made a wise decision by adding the Whammy DT’s 5th and 4th interval-up, and 2nd, 4th, and 5th interval-down modes to the pitch-shift menu, and they yield some seriously sick tones when you slowly shift one chord down or up to another.
The Verdict
Through five design iterations,
the Whammy has added
new dimensions and textures
to countless songs. And for
all intents and purposes, the
Whammy V is one of the best
Whammys to bear the name.
With the addition of true
bypass, a slightly smaller and
more comfortable footprint,
and tighter shifting programming,
it’s a real winner—and
still one of the most fun and
interesting pedals you can add
to your arsenal.
Resistance to digital amps might just be futile at this point. Many tunes you hear—and an increasing number of live gigs—feature a bit of faux-tube tone somewhere in the mix. But while the sound of pro-level modelers can be nearly indistinguishable from their analog counterparts in a mix, the feel and simplicity of a real amplifiers remain appealing and even indispensable to many players. That said, modelers that make usability, convenience, and price priorities can convince even die-hard tube users to see what’s on the other side of the fence. IK Multimedia’s TONEX ONE is one modeling device that might make the cut. It’s likely the smallest, most portable modeler out there. And at $179, it’s easily the most affordable.
Big Tones, Tiny Controls
The TONEX ONE isn’t designed to put a million different options at your feet, and that economy may be the unit’s strongest feature. It features several different modes, but the primary operating mode allows you to either switch between two different models, or simply use the unit as a stompbox. Each model can be an amp, an amp and cab, a pedal, or a pedal driving an amp and cab. Judging by how deep the online repository tone.net is for user-created presets, the options are nearly endless, which speaks to the already sizable user base. It’s a little strange to consider a modeler in a package this small with so few controls. There’s a large main knob that controls volume and gain (when you’re in ALT mode), and above that are three illuminated mini knobs that control the 3-band EQ, gate, compression, and reverb. You can also plug your headphones directly into the pedal, which makes it a dynamite silent practice amp.
My experience with modelers is that high-gain tones and clean tones are relatively easy to achieve and typically very good. After unboxing the TONEX ONE, I loaded up a slightly dirty Vox-style amp to evaluate the edge-of-breakup tones. I paired the pedal with humbuckers (with a coil split option), Stratocaster single coils, and P-90s in a T-style solidbody. With each one, the Vox-style amp was punchy and clear but could also range to very nice higher-gain sounds. Naturally, each version of a modeled amp offers different gain structures, so it pays to experiment. Combining the humbuckers in a PRS SE DGT with a few hot-rodded Marshall emulations and the growl offered tones nearly as good as those from much more expensive modelers. In a blind test, I’m not sure I could hear—or feel—much of a difference. As I explored further and fine-tuned things a bit more, the ToneX One felt more alive in my hand,s and sounded much less shrill in the top end than other digital solutions I’ve encountered.
One of the most obvious tone fixers in a modeler—and maybe one of the most underutilized—is the EQ section, and kudos are due to IK for placing those controls at the fore. Being able to adjust the most immediate tone-shaping options without having to dig through menus or touchscreens is a pleasure.
There are many possible uses for the TONEX ONE. It can serve as a high-quality direct solution on your pedalboard, a portable recording interface, and a plug-and-play practice solution when high volume is a no-go. One handy setup I tried was disabling the cabinet emulation in the pedal and then plugging into the effects return of a combo amp, in this case, a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I immediately imagined many backline amp headaches being a thing of the past. You can always plug directly into a flat-response cabinet or PA system too.
Because it has such a small footprint and streamlined controls, harnessing the unit’s full potential, and accessing all the different modes, takes a bit of effort. You can store 20 different presets within the pedal and assign them to any of the three active slots (two for dual mode and one for stomp mode). And although doing this on the fly is handy, I found it much easier to program the presets via the easy-to-use desktop editor.
The Verdict
TONEX ONE benefits from a rather singular focus and its biggest advantage is that it’s not shrouded in unnecessary layers of tweakable options. You can simply load up a base sound or two, drop it at the end of your pedalboard, and go.The included software allows you create your own models and makes swapping presets easy. I did find the multitude of modes, and their color-coded indicators, a bit confusing at times, but IK’s documentation was very clear and got me through any trouble spots. The TONEX ONE would serve well to those who want to explore digital modeling but still hold on to their analog pedalboards, and at $179 it’s a steal.
If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
