Digitech Whammy Anyone?

[telecaster69]

Anyone own one or use one? thinking about buying one........ I know that Tom Morello uses the WH-1...

 

[aznrambo481]

I know a lot of metal guys use them. It seems like it's for ridiculous dive-bombs and manly squeals.

 

[SixStringSlinger]

I use the WH-4 (the current model). It's just plain awesome. Lots of people say bad things about it, but I love it. I'll admit though, it's not for everyone. But if you like Tom Morello then you'll probably like it.

 

[EunosFD]

Love it! It can do so much more than just the ol' Tom Morello/Korn "weeeeeeeeee" sound. It's def not for everyone & not a pedal that can be used in all situations (well, it probably could), but definitely a great effect to help stimulate creativity. It's even better with a phrase sampler/looper and delays. I don't have one now as I've needed other gear in the meantime, but want another one. Boss also makes/made some cool pitch shift pedals (PS-3 & PS-5 IIRC?) which accept expression pedals so that's another option in that category. If you want to go all-out then wait for the new Eventide harmonizer pedal which I think should be released later this year. They're arguably the kings of pitch shifting & harmonizing & if the pedal is as good as their rack gear it should be fantastic...but likely expensive.

 

[RCinMempho]

Johnny Hiland has one on his pedal board.

 

[P-Zilla]

I love mine for making flying dinosaur noises. I also love the octave effects creating cool harmonies or even making my guitar sound bass-esque.

I think Jack White and Tom Morello pretty much sealed the deal on me using one on my pedal board for a good LONG time.

 

[SixStringSlinger]

I think the more open minded you are about music (the kind you listen to, the kind you make, etc.), the more use you can get out of a Whammy, if that makes any sense. For instance Tom Morello uses it not only for solos, but also for riffs and melodies, kinda like on early hip-hop records. I once even used mine in combination with a delay pedal set just right to get a steel drum sound out of my guitar.

 

[P-Zilla]

I love using mine with a cocked wah and doing some scratching for rhythm. Whole different sound for rhythm to some dated tunes.

Plus it can be an excellent additive to coloring riffs. You can pay some standard three chord power chord sequences and maybe on the last one dip the treadle and get a tiny bit of squeal or whine and it just makes some simple come to life.

I am using a Whammy 4 too. I bet the WH-1 sounds even better. But I just dig my little red pedal.

I remember when I first got it I spent days learning all kinds of weird and new noises I could make.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone. But just like the Wah pedal. Overuse can be a bit dull. But its always nice to see peoples faces when you use it with taste.

 

[telecaster69]

So I went down and bought the WH-4 the current model...it's sweet..I only use a few pedals.....the Whammy...and OCD Fulltone and an aphex aural exciter...my amp has built in effects that I can program like delay chorus phazer ect......I love the sounds and the harmonizing..pitch shifting at your toe tips...definetely the best $200 I spent on a pedal... Love it......just have to find the time to use it...I love classic stuff with the modern edge to it....like an old 56 chevy with a complete DVD system, AC and power windows and doors.....that's why I have a classic telecaster with all the new line 6 stuff.perfect combination
Paul

 

[Tim Bowen]

Joe Satriani has used one, as has John Scofield (who's admittedly a big fan of Tom Morello). I was driving to a gig recently and heard on the radio a (new to me) tune that had to be Jack White (likely Raconteurs [sp?], probably not a new White Stripes tune), and Jack always seems to find a way to make make gadgets sound cool while simultaneously pissing off the purists. In other words, I dug what he did with it.

As for myself, I've only played the original Whammy. The big pitch shifts always sounded a bit Foghorn Leghorn with my foot, but then I don't get on with simple foot-controlled volume pedals either. With the original unit, I found the chorus/detuned sounds to be among the most lush and beautiful that I've heard from a ped.

 

[T3L3CAST3R scr33nag3r]

Hell Yhheaahh!!!!

i've got the WH-4 - love it

a MUST for MUSE and Rage!

the harmony settings are great fun too

 

[Jean-Baptiste]

Lovin' the IV!! True-tone-snobs say that only V I sounds 'awesome', but I remember tryin 'em out in the music store, and let's just say that the pitch-shift sound wasn't exactly Eventide/Lexicon quality..

And I usually run mine w/distortion to disguise the artificial tone. Remember, too, that the Whammy's not an 'intellegent' harmonizer, so unless you really work things out in advance, you're gonna hit a few clams in any given scale.

But I mainly stick to the octave up/down mode. Like Jack White, I'll loop a riff 1 octave down & play over what sounds sorta like a bass part. That same preset's good for adding hi-pitched squeals to the end of a lick, a la Joe Satriani.

All in all, a fun box, but best used in an effects loop, as the buffer's real *tone-sucker*.

 

[601210]

how does the Whammy/Wah compare?

 

[kovachian]

I used to have a Digitech RP-7 Valve when it first came out, had a built in whammy. I remember that being one of my favorite effects on there. Some day I'm going to get another whammy, those things are just way too much fun.