can also be dialed in to affect only a
specific range of notes, allowing the
user to do very interesting things,
like confining the effect to just the
lower three strings of the guitar for
faux bass line effects, for instance.
The OC-3’s clean, full-range tracking
and comprehensive tweakability
made it an instant hit with guitarists,
bassists, and other instrumentalists,
and it remains a strong performer in
the Boss compact pedal lineup to
this day.
“EARLY DIGITAL OCTAVE AND
PITCH-SHIFTING EFFECTS
HAD THEIR OWN PROBLEMS,
INCLUDING STABILITY AND
LATENCY ISSUES, BUT AS THE
TECHNOLOGY GREW AND
MATURED MANY OF THESE
PROBLEMS WERE SORTED OUT.”
DIGITECH WHAMMY V
The classic Whammy pedal was not
polyphonic (though it ruled in plenty
18
TONE TALK //
of other ways), but the most recent
Whammy V is, featuring a Classic/
Chords switch for selecting between
old-school Whammy mode and the
new polyphonic mode that allows
glitch-free chords and arpeggios. Of
course the Whammy does a lot more
than just octaves, with expansive
pitch-shifting capabilities, a fabulous
detune mode, and crazy dive bomb
effects, but its polyphonic octave
capabilities are top-shelf. And lately
DigiTech began releasing a series
of pedals that package some of
the Whammy’s individual effects in
compact, affordable boxes, including
the Luxe detune pedal, the Drop
drop-tune pedal, and the Mosaic
polyphonic 12-string simulator. It’s
a wise business move on DigiTech’s
part, and it allows players who don’t
want (or can’t fit) a Whammy pedal
on their board to make use of some
of the pedal’s coolest effects.
6 Perfect Polyphonic Octave Pedals