Pitch Shifters

These days, it’s hard to find anything more innocently fun than a pitch shifter pedal.

There are two main ways to use a pitch-shifting pedal. The first, as popularised by the Digitech Whammy, shifts your whole guitar signal up or down from a semi-tone to two full octaves. This can be used for wild, impossible glissandos. It can also be used more subtly, to replicate lower tunings without the hassle of having to retune your guitar.

The second way is to add a pitch-shifted signal on top of your normal signal; typically in an octave interval. This is what the Electro Harmonix POG does.

Famous fans of the pitch shifter include Tom Morello, Ed O’Brien, and Jack White.

What Makes Pitch Shifters Different?