Alternative to the Digitech Bass Whammy

jnevi9nr · #1 08-20-2010, 07:29 PM

I tried the Digitech Whammy and was wondering if there were other alternatives to the Bass Whammy out there.

Joe Gress · #2 08-20-2010, 07:37 PM

To some degree but not quite:

Eventide Pitchfactor with an expression pedal
http://www.eventide.com/AudioDivisio...tchFactor.aspx

Boss PS-5 with an expression pedal
http://www.bossus.com/gear/productde...7&ParentId=258

EHX Harmonic Octave Generator (but only for =/- 1 octave)
http://www.ehx.com/products/hog

jnevi9nr · #3 08-20-2010, 07:46 PM

do these do the harmony, whammy and shallow detune thing too?

kevteop · #4 08-20-2010, 08:00 PM

The pitch shifter and smart harmony on the Line 6 M9 and M13 are really good. Don't think you can get a shallow detune out of it but you can get +/- 2 octave whammy bends, harmony can go up or down a 9th. Both are monophonic.

Joe Gress · #5 08-20-2010, 08:06 PM

Umm, to some degree. The HOG is more of just a octave generator, but it does a hell of a lot with those octaves. Filter, bending, glissando's, freezing your note and a whole bunch of other things. The PS-5 can do the harmonies and whammy, and you can set it to your key so its better in tune. The Pitchfactor does pitch bending, harmonies, detune, and a hell of a lot of other things. Its got an arpeggiator, delay, harmonic shifting, kitchen sink cleaning and whatnot.

Vic Winters · #6 08-20-2010, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevteop

The pitch shifter and smart harmony on the Line 6 M9 and M13 are really good. Don't think you can get a shallow detune out of it but you can get +/- 2 octave whammy bends, harmony can go up or down a 9th. Both are monophonic.

They will do any "harmony" between -2 and +2 octaves if you set the mix to 50% in the pitch shifting function.

Disposition: 5th up/octave up would be 7.0 in the toe up and 12.0 in toe down.

Right in Two: 5th up/6th up is 7.0 TU and 9.0 TD.

jnevi9nr · #7 08-20-2010, 08:32 PM

good stuff folks, and by good I mean expensive

Joe Gress · #8 08-20-2010, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnevi9nr

good stuff folks, and by good I mean expensive

Thats the problem. There really is nothing out there unless you shell out the big bucks.

jnevi9nr · #9 08-20-2010, 08:50 PM

i dont need it that much. that eventide sounds good though.

bigchiefbc · #10 08-20-2010, 08:53 PM

I'll save you a ton of money right now. Don't listen to these guys. Honestly, go on eBay and find a Digitech XP-100 Whammy/Wah. It has all of the whammy, harmony and detune modes from ALL of the Whammys. In full disclosure, it does do a bit of wharbling on the very lowest notes (G on the E string and lower), but other than that, it is great. One of my bands is a cover band that does several Tool songs, and it does the job admirably. The wahs suck, but it also gives you a volume pedal mode, too. Definitely worth the money.

**TheMutt** · #11 08-20-2010, 09:34 PM

The PitchFactor can definitely cop some Bass Whammy goodness, but it's ridiculously expensive if that's all you'd be using it for. At that point you might as well just get a Bass Whammy.

I'll +1 the XP-100 suggestion. You could also have Molten Voltage mod a Whammy IV to do whatever you wanted as well.

Joe Gress · #12 08-20-2010, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigchiefbc

I'll save you a ton of money right now. Don't listen to these guys.

Just for the record I haven't tried the PS-5, HOG, or the Pitchfactor. I was just being polite and suggesting from what I have read.

bigchiefbc · #13 08-20-2010, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Gress

Just for the record I haven't tried the PS-5, HOG, or the Pitchfactor. I was just being polite and suggesting from what I have read.

It's all cool. I feel like I can give a good amount of insight here, because I am a former owner of a Bass Whammy, a HOG, and a current owner of an XP-100 (1000, actually). So I feel like I can give a good basis of comparison. Now, the XP-100 cannot do all the Bass Whammy can. The Bass Whammy can track all the way down to low A (I have a demo to prove it), but the XP-100 can cover 90% of the applications.

DerHoggz · #14 08-21-2010, 05:56 AM

What about the DigiTech EF-7?

ga_edwards · #15 08-21-2010, 09:31 AM

The only cheap(er) option I can think of would be one of the small multifx units with treadle, such as the Zoom, Korg or Digitech offerings. I believe all of these have a pedal pitch effect.

Vic Winters · #16 08-21-2010, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DerHoggz

What about the DigiTech EF-7?

It's pretty limited and difficult to dial in settings.

+1 for the XP-100.

jnevi9nr · #17 08-21-2010, 10:16 AM

It seems the Digitech XP-100 Whammy-Wah Pedal has more options than the Digitech Whammy. Thanks for the suggestion.

sillyfabe · #18 08-21-2010, 11:09 AM

also the Boss PS-3 Digital Pitch Shifter/Delay with an exp pedal can do amazing things. Search around here and you'll find a nice review by mystic boo

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #19 08-21-2010, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMutt

The PitchFactor can definitely cop some Bass Whammy goodness, but it's ridiculously expensive if that's all you'd be using it for. At that point you might as well just get a Bass Whammy.

Even if you only used the whammy function, a used Pitchfactor is still a few hundred dollars less than a used Bass Whammy. Sounds better too- I've owned them both.

propel · #20 08-21-2010, 03:41 PM

The pitchfactor is absolutely amazing, and can there seems to be a lot of deals on the classifieds here for them. Got mine on the local CL and I'm in love. Notable highlight: it's Ratatat in a box.