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Help me get back up to speed on the new innovative stuff

Apr 11, 2005
127,255
125,172
Plymouth NC
Disclosures
Endorsing: Yamaha, Ampeg, Line 6, EMG
The last time I used a pedalboard, the Whammy Pedal was the big innovation at the time. And while I've been looking at pedals again lately, I've been seeing a lot of variations on the same old themes, with nothing especially new or innovative, or even an original twist on an old theme. Yeah, some pedals now combine functions...big deal.

Last night I found this pedal called the Boss Slicer. Now this sucker is innovative. It slices out beats from whatever you play into it and gives them a percussional synthy quality totally unlike anything I've ever heard. Don't know how long it's been around but it's new to me.

That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Boss Slicer. Whammy Pedal. Not a fuzz with a gate or an envelope filter with an octave divider. I want stuff that's truly original and makes you think. If I'm going to do this pedal malarkey, I want a couple toys in there that aren't like everything else.
 
Wow! Those are some cool pedals. Moogerfooger looks good for bass. That Eventide Pitchfactor looks like a winner too...like a Whammy Pedal on steroids. Death By Audio and 4ms scare me, though. Those are some very frightening pedals. 4ms especially...their pedals make my brain hurt. The 4ms Nocto Loco was pretty tame by comparison, but even it's insane. And yet I think I could do something with it ;)

Thanks folks...keep 'em coming!
 
Sure, not saying those pedals are not very useful,. But I would not call them revolutionary but rather evolutionary.

A lot of them are still based somewhat on what has already been done before. Like the slicer, well a looper function has been done, not sure of all the other functions are.

The whammy, octaves on a pedal were already done.
 
I'm not necessarily looking for brand new effects the likes of which have never been seen, but also effects that take old existing effects and put unique spins on them. Yeah, the Whammy Pedal's based on the octave divider, but to be able to shift pitch like it does was completely unique when it came out. That's what I'm talking about. I don't care if it's 100% new and revolutionary or not. I just want to see how the envelopes are being pushed these days, and I'll decide if it's unique enough for me to be interested.
 
Exactly, rcubed. Throw them out there and I'll decide if they're innovative enough for me. Let's not forget that there a million threads out there not about me. This one is all about me ;)
 
The Octavious Squeezer is something worth looking out. It's full potential has yet to be realized. Possibly the pedal of the future?

I know the firmware updates are still coming but I expect a Mark II of this pedal - it's exciting, but really seems to have been rushed onto the market before some of the necessary kinks are worked out (ever mind the bells and whistles).

Call me when they add another octave signal, fix the octave tracking, and add expression control, and I'll buy one again in a second.
 
here are some of the effects that have come out in the last year or two that impress me with their potential for novel implementations (I haven't tried all of them)

octavius squeezer (pricey but this could workm for you if they ever work out the kinks mentioned above, it is small and mighty)
empress tremolo as well as their other stuff (tap tempo is finding cool applications these days)
envelope phasers (ehx stereo polyphase, pigtronix ep-1 and 2?)
the whole moogerfooger line, especially in combination (but be sure to invest in a looper, the bypass is disgraceful)
modelled modulation effects (all the woosh without the high end noise) - I am specifically thinking of (are you sitting down, Jimmy?) the TC Electronics Nova Modulator (which I really should buy again, d'oh!)
 
Mid-Fi Electronics: Check out specifically the Glitch Computer, Random Number Generator, Clari(not), Pitch Pirate

CopilotFX: primarily the Antenna 2, Orbit and Gyroscope

Sinister Analog Soul Provider

EDIT: Oh, and the EHX Flanger Hoax is the most incredible modulation box I've ever used. Two phasers, each independently bypassable, and two separate delay lines to accomplish flanger (including thru-zero) and chorus tones. The amount of sounds you can get out of this box is absurd.