Digitech Whammy
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The Digitech Whammy is a pitch-shifter effects pedal manufactured by Digitech. It gives musicians the ability to shift the pitch of their electric guitar up or down in real time by rocking a treadle pedal up and down with their foot, similar to how a wah pedal affects the tone of a guitar based on the position of the treadle.
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The WH-1 Whammy pedal, the original whammy, first manufactured in 1991, remains the most sought-after. The late Dimebag Darrell of Pantera and Damageplan became one the first "big name" guitarists to use the whammy pedal. Another artist famous for using the effect is Tom Morello of the rock band Rage Against the Machine.
It is controlled by a rocker and a single rotary knob, from which 16 presets could be selected; five "Whammy" effects, nine "Harmony" effects, and two "Detune" effects.
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Notable musicians who have used the WH-1 Whammy include:
- John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Dimebag Darrell of Pantera and Damage Plan (can be heard on 'Becoming' and 'Revolution Is My Name')
- Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave (used on virtually every album from RATM and Audioslave but most notably heard on 'Killing In the Name', 'Know Your Enemy' and 'Bullet In The Head'). Morello was a pioneer in bringing the effect into mainstream popularity)[1]
- Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead (can be heard on "Just", "My Iron Lung", and "Subterranean Homesick Alien")[2]
- Joe Satriani (Can be heard on the songs, Raspberry Jam Delta VCool No.9 and Searching among others. [3] ).
- Russell Lissack of Bloc Party - notably, Hunting for Witches
- David Bryant of Godspeed You! Black Emperor[4]
- Mick Thomson and James Root of 'Slipknot' (can be heard on 'Before I Forget' and 'Opium Of The People')
- Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden used on A Matter of Life and Death
- Larry LaLonde of Primus (can be heard on "Pilcher's Squad")
- Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead (notably in 1990s)
- Buckethead
- Justin Chancellor of TOOL
- Chuck Fay of State Radio
- Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine[5]
"Blood & Tears" among others)
- Brendon Small on various Dethklok tracks from show Metalocalypse
- Trey Anastasio of Phish
- Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold
- David Gilmour of Pink Floyd (Can be heard on Marooned and The Blue)
- John 5 of 'Marilyn Manson' (can be heard on 'The Dope Show')
Thomas Erak on The Fall of Troy track "What Sound Does A Mastodon Make?"
Steve Vai has used the WH-1 on almost all of his albums since it came out
A popular misconception[citation needed] is that American musician Jack White, and English musician Matt Bellamy use the WH-1 Whammy; in reality, both use the Whammy 4 (See below)[6][7]. In Bellamy's case, it is especially evident he is using a WH-4 in songs such as "Invincible", where he is controlling the Whammy via a Kaoss pad, because the original WH-1 does not have a midi function.
The Digitech Whammy II featured a black chassis (in contrast with the series' now famous 'Ferrari red' colour).
It is controlled by a rocker and a button which selects the settings, which are nearly the same as the WH-1. Its effects are as follows:
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Notable musicians who have used the Whammy II include:
- Ronni Le Tekro of TNT[citation needed]
- Reb Beach of Winger, Dokken and Whitesnake[citation needed]
- Robert Fripp[citation needed]
- Trey Anastasio of Phish, Trey Anastasio Band, and Oysterhead[citation needed]
- Herman Li of DragonForce[8]
- Buckethead[citation needed]
- Kirk Hammett[citation needed]
- Jimmy Hartridge of Swervedriver[citation needed]
The XP-100 Whammy/Wah was more complex, incorporating both whammy and wah-wah possibilities.
It is controlled by a rocker, and a button which selects the 29 different presets; "Volume" effect, five "Wah-Wah" effects, six "Auto Wah" effects, eight "Whammy" effects, and nine "Harmony" effects.
List in categories (with modulation action of the pedal):
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Notable musicians who have used the XP-100 Whammy/Wah include:
- Mike Vennart of Oceansize[citation needed]
- Munky of Korn[citation needed]
- Brian "Head" Welch formerly of Korn[citation needed]
- Herman Li of DragonForce[citation needed]
- John Scofield[citation needed]
- Trey Anastasio of Phish[citation needed]
- Russell Lissack of Bloc Party[citation needed]
- Stu G of Delirious?[citation needed]
- Billy Graziadei of Biohazard[citation needed]
- Jimmy Hartridge of Swervedriver[citation needed]
- John Connolly of Sevendust[citation needed]
- Lawrence Chandler of Bowery Electric[citation needed]
- Mario Athanasiou of Captain[citation needed]
- Snowy White of Thin Lizzy and Roger Waters[citation needed]
- Callan Schultz of Big in Japan[citation needed]
- James Iha of The Smashing Pumpkins[citation needed]
The Bass Whammy was a Whammy pedal built for bass guitar. It featured same chassis as the Digitech Whammy II, but blue. It features different harmony options than the other Whammy models.
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Notable musicians who have used the Bass Whammy include:
- Justin Chancellor of Tool (can be heard on "Schism", "Right in Two", "Eulogy", "Vicarious", "Lateralus" and "Disposition")
- Brian Gibson of Lightning Bolt
- Chuck Fay of State Radio
- BoaLG of HCBF
The Whammy IV; the current fourth edition, which is closer to the WH-1 in terms of design but with several new features, such as MIDI control and a 'Divebomb' feature.
The controls are identical to the WH-1 controls, along with two new presets, "Divebomb" and "Detune".
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Harmony effects
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Notable musicians who have used the IV Whammy include:
- Jack White of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs (most notably heard on "Seven Nation Army", "Ball & Biscuit", "The Hardest Button to Button", and "Icky Thump")[7]
- Matthew Bellamy of Muse (can be heard on "Muscle Museum", "New Born", "Recess", "Sunburn, "Fury", "Invincible")[6]
- Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In[9]
- Ed O'Brien of Radiohead[10]
- Brendon Small of Home Movies (TV series) (can be heard on the episode "Guitarmigeddon" and "Metalocalypse")[citation needed]
- Daniel Johns of Silverchair (can be heard on live recordings of the Young Modern Tour)[citation needed]
- Jamie Willcox of Pure Reason Revolution (can be heard on Live Recordings of 'Bright Ambassadors of Morning)[citation needed]
- Buckethead can be heard on Jordan
- Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin can be heard on his work with Coverdale-Page, Page and Plant and was used in Led Zeppelin's reunion concert in 2007.
- ^ The Official Rage Against the Machine Equipment Page: Tom Morello
- ^ Just...Radiohead: Jonny Greenwood Equipment
- ^ Video of Satriani where he mentions his use of the device
- ^ Angels-Gone: Godspeed You! Black Emperor Musical Equipment
- ^ Guitar Geek: Kevin Sheilds of My Bloody Valentine rig
- ^ a b MuseGear: Matt Bellamy Effects
- ^ a b Jack White interview with Backstage Lounge
- ^ http://www.dragonforce.com/herman_li.php
- ^ [1]
- ^ Just...Radiohead: Ed O'Brien Equipment
- Digitech's page on the Whammy
- Harmony Central's page on the WH-1
- Harmony Central's page on the XP-100 Whammy/Wah
- Harmony Central's page on the Bass Whammy
- Harmony Central's page on the IV Whammy
- MP3 of Brendon Small using a Digitech Whammy IV
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