DigiTech Whammy

DigiTech WH-1 Whammy

Overview

A DigiTech WH-1 Whammy with power adapter

The WH-1 Whammy pedal, the original whammy, first engineered and manufactured in 1989 by IVL Technologies and discontinued in 1993, remains the most sought-after.^[1]

Controls

It is controlled by a rocker and a single rotary knob, from which 16 presets can be selected; five "Whammy" effects, nine "Harmony" effects, and two "Detune" effects.

Harmony effects Second up - third up Minor third up - third up Third up - fourth up Fourth up - fifth up Fifth up - sixth up Fifth up - seventh up Fourth down - third down Fifth down - Fourth down One octave down - one octave up

Detune effects Shallow Deep Whammy effects One octave up Two octaves up Two semi-tones down One octave down Two octaves down

Notable users

Notable musicians who have made use of the WH-1 Whammy include:

• David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.^[2][3]
• Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave & Street Sweeper Social Club .
• Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.^[4]
• Steve Vai.^[5]
• Joe Satriani.^[6]
• The Edge of U2.^[7]
• David Bryant of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.^[8]
• Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.^[9]
• Noel Gallagher of Oasis
• Joe Perry of Aerosmith.
• Dimebag Darrell of Pantera.^[10]
• Kirk Hammett of Metallica.^[11]
• James Iha and Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins
• Buckethead, notably on his song Jordan
• Nels Cline.^[12]
• Dan Deacon, as a vocal effect
• Jack White

DigiTech Whammy II

Overview

A DigiTech Whammy II with power adapter

The DigiTech Whammy II featured a black chassis (in contrast with the series' now famous 'Ferrari red' colour).

Controls

It is controlled by an expression pedal and a button which selects the settings, which are nearly the same as the WH-1. Its effects are as follows:

Harmony effects One octave down - One octave up Fourth down - Third down Fifth up - sixth up Fourth up - fifth up Minor third up - major third up Detune effects Detune

Whammy effects One octave up Two octaves up Two semitones down One octave down Two octaves down

also has the ability to store one preset setting, which allows the user to choose any two modes and toggle between them using the setting select button

Notable users

Notable musicians who have used the DigiTech Whammy include:

• Tommy Kessler of Blondie.^[13]
• Herman Li of DragonForce.^[14][15]
• Trey Anastasio of Phish.^[16]
• Buckethead.^[17]

DigiTech XP-100 Whammy-Wah

Overview

The XP-100 Whammy/Wah was more complex, incorporating both whammy and wah-wah possibilities.

Controls

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):

Volume effects 01 - Volume Pedal - volume Wah 02 - Original Cry Wah - wah frequency 03 - Cry Wah 2 - wah frequency 04 - Dark & Deep - wah frequency 05 - Sweet Spot 1 - wah frequency 06 - Sweet Spot 2 - wah frequency Auto Wah effects 07 - Original Cry Auto - sensitivity 08 - Envelope Filter - sensitivity 09 - Brass Attack - sensitivity 10 - Original Cry Auto - attack time 11 - Envelope Filter - attack time 12 - Brass Attack - attack time

Whammy effects 13 - Up 1 Octave - pitch shift 14 - Up 2 Octaves - pitch shift 15 - Up 2nd - pitch shift 16 - Down 2nd - pitch shift 17 - Down 4th - pitch shift 18 - Down 1 Octave - pitch shift 19 - Down 2 Octaves - pitch shift 20 - Down 6 Octaves - pitch shift Harmony 21 - Down 1 Octave, Up 1 Octave - harmony pitch 22 - Down 4th, Down 3rd - harmony pitch 23 - Up 5th, Up 6th - harmony pitch 24 - Up 4th, Up 5th - harmony pitch 25 - Up minor 3rd, Up major 3rd - harmony pitch 26 - Up 2nd, Up 3rd - harmony pitch 27 - Down 4th, Up 5th - harmony pitch 28 - Up 5th, Up 1 Octave - harmony pitch Detune effects 29 - Detuner - detune amount

Notable users

Notable musicians who have used the XP-100 include:

• Munky and Head of Korn.^[18]
• John Scofield.^[19]
• Mike Vennart of Oceansize
• Eugene Goreshter of Autolux
• Danilo Nikodinovski of Consecration (band)
• Edwin Monney.^[20]

DigiTech Bass Whammy

Overview

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.

Controls

Harmony effects One octave down - One octave up One octave down - Fourth down Fourth down - third up Fourth down - fifth up Fifth up - sixth up Fifth up - octave up

Whammy effects One octave up Two semitones up Two semitones down Four semitones down One octave down Detune effects Detune

Notable users

Notable musicians who have used the Bass Whammy include:

• Justin Chancellor of Tool.^[21]
• Brian Gibson of Lightning Bolt.^[22]
• Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam

DigiTech Whammy IV

Overview

The Whammy IV; the current fourth edition, is closer to the WH-1 in terms of design but with several new features, such as MIDI control and a 'Divebomb' feature.

Controls

The controls are identical to the WH-1 controls, along with two new presets, "Divebomb" and "Droptune".

Harmony effects One octave down - one octave up Fifth down - Fourth down Fourth down - third down Fifth up - seventh up Fifth up - sixth up Fourth up - fifth up Third up - fourth up Minor third up - third up Second up - third up

Detune effects Shallow Deep Whammy effects Two octaves up One octave up One octave down Two octaves down Dive bomb - three octaves down Drop tune - two semi-tones down

Notable users

Notable musicians who have used the Whammy IV include:

• Tommy Kessler of Blondie.^[23]
• Matthew Bellamy of Muse.^[24]
• John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers.^[25]
• Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In.
• Ed O'Brien of Radiohead.^[26]
• Teppei Teranishi of Thrice
• Matthew Followill of Kings Of Leon
• Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age
• Dean Fertita of The Dead Weather and Queens of the Stone Age
• Dave Baksh of Sum 41.
• Cory Johnson of Impending Doom.
• Troy van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age
• Ichirou Agata of Melt-Banana.^[27]
• Dan Deacon^[28]
• Brendon Small of Dethklok
• Thomas Erak of The Fall of Troy
• Aaron Fink of Breaking Benjamin^[29]
• Buckethead^[30]
• Daniel Johns of Silverchair
• Jack White of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather
• Simon Tratnik of Mr. VonTone
• The Edge of U2

Modifications

In late 2008, effect manufacturer Molten Voltage devised a number of modifications for the Whammy IV pedal including Upper and Lower Pitch Limiter Controls which allow the player to set the limits of the expression pedal rather than using the octave presets.

In early 2010, Molten Voltage released Molten MIDI 2, which is cheaper than the original and has more features. Molten MIDI 2 is a programmable MIDI stompbox designed to control the Whammy 4, and gives users 5 new ways to control the Whammy. They can make looping arpeggios, with or without portamento, step through intervals not normally available on the Whammy (also with or without portamento), and step through the Whammy's presets settings. The new model is capable of being programmed manually or with a computer-based interface available on their website.^[31]

Power Supply

The Whammy IV requires a 9v AC supply.

Notes

1. ^ "Ebay". Popular Items. http://popular.ebay.co.uk/ns/Musical+Instruments/Whammy.html. Retrieved 2008-03-03. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Gilmourish >> The Division Bell 1994". Gilmourish. Gilmourish.com. http://www.gilmourish.com/?page_id=31. Retrieved 2008-04-17. 
3. ^ "Sounds of Silence". Interview by Brad Tolinski. Guitar World. September 1994. http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1479-david-gilmour-sounds-silence-guitar.html. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
4. ^ "Jonny Greenwood: Guitar Effects". Just...Radiohead. http://www.sigur-ros.it/franz/RHG/Jonny/jonnyeffects.html. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
5. ^ "Vai.com: Live Gear". http://www.vai.com/Machines/livegear_firegarden.html. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
6. ^ "Satriani.com: 2/1/03@Fillmore". http://www.satriani.com/2000/road/lwpg.cgi?dir=2003-02-01/;start=9. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
7. ^ Gill, Chris (1997-09). "Close to the Edge". Guitar World. http://www.sibcorp.com/writehitsongs/u2.html. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
8. ^ "effects: Dave". gear. angels-gone.com. http://www.duke.edu/~drw5/gybe.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
9. ^ "Signal Routing". Jimmy Page's Guitar/Effects/Amps Floor System. petecornish.co.uk. http://www.petecornish.co.uk/jptt.html. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
10. ^ "Dimebag Darrell: Pantera". The Guitar Rig Database. guitargeek.com. http://guitargeek.com/rigview/415/. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
11. ^ "Metclub >> Kirk's amplifiers and effects". Metclub. Metclub. http://www.freewebs.com/montyjay/kirkamps.html. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
12. ^ Cline, Nels (2005). "Nels Cline >> Tech Talk". http://nelscline.com/tech.html. Retrieved 2010-04-23. 
13. ^ The Official Gear Page of Tommy Kessler
14. ^ "Current Main Live and Studio Equipment". Herman Li. Biography. Archived from the original on 2008-02-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20080228064750/http://www.dragonforce.com/herman_li.php. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
15. ^ "Buckethead FAQ v 1.0". Buckethead. FAQ. http://www.bucketheadland.com/faq/index.html#anchor1786483. Retrieved 2008-04-06. 
16. ^ "Trey's Rig". Trey Anastasio. Biography. http://www.treyanastasio.com/treysrig/. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
17. ^ "Buckethead". http://www.bucketheadland.com. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
18. ^ "The Definitive Korn Pedalboard Thread". Korn. Gear guide. http://www.korn.bhlabs.com/kornboard/index.php?showtopic=98207. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
19. ^ "John Scofield -- Jazz Guitarist". http://www.johnscofield.com/equipment.html. Retrieved 2009-02-27. 
20. ^ "Produtziones Aldabar". aldaer, opactli, rodototoed, etc.. http://aldaer.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2011-01-13. 
21. ^ "Bass Player Magazine". No Limits - An Interview with Justin Chancellor. http://www.bassplayer.com/article/no-limits/jul-07/29662. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
22. ^ "Earthunder 2". Lightning Bolt. 2005-09-09. http://www.laserbeast.com/photos/090405/Lightning-Bolt-Earthunder-2.jpg. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 
23. ^ The Official Gear Page of Tommy Kessler
24. ^ [1]
25. ^ Roadies in the Midst - Touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers
26. ^ Just...Radiohead: Ed O'Brien Equipment
27. ^ Picture of Agata's effects board
28. ^ Picture of Deacon with equipment
29. ^ [2]
30. ^ Buckethead
31. ^ http://www.moltenvoltage.com/molten_midi_2.html

External links

• Digitech's page on the Whammy
• Digitech Whammy Informational Site
• 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