The argument arises every once in a while that there are no new effects made for guitarists. Most argue that the new effects are reissues or slight modifications to the 5 or 6 staples we may have on the floor beneath us already.
Eventide has changed all of this by taking a step back and a leap forward in the arena of on floor guitar processing. The PitchFactor’s huge spectrum of sonic finishes for your guitar varies from subtle thickening of your tone to out of this world synthesizer effects.
The factory presets sound like a who’s who of Eventide users over the years. You can dial up some Jimmy Page or Frank Zappa instantly out of the box. Steve Vai’s sought after Eventide H3000 tones are not so subtly called “Wyld Stallions Solo” a little nod to Bill & Ted and VaiBallerina. The “Heavy Lead” presets also have a Vaiesque sound to them with the addition of a Boss DS-1 and some yanking on my tremelo bar.
This stomp box at first blush seems to have all of the processing power of the sought after Eventide Eclipse V4 Harmonizer and H3000 at a fraction of the price. The $579.00 price tag is modest considering 10 of Eventide’s signature pitch and delay effects are built into one unit.
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The PitchFactor delivers up to 4 voices of diatonic pitch shifting and up to 1.5 seconds of stereo delay This allows me to clear a few boxes off of my pedal board. With the addition of a plug and play expression pedal I am also able to put my Digitech Whammy in mothballs. There is also an easily accessible built in tuner freeing yet another spot on my over crowded pedal board.
I love the three button design of the box. This allows you to have two presets per bank an awesome feature for live performances. The option to use guitar or line level inputs and outputs also make this a great addition to any home studio. The studio quality sound can be used in the mix on bass, keys or even vocals.
Eventide has done a phenomenal job with their website supporting this pedal and all of their stomp box line. There is an interactive webpage where you can hear some of the preset effects. The demo page also gives you a feel for some of the button functionality. The demo will inspire you to get off your ass and to go to your local music store to hear this pedal. When you do pack a lunch you are going to be there a long time.
In anticipation of the demo unit arriving at my office I tried the pedal first at my local music shop. I got about 2 minutes with the pedal alone as a crowd started to slowly form. After about 15 minutes the store manager bumped me from the pedal and started fiddling with it himself. A line of guitarists soon formed each waiting their turn to try out this sonic monster.
The PitchFactor is all upside. There is nothing negative I can say about this pedal. The sound is a perfect 10, it is easy to use with a low learning curve. This is a pedal that a novice can get a whole lot out of as can an experienced guitar geek with a solid knowledge of music theory and intervals. Bottom-line is the PitchFactor is a great tool that will help any electronic musician (not just guitarists) define their style and tone.
The PitchFactor can be purchased direct from Eventide or from most reputable music stores – Click here for purchase page.
The PitchFactor was demod using:
Guitars: 1980 Ibanez Iceman with Seymour Duncan Dimebucker pickups, 2007 Gibson Les Paul Classic, 1999 Parker Fly, Taylor T5 Standard Acoustic-Electric and a 1973 Ovation Deacon 12 string.
Amplifiers: Marshall VS100, 1972 Fender Quad Reverb and a Roland JC 120
