Best Pitch Shifter Guitar Pedals

Pitch shifter guitar pedals are another fun type of creative guitar pedal. They originated in the analog tape days by replaying a sound at a different speed than it was recorded. It wasn’t long before innovators saw the value in using it for guitar pedal technology.

They are similar to harmonizer pedals, but a pitch shifter raises or lowers the overall pitch while a harmonizer blends the pitch shifted signal with the original to create…a harmony! They now come in many versatile options. Intelligent DSP, flawless (or close to it!) signal tracking, and advanced routing are just a few of the characteristics of modern pitch shifter pedals.

Here are some of the best!

Best overall: DigiTech Whammy 5

Best Overall

DigiTech Whammy 5

One of the original pitch shifter/harmonizer hybrid effects pedals is still the gold standard.

Pros

Pitch shifter and harmonizer all in one

Polyphonic or monophonic settings

MIDI compatible

Real-time control through treadle

Cons

Large enclosure takes up a lot of pedalboard space

Buy From

guitar center

reverb

sam ash

amazon

The Whammy is one of the true original trailblazers in pitch shifter guitar pedals. This fifth iteration combines the best of all models. The feature set is rich, with a wealth of whammy, harmony, and detune settings that run in Classic (monophonic) or polyphonic Chords mode.

Other new features include single note bends, chordal pitch shifting, dive bombs, and true bypass switching. MIDI compatibility lets you integrate with any MIDI-capable device to send/receive pitch-bend information.

The Whammy DT is even more feature-rich, including DigiTech’s DropTune pedal as well.

Best down tuning pitch shifter guitar pedal: DigiTech Drop

best down tuning pitch shifter guitar pedal

DigiTech Drop

Put an arsenal of down tunings at your feet without needing extra guitars!

Pros

Polyphonic downward pitch shifter simulates lowered tunings and notes

Dry signal can be blended in

Switch can be set to latching or momentary

Excellent tracking

Cons

Very specific use won’t appeal to all guitarists

Buy From

musician’s friend

guitar center

reverb

sam ash

amazon

With up to an octave of drop-tuning via semi-tones, you’ll never have to lug extra guitars around again! The Drop is a polyphonic downward pitch shifter with multiple modes.

A switch selects between a full octave down – with or without the dry signal. Your possibilities expand with a momentary switch that selects between momentary footswitch functionality.

Most unique pitch shifter guitar pedal: Earthquaker Devices Rainbow Machine V2

Most unique pitch shifter guitar pedal

Earthquaker Devices Rainbow Machine V2

Add modulation while pitch shifting with this unique model that lets you control signal tracking and real-time control of the effect.

Pros

Polyphonic

Optional modulation

Tracking control via knob

Expression pedal input

Footswitch operates in latching or momentary modes

Cons

Mono only

Sounds might be too esoteric for some

Buy From

musician’s friend

guitar center

reverb

sam ash

amazon

This is one of the most unique pitch shifter guitar pedals on the market. Polyphonic, pitch-shifted, modulated bliss is what you can unlock with this one. With the pitch knob or optional expression pedal control, the signal can be shifted as much as a 3^rd up, and a 4^th below.

It’s just as useful as a more conventional effect. It can do a little bit of everything including reverb, chorus, and delay. The Magic control is at its most basic a regeneration section that interacts with the other controls in unique and…magical…ways.

Using proprietary Flexi Switch switching, each footswitch has a latching and momentary mode. A 100% dry analog signal path keeps the signal as clean as possible.

Best momentary pitch shifter guitar pedal: DigiTech Whammy Ricochet

Best momentary pitch shifter guitar pedal

DigiTech Whammy Ricochet

If you want to whammy without worrying with a pedal, this momentary pitch shifter is a solid choice.

Pros

Real-time Whammying without the treadle

Customizable rise and fall

7 pitch shift options

LED meter indicates shift trajectory

Cons

Not best choice if you need more than a momentary effect

Buy From

musician’s friend

guitar center

reverb

sam ash

amazon

The Ricochet is all about the spur of the moment. It takes the concepts of the Whammy and adds in a real-time Whammy action without the treadle, with latching and non-latching modes.

You can throw in pitch shifts up or down with momentary switching and customizable rise and fall time parameters. A dual-concentric Ballistics control sets the amount of shift and return, and the pitch knob chooses the interval.

There are seven pitch selections including 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th, 7^th, octave, double octave, and octave with dry signal. Without the treadle it can be difficult to tell where you are in the sweep, so there is a handy LED meter that tells you the shift trajectory at all times.

Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork

Electro-harmonix Pitch Fork

A pitch shifter that can conjure synthesizer generator sounds.

Pros

3 octave range up and down

11 shift intervals

Latch and momentary modes

Cons

Stereo I/O would be nice considering the versatile settings

Buy From

musician’s friend

guitar center

reverb

sam ash

amazon

This is a simple, powerful, and affordable pitch shifter. Three shift modes (up, down, and dual) manipulate the three octave range. The amount of shift can be set to a fixed interval or manipulated in real-time with an optional expression pedal or control voltage.

An 11-position Shift knob sets the maximum transposition interval, and a toggle switch lets you set whether things are shifted up, down, or both. In dual mode two signals are blended together – it shifts up and creates a harmony.

You can choose latching or momentary modes via the Latch button. It controls how the footswitch and expression controls behave. To make sure you have the perfect amount of effected signal there is a blend control. It also comes in a more robust version that includes a multitude of additional features.

Best stereo pitch shifter guitar pedal: TC Electronic Brainwaves

best stereo pitch shifter guitar pedal

TC Electronic Brainwaves

One of the most versatile stereo pitch shifters lets you control two voices and the mix blend.

Pros

Two voices that can go up or down two full octaves

Stereo I/O

Pressure-sensitive MASH footswitch adds real-time control

Easy-to-use interface

Cons

Might offer too much control for users that want simple

Buy From

musician’s friend

guitar center

reverb

amazon

With a four-mode pitch engine and dual independent voicing controls you have access to seven settings of incredible harmony, doubling, octave, and pitch shifting effects with this pedal in the TonePrint series. Each voice can go up or down in pitch.

You can throw in the effect in real-time with the pressure sensitive Mash footswitch. This gives you on-the-fly effects, pedal-steel bends, or faux-whammy dive bombs.

With TonePrint technology you have access to the community to get new sounds and program the how the footswitch behaves. Selectable buffering means it can slide anywhere in your signal chain.

Best pitch shifter pedal for guitar and bass: BOSS OC-5 Super Octave

best pitch shifter pedal for guitar and bass

Boss OC-5 Super Octave

The OC-5 doesn’t offer distinct preset sounds, but it’s designed to provide octave up and down settings for guitar and bass.

Pros

Vintage and polyphonic modes

No-latency tracking

Direct/dry output

Mode switch optimizes tracking for guitar or bass

Cons

Works on octave +/- controls, not preset sounds

Buy From

musician’s friend

guitar center

reverb

sam ash

amazon

The OC-5 is a big step forward for the series. It improves upon past models with polyphonic capability, better-than-ever tracking, and a switch to tailor it for use with guitar or bass.

It has a vintage mode for fans of the original OC-2, but poly mode opens up entirely new sonic landscapes. With the advanced tracking engine, it can determine bass notes in chords and create basslines, with the range control letting you fine-tune things.

The OC series has always had down 1 or 2 octaves, but this model can also do an octave up in both guitar and bass modes. The Direct Out is isolated and lets you send a parallel signal right into a mixing board, recording interface, or front of house.

Best lo-fi pitch shifter guitar pedal: Death By Audio Robot

Best lo-fi pitch shifter guitar pedal

Death By Audio Robot

Add some 8-bit nasty nostalgia into your signal chain with the best lo-fi pitch shifter.

Pros

Amazing lo-fi pitch shifted sounds

Simple control set

Cons

Expensive for such a focused sound

Can’t do octave up and down simultaneously

Buy From

musician’s friend

guitar center

reverb

amazon

Sometimes you want a musical pitch shifter that has a wide variety of uses. Other times you want total sonic annihilation. Robot is the latter by a long stretch.

It doesn’t have an extensive control set – it’s just three knobs. But in these three knobs you can conjure up some of the most disgustingly digital 8-bit sounds this side of a broken Nintendo.

Through a voice transformation integrated circuit like those used in popular children’s toys from the 1980s you get access to out of this world sounds. Pitch shifting insanity, arpeggiation innovation, and bit-crushing distortion.

The Control knob is where the magic lies. With it you can adjust the fidelity, pitch, and speed of the four modes. It’s part pitch shifter, part messed up analog synthesizer. If you need a lo-fi element that glitches while shifting pitch, this is it.

FAQ

What do pitch shifter pedals do?

They adjust the frequency of the signal up or down a predetermined amount. Some are basic and can only go one direction, some offer multiple modes with different sounds.

What is the difference between pitch shifter and octave pedal?

Effectively they do the same thing – alter the pitch of the signal. Pitch shifters generally offer more settings, controls, and sound options. Octave pedals are more basic, but both fall into the category of pitch shifter guitar pedals.

Does pitch shifter go before or after compression?

It depends on the sound you’re going for. Most would say to put pitch shifters after any compression, but placing them before a compressor can help tame transients.