In the world of guitar effects, pitch shifter pedals are highly underrated. They’re versatile, transformative devices, which expand the tonal capabilities of your instrument.
Using a pitch shifter pedal is essentially the same as adding notes to your fretboard that otherwise would be inaccessible. They allow you to soar up to high notes when soloing, or dive downwards without the need of a tremolo arm.
Over the years our team at the Guitar Lobby has tested dozens of these pedals and in this article, we’ll be presenting the best pitch shifter pedals for your style of playing, along with guidance on how to choose the right one.
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My Review: The Whammy range by DigiTech features some of the most unique pitch shifter pedals to ever be produced. I first came across them when analyzing the pedals used by innovative guitarist Jack White, who popularized the Whammy pedal in his solo work and with The White Stripes.
It’s difficult to choose between the various editions of the Whammy, but in my opinion, the DT is the most interesting. Initially, I was under the false impression that the Whammy DT was only capable of shifting a guitar’s pitch downwards, but after testing the pedal I discovered that it can also add higher notes to the dry signal.
I found the rocker plate mechanism made it much easier to control the modulations in pitch, rather than simply relying on pre-determined settings. By establishing the interval of the pitch shifter using the controls found on the right side of the pedal, I was able to switch between the more extreme alterations of the Whammy function or engage the momentary switch to make the changes more subtle.
Guitar Octave & Pitch Shift Pedals
The thing that sets the Whammy DT apart from the rest of the pitch shifter pedals featured in this guide is its impeccable ability to detune the guitar signal. While many pedals are very capable when it comes to adding higher notes, this pedal is equally proficient at adding thick, bass tones to the signal without compromising on clarity.
Who Is This Best Suited For: The Whammy DT is best suited for electric guitarists who want to have the ability to quickly shift the pitch of their instrument in either direction. With a pitch bend range of -3 to +2 octaves, and a detune range of -4 to -30 cents, this pedal is incredibly versatile.
Bottom Line: DigiTech is renowned for cramming as many features into their pedals as possible, and the Whammy DT is a prime example of this. It performs as a harmonizer, a detuner pedal, and a conventional pitch shifter, with each of these settings being easily accessible due to the intuitive footswitch-heavy design.
Digitech Whammy Dt Drop Tuning Pedal
My Review: Electro-Harmonix is one of my all-time favorite pedal brands. Incredibly prolific, they produce effects pedals of all varieties to a very high standard. Consequently, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Pitch Fork pedal, which is their flagship pitch shifter device.
Right off the bat, I noticed that the Pitch Fork’s tracking was incredibly good. When I played a note into the pedal, the pitch shifting effect was instantaneous, with no muffling of the frequencies or unwanted noise creeping into the output.
I must admit, this pedal does take a little time to get used to. Despite it only having two rotary controls and two switches, the range of pitch-shifting effects you can achieve by adjusting these is quite incredible.
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It’s hard to pin down a single quality that sets this pedal apart from the rest, but if I had to choose one I’d go with the latch and momentary control. This isn’t a unique feature, but I found it to be exceptionally useful when using an expression pedal with the Pitch Fork. This allowed me to switch between my dry signal and the pitch shifter effect by simply engaging the latch mode and moving the pedal.
Who Is This Best Suited For: I’d recommend the EHX Pitch Fork pedal to musicians who like to be in complete control of their effects and the way they interact with their instrument’s clean tone. This pedal looks deceptively simple, but you can alter any aspect of the pitch by adjusting the various onboard settings.
Bottom Line: With a transposing range spanning over three octaves both up and down, and with the added capability of doing moving in both directions simultaneously, it’s easy to see why the Pitch Fork is one of the most popular pitch shifter pedals on the market.
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My Review: Mooer’s impressive range of compact stompboxes has caused their stock to rise significantly in recent years. I’d heard very good things about the Pitch Box and therefore was excited to see if this affordable pedal had the quality to rival other top-end devices in the pitch shifter category.
The first thing I noticed when analyzing the Pitch Box is that it is significantly smaller than most other pedals of its kind. While this limits the number of control and features that can be squeezed onto the pedal, I enjoyed the simplicity of its layout.
I was impressed with the tracking capabilities of the Pitch Box, but the standout quality was its ability to act as either a conventional pitch-shifting device or a guitar harmonizer. While combining effects on a single pedal sometimes leads to a lowering of overall quality, I didn’t experience this issue when testing out the two modes included on this affordable Mooer stompbox.
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Who Is This Best Suited For: Firstly, the Mooer Pitch Box is a great choice for guitarists who are running out of space on their pedalboard due to its compact size. Also, I think it would be a good fit for those who are looking for an affordable pedal that still provides extensive pitch modulation for up and down tuning.
Bottom Line: Although the Mooer Pitch Box may look simplistic, the pitch shifting effect it produces is pretty complex. With a single rotary control used for determining the interval of the pitch modulation, it’s incredibly easy to use. Overall, I’d say the Mooer Pitch Box is the best pitch shifter pedal under $100.
My Review: Throughout my time as a guitarist, I don’t think I’ve ever come across smaller pedals than those produced by Hotone. It may seem logical that such a minute device would be limited in its functionality, but after testing this pedal I can confirm that is not the case!
Digitech Whammy 5 Pitch Shift Pedal
Central to this pitch shifter pedal are the two rotary controls that blend the dry and wet signals. I experimented with these controls to find the right blend so that the pitch shift effect didn’t overpower the clean tone of my electric guitar.
The larger control found on the top of the pedal is then used to determine the range of the pitch modulation. In my opinion, the best aspect of the Hotone Skyline Harmony is how easy it is to operate. The controls are laid out in a very logical way, so you can quickly switch between pitch shifting up, detuning, or adding harmonies to your guitar melodies without any complications.
Who Is This Best Suited For: Guitarists who are looking for a bargain pitch shifter pedal should strongly consider this compact Hotone device. It may be much smaller and more affordable than most pedals in its field, but this stompbox is very capable indeed.
Setting Up Your Effect Signal Chain
Bottom Line: With a pitch range spanning 24 semitones in pitch shift mode, and -25 semitones in detuning mode, the Hotone Skyline Harmony covers all bases. It features polyphonic tracking so that you can use the pedal for chords as well as single notes.
My Review: The Tensor by Red Panda features an eye-catching design, which instantly caught my attention. This boutique manufacturer is known for its brilliant, unusual pedals, and the Tensor is no exception to that rule.
First of all, I found it intriguing that a manufacturer would combine pitch shifting with tape delay. It’s difficult to imagine how those two effects would interact with one another, but after testing this pedal I discovered that they blend very effectively. After all, vintage tape recorders and delay machines were known for causing irregularities in pitch, so the pairing of the two does make sense,
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The feature that makes this Red Panda powerhouse stand out amongst the crows has to be its ability to reverse a guitar’s signal. The tracking is simply brilliant and allows the pedal to do things that seem almost impossible in theory.
Who Is This Best Suited For: If you’re a fan of vintage tape machines, the Rand Panda Tensor allows you to combine their distinctively warm tone with pitch shifting. This pedal has many tweakable features, so it’s a good match for guitarists who enjoy sculpting every aspect of their effects.
Bottom Line: The Tensor by Red Panda is the kind of pedal that can be used in a simple way, or it can completely randomize a guitar’s signal. With a range of interesting features like slicing, overdubs, reversing, and pitch modulation, this boutique pedal is one of a kind.
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My Review: At first glance, the Brainwaves pitch shifter by TC Electronic appears to be very
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