Boss PS-5 Super Shifter

easy to use great can't complain, but you have to know scales and stuff too learn how to use the harmonist setting.

very good, except for pitch shifter/t.arm when you go up +2 octaves sounds kinda screetchy and when you go down -1 octave you lose tone and clairity, i think the Digitech Whammy would be more clear for that kinda of stuff, but i'm on a tight budget so yeah, put it sounds fuckin kool with the expression pedal hooked up

like ive said before it's a Boss

none

for a substitute untill i buy all the other pedals i want and then i'll get the Digitech Whammy, this is very good pedal i might still even use it once i get the Whammy

I tried this in the shop first to hear what it sounded like and I couldn't work out how to use it at all. Too many knobs, too many modes, to many ways to press the pedal for it to work. I had to read (browse briefly through) the manual to understand. I've NEVER had to do that before. But after that if you play with it for an hour or so it becomes clearer. Some modes have different ways of turning on so it takes time, but all the good things take time... Right?

I'm using this straight after a RAT2 set to a VERY mild overdrive, and before 2 other distortions and a delay. This pedal has varying degrees of sound quality, each mode has good and bad points, so I'll take them one by one...

Flutter: There's a definite volume jump when in this mode, the level goes up quite a bit even when the pedal isn't depressed. But as a vibrato it's alright. The rate can be set from slow-ish to super fast, depth isn't too extreme. I've needed a vibrato for a while and although this technically is supposed to emulate the bending of a Tremelo arm, it's a vibrato. It's just a shame that as you start it, the note changes really slowly before the effect kicks in properly. I don't know why this is, but it can be irritating. (7)

Tremelo Arm: Again, a volume jump, only this and the flutter effect have this problem, but it's not noticeable when I have the other distortions on, only a little when I'm playing clean. This is the fun effect, set the rate for slow and the pitch for 2 octaves up and hold the pedal down. It's crazy, really surprises everyone. It can only really do one note at a time though, but it's enough. It doesn't sound to digital either, I've heard some pitch shifers that go really metallic at higher pitches, but this retains some width to the note. It can't be that useful, but it's certainly fun. (8)

Detune: I've not really found a use for this at all. I've noticed the tracking can be a little weak too. It's just thrown in because the technology's already inside the pedal, but It's really a bit unnecessary. Is that how you spell unnecessary? (4)

Harmony: Nice, fairly accurate and versatile. I don't have much need for a harmoniser, but it's pretty good at what it does. I use it as a pitch shifter with the expression pedal because it sounds better than the actual pitch shift option on single notes. It can't handle chords because it's brain's trying to harmonise, but on single notes it's great, no metallic sounds, smooth steps all the way. It's very impressive. (9)

Pitch Shift: Very metallic sounding at one octave up, 2 octaves is just insane, fast warbling on any note. Not good, but it can shift chords no problem, and the metal sound isn't so noticeable with so many strings being played. So I use this mode for chord shifts only, no solos. (7)

Overall rating for sound quality? I don't know... what's the average of all the numbers above? I bought it as a pitch shifter and everything else is a bonus really, so I think 8. Is that reasonable? Not perfect but keeps me happy.

I would think so. I'm not going to deliberately try and break it. What would be the point in that? I've got other Boss pedals and they've never betrayed me.

I have NO idea.

I play weird non-rock rock. This is great, just when people get use to what you're playing you suddenly change from Skraaang to BwooOOOOP. Ha ha! Delay after this pedal is like being a commander on a space vessel travelling through sound. Almost endless possibilities for aural chaos. It fits in well with my pedal board of (wait for it) mostly boss pedals. Better than a whammy because it takes up half the space. If it were stolen or lost? What kind of question is that? I would kick the thief in the face and demand my pedal back. It's a great toy, like the DD3, the day can just drift by as you tweak insane noises from it. Lots of features, lots of potential and all in this tiny box. It can sound digital, it can cause volume anger, but it can also make some really good sounds and I think it's worth the tiny problems for the overall effect. It makes my bandmates jealous. What more could you ask from a pedal? I want to give it a 9 but so many reviews give high marks for pedals that aren't perfect, so I'm giving it the 8 because I'm a realist.

I give this pedal one thing: it is easy to use. Typical boss style - selector switch to choose what mode you want (ie. pitch shift, harmonist, flutter etc.)and then use the other knobs to control pitch, effect level etc. However, there are so many different options with this pedal that it takes some time to coax sounds out of it, you definately need the manual with this one.

I'm using a epiphone LP Black Beauty (3 pickup) and ashdown peacemaker 40. I'm sorry, but there is NO WAY that this pedal can score highly in this category. The main functions of the unit (the harmonist and pitchshift)are PATHETIC. The flutter and t. arm modes (see boss website for details) sound alright, but are pretty much useless for most songs that I play (my tip: you want whammy bar effects, buy a guitar with a double locking tremelo rather than this piece of crap). I CANNOT EMPHASISE ENOUGH THE LAMENESS OF THE MAIN MODES - two octaves above sounds like your guitar's had an accident and breathed in tons of helium (I know some will say thats the idea, but believe me, it sounds bad) and two octaves below produces a indistinct pathetic rumble from your amp, unless you regularly play at the 20+ frets. The levels in between sound mediocre at best. POOR BY BOSS'S STANDARDS.

Fairly reliable - typical bombproof build by Boss. But i would never gig with it cos it sounds so poor.

Dunno, took it back for a refund at the shop within 5 days of owning it. I've dealt with boss before though (about 6 months ago), and they were very helpful then.

This doesn't warrant the price tag or the Boss name. It does not deserve to be sold. The best thing about it is the fact that it is well constructed. But it sounds bad. SO SO BAD. I can't see how people rated it so highly. Trust me, if you're looking for a pitchshift/harmonist pedal try the Digitech Whammy, the extra few pounds (or dollars) spent will be well worth it. This is a total waste of money and I urge you not to buy it.

As it's Christmas I thought I'd make a useful comment on using the PS5 as a Whammy pedal (I already reviewed this baby on 08/18/2001).

I've been using the PS5 with a EV5 expression pedal with the pitch tuned an octave above and mix set to maximum clockwise (wet). I noticed 2 problems when trying to get that Vai/Satriani fluid pitch shift 1) a horrible warbling on high notes 2) a general lack of tunefulness. I had it set on the most logical mode - Pitch Shift - and no matter what I did it just came out wrong. Tonight I put it on Harmonist mode, still with an Octave above shift, and WHAM! No warbles and great sounding intervals throughout the pedal sweep. Is there no limit to what this little gem can do. I can't praise this beast enough!!!!! Now why can't Boss make more multifunction pedals like a Chorus/Flanger etc??

buttons of tonality to much small

the volume came down with tremol bar effect and then its going up.sad.i have 12 pedals with it. chorus ensemble,ds2,metal zone,boss blue compressor, dod grunge pedal, dime crybaby,ax 1500g,phaser(3),flanger(bf3),equalizer boss,danellectro tremolo,volume pedal proel.so the problem with this effect is the volume when you affect it and the little delay she create when she turn on or off.strange,i m sure its not my guitar or my pedals when i dont use it , there is no problem so the delay is created by the effect.

good.

i play grunge metal with my french band N.O.M.A. i work in a music stores.

For a little gizmo, is pretty amazing, I use strictly for the harmony feature.Down side is adjusting the key with a tiny knob,small markings on pedal while in a performance setting, you need good lighting to see what you are doing. Follows pitch as fast as I need to play.

Excellent quality for my use as duplication of an organ sound. Guys tried to copy this organ sound, with MIDI, and haven't found one I like yet. This is great to use with a vintage instrument.

This has been working fine, Do not care for the cheesy DC adaptors they all have, a guy would make alot of money if he made a rugged one. (without the 20 gauge wire and 1/32" insulation,and 3' cord length.) So far so good.

Will not need any as I see it.

I bought this to duplicate an organ tone for a monophonic organ called the Solovox....I haven,t looked at Digitech yet, would like to switch from 3rd's to 5th's quickly, Tried the EV-5 pedal, didn't work too well, maybe Digitech has a better feature, hoever for now. and for the money, is working for my needs.

Wow first look at this thing and I go what the ****? but now it seems a lot easier, but I am still figuring out things day after day. For what its packing, and all the effects and features, goddamn do they make it really easy. Works quite well after a couple of days of getting used to everything.

I use this pedal after a metal zone before a blues driver a phase shifter a flanger a Distortion (all boss, hehe) and then a morley wah. First off you may wonder why the hell do I have 3 distortion... well I have them each placed there for a reason... I will let you all figure that out if you honestly feel like it. Let me tell you is it a dream to play with a phaser and a flanger. I dont own a chorus (yet!) but I can imagine it would sound beautiful too. I have got some nice sounds out of it. Really enjoy the quality. Detune seems to add a delayish thing to the package. all of sounds sound great. Distortion is an interesting mix with this... it all matters on what kind of sound you are going for. all in all its great sound.

the term boss pedals and breaking down never ever seem to come into the same sentence... =)

Never ever had to... hope I never need to either!

I play odd music... kinda progressive rock, but with a definite knack for creating new sounds to play over decently basic stuff, done with complexity of playing styles. If you didnt get that I just make crazy noises. The super shifter seems to help a lot, a whole lot. I have been playing for 5 1/2 years around there, just recently got it and never want to lose it. I own an epiphone les paul, a whole slew of amps ranging from a fender twin amp (I believe, forget off the top of my head), a very annoying crate, and an old no name amp which sounds fantastic. I use all boss pedals and hope to get more, very soon. If this pedal got stolen I would be very angry and then get very sad... I would definitely get the same pedal. I love so much about this pedal. Pitch shift is the main feature I use, for transforming your sound into a sort of 12 string guitar, tremolo arm and flutter I like too, good effects. nothing really I dont like about it. I dont compare it, cause I havent really tried anything but I have heard that others dont really compare to it, or if they do this is a little better. This is a definite helper in creating sounds. I have a lot of fun with this pedal day after day. The pretty turquoise color also is very entrancing.

well.....given a manual to any effects product always pretty much helps you through any of it's directions, but in this case, for this pedal, read the manual once (for somewhat useful settings) and you'll never probly look at it again! It's just that fun to expeariment without any guide unless you are mentally challenge in the area of turn little tiny knobs to get the perfect sound out of it.(i'm somewhat guilty in that area!)

Oh man what a sound this product can hold! I'm serious to, the capability this effect gives off, you would be shock! If you are looking for that high scream of a single note (jonny greenwood(radiohead) on "just") here it is. i mean sure the digitech whammy is your orignal pitch shifter, but this shifter has more, running from a "flutter(a patch sound to a rotatary speaker mix with a chorus effect sound.), t.arm( the effect i mention above, good for the basic octave shifting.), detune(a somewhat off key chorus sound, hints the name.), harmonist(great for that late 80's, early 90's metal/grunge solos stage(ranging from metallica to alice in chains.), and the pitch shifter (which is more of a t.arm for chords, also good for octave uping or downing.) And if you want it, you sure can produce a noisy as hell psyhcadelic effect if you set it to the right setting! Other wise noise is not a problem unless you choose it. Works terffic on Acoustic(get a really space age sound), as well to clean or distorted electric. Really spruces up the solos!

HEY...........SO FAR SO GOOD!(knocking on wood though!) plus it's Boss, but that doesn't mean nuttin'.

No need to yet...but if it comes down to that point i hope their helpful.

Man, Man, Man ,Man!!!!! what a great and yet spectacular little stomp box this puppy gives off! If robbed from my belongins or mutalated alive, i would replace in a heart beat, after a knock over a few 7-11's!

This unit is pretty hard to use since it contains so many effects, but after a couple of hours' tweaking the old Boss knobs it seemed a bit clearer. I was so impressed with the first results that I didn't even bother to consult the manual, as I was basically trying out the pitch shifter and detune modes. The harmonizer (I have no experience whatsoever with those babies) will take some time to unravel, but it's pretty easy to figure out the pitch shifter.

This thing is heaven, if you ask me. I used it with a Yamaha sv200 electric violin (their top of the line product with dual piezos) and a 50 W Marshall Valvestate. I must try it with my Fender Hotrod Deluxe (which is currently being repaired) - I'm sure it would sound even nicer (Marshalls are fine for guitars and heavy metal, less so for electric violins, they just sound too harsh). As the violin does not have a low C string, I missed the low end to play rhythm, say in E. This thing takes care of the problem, as its pitch shifter (set an octave below) produces some fat low sounds. If you add amp's own distortion, it can sound like a blazing guitar, so all you rock guitarists can forget about your preconceptions about violins being used for country...no way Jose, now I can play distorted 5ths and you can solo if you like. When played clean, 1 octave down it can make my violin sound like a cello. True, the 2nd octave is a bit muddy. People are complaining about it sounding synthetic. Well, it does not reproduce 100% of the natural sound, that's true. But hey, it's an effect, a digital one at that. That said, it's still pretty close to the real thing (at least with the fiddle) and I don't mind sounding a bit synthetic. This thing sweeps with the OC2 octaver, because it can track more than just one note. And it tracks extremely well (maybe because the violin is bowed so there is a constant signal input), I had no problems whatsoever. The OC2, on the other hand, seems pretty useless, doesn't sound very good and gets jammed if you play intervals. I think it's worth paying almost three times more and get a decent sound plus other bonuses like the whammy, tremolo, harmonizer... Simply great.

It's built like a tank, seems reliable. I hope I won't regret saying that. It does devour batteries, though, better get an adaptor (which are a pain in the ***, I admit).

I have no experience with those guys, so I can't really say.

I play pop/rock/psychedelia. This will have the audience go:"What? Come again? What's this thing he's playing? A stick? A violin? A guitar? A cello? A synth? He kicks ***!" And I'm not that good a violinist at all, I've been playing for 10 years now, but with seriously crap equipment. This thing will take care of my octave, harmony and chorus issues, the whammy thing is not that useful because violin is fretless so sliding is a piece of cake. It would be nice to be able to drop octaves in real time, so I'm going to have to buy an expression pedal. I would buy it again and again, although it costs about the same as an average Zoom multieffect. But the thing is that all multieffects (except the $1500+ studio ones) have worse pitch shifters than this little box, and it's good enough to fool the audience. To record...well you just use the equipment the bastards charge you so much to use, right? Of course it's gonna be better. I would like a more versatile chorus, but that's all right for now, until ?i start making some dough with my sound... I think the only thing I need to buy now is a nice wah and a decent delay.

As others have said, it might take a while to get the hang of this sucker. There are so many features..and all are pretty versatile...specially since every knob does something different on every setting, it gets confusing (don't forget about the first two knobs!)...yeah it'll take you a day or two to get the hang of it.

Set up is:

SG (with Invader and SD '59) - Vox Wah - Boss RV-3 - Boss TU-2 - Vintage EH Small Stone - JCM 900 4100 half stack

It's not really noisey at all, cept when you get up to the two octaves setting, but it doesn't bleed through when you're not playing. I bought this pedal to replace my Digitech XP-100 Whammy...mostly to save pedalboard space. It turns out this sucker SOUNDS WAYYYY better then the Xp-100. Maybe it's my setup, maybe it's not but it sounds quite a bit better. I find there are more useful harmonizer settings on this pedal than the Whammy...and you can even hook up and expression pedal to the PS-5...so it's all good. The Detuner sounds much better...and the Xp-100 has a delay between patches and signals which bugged the hell out of me. This one has none. I am quite happy with this pedal. I especially love the Trem arm.

I tried putting it in my fx loop..but it made my distortion and pedal sound WORSE...so I put it in front and it sounded much better...no volume or distortion drop either. Which is very good.

BOSS. yep.

I play spaced out rock/emo..so I do alot of ebow/delay/pitch shifting work..and it does the job well. And it doesn't take up any room like those Digitech bastards. a great sounding pedal, very versatile, very reliable, and it looks cool. heh. It was definatly worth the money.