DigiTech Whammy 4

9 for the whammied octaves and detuning
6 for the harmonizer

...which I figure averages out to about an 8

It really isn't very complicated to get into the Morello or Dimebag thing. And if you're a Radiohead junkie, this thing is what does the sounds on My Iron Lung and Just...

As far as the harmonies go, you need to understand the intervals you're dealing with. If you're expecting something like an intelligent harmonizer or an Eventide thing, you better go get one of those. This doesn't do that and really, that's not the point anyways. Myself, I like using the parallel 3rds thing that the people below are complaining about...it puts you into a nastier, diminished or augmented thing and is great for more out applications. You just have to know when it'll work and when it won't. I suggest not bothering to try adjusting the 3rds on the fly with the pedal...it's too tricky to be accurate and in time. If you're going to try it, get an intelligent harmonizer.

Before you read to much into my rating, know two things...

1) This thing eats tone like a madman. If your tone is the most important thing to you, get a looper or don't use this pedal.

2) This goes for any pitch shifter but this one is no exception...you'll get warbles on the 2 Oct. setting if you're running a really brutal amount of gain or have a really lo-fi setup. This thing actually tracks really well but it needs the cleanest signal possible for the most accurate results (clean with the tone rolled off gives really precise shifts). I suggest putting it before your distortion if you want accuracy - after it if you want brutality and don't mind a little slop when things are in the rafters. Remember that Dime has it before his gain 'cause that's all amp crunch...that's what keeps his shifts so clear.

As for the over-all tone and it's comparison to the Original...this is pretty damn close. Only the super-purists need to get the Original. There's a tiny difference in tone but it's not as dramatic as those who shelled out the big money would have you think. This one's a slight bit brassier and it handles too many notes a little differently...it breaks up a little brighter. Anyone saying that the Original sounds warmer is bullshitting or hasn't really tried them back to back. They're both digital, very-synthetic sounding effects and they sound very close to the same.

Bottom line, they're digital units running almost exactly the same program...if you want to shell out the bread for the other unit, your purist self will probably eat it up...hey, if I had the money to blow, I'd have one myself. But the WH-4 is so damn close, I dare you to guess who's using what before checking out their setup...you'd probably be surprised (and you'll hang on to around $400 these days...use it to go buy a great analog delay or another axe...).

As far as the sounds of this exact unit, with my setup it tracks beautifully and sounds killer with my Marshal Drivemaster and Lovetone Cheese. The Octaves up and down are what I use the most and they sound great. The harmonies are a little bit out of balance (the fundamental is pretty strong in comparison to the harmony) but they're still very useable. Sorry Dive Bombers...I think the Dive setting blows. It just sounds like crap to me. Super-fake. Regardless though...the octaves sound killer and that's all I got it for anyways.

I only have to knock it on the serious tone suckage...it really pulls highs out of my tone and sends in a little extra kick of hum. Me...I'm gonna get a looper or get Analog Man to make mine true bypass...

It scratches really easily. I think the chassis is gonna last though. It's a pretty sturdy construction.

I haven't dealt with them so I'm gonna stay out of this one.

I've played and still play in a lot of different groups for 15 or so years...some funk, some jazz, some indie, and some hardcore so I've got a few different angles. I like this unit. It does what I want it to...it sounds like a Whammy and lets me play all sorts of squeely stuff on command. If you want a Whammy, this is it. Get it and I think you'll probably be happy (or shell out the extra bread if you really want the street cred). If you want a clean, intelligent harmonizer, go somewhere else.

And I'd give it a 10 for sounding like a Whammy but this is supposed to be an overall rating, right?

I would give an 8 since there isn't an intelligent harmony feature.
I haven't had much trouble except that I had to buy some replacement hex screws. I bought mine used and it was beaten up a bit. The screws were chewed up by some dummy that didn't know how to properly remove the hex screws. I also had to adjust the footpedal, which was too loose.
I have had no trouble coming up with interesting sounds. I hooked up a Rocktron MIDIXCHANGE to the MIDI IN and I was able to scroll between sounds quickly and that makes the harmonizer function more useful to me. I can also hook up a continous controller and whammy with a foot controller pedal from another location.
I had to download a manual. I bought it used.

I have used this pedal with my Line6 POD2.0, and my ADA,Rocktron,Boss,MosValve amp Racks. I have not heard any added noise. I have also not experienced any tone suckage that other reviewers have mentioned. I have gotten great sounds with this reissue pedal. Sometimes you get some strange noises that are really cool. I have read that some people like to use it in a loop. I haven't tried it. I use a BOSS TU-2 tuner first then a BOSS AC-2 Acousitc simulator, then I go into a BAD HORSIE, then the Whammy 4. Some times I substitue the BAD HORSIE with an AKAI WAH or hook up both. I have been able to get sonds like you hear Tom Morello, Steve Vai, and Dimebag Darrel. I don't try to copy them but, experimenting with the Whammy, you can't help notice the things that these guys have done with the Whammy. They use the WH-1. This really is a reissue with some new features.

I have only played a few shows with it. I don't have a back up yet.
I would to be safe with heavy use of the thing.

The guy I bought the pedal from at Guitar Center handled the order for hex screws. I want to custom paint mine. I'm working on making some stencils to repaint the Labels/fonts. I don't want to paint of the LOGO.

I like the overall wacky shit you can do with it. I have only used it on one of my songs. I used the 2OCT up feature.
I am thinking of getting a BOSS PS-5 for the Intelligent harmonizing but not as a replacement for the Whammy 4. I have been experimenting with the pedal more recently. Sometimes I wish it would switch on when you step on it like the Whammy. With MIDI you can have a preset with the effect on and switch back and forth.
This pedal can stretch your imagination and be very useful or it can get irritating. It is easy to over use. I'm trying to use it as musically as possible. Don't buy a Wh-1 for the rediculous prices they are asking for. The differences are exaggerated and the WH-4 has MIDI capabilities. I'm glad I waited to buy mine. I don't have to guess which sound I'm using. The WH-4 has little lights for the presets. Use it with a MIDI footswitch and you have a program number. There are some pedal patchbay loop boxes that you can switch all your pedals in and out with a true bypass for all those that have issues with true bypass. Check out Radial.com

Fairly easy to use

This thing is an absolute tone sucker. Trying to use this in a practical situation is hopeless. Even when switched off, this thing colors your tone. Do not let any Tom Morello wannabes tell you any different. If you are using a decent tube amp, with a decent guitar, this thing will DESTROY your tone. Why these companies cannot use true bypass is beyond me. The effects themselves are very good. The whammy and octaves are great. The thirds, as other reviewers have stated, need a bit of music theory and thinking on the musician's part. Not just plug and play. The dive bomb sounds like a dumb idea, until you plug in a guitar without a whammy bar. Then, it becomes slightly useful.

I too, as another reviewer did, tried this thing in my effects loop as well as in front of the amp...and my results were exactly the same. In front of the amp was better, but completely colored the tone even when off. Unacceptable. Another reviewer implied that this person was not using the whammy properly. I disagree. The Whammy 4 sucks tone, regardless of how you hook it up.

As a toy, this thing excels. In a practical setup, I don't see how people can give this pedal a postitive review. If you used it in a A/B configuration, fine...but for the average guitarist, the Whammy 4 is not worth putting in your signal chain. If you are recording, and are using this pedal on its own channel, it is fine...but to put this in as a part of my setup, no way. I returned it.

Seems pretty heavy duty.

Don't waste your money. I went with a used Boss Harmonizer, that sounded better for the money. If Digitech wants people to buy this toy, and that's what it is, they need to make it true bypass. Don't they test these things for sound quality before they OK them for production????

It depends what you use this pedal for, if you use it for the whammy sounds, (1 oct. up, 2 oct. up, etc...) then the pedal is pretty easy to use. But, if you use the harmonizer, it's not as easy as the whammy presets. The manual is probably helpful, I never looked at it, I know it probably doesn't have any theory in it for any of you kids out there who don't know how to use the harmonizer properly. Experienced, true musicians will have no problem with this pedal, you probably know what you need to know about music, so you'll be fine. But, if you are some random kid who decides to pick up a guitar to be cool and run around playing power chords and not even know what chords you are playing, let alone not knowing a thing about music, this pedal will be like a different language for you! I'm giving it an 8, because it truly needs to be in the right hands, it's not for everyone.

I've been using mine for close to a year now, and I've been moving this pedal all over the place on my custom pedalboard. There is a very noticeable difference when you place the whammy pedal after the distortion pedal, or the whammy pedal before the distortion pedal. The whammy should be as close to your guitar as possible, but do what you need, the WH-4 can weaken some pedals depending where it is, you need to experiment on your own. About placement of the WH-4, if you mainly use it for the crazy whammy sounds, then put this pedal before your distortion. The octaves up and down will come out the best when the whammy is before your distortion. It's just like a guitar, the floyd rose is 1st, then the distortion, it just won't work as good any other way. If you mainly use this pedal for the harmonizer, which I do, put this pedal after your distortion pedal, the harmonies will sound so rich, and somewhat close to perfect. If you use the harmonizer before your dist., it sounds good, but NO WHERE NEAR as good as it sound after your distortion pedal! The whammy presets are not good when you put the whammy pedal after your distortion, the 1 and 2 octaves up sound good after the distortion, but the other crazy whammy features don't sound as good, because you are taking your signal and dropping or raising the entire signal, which does take away from your tone. But, the harmonies are so nice after the dist., they are nice and clear, you can almost get a really good twin lead sound. I only use the harmonizer on this pedal, I rarely use the whammy sounds or the detunes, I only use the 1 octave up occasionally. The 3rds are a pain, the WH-4 is a basic pitch shifter, so you have to do all the work. I think the most recent reviewer covered the harmonizer very nicely,(other than being alittle disappointed) the 3rds are wrong, it plays a 1/2 step shard on your 2nd's, 3rd's, 6th's, and 7th's. So, that's why they have the minor 3rd up/3rd up preset, so you can correct it. I never tried the WH-1, so I don't know the sound differences between the two, but go ahead and spend over $300+ buying the original whammy. I rate it an 8 because it depends what function you like to use the pedal for and where you put the pedal to obtain the sound you want.

Built nice and sturdy, metal chasis, metal treadle, and the rotary knob seems very reliable. It even comes with the adapter, so nobody can cry about this thing eating batteries. It isn't even possible to power this pedal with batteries, so if you buy it used for some reason, make sure you get the adapter.

Digitech makes a ton of pedals, the compact pedals are very versatile, but I wouldn't and don't buy them because they emulate other companies tones. Their new line of distortion and overdrive pedals are even copies of other companies pedals?! The multi effects pedals seems ok, I know someone with a GNX3, pretty good pedal, but I wouldn't buy any of them. I have to say that the Whammy pedal, actually the whammy series, is Digitech's best pedals they offer. The WH-4 is such a great pedal,the harmonies are so good. It would have been nice if the pedal had a volume knob on it.

Even with a big backround of theory and a lot of other music knowledge, this pedal probably isn't the best harmonizer that has been made. If you play live shows with this, the LED's are very visible, but are so bright you can't clearly see what the treadle up interval is, the 2nd interval is somewhat hard to see on stage also, due to the small print and the bright LED. I can get this pedal to make more unwanted, terrible sounds than good sounds, which isn't good for me cause I'm not into what Morello does with his WH-1, just make strange noises with the whammy functions, which is why most kids buy this pedal, because they want to sound like their favorite guitarist or whoever. The pedal opperates nicely, recalaborate the treadle once in a while if you use this pedal extensively. If you don't have any backround in theory and expect this pedal to sound good, you will make a HUGE mistake buying this pedal, and don't expect the manual to help you out, it only tells you the basics of the pedal.

This pedal can sound bad more often then good. If you use too much distortion, your going to muffle the harmonies. I bought this pedal about 5 or 6 months ago for the harmonizer, I was, and still am quite disappointed in this pedal. I spent a good amount of $ on a harmonizer that doesn't always sound how I want or need it to sound. So, I am back to recording in my studio without using this pedal for harmonies, I now do what I use to do, record two tracks of melody or solos, because the 3rds and most of the harmonies on the whammy are just weak, they just sound crappy a lot, if you play too hard, you get a wierd metalic sound, it's kind of like this, you play a note, and you hear, faintly, other random notes ringing off, it's not very loud, but noticeable. I am very disappointed with the harmonizer on this pedal, I bought it for that, and it just doesn't work for me, I didn't buy this pedal for the crazy whammy features, although I use them at times for different things, usually only the 1 octave up function. Some of the intervals are hard to use, like the minor 3rd and 3rd preset, you have to go back and forth and be thinking of scales to get it to sound right. If you are playing something with the 3rds function, you can't just keep the treadle in the up or down position, that is why there is the preset with the 3rds, because it isn't an intelligent harmonizer, if you are playing a major scale with the 3rd interval function, the harmonizer will make a big mistake, it will be a 1/2 step sharp with the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th, so you can't just leave the treadle in the minor 3rd and 3rd function. Most of the harmonies don't sound too well, probably the best sounding ones are the 4th and 5th, the other intervals don't come out right or don't sound right. There are two detunes, it takes your signal, slightly puts your signal out of tune, and goes back and forth with your regular signal to produce a chorus effect. The one preset is a light, slower chorus sound, the other can be faster and deeper. The whammy functions are pretty cool, but not what I use it for. I use it only for the up 1 octave if ever, sounds great with solos, and even better when you add in a delay. The tracking is quite impressive, I never had any slips or anything like that when using it. If you use a distortion pedal and put the whammy after your distortion, you will get a slight drop in volume, and a little bit of bass added to your tone when on. The pedals octaves are very accurate, it has never been off,it always went right to where it supposed to go. The detune whammy function, or the drop D preset, isn't very useable, it also gives you a wierd metalic sound, and sound deeper than it should, and alters your tone a little bit. The whammy is digital, it does suck your tone, but nothing drastic, it isn't a big thing, most people won't detect it, but that's because most people, actaully kids, now don't have an ear for music. The bypass is pretty good, it's not a true bypass, but once again, most won't or can't detect any tone loss.

The whammy series seem to be very reliable, there still are many WH-1's around that still work perfect. Pedalwise, I didn't have backup for the whammy, so if the harmonies just ended up sounding bad that day or night, I had to use it unless I could play the 3rd above, or whatever interval I needed, along with playing the solo or melody. But, the pedal seems reliable, doesn't seem like it would ever just die on you for no reason on stage or in the studio. The pedal CANNOT replace real dual harmonies/twin guitar solos/leads, there is no way it can, and now way it ever will. If there is a time when it can, I will have it, but I doubt it.

I had to contact them before, mainly just questions, they answer in like a day or so, if not in a day, then you wasted your time asking them, and that has happened to me before, they responded back in like 4-7 days after I emailed them!?

If you are looking for a good harmonizer, I don't think this pedal is what you want, unless you are looking for a basic harmonizer, then this pedal may be of some use for you. If you are looking to get some crazy sounds out of this thing, very possible and very easy! If this pedal had an intelligent pitch shifter and the basic pitch shifter, it would be way worth it. But, only the basic pitch shifter with some cool whammy functions, I don't see why I, or anyone else, has to or has spent about $200 on this. I wish I would have tried the boss PS-5 pitch shifter, I hear it has an intelligent harmonizer, so it may be better than the Digitech whammy. It's cheaper than the whammy and possibly better quality in sound and effects, mainly with the harmonizer, not the whammy sounds(oct. up and down). I would try both of those pedals out before buying the whammy, the Boss PS-5 may be a better buy, I need to try it out. Boss is better than Digitech, most of Digitech's compact pedals emulate other companies tones and sounds! Something else to think about other than what I've already said, I bought the very last one the music store by me had, it was sitting in their display case for at least a year, I bet even longer. I asked when they would get more WH-4's in, they told me that they won't because nobody buys them, and nobody has and nobody will buy their last one. I bought the last one because I thought the pedal was going to be better than it is, I bought it there because I didn't want to order one, I needed it that day. Mainly, it's a basic harmonizer, not intelligent, so you decide if it's what you need. If you don't know the difference between a basic and intelligent harmonizer/pitch shifter, then you better find out!

Getting a good sound out of this pedal is indredibly difficult. The Manual sucks, it doesn't even explain how to use the Harmony features. The Red LEDS are impossible to see due to the color of the pedal... RED.

I use original 70's Fender Stratocasters and Warmoth replicas of said Stratocasters. I use Dimarzio pickups and a Carvin Legacy halfstack. I have pro gear, so it's not like my equipment sucks or I don't know what I'm doing... this untit is just terrible. The only thing that works is the actual Whammy feature. The Octave feature is pathetic. The sound actually gets thinner when this thing is on! The Harmonizer feature is the main dissapointment though. The only part that works is the 5ths. Every other part just produces "wavy crap-notes!" All the effects are low quality and they suck all the tone out of your sound. Tom Morello used this pedal to chop at the Whammy and get a sloppy sound. Thats what its for. For "Tone Monsters" like me and several other EXPERIENCED players, you will hate this pedal. If you value your tone and quality of effects that is.

Either my pedal was already broken... nah. Its just a piece of crap. I'm sure it would reliably be a piece of crap. I would never use this pedal at a gig PERIOD!!! I won't even have it in my studio! What a hunk of junk. I HATE Digitech! BOSS is the best.

I tried emailing them. They dont respond. Digitech sucks!

I play all original music. One project is some Neo Classical Shred. The other is a very dance-able rock/pop with guitar solos... very original. I wanted this pedal for the Harmony feature. And I was grossly dissappointed. If this pedal were stolen, I'd be happy. Good riddance. I cant sell the damn thing. I'm just gonna dish out the $4K and get an Eventide Harmonizer. I wish this pedal worked. If someone could make a Harmonizer pedal that worked... I would be in love. ALL DIGITECH PEDALS SHOULD BE BURNED!!! Fuck Digitech to Hell.

very easy pedal to get a sound out of. "good" is relative to your application. the manual is pretty terrible. it doesn't explain what a 2nd, flat 3rd, or 7th is, so a knowledge of music theory is key. the LEDs can be very difficult to see. come on guys, red LEDs on a red pedal, and red writing? well, that's screen printing for ya.

guitars:
ibanez RG570
gibson SG special
danelectro DC-12

amp:
mesa boogie subway rocket

current pedalboard:
korg DT-10
digitech synth wah or crybaby gcb-95
foxrox paradox TZF
fulltone supa-trem
boss ge-7 eq

the effect can be very noisy when turned on, especially when cranking the amp for power tube distortion. it tracks significantly better than my OC-2 for octaves, and sounds better because the signal is digitally sampled, so it doesn't suck out all of the low end. there is a slight delay, but it hasn't started bugging me yet. this is probably because i never played an original whammy, but had an RP-10 instead (the RP didn't have the original software either, so all i've ever known is the emulation). because of this, i knew exactly what to expect when purchasing this pedal, and the Whammy delivers.

its one of those pedals that you absolutely must put first. maybe the only thing that should go in front of it is a tuner and a fuzz pedal (if its a particularly finicky fuzz).

i fully intend on using this pedal with a true bypass looper (www.loooper.com) and a midi mouse. we all know the bypass on this unit sucks. but trying to TB the pedal itself isn't always successful, and then you have no way to calibrate the treadle. as for the midi mouse, IMO anybody who wants to use this pedal to its full potential has to have one, especially for stage use, which is my intention.

i'm pretty certain the life expectancy of this pedal is about 2 years. PC mounted jacks, a crap bypass, and an optical treadle. i remember having to fix the treadle on my RP after about 3 years, and i suspect the same from this pedal. i have boutique gear that is made in much sturdier boxes than this one.

i play rock music, and have been doing so for the past 13 1/2 years. i've always been a bit of an effects nut. right now i'm the only guitarist in my band, so i'm looking for effects to thicken the sound. OC-2 worked well, but the digitech sounds better. like i said earlier, it sounds just as i remember the whammy function on the RP-10 i had back in the mid 90s. it really doesn't have an equal in the market, but to be used properly, it really needs those add ons.

i'd like to add that out of every review i've seen of the whammy series, about 4 of those have actually been coherent. the rest of you need to form a vocabulary.

Pedal and a Knob and visual instructions. Easy as pie to use. However, don't forget to calibrate it every time you turn it on. That's right...read the instruction manual.

I use an Ovation GP through the Whammy, to a Boss SD-1, Crybaby Wah, Boss DD-3, Ibanez DFL, into an Ampeg VT-22. I like the full harmony settings on the WH-4. But that's about it. Everything else sounds like it's trying to emulate the WH-1 and does a poor job of it. I have a WH-1 and the tone is superior to the WH-4. The WH-4 is more digital sounding (yes both pedals are digital). The WH-4 does it's job in the same manner as the WH-1 but it just doesn't sound as good.

Nice and reliable. In the long run? I don't know...I've already sold it because I like the WH-1 10 times better. I do know it was made of plastic/metal alloy the paint easily chipped. My WH-4 looked older than my WH-1 after 3 months.

Well, I've had great support from my digitech with the WH-1 when my power supply broke. Emailed them, they gave me a part number, ordered it, had it in a week. I assume the support is just that much better for a product they still make (like the WH-4).

This pedal is a good pedal to have. If you need a harmonizer and a whammy, it's your pedal. I would recommend that you get this one before a WH-1 because it's cheaper and you need to find out if it's for you. This pedal is not going to turn you into Tom Morello. In fact, Morello actually gets this thing to make the worst sounds possible at times and somehow makes it work for his music. Note...Tom Morello uses a WH-1, not a WH-4.

Has the on/off button, it isn't like the on/off things on wahs or anything, it doesn't make any sound when you click it on or off, which is great. I don't like how my wahs have a noisy pot when you turn them on and off, the whammy is super quiet! You got the rotary knob, spin it to whichever preset you want to use. The midi is a nice feature, you can control which preset you want to use without reaching down to spin the knob.

I've had this pedal for a while now, and the sound is still like new, just like when i first bought it. Like I already said, it's a super quiet pedal, i don't get any hiss or unwanted feedback or any other strange sounds when it's on or off. The octave presets are awesome, the pedal doesn't skip at all when going up or down on whatever octave you got it set to. I don't really use the detune presets that much, I have a chorus pedal that takes care of that sorta sound, but the two presets are pretty good, can't complain about them. I'd use them if I didn't have my chorus pedal. The harmonizer tops this pedal off! The tracking for the harmonies is perfect too, never had any problems with it. The harmonizer probably would be the hardest thing to use for the unexperienced guitarist, cause you gotta know what you are doing to play around with it. The thing that mainly amazes me about this pedal is that the tracking is always right on the money!

It has a metal chasis, I think this pedal will last me a while. The rotary knob should last also, it doesn't show any signs of wearing down or anything.

They answer back pretty quickly, usually in the same day or next day.

I still can't get over, after all the time I have had this pedal, how the tracking is so perfect!?! Even on fast runs, the pedal tracks flawlessly! I like playing fast runs with the pedal set as either an octave up or 2 up, the pedal is always on the dot! If you turn the distortion down and you guitars volume down a bit, you can play some chords, well... arpegios with this pedal and you won't get that wierd "roboty" sound people complain about. You'll get that "roboty" sound if you have your distortion turned up and your guitars volume up too much and if you play a straight forward chord.

***Sorry for waisting more space. In my last little "clear up", I made a HUGE mistake, I said the original whammy was analog when it ISN'T! Sorry for that mistake, I don't know why I said it was, I did some research on the original and found out it isn't analog. Just needed to clear that up and show that Robin was right. I think I did say it was analog in my "clear up" thingy, I don't know why I did, but I was wrong. Sorry for wasting more space and giving out misleading info in my last post about the Wh-1 being analog when it isn't.****