Electro-Harmonix Frequency Analyzer

The Frequency Analyzer, as a ring-mod, can really damp or enhance certain frequencies, and needs to be tuned to the pitch of the notes you're going to play through it. Not a pedal to use often (BUT I LOVE MINE, READ ON)

OK, here is the deal on the Frequency analyzer:
First, if you have ever seen the video for DEVO's 'can't get no satisfaction' cover, yes, that is the frequency analyzer duct-taped to the guitar. The first 5 or 6 guitar nores in that song are through this EH sick-unit.

NOW, my first band we ran VOCALS through it (female anarchist singer).
My second band we ran DRUMS through it, if you have a drum machine with an electronic sound to it (SStom, old roland, etc.) TRY THIS!!! There is NO electronic percussion so cool as when run through one of these tuned right. I may have been the only person to ever do this in a band called SICK APRIL in Cleveland in the early 1990's (at least I have never heard tape of anyone else doing it-it is a REALLY UNIQUE SOUND). Seriously, ELECTRONIC MUSIC FOLKS, TRY THIS! BTW, the ringmod is MUCH BETTER than the ringmod on the Zoom effect boxes (which is what E-Nuebaten guitar is run through on "interim lovers"). It is pretty flexible, so the sound you get will vary on the percussion you run through it.

Like all EH, replace the footswitch with an improved one and it should last another 40 years.

If you are into experimental music and see one for under 100$, get it!

Three knobs and a switch at the top. It adds two notes (one higher and one lower than the original note) to your first note. The blend knob raises and lowers the volume of the orignal note. The shift and fine knobs control the frequency of the effect. The bass switch takes out the top note. This thing is pretty simple to use. It just takes a few minutes of playing with the knobs to get a sound you like.

My current setup is as follows ESP LTD H-200 guitar ==> Digitech Whammy/Wah ==> Boss SD-1 Super overdrive ==> Boss MT-2 Metal Zone ==> Boss Bf-2 Flanger ==> The Frequency Analyzer ==> Marshall 8100 100 watt valvestate head ==> Marshall 1936 150 watt 2*12 cabinet. I have the reissue Frequency Analyzer and haven't had any of the problems that the others who posted reviews of the original have had with noise, signal loss etc. I guess that they did a pretty good job when they redid them. If you've never used or heard a ring modulator before you probably won't know what one sounds like until you have. With the bass switch on it makes farts. Without the bass switch on you can get sounds varying from bell-like tones to clanking metalic tones to R2D2 beeps to stuff that I still haven't found yet. Its a very strange, very versatile pedal. It sounds cool with the various other efects I use, particularly the Flanger. I give it an eight because its the only ring modulator that I have ever used but, then again most of the other ring modulators that you can get cost about twice what this unit did so really its the only good one that a musician on a budget (such as myself) could really afford.

I have only had it a couple of days so I can't really give a good opinion here but it seems to be fairly well constructed. It comes with its own wall wart and cannot be used with batteries. I haven't gigged with it yet (but when i do i'm gonna get some surprised looks :).

Never dealt with them.

I play in a Metal band and use this pedal just to get the insane wierd sounds (which it does well). I've been playing for 4 years and this is by far the strangest and one of the most versitile pedals that i've heard. If it was stolen i would cry like a little child and save up my money to buy another one. Like I said before this is probably the best ring modulator for the price. I bought it because most of the other types of pedals that you can get are just variations on the same old chorus, flange, and phasers. This pedal is truly original and would be almost indispensible for any type of experimental band (can be used on instruments other than guitar), but its probably not something that a blues or country guitarist would be very interested in.

It has three big knobs, "shift" "fine & "blend". The "shift" controls the pitch of the ring modulation (or the pitch of the nuts sounding shortwave-radio effect of this thing). The "fine" knob "fine-tunes" the pitch (which is helpful when you feel like sounding like a guitarist and not a space invader), and the "blend" knob controls the wet/dry mix which makes the pedal MUCH more useful. The pedal has a little switch that can act as a high-frequency filter. The pedal looks simple, but doesn't sound that way.

Well this pedal does color the signal on bypass(random radio interference, and soaks up high end), but it is worth it. As long as people look confused when I use it I don't mind the hiss.

I probably couldn't tell it something went wrong internally (unless it stopped completely, of course). It seems pretty safe in it's Buck Rogers sheetmetal box.

Electro-Harmonix doesn't exist. This pedal sounds like they all died of drug overdoses (happily and disoriented). So if it blows up, I'll just cry alot and hope God has pity on me.

This is "VERTIGIO-IN-A-BOX", it sounds like the world is ending. It has added a whole new level of nausea to my bands shows. If you see this lying around and you like people to look like they are having a near-death experience, then buy this pedal quickly before it is banned (or sold, this happened to me the first time I found one).

This box isn't really tough to understand. The "shift" knob roughly sets the internal frequency for the ring modulator, and the "fine" knob fine tunes that frequency. The blend knob lets you choose the wet/dry mix that you want. There is a little switch on the back between the jacks, but I don';t know what it does...

I give it an 8 because I have a noise gate. This box, like most Electro-Harmonix effects, is noisy. Oh well, it's worth it, because the Frequency Analyzer makes the strangest noises I've ever heard. It really has to be heard to be believed, so find one, hear it, and believe.

Well, EH stuff isn't the strongest, but I've had no problems with mine. I give it a 6 based on what I'v heard.

Never dealt with Electro Harmonix, cause they went out of business when I was five. You can get some kind of support through the Sovtek web page, though.

Find one of these, and grab it. You can't really use it on stage, because you don't know exactly what it's going to do at any given time but that's part of the fun. I would not recommend using it around anyone impaired in any way by some substance, because this thing really has the potential to scare you. Definitely the wildest effect ever. By the way, if you have no idea what ring modulation is, e-mail me and I'll tell you.