Eventide PitchFactor

This is a pretty complex product, with a lot of power under the hood. You will need to read the manual several times to really understand how to use it. You even have to follow directions to get to the full range of 100 presets instead of the 20 it has loaded out of the box.

More seriously, it suffers from some design decisions which Eventide made that limit its functionality. For example, you can only access banks moving up with the footswitch. If you want to move down, you either have to plug in an external controller or cycle all of the way through all other banks of sound. Eventide even suggests limiting the number of active banks in the manual, so you don't have to cycle through as many voices. Utterly absurd.

Another example is the fact that you can't access the second preset (banks have two presets per bank) unless you have the PitchFactor physically on the floor to stomp on. Although you can program external footswitches, none of them activate the second preset. This means that the PF can't be used as a tabletop or rack unit no matter how many external controllers you plug in if you want access to 50% of your presets.

There are other similar design gaffes that clearly show Eventide was more interested in fitting the look and feel of it's other flex series products than making a fully capable product for the serious professional.

The sound quality varies with the feature used. The pitch shifters have great harmonic content but gargle and sputter when chords are played even on settings that are supposed to be polyphonic. For all practical purposes, the pitch shifting is mono or duophonic. Pitch tracking is good but far from flawless. You will need to play pretty cleanly on those voices that track your playing such as pitch shifters and synthesizers.

I really love the theremin type voice, never heard anything like that from a guitar. Also, the digital delays are quite good, exactly what you'd expect from Eventide.

The unit can be noisy depending on the selected feature. Bear that in mind if you are using pitch shifting along with booster pedals or distortion boxes. Can you say noise gate?

For me, the pitch shifters with programmable delays that create arpeggiated runs are the reason for buying this pedal. My Line 6 DL4 can keep up with most of the digital delays and offers additional sampling and echo voices for less money. But Eventide has synth and pitch voices that you can't get in a stomp box from anybody else.

Others have slammed this pedal for being made in China. So what, that tells you nothing other than that the product was manufactured with no consideration whatsoever for environmental concerns, international intellectual property laws, or fair labor practices. It's pretty heavy and seems well built to me.

They have firmware upgrades over the net and online support. I haven't found a users' forum yet, but it may be out there.

I am a sophisticated buyer of pitch shifting and guitar synth type products. I own the Electro Harmonix HOG, a Roland VG-99, a Digitech Space Station, and various synth and other boxes. In my opinion, the PitchFlex earns its living through its arpeggiation and synth features. The other features are available from other products that sound as good and are equally versatile in their own ways. At over $500 list, the PF is on the high end of the pricing equation. If you want good polyphonic pitch shifting, the PF doesn't offer it. You may be more satisfied with a product from Electro Harmonix or Digitech, although even their products glitch on complex chords.

On the other hand, the PF has some unique features, is very versatile, and has a small footprint. You will need at least one controller if you want to access lower banks.

My bottom line is that Eventide could have thought through their design a bit better regarding controllers and so forth. They also seem a bit high on themselves, believing that their name commands the right to charge more than comparable products from Digitech or EH. If I didn't want the arpeggiation features, there is no way I would have given this product a second look. But, I DO love the arpeggiation features and consider them valuable enough to justify the entire purchase.

This pedal has 10 knobs to twist and you can alter the sound to your own special needs. Once you spend some time with it you'll get the hang of it and be able to change the default sounds to your own prefrences. So many sounds so little time.

To me the unit sounds best with single coil pickups. So I use the guitars with this makeup for best results. It's best to use it at the end of your pedal chain. I set it up for true bypass. I'm using it with a Marshall JCM 2000/50watts on the clean channel with the overdrive button pushed in. It takes pedal distortion very well.I'm giving it a 10 because it is the best unit I have ever used.

So far so good.

I play original music with my band and it's a great creative tool. It inspires me to write music in different genres and styles.This unit is not cheap but worth every penny I paid.

Not really into the MIDI functions or other technical switcherooing right now
Easy to navigate editing-has knobs!
Manual I feel is well written but I feel they could have given some classic songs and setings examples of what was used where exactly.
Never the less-this thing is easy to get into action fast.

I have the full blown wet dry wet rig-three 4x12's, mixer, external quality delays and other very well known effects.
I have a Mojave Peacemaker and a EVH 5153-full blown EVH set-up only lacking this particular box and effect. Old and new sounds are fairly easily obtainable-especially the newer VH now that this box is in the picture.
This pedal was a complete "drop in" addition and is easily used like a rack piece-and sounds every bit like a rack piece for sure.
For those wondering-yes-this is the best bang for the buck man.
If you are looking at a top quality pitchshifter Eventide style-this is your ultimate thrill while not breaking the bank.
Does it sound like an older Eventide unit? Some fart sniffers may disagree, but there is no arguing this is the most advanced kick ass pedal on the market and there is simply no other option on the market
especially in this category-so do some math and think of product support and maintenance on older units as well while weighing it out.
For pitchshifting this pedal is a no brainer-period. Plus it is designed and is an actual Eventide to boot. Far from some generic "wanna be" device-it is the real deal essentially.
But you gotta know how to use it to its full potential and also have the rig set up right to get the most from it.
Another note for VH fans-no signal level hoopla and custom cables are needed-this thing fits anywhere-guitar or line level-not just +4dbv balanced like the old units were-so big bonus right there. Super flexible in that dept.
This box does way more than VH though-Eventide is on alot of well known records-those particular effects and sounds come streaming out no problem.
If you have wanted a pitchshifter-this is as good as it gets but this time its waaay cheaper and it makes it a no brainer.
You'd be silly not to want this pedal in your rig or have it around for those special occasions calling for a specific effect like this.
I had zero problems dialing up every one of the sounds on Eventides site audio demo seriously. Then yet there was so much more I found it did.
It can be vintage or modern sounding-you just have to know how to use it to get what you're after.

Don't know yet-but Eventides track record is one of very untarnished record-and it bears the name Eventide-outlook is very good.
Cannot comment here though so I won't rate it.

Ain't got that far yet-maybe possibly never will to be honest.

This thing is a "Hell yeah!" slam dunk ass kickin machine. What this pedal is supposed to do it does do flawlessly. For this particular effect this is the one to get that will grab it by the short hairs every time and get it done with finesse. I have heard the H3000 before in person up close several times-this is on par easy.

Way to go Eventide-thank you!
My only quibble-its made in China. But we won't get into that politics and personal opinion here. But to be honest-you couldn't tell or even care where it was made its that good.

There are 50 banks with 2 patches in each. About 40% of them are usable to me. As far as I can tell, you can only ascend in the patches (can't go back). The other mode is manual in which you can create patches. This is more geared towards people with a lot of time :). Each patch allow you to assign the expression pedal to control one of the parameters of the effect which is nice.

There are 4 or 5 types of sounds which I think are only achievable on this pedal which makes it very cool. For me it doesn't justify the price for something made in China however.

Seems durable enough, but I am returning it. I've had problems with other pedals made in China (Visual Sound, etc). Those I just bought again because it's cheaper than having them serviced, for this pedal, it's a different case.

Didn't have it long enough

Easy to use compared to what? If your experience of pedals to date has been an MXR Phase 90 or an overdrive unit then this is going to come as a bit of a shock! However if you've used rack gear before then this is no more complex than the average multi-processor. If you just plug it in and start playing then you will get a good sound straight away BUT you MUST read the manual to have a hope of understanding what this unit can do. I will say that at a least a working knowledge of musical theory is required to get the most out of this unit - if you don't understand keys, modes and harmonys then you may struggle to use some of the effects to their limit. However, don't panic - even if you don't have a clue what key you're playing in (!!) then the unit will tell you!

Spend half an hour reading the manual and it will all start to make sense. There are some functions that you need to press two of the foot switches at once (getting to the tuner for example) which means that, for live performance at least, that function is not quite as useful as a good old Boss unit, but to be honest if you bought this to use as a tuner then you have just missed the point! You can plug aux switches into the back (up to three) to control certain functions as well as the thre switches on the unit. Then, just to add to the fun you can use a midi pedal board with it as well.

The manual is relatively straight forward, neither patronising nor assuming you have a full working knowledge of musical theory. I found that it points out the stuff you REALLY need to know fairly early in the manual. It really is aimed at getting you up and running ASAP.

Editing patches is a breeze (turn knobs, things happen) but again, read the manual to understand what you just did. The most fun comes when you tinker, especially with things like the delay spacings and harmonys, sometimes you get a wholly unexpected sound which could be better than what you were aiming for. But if you get something you like, save it!

I'm giving this category a 7. That isn't a bad thing. It isn't a doddle to use but it is by no means so complex that you'll just never bother to attempt to change things.

I'm using various PRS guitars into a Mesa Boogie F50. I have various MXR, Morley and Boss units in front of the amp and this Eventide unit sits in the FX loop along with a Boss DD3 and an MXR Micro Amp. I have also used it in front of an Orange AD15 with equally good results.

The key to a good sound is to make sure you have set the line levels correctly on the back of the unit (if you're stuck the manual will bail you out) and then get the FX mix and levels balanced correctly. If you plug it in and it sounds horrible (I did this!) then you need to start turning things down!

Once you have the levels and balances sorted this unit sounds simply stunning. There is little to no noise (depends on the patch) - my Boogie isn't keen on a signal sent through it 2 octaves down for example! - but most sounds are pristine and simply blow all other effects away of this sort that I have ever tried. If this unit glitches then I can't hear it. One word of advice though, make sure you choose your type of bypass carefully. If you choose digi bypass then you will get reverb and delay tails carrying over when you bypass or change patches BUT it will definitely affect your sound even when switched off. It doesn't sound bad, just different. I have set mine to relay (hard wire) bypass. I lose the delay tails but I keep 100% of my tone.

Is it a 10? No - nothing is. But this is the closest I have ever found.

Haven't blown it up. Not planning to. It is on my pedal board which is full flight and is protected internally as well with foam. If it gets broken it's because a truck just drove over it.

Not tried them yet but I did register the unit online to get software upgrades as and when they are available. I'll give them a ten for the registration as it worked first time!

I play mostly rock, blues, metal. This unit has something for all of those. I have played for over 20 years and have owned too much gear to list here. The Eventide is everything I hoped it would be and the name suggested it would be - I have not been disappointed. If it were stolen I'd look for a thieving little oik with a hernia because my 'board weighs a ton! This is an expensive (relatively) bit of kit if you class it as a pedal but honestly, it's a third of the price of one of their rack units and something I'm much more likely to use. Don't think of it as a pedal - it is much more of a rack device that happens to have the switches built in!

I have a Eventide Time-Factor and the interface is extremely similar. People who have no purchased one of their stompboxes in the past might have a hard time getting around the interface. All the knobs are very functional and really play into the overall sound and quality of the unit.

The manual is very informative, and is a must read before you sit down to work with the pedal. It is capable of so much more after reading the manual and possibilities really open up.

Getting a good sound out of the box is very easy. Most of the presets are extremely usable upon powering on the unit and after just a little preliminary editing, I've got a few patches that I used the next night during a a gig.

This unit is being used in the effects loop of my EVH 5150 III Head and Splawn 2x12 Cabinet primarily with a Peavey Wolfgang/EVH Wolfgang mix.

Unit is very transparent and is extremely high quality. I've never owned an Eventide rack unit, but the sound quality of this box out and out smashes anything from TC, Line 6 etc...just kills it. The efx are all of the highest quality and really has been a great addition to my rig.

Haven't had it long enough to judge it.

The customer service is FANTASTIC!!!

I emailed them and within 20 minutes had a response that solved my problem. I've had multiple conversations with their support and all of them great.

Most of what I play is EVH inspired, Lincoln Brewster, rock and modern P&W...this pedal perfectly suits my style.

If this was lost or stolen, immediately would buy another one.