- In the market for a new pitch shifter pedal?
- We’ve rounded up 7 of the best pitch shifter pedals you can find on the market.
Pitch shifter pedals are increasingly in demand for guitarists, vocalists, and other musicians.
The ability to create harmonies, octaves, and experimental sounds on the fly drastically increases a musicians’ tonal palette. As a result, manufacturers have taken note of their popularity and filled the market with pitch shifter pedals. Some even include features to ensure any shifting happens in scale, which is a big improvement over old pedals.
What Are The Best Pitch Shifter Pedals?
In this article, we will go over the best options on the market today. Our top choice for the best pitch shifting pedal is the Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork. It offers simplicity, ease of use, great features, and it’s just the right price and size.
Our value pick for those on a budget is the Mooer Pitch Box. And for those that need the best of the best, the Eventide PitchFactor offers unsurpassed quality with endless features, making it our premium choice.
Overall, our candidates for 7 Best Pitch Shifter Pedals are:
- Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork (Our Pick)
- Mooer Pitch Box (Best Value)
- Eventide PitchFactor (Premium Choice)
- BOSS PS-6 Harmonist
- DigiTech Whammy V
- TC Electronic Quintessence Harmony
- Eventide H949 Harmonizer
1. Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork
Our pick for the best pitch shifter pedal is the Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork. This pedal offers a no-nonsense approach to pitch shifting, comes in a compact and durable chassis, and offers the right features at a fair price.
Features
- Streamlined design
- Simple yet powerful functionality
- Expression pedal input
- Three-octave range (up and down)
- Buffered bypass
Review
This Electro-Harmonix pitch-shifting pedal features a smart and simple design that sports only two knobs (Blend and Shift), one small button (Latch), a dual switch, and a footswitch that activates the effect.
Simply use the Shift knob to select the desired interval you want to bend to, and then use the Latch switch to select the direction of the bend (up or down, or both if Dual mode is selected). It does not get any simpler than this.
This EHX effects unit gives you 11 interval options, including “Detune” which will pitch shift your sound by 17 cents and get that chorus-thickened flavor without the modulation. You can also set it to transpose by 1, 2, or 3 octaves in either direction.
This pitch-shifting unit also offers you 7 intervals to choose from: minor and major second, major third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, major 6th, and minor seventh. There is also an expression input available, so you can easily bend into and out of the desired interval using an expression pedal.
The
2. Mooer Pitch Box
The Mooer Pitch Box is the only nano pedal on this list and the most affordable, making it our budget choice for this roundup. Despite its very compact size and small price tag, this pedal still sports several excellent features.
The Mooer Pitch Box has three settings allowing you to shift your tone in pitch and then mix it with the original signal to create harmonies, dissonance, or synth-like micro-detuned sounds.
- Compact
- Easy to use
- Affordable
Features
- Compact size
- Three modes (Harmony, Pitch Shift, Detune)
- Easy to use
- Affordable
- Great for simple pitch shifting
Review
The Mooer Pitch Box offers great value in a very small format. It features a three-way toggle at the top to select one of its three modes: harmonizer, pitch shifter or detune.
Right below you’ll find the rotary control that selects the pitch shift interval, taking you up or down by two octaves.
The detune option mixes a subtle pitch shift with your original sound for an ambient and spacy sound reminiscent of a chorus or tremolo effect, but with a bit of a twist. On the other hand, the harmonizer is accurate and responsive. However, you can’t select a specific key for the harmony.
This pedal sounds good, especially in Detune and Harmony modes. It does not feature a blend knob or dry/wet control, which may be a deal-breaker for some. The Pitch Box is still a great choice for this price range and size.
3. Eventide PitchFactor
The Eventide PitchFactor is our premium choice for the most discerning guitarists. It features many choices and the top-notch quality of sounds, functionality, and depth. It is used by renowned musicians like St. Vincent, Deadmau5, and Katy Perry.
Features
- Up to 4 voices of diatonic pitch shifting
- Up to 1.5 seconds of stereo delay
- 100 factory presets
- MIDI control via USB or MIDI
- Mono or stereo operation
Review
The PitchFactor features some of
This pedal goes well beyond pitch effects. It is an intelligent pitch shifter that allows you to input which key and scale you’re playing so that every shifted note remains in key.
The PitchFactor is also polyphonic, so it can handle leads and chords.
Despite all the features, it is still relatively simple to use. You dial in your key and scale, then select which interval you want to shift to and its direction. You can then add anywhere from one to four voices.
The PitchFactor comes with 10 of
4. BOSS PS-6 Harmonist
The BOSS PS-6 Harmonist features four intelligent pitch-shift effects and three-voice harmony in the now-iconic
Features
- Four effects mode
- High-quality pitch shifting
- Three voice Detune capability
- Up to 4 octaves of pitch bending
- Expression pedal input
Review
The PS-6 is
Detune naturally thickens the sound. You can have up to 3-voices of detuning added to the direct signal.
You can bend the pitch across a 7-octave span, from -3 to + 4 octaves. With the BOSS PS-6 you can also control the bending effect in real-time with the pedal knob or through an external expression pedal.
Harmony mode allows you to manipulate various effects by selecting the key, specifying major/minor, and using the Shift knob to select the voicing you want to use. This knob switches between the different pitch settings available with each mode.
As usual with most
5. DigiTech Whammy V
This classic pitch shifter pedal has been around for decades and is in its fifth generation. It now comes with even more features but without any confusion or clutter.
Legends like Steve Vai, The Edge, Tom Morello, and Buckethead have used this pedal as part of their rich sonic palette.
Features
- MIDI compatibility
- New Chordal pitch shifting
- New single note Whammy bends
- True bypass shifting
- Durable and rugged chassis
Review
The DigiTech Whammy V features a simple user interface that makes it easy to understand and use.
On the right side, you select the interval of your choice with a single knob. The options include +/- 2 octaves, 1 octave, a fifth, a fourth, and a second interval. The last option is “Dive Bomb” which takes your pitch 3 octaves down.
On the left side is the Harmony column, which provides a full-on harmonize pedal, and you can use the expression pedal to switch between the notes in the intervals or blend them together.
The Whammy V is an excellent option for those who want a pitch shifter with an expression pedal, rather than just a pure harmonize effect.
If you love to bend pitches and shift them while creating unique sounds, this is the pedal for you!
6. TC Electronic Quintessence Harmony
The Quintessence Harmony pedal is an intelligent harmonizer effects unit that features TC Electronic’s MASH technology and TonePrint editing. This polyphonic pitch shifter can be quite useful in many styles, from country and southern rock to metal.
The TC Electronic Quintessence harmony pedal is capable of some serious sonic movement. It generates intelligent two-voice harmonies over your playing, with full creative control offered by TC's TonePrint app for creating your own custom settings.
- Latching and Momentary modes
- Pressure responsive expression footswitch
- Intelligent harmony pedal
Features
- Designed and engineered in Denmark
- Latching and Momentary modes
- Pressure responsive expression footswitch
- Intelligent harmony pedal
- Dual voiced
Review
Thanks to the MASH technology, the TC Electronic Quintessence Harmony pedal allows you to bend harmonized notes without moving a finger. And with TC Electronic’s proprietary TonePrint technology, you can choose exotic scales and custom intervals for harmonies.
Using this pedal couldn’t be easier. The MASH footswitch gives you a powerful expressive tool without needing an extra expression pedal. The MASH switch default settings bend your harmonized note to the next interval within the scale.
In TonePrint mode, you can assign MASH to control just about any aspect of this stompbox, including custom scale steps above and below the original harmony.
This allows you to switch between two intervals without touching any knobs and lets you do fluid pedal steel bends that would make Nashville proud.
With this pedal, you can quickly toggle between standard latch mode and momentary mode for on-the-spot improvised harmonizing. This is great for a little extra boost whenever you need it. Overall, the Quintessence Harmony is a fantastic pitch shifter pedal and one of the best in the market today.
7. Eventide H949 Harmonizer
The H949 is
It was popularized by Led Zeppelin’s legendary guitarist Jimmy Page as his only piece of gear that was fully digital. Today, the H949 Harmonizer remains one of the best pitch shifter pedals.
Spice up your guitar solos with delayed reverse sweeps, morph a solo vocalist into a group of backup singers or send synths down flanged-out dub-holes to another sonic dimension.
- Multi-effects Harmonizer with de-glitching
- Micropitch for small pitch intervals
- Includes digital delay, pitch changer
Features
- Multi-effects Harmonizer with de-glitching
- Micropitch for small pitch intervals
- Includes digital delay, pitch changer
- Randomized and reversed delays
- H949 Dual for stereo widening and doubling
Review
The H949 Harmonizer combines digital delay, a pitch changer, and an all-around special effects unit. This pedal allows you to create perfect harmonies, custom musical intervals, and even otherworldly and outlandish effects.
A variety of instrumentalists can also use it. You can fatten snares, de-tune synths, spread guitars, and create elaborate vocals to spice up your mix.
The H949 allows you to beef up your guitar solos with a delayed reverse sweep, morph a solo vocalist into a group of backing singers, or send synths into a flanged-out black hole of noise.
This pitch shifter pedal features the H949 engine, which uses a proprietary autocorrelation algorithm to make intelligent splicing decisions. However, you can “simplify” the algorithm by selecting a simple crossfade algorithm that results in characteristic glitching.
The H949 Harmonizer is also available as a plug-in compatible with Windows 8+ and macOS 10.9+. This plug-in version offers a 30-day demo completely free.
It is a classic pitch shifter pedal that has stood the test of time and found its way into the DAWs of many producers and engineers, expanding its usability beyond the realm of instrumentalists and into the studio.
FAQ
What Do Pitch Shifter Pedals Do?
Pitch shifter pedals are a class of frequency pedals that work by raising or lowering the signal’s harmonic content. This opens up a world of colorful possibilities for guitar players, allowing them to reach notes that would otherwise be physically impossible.
They are capable of harmonies and octaves, but a good pitch shifter will allow you to create everything from truly warped and out-there sounds to more subtle doubling and chorus effects.
Where Should A Pitch Shifter Go In The Chain?
Frequency effects, like pitch shifters, are often placed near the front of your chain/pedal board. While it is not a set-in-stone rule, most guitarists prefer this setup as it guarantees a clean input signal, which means fewer tracking glitches and issues.
Wrapping Up
We hope this guide has helped aid your search for the best pitch shifter pedals. Before you head out, you might want to also check out our roundup of the 7 best octave pedals on the market!