Yet another way to control the Ring Thing’s
carrier wave is via a ¼” expression pedal
input. Did I mention that the Ring Thing is
also a polyphonic pitch shifter? The Pitch-Shift setting yields some pretty epic pitch
changes within an enormous four-octave
range (two up or two down).
One Ring to Rule Them All
The fun part of the review came, as always,
when I put the Ring Thing between my
Gibson SG and some tubes. In ring modulator mode, the Ring Thing offers endless ways
to transform your instrument into a bell or
chime of any size and shape. These are the
classic ring mod sounds, and they are executed beautifully. Dialing in the best tone to
work with your riff is simple, and pulling back
the Blend knob really lets that processed signal interact in complex ways with your unprocessed playing. The Filter knob is a great
feature because it allows you to tame some
of those unnatural high frequencies that often
accompany ring modulation synthesis.
I’ve always loved 8-bit music from 1980s
gaming consoles, so I spun the Wave knob
fully counterclockwise to the square wave
setting. The square wave is what gives
you that unmistakably digital, bit-reduced
sound—as if you’ve plugged your guitar into
an old Commodore 64 computer. Rotate the
Filter knob clockwise, and you let all the high
frequencies through—what you hear is that
buzz-saw digital fuzz distortion that’s all the
rage amongst hobbyist pedal builders. The
blend of dynamics with this fuzz is pretty
striking, and it really inspired me to play as I
would through any good amp.
To test the Ring Thing’s tremolo abilities, I
switched to the upper sideband setting, dialed
in a sine wave, cranked Blend fully clockwise
and slowed the speed of the undulations way
down. Simple, unmistakable tremolo. Because
the speed of the tremolo is determined by the
Coarse knob, you can control the speed with
an expression pedal. Tremolo happens when
your volume is being modulated with a slow
cycle anywhere from about 2Hz up to about
15Hz. The range on the Ring Thing is 0 Hz to
over 2,000 Hz. And specs like that make the
Ring Thing stand out in a crowd.
The Final Mojo
EHX has a long history of developing tools
that intersect the guitar and synthesis worlds.
Their experience in these areas makes them
particularly well positioned to offer guitarists
inspiring but practical products like the Ring
Thing. To that end, players looking to experiment and broaden their tonal horizons need
you want a timeless ring modulator with a wide range of tonal
possibilities.
Buy If...
Skip If...
you have no interest in bastardizing
your tone in glorious ways.
Electro-Harmonix
Street $210
ehx.com
CLICKHere…
or use a mobile
device to read
this QR code
to download
audio clips of the
Ring Thing at
premierguitar.com/jul2010
look no further than this pedal. Even those
who already own an expensive analog ring
modulator might find themselves preferring
the Ring Thing, because it’s so versatile you
can’t help but come up with wild new ideas
for songs, solos, and more. And really, what
else matters?
www.premierguitar.com
PREMIER GUITAR JULY 2010 205
