and also does duty as the Fall Time control. Finally there is the Mode
knob that selects algorithms consisting of Minor and Major for the
keys, Pitch Shifter, Detune, and S-Bend (Boss’ abbreviation for Super
Bend) modes.
Let the Games Begin
Going directly into Pro Tools, I fired up the pedal with a TH1 amp modeler and used a Hamer Korina Special for my guitar in all tests. The first
setting I tried was the S-Bend mode. In this mode, you use the Rise
Time and Fall Time knobs to determine how long it takes for the note
to reach its pitch. Pressing down on the footswitch shifts the pitch of
the notes, and when you release the footswitch, the notes either climb
or drop to the actual notes you’re playing—an effect not unlike the radical pitch-shift craziness you can get out of a Digi Tech Whammy pedal.
This was a blast. In S-Bend mode, by tapping on the switch I was able
to create ultra-wide and dramatic sweeps up to notes for solos, as well
as a slew of crazy effects.
192 PREMIER GUITAR NOVEMBER 2010
In Detune mode I was pleasantly surprised with the unusual chorus
effects the PS- 6 delivered. Using the Shift control, I was able to dial in
the style of detuning from very subtle to bold, and the unit’s Balance
control let me sneak in just a bit of chorus or really lay into it.
Click here to head online to
premierguitar.com/nov2010 or
scan this QR code with a mobile
device to access sound clips for
all of the pedals in this roundup.
Harmonizing your own lines can be an effective way to add a virtual
member to the band, or it can fall completely flat. The Harmonist is a
strong performer for most common harmonizing applications, but its
performance is not without some glitches. For example, octaves, fourths,
and fifths sound clean and strong. However, I found thirds and sixths were
slightly less clear and often produced less-than-musical digital artifacts.
That said, the Harmonist’s collection of chord inversions and harmony
types makes it a valuable pedal. Latency wasn’t bad and tracking was spot
on except for a few times when the pedal got confused on the major/
minor setting. In that case, you could hear it flipping back and forth
between major and minor thirds.
The Verdict
With the PS- 6, Boss built in a lot of features you don’t typically see in a
harmonizer pedal. And over the course of a gig, you could conceivably get
a lot of very usable and unique textures without covering the same ground
twice. More reserved players may not find much use for features like the
S-Bend mode. But if you’re looking for new ways to add dimension to any
facet of your playing, the PS- 6 packs a lot of options into a single box.
RATING:
BUY IF…
you want multiple pitch and harmony
effects in one compact pedal.
SKIP IF…
you need pristine pitch shifting of
all intervals.
Boss US
Street $149
bossus.com
ELECTRO-HARMONIX
FREEZE SOUND RETAINER
By Lyle Zaehringer
Electro-Harmonix has never been constrained by what people think a
stompbox should do. Take the Freeze Sound Retainer. Simply put, the
Freeze sustains any note or chord you play—a little like an eBow, a
piano’s sustain pedal, or even a looper, yet not quite like any of those.
The Freeze is designed to capture a moment of your playing with a tap
of your foot and extend it indefinitely. With one 3-position switch and
one knob, the Freeze is dead simple to operate, but the sonic possibilities are more than you might expect.
www.premierguitar.com
While this sound-retaining effect is amazingly innovative, Electro-Harmonix
first developed the technology for their HOG guitar-synth pedal.
Specifically, the Freeze is derived from the HOG’s Freeze Gliss function.
