A Cool Breeze
The Freeze is an intuitive, what-you-see-is-what-you-get unit. For starters, there’s a 3-position switch for selecting Fast, Slow, or Latch mode.
In Fast mode, the Freeze will begin sustaining your signal the moment
the footswitch is pressed and hold that sound until the footswitch is
released. In Slow mode, the captured signal fades in gradually and then
sustains until you release the footswitch, at which time it slowly fades to
silence. Following a simple process described in the manual, you set the
length of this fade by selecting one of three preset durations.
In Latch mode, the captured sound sustains even when the footswitch
is released, allowing you to capture and sustain additional sounds. A
double-tap on the footswitch kills the effect. This mode is particularly
useful for creating seamless and sustained chord progressions.
The pedal’s last control, the Effect Level knob, sets the volume of the
sustained signal. While most Electro-Harmonix pedals are true bypass,
the Freeze’s circuitry requires a high-quality buffered bypass. And unlike
most compact stompboxes, the Freeze does not offer the option of
9-volt operation—it’s power supply or nothing.
194 PREMIER GUITAR NOVEMBER 2010
Feeling the Chill
I started in by using a humbucker-equipped Gibson SG to sustain a sim-
ple chord on the Freeze’s Fast mode. As the mode suggests, the effect
is immediate and it is also strikingly cool. EHX has designed the effect
so that there is no digital popping sound when the effect engages and
there are no repetitive undulations or audible loop points while the effect
remains engaged. The sustain is steady and constant, like a constantly
bowed cello. Having an interest in computer-based sound design, I can
say that this effect wouldn’t be easy to reproduce, even on a sophisti-
cated sound-design platform.
Locking a single note into the pedal in Slow mode produces a musical
swell and an even more gradual fade out. This mode is really going to
appeal to slow jammers, shoegazers, soundscape-building balladeers,
and psychedelic junkies seeking spacey lead textures.
The Verdict
From subtle to radical, the Freeze is a device that inspires creative
playing without being gimmicky. The performance possibilities—from
filling naked space in a band arrangement to hardcore freakouts—are
intriguing. But even if you don’t intend to record or play live with the
Freeze, you’ll find it’s a great tool for composing music and harmony by
yourself. EHX has executed this effect with such simplicity, it’s bound to
appeal to players and tweakers of all genres and abilities.
RATING:
BUY IF…
you haven’t yet figured out a way to clone yourself.
SKIP IF…
you prefer not to use cool effects to
enhance your playing.
Electro-Harmonix
Street $120
www.ehx.com
REAL MCCOY CUSTOM
RMC8-GUITAR EQWAHLYZER
By Steve Ouimette
Anyone who has searched for the perfect wah pedal is probably familiar
with RMC and Geoffrey Teese. Teese is a hardcore wah fanatic, and it
shows in RMC’s impressive lineup of nine wah pedals.
The RMC8-Guitar Eqwahlyzer is modeled on the benchmark tone of
mid-’60s, Italian-built Vox wahs. But it adds a pair of sweep contours
and a 5-band graphic EQ to optimize the wah’s voice for different playing styles and gear.
www.premierguitar.com
Glitter and Control
Packaged in a new, longer shell, the true bypass RMC8 is finished in a
cool multi-sparkle graphite grey that’s a dead ringer for my ’70s banana
