DigiTech Drop – Instant Drop Tune Pedal

DigiTech unveils Drop, a dedicated polyphonic pitch shifter pedal designed for instant drop tuning.

DigiTech Drop

Related Feature:
DigiTech Bass Whammy

Drop is capable of lowering your tuning from one semitone to a full octave, allowing for quick drop-tuning without having to actually tune or change guitars.

This pedal does not mechanically change the tuning of your guitar, rather it utilizes polyphonic pitch shifting technology to transpose the sound of your guitar in real-time. It utilizes the same technology used in the Whammy DT pedal, which also carries a down-tuning feature.

The obvious downside for this method is that the “acoustic” sound of the actual strings will be different from the effected sound, but sonic dissonance will be negligible in loud band settings. Guitarists that play modern down-tuned riffs will find this pedal beneficial, while bassist can use it to get even lower sounds.

DigiTech marketing coordinator Tom Cram said, “Our new Drop pedal makes down-tuning and changing keys literally as easy as stepping on a switch. But the Drop also has cool dynamic performance capabilities by using the switch in momentary mode to add accents or trills with your feet.”

The pedal lets you set the drop tuning to 8 semitone intervals that cover a full octave down. There is also a special mode that combines the dry signal and the octave effect resulting in a 12-string style sound that is tuned an octave lower. DigiTech assures that there will be no glitching or lag when the pedal is engaged.

Another nifty feature of DigiTech Drop is the Momentary/Latching switch. When turned off, the footswitch behaves as an ordinary latching engage/disengage switch. Turning the switch on enables the “Momentary” switch mode, this will allow the effect to be enabled or disabled as long as the footswitch is held. The company describes this feature as a way to “create dazzling hammer-on and pull-off type effects”. They add, “Players can instantly get a drop in pitch of the notes they’re playing by stepping on and holding the footswitch — then releasing it to instantly go back up to pitch to add dramatic musical impact.”

Drop Effects Settings

  • Setting 1 – Transposes guitar signal down 1 semitone
  • Setting 2 – Transposes guitar signal down 2 semitones
  • Setting 3 – Transposes guitar signal down 3 semitones
  • Setting 4 – Transposes guitar signal down 4 semitones
  • Setting 5 – Transposes guitar signal down 5 semitones
  • Setting 6 – Transposes guitar signal down 6 semitones.
  • Setting 7 – Transposes guitar signal down 7 semitones
  • Setting OCT – Transposes guitar signal down 1 octave.
  • Setting OCT + DRY – Transposes guitar signal down 1 octave and adds dry signal

Drop did not just inherit the pitch shifting technology of the Whammy, it also follows the same red, black and white graphics. As with all modern pedals, this one is housed in a metal chassis designed for reliable operation and features true bypass.

The new DigiTech Drop is expected to hit the stores in July with a retail price of just under $250. For more information, head over to Digitech

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