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Electro Harmonix is definitely best known for their overdrives and other, more ‘practical' effects pedals. However, this old brand produces some of the best modulation stompboxes on the market. One such pedal that definitely deserves respect is their Pitch Fork octave effect. In short, this is one of the most versatile, quality made octave pedals you can get.
The gizmo's ability to keep up with the player is pretty impressive considering that tracking is generally an issue with this type of modulation effect. We're going to introduce you to this legend, and maybe you will find the answer to what was missing in your signal chain.
In terms of exterior design, we are looking at the standard Electro Harmonix rugged enclosure that is left unpainted for the most part. Not everyone likes the aesthetics this brand has been pushing for decades, but we definitely do. This thing is built like a tank.
You can stomp on it all you have to and it will keep driving that octave like nothing happened. Control layout is somewhat complex, but ultimately very intuitive for use. The pedal is powered by your standard configuration which either includes a single 9V battery, or a dedicated power adapter.
This is where things get a bit interesting. There are two knobs and two switches to work with. First knob is your standard blend control that controls the volume of the octave effect. The second knob is where you choose the type of octave you want.
There are three full octaves available, along with 8 specific transposition intervals. That alone is pretty impressive, but there is more. Underneath the two knobs, you can find a three-way switch. This allows you to choose whether you want to select the upper octave, lower octave, or both. Underneath that switch is the latch switch that puts the pedal into hold-to-activate mode – a feature that a lot of performing guitarists find useful.
In terms of performance, Pitch Fork is about as good as it gets. The quality of those layered octaves is just superb. Even if you start playing several tones at the same time, the pedal will keep up just fine for the most part. Naturally, if you start pushing the limit there will be some issues. However, that is not something only Pitch Fork as to deal with, but the whole octave effect family as well.
At the end of the day, Electro Harmonix Pitch Fork is up there among the most powerful and practical octave pedals currently available. We are talking the type of pedal you would be comfortable using on a large stage for a large performance.
Pitch Fork brings just the right amount of features that are not overwhelming, but rather useful in most scenarios you can think of. It's not the cheapest model on the market, however the price is more than reasonable in this case. A lot of seasoned professionals trust this very model to get them the performance they require, so you definitely don't have to worry about it under-performing.
For more info about the Electro Harmonix Pitch Fork, click here.
For more Octave Pedal Currently On The Market, click here.
Fabricio says
In your opinion, what is the best one to simulate a bass?
You must think about tracking (very important), output and tone before answer this question.