Digitech Drop
Lets you play songs without down-tuning.
£135 at andertons.co.uk | £133 at thomann.com
If you are a fan of Tom Morello and Jack White, the Digitech Whammy is a must-have, but it is not exactly pedalboard friendly. The Whammy also doesn’t offer to detune every semitone in an octave. Want to play some System of a Down, but can’t be bothered to drop tune? Your band plays a couple of songs in different tunings, but you don’t want to carry multiple guitars? The Digitech Drop is your answer. This tiny pedal opens a whole world of possibilities for practising and gigging musicians alike.
The Drop is very simple to operate. Set how many semitones to detune and select whether you want the effect to be momentary or toggle between on/off. That’s it. You are ready to play your favourite drop-tuning songs without changing the guitar or having to re-tune. This is especially useful, since you don’t need to use heavy-gauge strings for drop-C and lower.
How good is the sound quality? It’s excellent! You might be able to tell that something artificial is happening if you choose the lowest tuning options, but it is basically impossible to tell in a mix of other instruments. Digitech have been making pitch-shifting pedals since 1989 and no other company does it better. The tracking algorithm in the Digitech Drop is exactly the same as that in the Whammy V. The good news is that once you add some reverb and overdrive, the artificial qualities of the tone disappear almost completely. I would not use it for a recording, but while gigging or practising - nobody will hear the difference. Keep in mind though, that if you are playing quietly at home, the unamplified sound of your electric guitar will clash with the drop-tuned effect. There is no way around that unfortunately, other than turning up your amp.
There is a slight processing delay when the pedal is engaged. I can only notice it when playing really fast at a volume where my unamplified guitar is audible. I don’t notice it when playing with a band. Again, there isn’t really an alternative that will do it better and your audience will not notice either.
The OCT+DRY setting pairs nicely with a fuzz pedal too! The drop requires a clean signal to function properly, so you might have to find a fuzz that sounds good with a buffered signal – a Big Muff works well. It is a bit of a shame that you cannot control the blend of the dry and octave sound though – your only option is a 50/50 mix. An “octave up” setting would also have been great for Hendrix-inspired riffs. Given the price and quality of the pedal though, it’s hard to complain.
The momentary switch mode allows for a very creative effect. It can be used if the drop tuning is required for a very short time, like a break in a song or just a few notes. You can also use it to produce a sort of stuttering effect, reminiscent of a killswitch.
The build quality of the Digitech Drop is excellent. It is compact, sturdy, and the firm knob clicks reassuringly every time you change the tuning.
If you are looking for a drop-tuning guitar pedal, there aren’t many competitors to consider. The Electro-Harmonix Pitchfork is the only other option with a similar footprint. It has a lot more features – you can set the blend of the wet/dry signal and you can change the pitch both up and down. The EHX Pitchfork is, however, slightly more expensive and doesn’t sound quite as good as the Drop. You could also consider the Whammy DT. It is quite a bit bigger and more expensive, but will offer way more functionality in addition to the same sound quality.
Bottom Line
The Digitech Drop is an amazing pedal from a company with a long track record of making pitch-shifting guitar pedals. If you ever want to play down-tuned songs, it is an absolutely essential tool for practising, gigging and even recording. It will save you so much time and money while letting you focus on actually playing your favourite songs.