Bigsby-Style Pitch Shifting Pedal

Gamechanger Audio collaborates with Bigsby and Fender for a polyphonic pitchshifter   22-Apr-22

Gamechanger Audio tells us that their latest product, the BIGSBY Pedal, is now available online and across all dealer channels. They say that the BIGSBY Pedal is a polyphonic pitch shifting pedal with a revolutionary design capable of reproducing the feel and sound of the classic Bigsby tremolo arm and much more.

The pedal features Rate, Blend, Tone, and Depth controls, plus an Invert switch on the back panel to change the pitch shift direction, while the Detune parameter is designed to mimic the imperfections and dissonant properties of traditional mechanical string-bending hardware. The BIGSBY Pedal is also equipped with an external Footswitch Input to turn on Latching Mode as well as an Expression Output that allows you to use the BIGSBY as a spring-loaded EXP controller for other audio devices. The BIGSBY also offers full MIDI CC and PC control over all parameters, including preset recalling, and clock syncing.  Gamechanger Audio believes that these MIDI capabilities make the BIGSBY Pedal a versatile tool for any musician. Here's more details from them...

The new pedal is being released in close collaboration with Fender - the Bigsby brand's parent company. The partnership began in the summer of 2019 when Gamechanger Audio approached Fender with the idea to create a Bigsby-style pitch-shifting pedal. This idea was born out of a long-standing admiration for the BIGSBY system's unique feel, sound, and design. Gamechanger Audio's main goal was to develop a powerful new algorithm to offer Bigsby tones digitally while keeping the pedal's interface as close as possible to Paul Bigsby's timeless hardware design.

In March 2021, Gamechanger Audio announced a pre-order round for the BIGSBY Pedal, and the first 1000 units have already been shipped to customers. Now the new BIGSBY Pedal is available for everyone.

Unique ALGORITHM and INTERFACE
Powered by the formidable SHARC® Audio Processor, the BIGSBY Pedal runs a hybrid algorithm specifically developed by Gamechanger Audio to achieve smooth polyphonic real-time pitch-shifting at low intervals. The proprietary algorithm has been painstakingly tweaked to preserve the natural timbre and sound of electric and acoustic string instruments, including guitars, baritone, and bass guitars, mandolins, banjos, etc.

Another key component of the BIGSBY Pedal's sound is the Detune parameter, a carefully crafted emulation of traditional mechanical string-bending hardware's imperfections and dissonant properties. As a result, the vibrato effects produced by the BIGSBY Pedal are almost indistinguishable from those of the mechanical tremolo arm.
     
The unique spring-loaded foot-pedal design opens up a world of new strumming patterns and bend combinations allowing beautiful lap-steel and slide-inspired licks that cannot be achieved with traditional tremolo systems.

The BIGSBY Pedal is always "on" – the only thing you need to do to activate it is to step on the foot-pedal. The algorithm ensures that transitions between the dry and wet (pitched) signals are as smooth as possible, enabling you to seamlessly incorporate pitch-bends into complex picking patterns and lead and melodic lines.

Pricing and Availability:

313 Euros.

More information:

• BIGSBY Pedal