Whammy II Reissue

Sound's great! I've heard it on albums and during live concerts by Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave and Radiohead. I also own a Digitech RP21 (multieffect) which has a whammy built-in. This is the reason I started using the whammy effect for my music. The Whammy II however is much better built and the sound it also more direct and more convincing. Mindblowing sound on solo's but don't play chords with this effect, cause it's not meant for that. When playing more notes than one, a twitchy soundeffect is heard. However, being somewhat of an experimentalist I love this side effect (Radiohead takes advantage of this side effect on their album OK Computer).

It's metal all the way, so very sturdy. There is a little plastic thingy underneath the pedal though, but it seems no problem. I trust this pedal to last and I use it on gigs without a backup.

It has a stompbutton (on/off), a knob (to select the effect) and an expression pedal. Very easy to use. But if you're not used to this kind of effect it may take some time to master. The tiny manual is cute but not very indepth. However the pedal works very intuitively so you don't really need it.

I don't have very good things to say about Digitech support for repairs on another effect (RP21) some years ago. I was left months without it. So I decided to do all my future repairs myself, which I am fortunate to be able to do.

It's rather expensive, but totally worth it. You won't find anything like this anywhere. If you do: please give me a call ;-) Too bad it doesn't work on bateries or a standard adapter: you can only use a special Digitech adapter. I have been using whammy for eight years, mainly in experimental and rock music. My favorite feature is the 2 octave up whammy, which I use all the time. I also like the harmonist functions (where for instance pedal up is 5th, pedal down is 4th) and I was surprised by the good quality sounding detune functions (shallow or deep chorus like sound).

Noisy. When it's on. (When it works the effects sound pretty cool) I've tried it with a few different amps. Marshall JCM 800, Yamaha G100, Fender Twin, POD. It would seem that if you can get the pedal to stay on, you can get some Satriani/Morello/Vai type sounds with the Whammy and some Trey like Octave effects with the harmonizer. It's just really frustrating to dial in a cool sound, start to get going and Snap,crackle, pop,.... nuthin'  

When I tried to take it out to play with my group it would work for a few minutes then make a sick noise and turn off cutting my signal to the amps. No way I would use this thing on a live gig that mattered. 

I got this pedal (Whammy II) a number of years ago. I was so excited to get it. I took it out of the box and that's when the problems began. For starters, the power supply started shorting out so the unit wouldn't stay on. when i would check the connection, it would make a crackling sound and inevitably turn off. Since I live in Salt Lake City, I thought I would just take it over to them. So I did. They had it for approximatly three weeks. After a few calls (they hadn't gotten to it yet)they told me to come and pick it up. When I inquired as to the nature of the problem, they told me that they couldn't find anything wrong with it.(!)It was under warranty so no charge. So I took it home, plugged it in (straight from guitar to pedal to amp-clean) and whaddaya know.... same exact problems. (*So now where do I send it??) The unit began making noise and shorting out immediately. Frustrated,  I tried one of my other (DOD) adapters. Same issue. (The switches also stick.) So I put it away in a cupboard in my studio. I couldn't even feel good about selling it. Once in awhile over the years I would pull it out and try it. If I positioned the power supply wire just so..I could keep it on- momentarily. Sometimes through an entire song! So why write about it now ? I am interested in a loop sampler ie the Jam Man. I've never bought another piece of digitech gear since. I've most certainly been very interested in many of their other products. I just can't seem to roll the dice with them again. I think this is a shame since I would love to support a local business. So it's frustrating. I've been playing for 30 years and have owned many, many, pedals, rack effects, guitar synths,amps, modelers etc. (so it's not a newbie issue)I've never had another experience like this with any product that I've ever purchased. Re: the manual I think it was fine. The concept is really easy but the thing's got to stay on.      It's easy to use when it stays on. In terms of sound quality I've always thought that it was noisy. I don't believe it's been upgraded.

The folks at Digitech were super friendly. They just didn't fix the pedal. They were courteous and seemed willing to help.

rock, blues, jazz, fusion,classical, playing for 30 years I wouldn't buy another. Even if it worked in the store. I'm just a little jaded from the experience.

ok, here's where my problem comes in... my setup is : Ibanez EDR470 -> Digitech Whammy -> ZOOM GFX5 -> Randall /75 Watt amp.. (i dont know the exact specs off by heart..) and I got my dad to buy me the whammy when he was in the states (i live in switzerland) and the first day i played with it with my band, it was awesome! but the second day (today) for some reason when i would play more than one string at a time with the pedal pushed down (effect on) it would make this crispy sound and like kindof fuzz and do tiny changes in tone like half a semitone, which is barely noticeable, but as i say, barely so u still notice is when ur amp is out full blast....... so n e help with that n e one?

well it would seem it let me down after 2 days, and me living in switzerland and it being baught in the states, i'm not gna be able to get it repaired if it is indeed a problem with something in it.. so thats why im not gonna grade it very high.. it says beside the 1 "think it worked once" and yeah its the case!

ok well i'm quite late in this review, no one will even read it i'm betting, but the ease of use couldent be easyer... for anyone who has a problem with working this pedal their a real moron, and can't possibly play guitar if they cant co-ordinate little red lights to tell you which effect you'r on, and if a pedal is bent down or not lol... so ya ease of use is brilliant, couldent be better!

well i havnt had time to try them yet, im sure their very efficient considering i havnt heard one single bad point about them, in fact i havnt heard all that much about em at all which means that most people dont need em, but i think i do..

well I play Muse (alot) and the GFX 5 with the Whammy both together make an incredible team! i also like the heavier stuff like system, rage, some slipknot, as long as u dont have to go drop c on every string! the whammy is really good, i'm sure i must have gotten a faulty one, cuz only very few people seem to have my problem... but i know it comes from the whammy as i'v tried it through 2 different guitars and 2 different amps without the ZooM GFX5 so it must be the whammy... please give me some help or advice if n e one can!