DigiTech HammerOn Instantaneous Pitch Shifter Pedal

Quick guide from the manual

The DigiTech HammerOn is an instantaneous pitch shifter pedal designed to add sonic complexity to guitar riffs and chord progressions. It allows for real-time pitch jumps using your feet, acting as a natural extension of your guitar playing technique. The pedal features multiple modes, including Hammer-On, Impossible, and Sequence, along with Trill and Harmony (Dry+) effects.

Setup and Connections

To get started with your HammerOn pedal, follow these steps:

• Instrument Input: Connect your guitar or instrument to the input jack using a high-quality 1/4 inch instrument cable. For best performance, place the HammerOn first in your signal chain.
• Output: Connect the output jack to your amplifier or the next pedal in your signal chain.
• Power: Connect the included 9V DC, 1.3 amp power adapter to the power input. If using a power brick, ensure it provides at least 300mA at 9V DC.

User Interface

The pedal interface allows you to control pitch and effects:

• Dry / True Bypass LED: Indicates if the dry signal is active (Red) or if the unit is in True Bypass (Blue).
• Pitch Select LEDs: An array of 16 LEDs showing the current pitch shift amount.
• Selector Knob: Used to select the pitch shift amount for PITCH 1 and PITCH 2 footswitches, and to adjust Trill speed.
• DRY+ Button: Adds the dry, unprocessed guitar signal to the pitch-shifted signal for harmony effects.
• Mode Button: Cycles through operation modes (Hammer-On, Impossible, Sequence).
• Footswitches: PITCH 1 is dedicated to the Hammer-On effect. PITCH 2 is programmable based on the selected mode.

Operation Modes

The HammerOn offers three primary modes of operation:

• Hammer-On Mode (Purple): Provides a momentary instantaneous pitch shift. PITCH 1 and PITCH 2 function as two independently selectable Hammer-On effects.
• Impossible Mode (Red): Alternates between two selectable pitch shift amounts with each press of the PITCH 2 footswitch.
• Sequence Mode (Blue/Teal/Green): Cycles through a user-definable sequence of pitch transpositions. Options include 2-note (Blue), 3-note (Teal), and 5-note (Green) sequences.

Advanced Features

Trill: Creates a rapid alteration of pitch, mimicking multiple quick presses of a footswitch. The rate can be adjusted via the Selector Knob or Tap-Tempo. To enter Tap-Tempo, hold the Trill button for 2 seconds.

Classic vs. Chords Mode: The pedal offers two algorithms. Classic mode is optimized for single-note soloing, while Chords mode is designed for bending full chords. To switch, hold the DRY+ button for 2 seconds and toggle using the DRY+ button.

Maintenance and Reset

To perform a factory reset, hold down the PITCH 1 footswitch while plugging in the power cord. Continue holding until all LEDs light up, then release and press the footswitch again. All LEDs will flash twice to confirm the reset.