A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Whammy Technology!
The new HammerOn pedal is like having seven pedals in one, and there’s a lot to unpack, so bear with me.
In HammerOn mode, the namesake of the pedal, you can achieve hands-free hammer-ons using your feet instead of your fingers. By stepping on the pitch 1 with your foot you can instantly jump the pitch to any selectable pitch. The pitch jumps back when you stop pressing the footswitch., think of it as a natural extension of your fingerboard over a four-octave range. It goes a step further with the trill button; when activated, stepping on the pitch button allows the HammerOn to produce a “trill” between the two notes at a selectable speed, resulting in entirely new sounds. Ultimately, the only limit is your imagination! Now add the dry guitar in and the HammerOn becomes a HarmonyOn.
The Impossible mode, inspired by Digitech artist Adrian Belew (read more about his amazing career in the artist spotlight in this newsletter) and his iStomp signature “Impossible” pedal, lets you alternate between 2 selectable pitches. Every time you step on the pedal, it alternates between the two pitches, allowing you to add complexity play seemingly impossible riffs.
One of our most requested features is a “Capo” pedal. The HammerOn can latch and capo/drop your guitar’s pitch up to a full octave, allowing for Nashville tuning, or drop it down an octave, lowering the overall pitch without the need to retune. What sets this apart is the ability to use multiple tunings within a single song. You could switch from a capo’d octave (octave up) to a 7-string (drop 5) tuning in the same song or change tunings just by stepping on the pedal for the next song—no need to switch guitars.
Sequence mode is my favorite. Imagine combining 2, 3, or even 5-note sequences of any notes you want, spanning a range of 2 octaves up to 2 octaves down, to create a cycling pattern. If you activate the trill feature, the sequence will automatically cycle through the notes, turning it into a techno guitar sequencer. You can also add DRY+ to incorporate your original note into the mix, enabling the creation of new killer harmony riffs or song patterns in an expressive way.
We are just scratching the surface of what this pedal can do. The HammerOn is scheduled to hit stores in March, and we are super excited to see all the amazing riffs and solos that will come from this incredible pedal.