Digitech

The
craze for extreme divebombing that
began in the 80s meant everyone wanted
the tuning stability and string-dumping performance of
a double-locking Floyd Rose. If that meant chopping
holes in a vintage Les Paul Custom in order to fit one,
well tough. Aping a revving dragster sound, such as on
the intro of Mötley Crüe’s Kickstart My Heart, was
apparently much more important than worrying about
wrecking the tone and value of a classic.
Launched in 1991, the DigiTech Whammy allowed
owners of hardtail guitars to emulate the sound of a
Floyd-loaded rock behemoth without routing out their
pride and joy. More importantly, the pedal became a
trademark of aural terrorists such as ex-White Stripe
Jack White and Tom Morello. The latter used his
Whammy for the extreme bends and squeals on Rage
Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name and Like A
Stone with Audioslave.
The latest incarnation of the Ferrari-red Whammy is
the DT, a pimped polyphonic version with a
smorgasbord of harmony and drop tuning modes.
You’d think the Whammy’s brilliant reputation would
place it automatically in pole position, but the more
affordable and equally polyphonic Morpheus Bomber
is looming large in its rear view mirror. The race is on.
It’s time to put our foot down and get to it.
OCTOBER 2011 165
GEAR HEAD TO HEAD
TGR219.gear_hd2hd.indd 165 8/15/11 2:10:43 PM