Should Electro-Harmonix make a dedicated 'swell/attack' pedal like that of the POG2?

[yawnocfonayr19]

I thought I would just see if there was anyone else out there who thought that Electro-Harmonix should come out with a pedal dedicated to making the 'attack' effect that their POG2 pedal creates.

Recently went in search of a pedal that did it as well as the POG, but all that I tried did not succeed.

If they were to make a pedal in their nano-line, that simply did the swell effect, I rekon they would get a lot of buyers - especially considering the amount of forums posts I read of people trying to find a pedal that makes that kind of sound!

So does anyone out there agree with me? Would you buy such a pedal? And more importantly, how do we get the word to Electro-Harmonix so they will perhaps consider building such a pedal??

Fire away! Please =)

EDIT: I thought I might add that for those of you who dont know, the effect Im referring to that the POG2 makes is NOT a standard volume swell sound. It isnt like using the volume on your guitar or a volume pedal to create swells. If it was, then yes, I could just use either of those. The POG@ creates an extremely unique sound that no other pedal or device can replicate (hence why I started this poll/thread) and therefore why I think it would be awesome if EHX came out with a single pedal that did it.
There seems to be some people not quite understanding what I was getting at by starting this thread, so just thought I'd add that! to try clear it up! Cheers!

 

[steven.rogers]

Did you try the Malekko AD? I've never used that or a POG2, just curious.

 

[yawnocfonayr19]

Did you try the Malekko AD? I've never used that or a POG2, just curious.

I did try the Malekko...but just like the VFE Bumblebee, Guyatone SV-2 and Guyatone SmV5 - it didnt go a very good job! In fact I found the Malekko to be the worst..
I know there are other larger pedals out there that can possibly do it as well, but thats just the thing, they are large and expensive, and arent dedicated to just that effect.
Need just one small pedal that does the job that is cheap and simple and sounds awesome!

 

[dwolfggc]

I've never used a POG2, is it like a Boss Slow Gear? Kind of an auto volume swell effect?

 

[yawnocfonayr19]

I've never used a POG2, is it like a Boss Slow Gear? Kind of an auto volume swell effect?

I've never tried the Slow Gear (they're so expensive and hard to come by). But yes, the POG2 has an 'attack' feature which creates a volume swelling effect. Makes your guitar sound like a violin/cello. But its the way that i reacts to your playing thats so unique, its completely differnt (and soo much better) than any other 'volume swell' type pedals out there. Very hard to explain/describe without you playing it yourself.
Plus it also affects your original tone so it doesnt sound like a guitar being swelled, it sounds like a bowed instrument, no need for other effects to emulate try that

 

[seiko]

Make it one of your presets on the POG2?

 

[yawnocfonayr19]

Make it one of your presets on the POG2?

Already do! I use it on 4 of my presets!
But I wanted another pedal for my left side (Im running my rig in stereo) to JUST do the attack effect without having to buy another POG, because thats all I needed from it - but I ended up having to buy one anyway.
Therefore I was much more out of pocket than I wanted, and have less board real-estate because of it.
So you can understand why it would be awesome to just have a single pedal that did that effect

 

[ERGExplorer]

Forgive what may be an unconventional view of the POG/HOG family.

I always thought of them as being dedicated reverb units, with one reverb, several pitch-shifting units with variable levels being fed into the reverb, and one control which controls wet/dry, and feedback, depending which section of the attack/decay continuum it's on. One can also choose to have just the dry signal, or to send that dry signal through the reverb tank. There's also a global EQ/filter, and other things when you look at the HOG.

Since it's a pitch shifter, and then a global reverb, there's no problem with polyphony.

I used to use my Verbzilla for that same orchestral attack smear, setting the effect for 100% wet. (It would be hard to believe I'm the only one who has done this.)

So, any reverb pedal could conceivably be a dedicated "swell/attack" pedal.

Just a few thoughts!

 

[dwolfggc]

I've never tried the Slow Gear (they're so expensive and hard to come by). But yes, the POG2 has an 'attack' feature which creates a volume swelling effect. Makes your guitar sound like a violin/cello. But its the way that i reacts to your playing thats so unique, its completely differnt (and soo much better) than any other 'volume swell' type pedals out there. Very hard to explain/describe without you playing it yourself.
Plus it also affects your original tone so it doesnt sound like a guitar being swelled, it sounds like a bowed instrument, no need for other effects to emulate try that

The slow gear is hard to come by but there are many clones available, however you said you already tried the VFE Bumble bee which is Slow Gear clone so I guess that's not what you're looking for.

I just watched a demo of the POG2 and the attack slider seemed to be fading in the octaves and not effecting the dry signal is that right?

Edit: aah, now i see the "dry fx" button sets what the attack slider effects

 

[Bartimaeus]

Try using a volume pedal. It's obviously more difficult, but once you get the hand of it you have far more control than ANY AD pedal gives.

 

[yawnocfonayr19]

Forgive what may be an unconventional view of the POG/HOG family.

I always thought of them as being dedicated reverb units, with one reverb, several pitch-shifting units with variable levels being fed into the reverb, and one control which controls wet/dry, and feedback, depending which section of the attack/decay continuum it's on. One can also choose to have just the dry signal, or to send that dry signal through the reverb tank. There's also a global EQ/filter, and other things when you look at the HOG.

Since it's a pitch shifter, and then a global reverb, there's no problem with polyphony.

I used to use my Verbzilla for that same orchestral attack smear, setting the effect for 100% wet. (It would be hard to believe I'm the only one who has done this.)

So, any reverb pedal could conceivably be a dedicated "swell/attack" pedal.

Just a few thoughts!

Althought I havent used a HOG, I have tried reverb pedals in such a way, but its still no substitute for the POG. It doesnt really even get close haha =)

 

[yawnocfonayr19]

Try using a volume pedal. It's obviously more difficult, but once you get the hand of it you have far more control than ANY AD pedal gives.

This seems to be the most common response on all of the forums posts that I read when searching for an alternative.
But the thing is, if using a volume pedal was the answer, then the hunt for a pedal like this wouldnt exist! lol

 

[Lolasaurus]

Forgive what may be an unconventional view of the POG/HOG family.

I always thought of them as being dedicated reverb units, with one reverb, several pitch-shifting units with variable levels being fed into the reverb, and one control which controls wet/dry, and feedback, depending which section of the attack/decay continuum it's on. One can also choose to have just the dry signal, or to send that dry signal through the reverb tank. There's also a global EQ/filter, and other things when you look at the HOG.

Since it's a pitch shifter, and then a global reverb, there's no problem with polyphony.

Dunno what you're talking about.
But one reason the OP said something to the effect of "they just sound better" is because (at least on the HOG - which I have, but I assume the pog is the same), it generates a pitch shifted signal doubled at unison. Almost everyone everywhere has referred to this sound as thin and undesirable; I do, OP I guess doesn't. But with virtually any effect afterwards it gets masked, including ADSR effects.
This is probably why simple ADSR effects like the Slo gear (which you can do dirt cheap DIY clones of btw) don't do it for you.
The HOG(/POG2 also I think) replaces/mocks the guitar dry signal with a synth signal, which sounds totally different.
It's extremely evident on the HOG; POG2 might just be a little more subtle, but I think that's why no other pedal will do it for you.

cf. Pigtronix's Philosopher King vs their Mothership.

 

[twoeyedrob]

This seems to be the most common response on all of the forums posts that I read when searching for an alternative.
But the thing is, if using a volume pedal was the answer, then the hunt for a pedal like this wouldnt exist! lol

Personally I find the attack on the Pog2 to seem fake. It's great in concept but sounds almost unnatural compared to simply using a VP.

 

[yawnocfonayr19]

Personally I find the attack on the Pog2 to seem fake. It's great in concept but sounds almost unnatural compared to simply using a VP.

Well that is true, IF the sound you are after is a guitar being swelled.
If however you are chasing a unique sound, that sounds more like a bowed instrument - a cello for example - then a volume pedal will most likely not do the trick. Especially not on its own anyway, you would need other effects or tricks to get that sound.
Not the mention the way the POG reacts to your playing is very unique and completely different to any other 'swelling' pedal on the market, and again, is different to a volume pedal.

I should have put a disclamier, that this effect is not for those who want to recreate the sound/effect of a volume pedal, but rather those who want to create their own new sounds and effects with the unique tone that the POG2 gives - and that ONLY the POG2 gives. But in a smaller enclosue and just that effect by itself

 

[Bill Ruppert]

They did make one a long time ago!

 

[yawnocfonayr19]

I did not know that! Thats really cool.
Unfortunately doesnt solve the space issue, and Im sure they wouldnt be easy to come by! But still very cool!
I'm sure you werent showing this as to provide an alternative anyway =)

 

[Bill Ruppert]

FWIW The Microsynth has attack delay.
If you use the guitar slider it is polyphonic...

 

[drolling]

Forgive what may be an unconventional view of the POG/HOG family.

I always thought of them as being dedicated reverb units

Hey, I've been checking this thread because I'm also blown away by the extra 'bells & whistles' on my POG2. I didn't realize how much mileage I'd get out of them when i first got the pedal. Purchased as a replacement for my old DigiTech Whammy, it does so much more than I expected. Like the OP, I often run it just for the EQ/filter options, without any pitch shifting effects

But, no matter how I set any of the controls, I've never heard anything remotely like reverb (or delay) coming out of POG2 (or any pitch shifter I've owned, IIRC). Probably a dumb question, but what am I missing here?

 

[FuzzGazer]

DOD FX15

Very rare though.