freeze

Freeze is an effect that captures and sustains a note or chord indefinitely, holding it as a drone or pad while the player continues playing¹². Pedals such as the Electro-Harmonix Freeze Sound Retainer can hold chords to free the hands, create subtle drones like an electronic shruti box, or produce glitchy stutter effects in fast momentary mode². The sustained sound works as backing for playing or as a platform for manipulating tone into new sounds, and it is often run through other effects like wah, tremolo, or delay to build thick soundscapes¹³. Freeze-type effects also appear as modes or features in reverbs, delays, and other pedals, where they produce long-sustaining held reverbs or regenerative, pad-like textures⁴⁵⁶.