The Beetronics Swarm is an analog fuzz harmonizer pedal: a fuzz, an octave effect and a pitch-shifting voice built into one box. Instead of tracking your note digitally, it takes your input signal, turns it into a square wave, and then multiplies and divides that frequency, giving nine possible harmonies in two differing octaves. Pedal of the Day's reviewer described the result as "sounding like a thousand killer bees coming to get you," and summed it up as a pedal that "takes fuzz, distortion and octave flavorings, tosses them into a sonic blender and spits them back out."1
What it does
The Swarm's approach is different from a digital harmonizer or an octave and pitch pedal. Because the input is converted to a square wave and the frequency is then multiplied and divided, the harmonies come from the same analog process that gives the pedal its fuzz and distortion character. The two are inseparable: the harmonies and the fuzz texture arrive together.1
Controls
The controls are simple, and the input level is the heart of it: Beetronics describes the Swarm as a fuzz harmonizer that turns the input signal into a square wave, "sounding like a thousand killer bees coming to get you"1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Worker | Sets your input signal level1 |
Because Worker sets the level feeding the square wave conversion, it is the control that shapes how the whole pedal responds to your playing.1
How it compares
Beetronics builds several pedals around fuzz and octave ideas, and the Swarm sits among them as the harmonizer of the family. The Royal Jelly pairs fuzz with overdrive, the OctaHive is a high octave buzz, and the WhoctaHell is a low octave fuzz. The Swarm is the one that multiplies and divides the frequency itself, producing harmonies in two octaves rather than a single fixed octave.1
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day reviewed the Swarm in August 2020 and came away treating it as an instrument in its own right rather than a set-and-forget effect:
"Best played by instinct, with a dash of trail-and-error, this pedal will have you re-writing your musical journey for years to come1."
The same review opened by calling it "another wonderful, awesomely-noisy creation from our friends at Beetronics."1
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Questions
Is the Beetronics Swarm analog or digital?
The Swarm is an analog pedal. Rather than pitch-tracking your note digitally, it converts the input signal into a square wave and then multiplies and divides that frequency, which is what produces its nine possible harmonies in two differing octaves along with its fuzz and distortion character.
What does the Worker control do on the Beetronics Swarm?
Worker sets your input signal level. Because the Swarm turns whatever you feed it into a square wave, the level arriving at that stage shapes how the harmonies and fuzz respond, making Worker the place to start when dialing in the pedal.
Sources (1)
- Beetronics Swarm Analog Fuzz Harmonizer, Pedal of the Day, 2020-09-01
