The DigiTech HarmonyMan is an Intelligent Pitch Shifter guitar pedal, debuted in May 2008, designed to automatically generate live three-part guitar harmony over lead and solo playing. It does this by analyzing and remembering the guitar chord progressions you play before the solo, then choosing harmony voicings that fit that progression1. At launch it retailed for $449.99 US1.
How it works: musIQ technology
The HarmonyMan employs the same patented musIQ technology as DigiTech's Vocalist family of products, a line built for vocal harmony that had to follow changing chords in real time1. Applied to guitar, the pedal listens to the chords played before a solo, remembers the progression, and uses it to harmonize the lead lines that follow. DigiTech describes the result as ultra clean, low-latency harmonies based on one of four user-friendly shifting modes1.
A unique Key Display shows the key the HarmonyMan is currently using for harmonization. When musIQ is enabled, the display updates dynamically, and it is laid out as a "Circle of Fifths" so that musically related keys sit beside each other1.
Inputs and outputs
The rear panel carries:
- A 1/4-inch guitar input with distortion send and return, so you can place your own distortion pedal in the harmony path1
- An optional 1/4-inch guitar Sidechain input with pass-through1
- A guitar ground lift1
- Balanced stereo 1/4-inch outputs1
The distortion send and return is the notable one for players: it lets the harmony voices see the same distorted signal as your lead, rather than harmonizing a clean signal downstream of your drive pedals1.
Presets and performance use
You can pre-configure and store up to four different harmony voicings and step through them with the memory advance footswitch1. That makes it practical for a song with changing harmony sections: set the voicings at soundcheck, then advance through them from the floor.
The HarmonyMan dates from 2008 and is a discontinued part of DigiTech's line. The company's current pitch-shifting pedals, such as the DigiTech Whammy 5 and the DigiTech HammerOn Instantaneous Pitch-Shifter, approach pitch shifting differently, as interval-based harmonizers and bend pedals rather than chord-tracking harmony generators.
Where it sits among DigiTech's pitch pedals
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Questions
Does the DigiTech HarmonyMan work with chords or only single notes?
The HarmonyMan is designed to automatically generate live three-part guitar harmony over lead and solo playing by analyzing and remembering the guitar chord progressions played before the solo. That means it tracks the underlying harmony of the song rather than reacting only to single notes, which is what DigiTech's musIQ technology was built for.
What is musIQ technology?
musIQ is DigiTech's patented pitch-analysis technology, the same one used in the company's Vocalist family of vocal harmony products. In the HarmonyMan it listens to the chords you play, remembers the progression, and uses that information to choose musically appropriate harmony voicings for your lead lines.
Is the HarmonyMan stereo?
Yes. The pedal has balanced stereo 1/4-inch outputs, so you can run the harmony voice separately from your dry guitar signal to two amps or two channels of a mixer.
How many harmony presets can the HarmonyMan store?
You can pre-configure and store up to four different harmony voicings and step through them during a performance with the memory advance footswitch.
How much does the DigiTech HarmonyMan cost?
When DigiTech debuted the HarmonyMan in May 2008, it retailed for $449.99 US.
Sources (2)
- Digitech debuts the HarmonyMan Intelligent Pitch Shifter guitar pedal, MusicRadar, 2008-05-01
- DigiTech Talker, Barry Rudolph / Music Connection "New Toys", 2024
