The DigiTech WH-1 Whammy, released in 1989, is the pedal that started the Whammy line: a digital pitch shifter built into a red expression pedal, made by DigiTech. Instead of stepping an interval up or down and leaving it there, it lets you rock the treadle to bend your pitch in real time, like a whammy bar on a pedal, while also offering fixed Harmony and Detune presets12.
Premier Guitar calls it "the coveted and highly regarded" pedal that "started it all" in the eyes of pitch-shift connoisseurs3, and Pedal of the Day describes the Whammy as "a staple of many famous guitar rigs"4. The WH-1 itself is discontinued and commands top dollar on the used market2.
What it is and what it does
Technically the WH-1 is a pitch shifter, but it also covers chorus territory. JHS Pedals puts it plainly1:
"The Whammy may technically be a pitch shifter, but it does have a chorus sound and it does it very well."
The pedal grew out of rack gear. DigiTech's solution for a floor-based pitch shifter, as Guitar World tells it, "was to take its IPS technology and put it inside an expression pedal," borrowing the processing from the IPS33 Smart Shift Intelligent Pitch Shifter rack-mount processor2. The result is a unit with an expression pedal on the left and controls for Harmony, Detune and Whammy modes, in what Premier Guitar calls a "Ferrari red" finish that "was hard to miss on a pedalboard"5.
The three mode families work like this:
| Mode family | What it does |
|---|---|
| Harmony | Shifts your signal to a fixed interval alongside the dry note; the 5th to 6th setting can emulate pedal steel bends2 |
| Detune | Chorus-style detune, including a D2 Shallow and Deep mode where the treadle changes speed and depth12 |
| Whammy | Real-time pitch bends driven by the treadle; the 2-octave-up preset can have what Guitar World calls "a gnarly animalistic quality"2 |
The controls and jacks
The WH-1's interface is simple by later Whammy standards. A rotary switch selects any one of the nine Harmony, two Detune or five Whammy presets, and an effect on/off Bypass footswitch turns the processing on and off2. The treadle on the left is the performance control, driving the Whammy bends and shaping the Detune modes15.
On the back, alongside its mono input and Wet Added output, the pedal also provides a Dry Out jack2, which lets you keep an untouched dry signal on its own path, useful for splitting into two amps or blending the shifted and clean signals yourself.
Power: 9.75V AC
The WH-1's biggest practical problem for a modern board is its power requirement. It needs a 9.75-volt AC supply, not the 9V DC that most pedals and pedalboard power supplies deliver2.
A standard 9V DC adapter will not run the WH-1. Guitar World notes it "either needs to be used with its stock wall-wart adapter or a pro-quality power supply with a VAC output like the Truetone 1 Spot Pro CS12"2. If you run a shared DC power brick, this pedal is the one that will not fit it.
Digital processing, glitches and all
The WH-1 is digital, and its pitch-shifting processing is, in Guitar World's words, "primitive by today's standards and prone to glitching and some rather unusual audio artifacts"2. That is not a universal complaint, though: "many players consider that a feature and not a bug"2. The 2-octave-up Whammy preset in particular can have "a gnarly animalistic quality," with Guitar World pointing to Dimebag Darrell's Whammy-fueled playing as a prime example2.
How it differs from later Whammy versions
The WH-1 is the first of a long line. According to JHS Pedals, "the version two and all other versions of a Whammy usually have the added detuned setting, even some of the newer units without the treadle"1. Later pedals in the line include the DigiTech Whammy II, the DigiTech Whammy 4, the DigiTech Whammy DT, the DigiTech Whammy 5 and the recent DigiTech MonoNeon Signature Whammy.
Despite the newer options, the original holds its value. Guitar World reports that "many pros still prefer the original WH-1, which is why they command top dollar on the used market"2. The JHS Pedals writer counts himself among the loyalists:
"I've used this on my board for a long time. I take it off, and it comes back."
For a player weighing an original against a reissue, the trade-off is straightforward: the WH-1 offers the vintage processing and its characteristic artifacts, at the cost of discontinued status, used-market pricing and an AC power requirement that most modern boards are not built around2.
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Questions
Can the DigiTech WH-1 Whammy run on a 9V DC adapter?
No. The WH-1 requires a 9.75-volt AC power supply, which means a standard 9V DC pedal adapter will not run it. Guitar World notes it needs its stock wall-wart adapter or a pro-quality power supply with a VAC output, such as the Truetone 1 Spot Pro CS12. This is one of the pedal's main practical drawbacks on a modern board.
Is the original WH-1 Whammy digital?
Yes. The WH-1 uses digital pitch-shifting processing based on DigiTech's IPS technology from the IPS33 Smart Shift Intelligent Pitch Shifter rack unit. Guitar World describes the processing as primitive by today's standards and prone to glitching and unusual audio artifacts, though many players consider those artifacts part of the pedal's character.
What is the difference between the WH-1 and later Whammy versions?
The WH-1 from 1989 is the original, with nine Harmony, two Detune and five Whammy presets. According to JHS Pedals, version two and all later versions add a detuned setting, including newer units without a treadle. Many pros still prefer the sound of the original, which is why used WH-1 units command top dollar.
Is the DigiTech WH-1 Whammy discontinued?
Yes. The WH-1 has been out of production for years, but it remains coveted among pitch-shift players as the pedal that started the Whammy line. Guitar World reports that many pros still prefer it over later versions, and used units command top dollar on the secondhand market.
Can the WH-1 Whammy imitate pedal steel bends?
Yes. Guitar World highlights the 5th to 6th Harmony preset as one of the more popular settings, because it can emulate pedal steel bends. It is one of nine Harmony presets on the pedal's rotary selector.
Sources (5)
- 12 LEGENDARY CHORUS PEDALS, JHS Pedals
- The DigiTech WH-1 Whammy changed the game for guitar pedals, Guitar World, 2025-07-18
- DigiTech Whammy (5th Gen) Pedal Review, Premier Guitar, 2012-09-05
- Digitech Whammy II Pitch Shifter, Pedal of the Day (pedal-of-the-day.com), 2014-12-09
- DigiTech Whammy DT Pedal Review, Premier Guitar, 2011-10-25
Tom Morello
