Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
DigiTech's smart new HammerOn Creative Pitch Shifter looks like it will be my favourite of that type
Key Points
HammerOn is DigiTech’s instant 'Lift' pitch-shifter that covers The Drop and extends upwards. Key features: 'Drop'/'Lift' shifter, instant Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs, Trill Auto-Repeater, 2-5 Note Sequencer, Dry+ harmonizer, Capo Style Transposer, polyphonic pitch-shifter (works with chords), 'Impossible' alternating pitches and an automated riff machine.
Controls: Primary LEDs — Dry, +2nd … -2 OCT, Dry+; Mode LEDs — Hammer On [Purple], Impossible [Red], 2-Note [Blue], 3-Note [Teal], 5-Note [Green].
Ricochet uses timed/ramped intervals; Drop and HammerOn are instant. As of 2026-07-13, Drop/Ricochet equivalents were £129/£139; HammerOn pre-order was £219. For electrical safety or opening/modifying pedals, consult a qualified tech.
So when I first covered the HammerOn - alongside the MonoNeon Whammy release, I hadn’t fully gotten to grips with what this pedal was overall about. I think that at my time of writing there were no demos out at that time - while a few brief NAMM snapshots have emerged since - particularly around the 2-5 Note Sequencer and Trill Auto Repeater functionalities.
As the proud owner of the HammerOn’s adjacent siblings - the Drop, and the Whammy Ricochet - I thought I would break it down in the clearest of distillations.
In truth the Whammy Ricochet is a little different - because of its timed / ramped interval, while the Drop and HammerOn are instant. There is a speed function on the HammerOn, but that is do do with the Trill Repeater functionality - in particular your 2-5 Note playback sequences - where you can set the tempo of those. You an’t though have a timing interval between the steps - it’s just a universal tempo control.
So the HammerOn pretty much covers off The Drop, and extends that upwards - in a sort of opposite ’Lift’ manner. All those HammerOn pitch-shifts are pretty much instant.
There are nuances and some technical details - while I feel I’ve perfectly summarised this pedal via its control topology, and the 10 listed features :
Controls - PRIMARY LEDs / MODES } Dry, +2nd, +3rd, +4th, +5th, +6th, +7th, +OCT, +2 OCT, -2nd, -3rd, -4th, -5+th, -6th, -7th, -OCT, -2 OCT, Dry+ : Add Dry Signal, Trill : Rapid firing of Multiple Footswitch Impressions, Mode : Hammer On [Purple] / Impossible [Red] / 2-Note-Squence [Blue] / 3-Note-Squence [Teal] / 5-Note Sequence [Green]; Pitch 1 Footswitch, 2nd Pitch Mode LED : Hammer On, Impossible, Sequence 2,3,5, Pitch 2 Footswitch.
Key Features :
- 'Drop' and 'Lift' Shifter
- Instant Hammer-Ons
- Instant Pull-Offs
- Trill Auto-Repeater
- 2-5 Note Sequencer
- Dry+ Harmonizer
- Capo Style Transposer
- Polyphonic Pitch-Shifter (works with Chords!)
- 'Impossible' Alternating Pitches
- Inspired Automated Riff Machine
The two older devices - the Drop and Ricochet are widely available for $239 and $189 respectively - and equivalent (e.g. £129 & £139), while the HammerOn is currently on pre-orders for $279 / £219 and equivalent.
Demos
