Electro Harmonix Frequency Analyzer

The reissued Frequency Analyzer produces a very cool ring modulator effect: it generates two new tones, one above and one below from the original input signal. The Analyzer's new tones can be tuned over a very narrow range or up to ten octaves using the Shift Control and then fine tuned with the Fine Control to produce exact harmonics that move right along with the signal. There is a Filter that is a switchable high order low pass filter that eliminates cross distortions while the Blend control mixes the dry signal with the ring modulated harmonics.

Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $196.00

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User Reviews of the Electro Harmonix Frequency Analyzer

Submitted by AULOS from Hereford Uk (488 points) on Sep 25, 2008
When you open the box it says on the pink slip that you cant just pick up and play this beast and it's right. It could take weeks to unlock the full potential of this complex ring mod. It has perfect tracking and the blend knob works amazingly. Strong as ever and moving the shift knob whilst playing sounds unreal. It controls 4 octaves above and 4 below your original note. You can tune it in to the key of what you are playing or go wild and make it sound like a dying robot! I use it alongside a Digitech Whammy! and you get some crazy sounds. Definitely a good buy. Scratch that, a MUST buy.
Good Points: Very versatile. Unique sounds. Stereo Out.
Bad Points: Hard to unlock full potential in a short time span.
Price Paid: US$140.00
Purchased At: Ebay UK
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Submitted by Ed from Bowling Green, OH (82 points) on Feb 21, 2007
Definitely an essential part of my setup. I use it for guitars, vocals, feedback loops, modulating synths and tapes, etc. It's not the most involved or complex ring mod, but it's got a damned reliable sound. In a feedback loop, I put this near the end and I usually keep the lowpass filter on, so I can get that nice rumbling death crunch. This thing is definitely good to have, but if you have a lot of disposable money, get the Frostwave ring mod because it's got a carrier signal input, unlike the Frequency Analyzer.
Good Points: Completely weirds out any and all tones built like a tank has stereo outs can drag tones from super highs to heavy lows the blend knob works the way a blend knob should, unlike numerous other pedals Great lowpass filter
Bad Points: Ungodly large son of a bitch badbadbad wallwart power supply I guess these don't work all the time(?)
Price Paid: US$98.00
Purchased At: ebay
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Submitted by Iain David from United Kingdom (144 points) on Sep 20, 2006
I initially bought this because I was looking for a ring mod to replace the god-awful Gonkulator but at the time I couldn't afford a Moogerfooger but within a minute or so of plugging it in I knew i'd struck gold. I mainly use this in a feedback loop with a marshal compressor and a DOD FX25B to create wierd glitches by toying with the shift knob and the filter toggle switch. The ring mod sounds are pretty varied, ranging from low rumbles to buzzing squeals. Outside of a f/loop i'm not really a fan of filtering out the high frequencies because it seems to cut some of the abrasive textures. I'll probably end up getting a moogerfooger as well tho because an expression pedal facility would have been nice.
Good Points: -Some nice lazer noises available with a little creative use of the shift knob. -Gritty as a gravel driveway. -Tunable with a bit of effort if the fancy takes you.
Bad Points: -No expression pedal facilty. -Maybe a little fragile feeling.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by Marco from Brescia (138 points) on May 12, 2005
Compared with DOD's Gonkulator, this r.mod. is stronger and more flexible. You can get rumbling lows or damaging highs, or every strange noise you can imagine... The sounds changes drastically if you put it in a different place in your chain. I use it after a high-gain distortion (death metal or big muff) and before a bass wah. The wah amplifies the piercing sound of r.mod. After a synth or envelope you have robotic or sci-fi sounds.
Good Points: -wide range of sounds -easy to get different sound tweaking in real-time
Bad Points: -tooo big -(no led) -doesn't have LFO as some others r.mod
Price Paid: US$120.00
Purchased At: boxguitar
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Submitted by arne from oslo (8 points) on Apr 7, 2005
I got mine really cheap, but when picking it up, the wallwart dint work, so it had to order a new one.. it's running on 40v which is strange, and the cable looks like it's gonna break any day. guess that's not a problem for hardcore noise people who's into moding stuff anyway :) I've got plans to fill up the rest of the empty effect case with noise things, that's be really awsome, have it like a little noise workstation of it's own. but for the effect.. I love it. I've been using it on most my recordings (noise/ambient/pop), and it adds another dimension the soundscape imediately. it's my favourite thingy for guitar. spooky tone. :) works for everything. running white noise through it makes the sound very harsh, but for pads it's sweet sweet. I havent tried any other serious ringmod (but i've tried both zoom 3030's which is cool, and boss gt 6 which is dull), and this one lacks some possibillities against the moog and the black cat, but it is in no way lacking possibilities. if you really enjoy your multieffect ringmod, then get a "real" one.
Good Points: big case ;) low pass filter that makes everything rumble tons of possibilities
Bad Points: can be hard to apply the lowpass filter without changing the sound very much... and it's this nasty little switch on the side of it that one sometimes can get a little angry at...
Price Paid: US$98.00
Purchased At: emerald music seattle
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Submitted by Brandon from Collinsville, IL (104 points) on Aug 23, 2004
The ringmod is strong with this one. has a good gritty nasty sound to it, and is fairly flexible in terms of what you can do with it. Can add some serious bassy mangling to the low end impaired singal with no problem, but by the same token can take any strong bass signal to ear piercing shrill territory.
Good Points: Gritty gritty gritty reach out and grab your input signal by the balls style to it. Fairly wide array of uses, including beer coaster.
Bad Points: Why the hell must this thing be so damned big!? Also an LED to tell you if it was on or off would be kinda nice.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At: E to the bizay
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Submitted by Chad from Lancaster, CA (14 points) on Feb 19, 2004
This is a very cool pedal that makes all sorts of freaky noises, i like it thru gut. or vox. It sounds good with other pedals, though it is not really a predictable pedal.
Good Points: diverse sounds that can add almost robotic sounds to git. or vox to ear peircing noise.
Bad Points: No led light big Don't make the same mistake I did, make sure this is the best ring mod. you want b4 buying it.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by Kalaab from Chillicothe, IL (24 points) on Feb 10, 2004
Capable of anything from a ringing bell-like chime to an uncontrollable and ear-piercing squeal, the frequency analyzer is a valuable tool for outlandish and chaotic noise.
Good Points: Very dynamic sound. Capable of producing a myriad of noises, and big enough to tweak easily in real-time.
Bad Points: Pricey.
Price Paid: US$160.00
Purchased At: Musician's Friend
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Submitted by skull from Oakland, CA (6 points) on Dec 30, 2002
i use this thing a lot. it's one of the main pedals in my current setup and it's extremely useful. it causes a feedback tone to twist and turn, scream, babble, completely freak out. i haven't used any other ring mods in comparison (except the piece-of-shit new DOD, which broke immediately and sucked anyway). i imagine there are some more powerful ring mods out there with LFOs and such, but i am getting a hell of a lot of use out of this thing.
Good Points: screechy, broad sound spectrum, good mix of predictable/chaotic noise uses.
Bad Points: none
Price Paid: US$50.00
Purchased At: from a friend
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Submitted by Rob2 from United Kingdom (40 points) on Sep 26, 2002
As a response to the earlier review - my pedal is definately true bypass. When you unplug the power and the pedal is off you can still play through the pedal with no loss of sound. When you turn the pedal on the sound cuts off (no power). You can also plug the inputs and outputs the wrong way round and you can still play through the pedal (so long as the pedal is turned off). It sounds like true bypass to me... Maybe only some of them have true bypass, EH pedals are notorious tone suckers and maybe they thought that this pedal wouldn't be used that much and made this one true bypass. I have the reissue model. Mine is definately true bypass. My pedal made the loud buzzing sound the previous poster complained about when mine broke. I had it fixed and it's now fine.
Good Points:
Bad Points:
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by Jonathan from Marine City, MI (120 points) on Sep 22, 2002
I was warned about EH pedals, but I thought I would try to save money. I returned this after 3 days, because when I would shut it off it would buzz loudly. When it didn't buzz like that it would have no true bypass (meaning that when it was supposed to be off the pedal would still effect the signal). To EH's credit the sound of this effect is great (when working correctly) with nice metallic sounds and a randomness not found in many other pedals. Great for processing high pitch mic feedback. If you can find a used one in decent condition pick one up, but I wouldn't pay full price for one of these pedals.
Good Points: When working properly, the Freq Analyzer has an organic randomness that I so desire from my pedals for noise. Some people complain about the construction of EH pedals but my unit was built solid.
Bad Points: Too expense. No LED light. Could use an expression pedal. I'm guessing that EH puts very little effort into quality control.
Price Paid: US$127.00
Purchased At: Mandalay Music
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Submitted by Rob from London (362 points) on Mar 22, 2002
How much do I love this pedal? It can do so much. You can pitchshift so high you can only feel it painfully, or so low your stomach rumbles. You can get no end of atonal noises, 50's B movie space noices, add subtle harmonics, or harmonise or add metalic overtones. I love it. It's quite a simple ring modulator so it's got no LFO but it's not noisy unless you want it to be. I once made someone sick when I was using this to add painfull noise behind what I was playing for a whole set.
Good Points: Very versilte and an ultimate noise pedal. Great sound and probably the most affordable ring modulator around. True bypass.
Bad Points: No tremalo effects, ports for expression pedals or LED, Not that reliable (mines broken twice). Horrible wall wart. Huge pedal that takes up a lot of space (the actual circuit is about as big as a boss pedal and the rest is empty). VERY hard to tune if you want it to harmonise.
Price Paid: US$120.00
Purchased At: Shop
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