Electro Harmonix Freeze Pedal

[jaco]

Seeing these in several players pedal boards (Frisell, Rosenwinkel, Krantz, etc.) Anyone tried one? Curious what you think of it. Thanks

[consumerduck]

I love mine. I have that, my delay and a volume pedal. Very cool. I play in a drone-ish band and it's a big part of my sound. We played yesterday and a man came up and mentioned Indian music and George Harrison. Works for me.

[pkirk]

I have the superego, which is basically a freeze plus a loop so you can send the frozen sound through some other FX, but I basically use it like the freeze. It's fun pedal to play with, and when you freeze chords it sounds like an organ. I use it when I practice sometimes, mostly to noodle over spacey sounding drone stuff.

But most of my playing recently has been playing "over changes", and it is not so useful for that: Its hard for me to use in in a gigging context, other than for effect on intros or the like. I suppose it could be used when comping, but i haven't done much with it in that way, part of the problem is you have to time hitting the switch while your chord is ringing out, and it takes practice to do it well.

[KirkP]

I got one after seeing a Frisell video. The switch click drove me nuts, so I replaced it with a silent switch.

http://www.mattgallagher.uk/2011/07/...-freeze-pedal/

https://www.ebay.com/itm/301599246336

I haven't used it much, but I might work with it if I had a solo gig. It's tricky to use effectively. You must learn to think ahead of what notes you want to sustain and ensure no other notes are ringing at the moment you engage the switch.

[Gabe]

Mine has been on my pedalboard since they released the pedal. I've replaced the switch for a silent one also. It's great if you're playing in a small group setting as you can use it to flesh out the sound really well. It's also great for creating harmonies when improvising.

[jorgemg1984]

I have one too and also did the silent switch mod. I use it mainly to practice the chords of a tune in a rubato way... it's great!

[jazzbow]

With a bit of grit in your sound you can play bagpipe tunes with it!

But it's good for sustaining a note of a phrase then immediately playing a semi-tone up or down and watch people squirm.

[michael_bxl]

I am planning to buy it but more for learning reasons.

I think it can be a good ear training tool to play a chord and solo against it.

I will be glad to see some of you using it

[thpm]

I had one, sold it after I got the HOG (which can -among so many other things- do what the Freeze can do, but also has a cool “Glissando” mode where you can say freeze a chord, then freeze another chord and glide from one to the other by rocking the expression pedal).

One great use case I found is to think of it like it was a sustain pedal on a piano and play it like that. For this, set the volume to about 9-10 o clock, so not very high. You'd want it rather subtle. Keep your foot on the switch and rock it to get that extra sustain. Works great on solo stuff or smaller groups where you need to fill a bit of room. Obviously, this works best if you did the “silent switch” mod, otherwise it's just clack clack clack.

As others have mentioned already, it takes a bit of practice to sync your playing with hitting the switch.

[50Hz]

Been wanting one for a while now, until pkirk opened my eyes to the SuperEgo, so now I'm really in trouble.

[destinytot]

In the right hands (not mine), this would be a great tool:

[KirkP]

Having a piano-style sustain pedal would be great. So someone instated a 1/4" jack jumpered across the foot switch?
Could you elaborate on the need for a compressor? Is it wired after the Freeze?
It would be nice if one could put another effects pedal in line with the wet signal without affecting the dry, but I'm doubtful that's possible.

[MikeTT]

Have one. It's great and very inspiring! Definitely a keeper.

[destinytot]

Having a piano-style sustain pedal would be great. So someone instated a 1/4" jack jumpered across the foot switch?

Yes - though the foot switch still works.

Could you elaborate on the need for a compressor? Is it wired after the Freeze?

There's no need whatsoever for compression - it's just that I'm very interested in whether the compressor would make the on-off contact audible (as I'm trying to learn to use compression to 'shape' my sound for RnB/Soul).

It would be nice if one could put another effects pedal in line with the wet signal without affecting the dry, but I'm doubtful that's possible.

Not sure, but perhaps if the other effects pedal has two outputs (a wet and a dry-through)?

After the video, I oiled the spring - making the pedal totally silent. I haven't had a lot of time to experiment with it, but I'm finding the piano-style sustain great for single-notes - because you can 'tailor' it to each individual note (making it more like individual/customised reverb than sustain).

But it can be used discreetly, and in subtle ways, so I think this pedal is a very Good Thing!

[Takemitsu]

I changed the switch for an arcade game button on mine. Silent, solid, cheap, looks good and easy on the foot when in socks!

[ghoststrat]

I changed the switch for an arcade game button on mine. Silent, solid, cheap, looks good and easy on the foot when in socks!

I'd dig seeing a picture of this, if you don't mind

[pkirk]

It would be nice if one could put another effects pedal in line with the wet signal without affecting the dry, but I'm doubtful that's possible.

I'm not sure what you mean, but it seems like this is exactly what thee EHX superego pedal does. It's a souped up freeze pedal which has a built-in FX loop on the frozen signal: you can pass the frozen signal through whatever FX you like, while not affecting the direct signal.

It also has a quieter switch (no click), and a few other cool aspects.

That said, I can't use mine other than as a gimmick. It might be a great pedal for various types of experimental music, but I am unable to keep a groove going while also working this pedal in a jazz context, except maybe for rubato/intro type settings. I'd be interested in hearing Mike do a performance video, if he hasn't already

[Takemitsu]

I'd dig seeing a picture of this, if you don't mind

here you go this is the guide i followed.

Electro-Harmonix Freeze Switch Mod | www.jurimusic.com - Live Looping & Guitar Effects Geekery

[KirkP]

This might good be a good time to post a few of the better demos for ideas on how to use the pedal.
I found a discussion of folks trying to add an effects loop to the frozen signal, but the circuit they tapped seemed to have too faint a signal for that.
It would be nice if someone could at figure out how to insert a treble pot in that location. I'd like to be able to roll off highs on the frozen signal only.

[pingu]

It would be nice if someone could at figure out how to insert a treble pot in that location. I'd like to be able to roll off highs on the frozen signal only.

Yes I believe the similar EHX Superego pedal can do that
It's like the Freeze but the wet sound comes out of a loop send jack , which you can do
whatever you like to and either insert it back into the return jack , or send on to another Amp or whathaveyou

A nice demo of it here , play your chord , hold it , solo over it , rinse and repeat

Great I was thinking about getting into a similar thing (solo over held chord)
with a Vol pedal and a delay/reverb unit myself ....
but I now think the Superego/freeze might be better for me

[KirkP]

This thread prompted me to dust off my EXH Freeze and I'm having fun with it. I consider it to be nearly useless with the stock switch due to the distracting feel and sound of the click. It's much more satisfying with a soft-touch switch but the one I installed has a small button which is still uncomfortable for stocking feet (my preferred practice footwear ). If I start using it a lot I'm definitely going to add a jack for external sustain pedal.

I'm trying to approach it as a pianist approaches the sustain pedal, generally sustaining bass or midrange chord tones rather than high notes. It's easier to accomplish this playing fingerstyle or hybrid rather than with a pick.

The Freeze is basically a loop pedal that loops very short sample taken just before you press the pedal. If you press the pedal at the moment you strike the string you'll generally get unpleasant mistuned and bright transients. To avoid that, I'm training myself to raise my foot at the moment I sound the strings, then drop it after they are ringing (a few milliseconds later). With that technique the reedy concertina-like tone is mostly gone and I can live without a tone control or effect loop.

Like many effects, it's easy to overdo it and can sound horrid when played badly. I'd like to learn to use it more subtly so the listener might not even be aware I'm using a pedal unless they are paying close attention. I'll try to post my own demo soon.

Edit: I should add that the Freeze functions more like the middle sostenuto pedal on a grand piano than the rightmost damper pedal (aka "sustain pedal"). The right pedal sustains everything that follows, not just certain notes.

[KirkP]

Is it possible john is using a freeze here ?
Fab performance anyway

The Freeze didn't exist in 1992, but it's basically a loop pedal with a very short loop, which was probably possible then. I agree it's a great performance. At one point I wondered where the other guitarist was, then realized it was the bassist comping in the upper register.

[KirkP]

Many people have tried and failed to add an effects loop and expression pedal to the EHX Freeze. This guy found a way:
DIY Effects: EHX Freeze with Effects Loop and Expression Pedal | Dog Is Blue

[destinytot]

Many people have tried and failed to add an effects loop and expression pedal to the EHX Freeze. This guy found a way:
DIY Effects: EHX Freeze with Effects Loop and Expression Pedal | Dog Is Blue

Ingenious. (Thinks... "Key 9, O'Roony!")

[pingu]

Thats interesting , kinda like a long
reverb thing
Anyone using it for modal stuff
Where you have a more continuous
type drone , then solo over the top
Does it work ok for that ?