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Average Price: $79
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$100
$301+
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Description
Unleash a world of sonic experimentation with the Boss PS-5 Super Shifter. This compact marvel is packed with a host of innovative features to supercharge your sound. Known for its three-voice harmony and detune capabilities, this pedal gives you unparalleled control over your sound. With a selectable key knob and four distinctive effect modes, including the standout Super Shifter mode offering four octaves of shifting, this pedal is a gem for musicians eager to explore new sounds without compromising on technology or quality.
Key Features:
- Three-voice harmony and detune for added depth and richness to your sound
- Selectable key knob for precise control over your tonal adjustments
- Four unique effect modes to expand your creative possibilities
- Super Shifter mode providing four octaves of shifting for a wide tonal range
- Compact design ideal for guitarists needing a portable yet powerful effects pedal.
Product specs
| Brand | Boss |
| Model | PS-5 Super Shifter (Dark Gray Label) |
| Finish | Blue |
| Year | 1999 - 2025 |
| Made In | Taiwan |
| Categories | Octave and Pitch-Shifting Pedals |
FAQs
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What effects can the Boss PS-5 Super Shifter produce?
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The Boss PS-5 Super Shifter offers pitch shifting, harmonies, detuning, and tremolo arm/flutter effects, all controllable via simple knobs for easy sound manipulation.
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Can the Boss PS-5 Super Shifter be used with a bass guitar?
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Yes, the Boss PS-5 Super Shifter can be used with a bass guitar, providing versatile pitch-shifting effects suitable for various musical styles.
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Does the Boss PS-5 Super Shifter require a specific power supply?
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The Boss PS-5 Super Shifter requires a standard 9V DC power supply, commonly used for many guitar pedals.
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How does the Boss PS-5 Super Shifter differ from other pitch-shifting pedals?
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The Boss PS-5 Super Shifter stands out with its intelligent pitch shifting and unique tremolo arm/flutter effects, offering more creative possibilities than standard pitch-shifting pedals.
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Is the Boss PS-5 Super Shifter suitable for live performances?
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Yes, the Boss PS-5 Super Shifter is designed for live use, with robust construction and intuitive controls that make it easy to adjust effects on the fly during performances.
Videos
BOSSchannel
PS-5 SUPER Shifter [BOSS Sound Check]
![Video thumbnail for PS-5 SUPER Shifter [BOSS Sound Check] by BOSSchannel](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7J-AZ9C4l5A/mqdefault.jpg)
PS-5 SUPER Shifter [BOSS Sound Check]
BOSSchannel
Boss PS-5 Pitch Shifter Pedal | Reverb Demo Video
Reverb
BOSS PS-5 Super Shifter
Galloway Music
Boss PS-5 Super Shifter
musictoyznetwork
Boss - PS-5 - Super Pitch Shifter PS5
Dennis Kayzer
BOSS PS 5 Super Shifter Demo
creepingnet
BOSS PS-5 Super Shifter
Cryptic Mask Guitar
Boss PS-5 Super Shifter - Review & Demo
Unholy Audio
Reviews
PROS
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More organic-sounding harmonies compared to similar pedals
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Versatile: useful for harmony, whammy effects, and pitch shifting
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Detune adds unique texture, albeit not organic
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Effective for solo guitarists to replicate complex tracks
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T. ARM and HARMONIZER standout features for distinct sounds
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Tracks better than many other pitch-related pedals
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Compatible with down-pitched vocals for guttural effects
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Compact size with "Flutter" feature, valuable for hardtail guitar players
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Can produce a wide range of sounds from subtle to bizarre
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Built-in expression pedal input for real-time control
CONS
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Detune feature may not be useful for everyone
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Requires knowledge of music theory to fully utilize harmonies
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Some users find the tracking less accurate for harmonies and pitch shifting
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Sound quality considered "cheesy" and inferior to analog brands by some
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Does not replace all functions of a Whammy pedal
Owner Insights
We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Boss PS-5 Super Shifter.
Features and functionality
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The PS-5's detune setting provides a light modulatory effect, ideal for adding thickness without overt pitch shifting when set at a low mix level.
Source -
The T-arm feature on the PS-5 is popular for live performances, offering expressive pitch shifts with a smaller footprint than a Digitech Whammy.
Source -
The PS-5 can produce unique octave up and down tones that integrate well into a pedal chain, especially when positioned after a fuzz pedal.
Source
Use cases and applications
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Running the PS-5 in the effects loop of a delay pedal can create unique, pitch-shifted repeats that add a distinct texture to the sound.
Source -
The pedal is particularly fun and effective when paired with an expression pedal for more precise control over the T-bar and Flutter effects.
Source -
The PS-5 is used for achieving the iconic gliding 7th up note bend, a tonal secret of Circa Survive, adding unique bends to performances.
Source -
Using the PS-5 with heavy compression while playing dissonant cluster chords can produce a sound reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails guitar tones.
Source
Mods and upgrades
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Modifying the PS-5 to include a second pitch knob and footswitch allows for quick swapping between presets, enhancing live performance versatility.
Source
User experience
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The PS-5 is appreciated for its compact, rack-like features, offering a wide range of pitch-shifting effects from practical to experimental.
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Owners find the digital artifacting and glitching to be creatively inspiring, adding a sense of urgency and uniqueness to their sound.
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Battery performance affects tracking, with dying batteries contributing to unpredictable and interesting note tracking, valued by some users for creative noise-making.
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Owners have reported using the PS-5 as a 'secret weapon' for creating swells and dive bombs, adding dynamic expression to their music.
Source
Setup and maintenance
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The PS-5 is reported to drain batteries rapidly, and users recommend using a power supply to avoid frequent battery replacements.
Source
4.0 out of 5
Based on 9 Reviews and 41 Ratings
245
Has a spot in my heart
This is the first pedal I ever owned (I wanted to sound like Buckethead on Jordan :D ) I remember picking it out at the music store my dad's guitar player worked at. It was out of production even back then, collecting dust on a shelf somewhere in the back. But I felt really accomplished owning it - like a real musician with my 14 years of age. It stayed with me throughout. I mostly used it as a dive bomb device in my hardcore band, but the harmony function is also great. I experimented with that when I was the singer of a short-lived System of a Down cover band. Worked really well on vocals. Writing this I realise I've never tried out the Expression Input. That would be fun I believe... 16 years and still I'm not bored of this pedal. Of course it is far from perfect. Has problems picking out notes in a polyphonal context or if the tuning is too low. There surely are millions of pedals who can do more and better. But I would never replace it. Fond memories.
Preferred Settings + Usage:
With the T-Arm setting: Balance on 4, Speed on the lowest, pitching down 1 or 2 octaves for a great "dive bomb" effect without the need of a pesky tremolo lever.
5455
Glorious madness.
Seems when people ask me about where I got sound "x" sound 50% of the time it always seems to include this pedal in some way-on tons of sources,
I do have the Boss Harmonist HR-2 pedal as well- but this one combines the Harmonist with more madness.. Now the Harmonist usually just sits on a shelf, I should quit that. This pedal can be sparkly, warped, twinkly, pitched down, & just plain absurd and bizarre. I can't think of a single source I wouldn't try using it on. You can use meathead settings and get wild fantastic results, or, you can learn how it works and exploit it's psychotic sound texture even more.
No review in text would serve this fella well so I will try to find a great representation in the video that I'll include . Gotta a bit of Thin Lizzie if ya like & tons of psycho other ways you can use this guy...You gotta gotta hear it & even better learn this guy. Desert island pedals? This would be in my top 5 no question. Get all crazy with psycho 3 part harmonies? Yep, I'm in.
**note the expression option in vids-
****note: weirdos who exploit these tools are rare so I apologize I couldn find many-but I use mine w/ Radial EXTC or a direct box on almost anything you can think of & loads of other sources. A truely killer pedal. Anything from sound design for crazy effects to subtle uses. Crazy is tons of fun always-
349
A Whammy-wannabe, maybe, but it sports some cool features nonetheless!
I bought this stomp because I play hardtail guitars 99.9% of the time and therefore needed a Whammy-like device. Enter the BOSS PS-5, whose smaller size and [whammy bar] "Flutter" feature were the clinchers for me! It's one of but a handful of effects I still use now that I have my Kemper Powerhead, as the Kemper will do almost everything the PS-5 can EXCEPT the "Flutter". That saves me from having to use an expression controller with the Kemper, and frees up a space in the Kemper's Effect Module for a different effect if I so choose. While the PS-5 may not be as robust of a pitch-changing device as the Whammy is these days, I will contend that the PS-5's tracking seems much smoother than the original WH-1 Whammy pedal circa 1989.
Preferred Settings + Usage:
Fave settings? Depends on the band I'm playing with: For my main band, BLACK LABEL, I typically use it in "T. Arm" mode pitched up an octave or two with a the "Speed" [rise/fall] set around 2:00. In my 80's Metal outfit, RIVAL, I'd say that 99% of the time I use the "T. Arm" mode pitched down 2 octaves with the "Speed" set at 9:00 for a nice, slow whammy bar deep dive, however, I switch to "Flutter" mode with the "Speed" at 4:00 for the last notes of my Brad Gillis solo part in "Don't Tell Me You Love Me".
253
Why do you need a whammy for ?
This is a great pedal with a bunch of great features : Harmonist, Pitch Shifter , T. Arm (whammy thing), Detune (more than a chorus) and flutter (the heck is this ?). Give it an expression pedal and you're ready to go ala Morello. The sound and build quality are phenomenal (yes, i'm a Boss fan). Just go for it !
309
Classic Unique Pedal
As a big fan of Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, I love the signature pitch bend sound made with this pedal. It's a lot of fun to use live, and ideal for some experimental pitch bending sounds.
1073
Tremolo Chorus and Wah??? wait a second...
is a great pedal for modulations and crazy noises... with delay pds 2000 is awesome, é tope meo
1073
Tremolo Chorus and Wah??? wait a second...
is a great pedal for modulations and crazy noises... with delay pds 2000 is awesome, é tope meo
88
Used for t-arm
Not the best pedal for harmonies and pitch shifting as the pog 2 is, I would use this to switch pitches with the t-arm.
41029
how's the detune handle chords?
Artist usage
Add artist
"I do have a loop of cables that come out just for this pedal. This is the only and actual pedal that signal is coming out to and back during the show. It's in one of the loops, so it only comes on when he's using it, and that's for the intro to 'Lonely Boy.' It's the Super Shifter and he uses the Tremolo arm. We took the analog appraoch because you have to step on the pedal itself to actuate it. There's no remote. It does have an expression pedal jack, but you'd have to have another expression pedal to make it work. And if you step on the pedal it just dips the signal an octave and it comes back up when you release it. It's so much easier to do it that way. That's the way it was designed in the first place. So for that riff I have a buffered signal that comes all the way out here to this pedal and all the way back to the rig. It just comes on when he plays that riff and then we move on to a cleaner signal path. I'm just trying to keep all the time available his straight-into-amplifier sound because anything that you put in the path of that is not through bypass or splitters. Splitters usually buffer, although the devices we're using don't. They just transform or isolate splitters. So it sounds exactly like if you had just plugged into the amp," explains Dan Auerbach's guitar tech about the Boss Super Shifter PS-5.
According to Gear Secrets of the Guitar Legends: How to Sound Like Your Favorite Players, Satriani used a PS-5.
This photo from an effects bay article, is the pedal board of Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine. It displays a Boss PS-5 SUPER Shifter Pedal
Nice Rack Canada custom builds this pedalboard for St. Vincent. This two part pedalboard also houses a Boss PS-5 SUPER Shifter Pedal. Source.
In this interview with Seymour Duncan, Ray says "I just have a Dunlop Crybaby wah, Boss EQ pedal, Boss Pitch Shifter to do harmonies, Boss Chorus Ensemble, and Electro-Harmonix POG Polyphonic Octave Generator"
This pedal is mentioned in this interview for Boss:
"What BOSS pedals get the most mileage onstage?"
"The delay [DD-3] is a favorite, the overdrive [OS-2], and more and more the pitch shifter [PS-5]. I prefer the DD-3 onstage, but for recording I use the DD-6."
can be seen at 1:15 in this post
Daniel Lopatin can be seen using this pedal as the first in his signal chain during the part where he explains his setup into more detail.
During an interview for RA (https://ra.co/features/1226) he also explains it with following words “ It's really straightforward. It's just a [Electro-Harmonix] Memory Man and some Boss pitch shifter that is 50% dry and 50% up a 5th. I love 5th intervals. Fifths equal Airwolf, but also Steve Reich. It's like a combo of Steve Reich and Airwolf. That really does it for me. ”
From an interview on roland.co.uk:
And what gear do you use in order to conjure up the Bloc Party sound?
My guitars are all Fender Telecasters, and Kele and I use Fender Deluxe amps both in the studio and on stage. Pedal-wise, it’s pretty much a Boss-fest. I’ve got a TR-2 Tremolo, DS-1 Distortion, a new PW-10 Wah, the DD-5 and DD-6 Delays and the PS-5 Supershifter.
(original interview here)
A Boss PS-5 SUPER Shifter Pedal is shown on this Guitar Geek diagram of Herman Li's rig.
Album Usage
The Boss PS-5 Super Shifter has been featured on the following albums:
Genre Usage
Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.
Used With
Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Boss PS-5 Super Shifter, it is most commonly used with the following gear.
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