The Arcade Machine might just be the ultimate pedal for fans of old-school videogame soundtracks
New analog synth stompbox resynthesizes guitar signals as square waves for pitch-shifting, glitchy goodness
RPS Effects has introduced the Arcade Machine, a PLL-based analog synth and harmonizer effects pedal that re-synthesizes a guitar signal as a square wave, resulting in everything from “subtle pitch variation to full-on glitched-out computer sounds.”
Additionally, that square wave can be manipulated by mixing in one or two octaves down or up, as well as via a knob that allows users to add an interval of their choice.
There’s also a central knob that offers all the intervals in a 12-tone scale, as well as controls for gate, level, depth and rate.
Furthermore, an expression pedal can be connected to take over the interval selection; plugging in a sequencer allows the user to program in “anything from simple trills to arpeggios to full melodies.”
The Arcade Machine features a die-cast aluminum case, soft-click true bypass switching and nine-volt operation and standard DC input, and is available for $265.
For more information, head to RPS Effects.
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Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.

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