GAME CHANGER AUDIO BIGSBY User manual

We congratulate you on your excellent choice, and we sincerely thank you
for supporting Gamechanger Audio.
The BIGSBY Pedal is a revolutionary polyphonic pitch shifter that specializes
in reproducing the string bending and vibrato effects produced by the
BIGSBY tremolo arm and other traditional tremolo systems.
The idea to create a BIGSBY-style pitch shifting pedal was born from a
long-standing admiration for the BIGSBY system’s unique feel,
sound and design.
In 2019 we approached FENDER and BIGSBY and secured
a partnership deal for the development of the BIGSBY Pedal.
We hope you enjoy this unique tribute to Paul Bigsby’s timeless design.
THANK YOU FOR PURCHASING
THE BIGSBY PEDAL

INTERFACE
The unique spring-loaded foot-pedal design opens up a multitude of new ways to incorporate
pitch shifting into your playing.
First of all, the pedal is always “on” - the only thing you need to do to “activate” it is to step on the
foot-pedal.
You will immediately hear a change in pitch, and the white indicator light (the SELECT button) will
change brightness depending on how much pressure you apply to the foot-pedal. As soon as you
let go, the pedal will spring back into position so that your instrument’s signal is unaffected.
We have made sure that transitions between the DRY and WET (pitched) signals are as smooth as
possible, allowing you to seamlessly incorporate pitch-bends into complex picking patterns as
well as lead and melodic lines.
This opens the door to a world of new strumming patterns, bend combinations and beautiful
lap-steel and slide-inspired licks that cannot be achieved with a regular tremolo system.
ALGORITHM
Powered by the formidable SHARC® Audio Processor, the BIGSBY Pedal runs a proprietary hybrid
algorithm that was specifically developed for smooth polyphonic real-time pitch-shifting at low
intervals.
The BIGSBY algorithm has been painstakingly tweaked to preserve the natural timbre and sound
of electric string instruments, including baritone and bass guitars.
It also works beautifully with acoustic instruments, including guitars, mandolins, banjos, etc.
Another key component of the BIGSBY Pedal's sound is the DETUNE parameter, an additional
algorithm designed to emulate the imperfections and dissonant properties of traditional
mechanical string-bending hardware. As a result, the vibrato effects produced by the BIGSBY
Pedal are almost indistinguishable from those of a traditional hardware tremolo arm.
We hope you enjoy the powerful BIGSBY Pedal and are able to take full advantage of its
capabilities. May it bring hundreds of hours of inspiration and joy.
For best results, please make sure that the BIGSBY Pedal is placed at the front of your
signal chain and is receiving the clean output signal from your instrument.
You can press both ends of the foot-pedal to produce
downward or upward pitch shifts.
The “direction” of the pedal depends on the INVERT
toggle-switch on the pedal's back panel.
When the switch is DOWN, the
pedal will behave as expected -
the long end of the foot-pedal
will produce a pitch-down
effect and the curved end will
pitch the
signal upwards.
When the switch is UP, the direction is reversed - the
long end will pitch the signal up, and the curved end will
drop the pitch down.
2
The BIGSBY Pedal's central feature is the “L-shaped” foot-pedal.

The BIGSBY Pedal's main controls consist of three backlit rotary knobs and the SELECT button.
The knobs on the pedal’s front panel have two “layers”: the WHITE layer and the RED layer.
To toggle between the WHITE and RED layers - press the SELECT button.
DEPTH
The DEPTH knob ranges from 0 to 12 semitones - this means that when the knob is turned all the
way up (the knob is bright) and the foot-pedal is fully pressed down, the BIGSBY will pitch the
incoming signal down by a full octave. When it is turned all the way down (the knob is dark) there
will be no pitch shifting effect at all - this may come in handy when using the pedal as an
Expression controller and no pitch shift is desired (see pages 5, 6).
The first segment of the DEPTH knob is a gradual, unquantized climb from zero towards a
¼ tone interval. As you gently turn up the DEPTH control from its minimum value, you will see the
knob light up slightly - this is an indication that you are now at the ¼ tone setting, and the full
range of the foot-pedal is dedicated to a ¼ tone pitch-shift. By setting the DEPTH knob between
the zero and ¼ tone values, you can access minimal pitch-shift values, even lower than ⅛ th of a
tone.
The rest of the DEPTH knob is quantized to semitones; you will see it flash once to indicate each
new semitone. We encourage you to use your ears to set the pedal's desired range.
Alternatively, you can use MIDI to make quick changes to the knob values (see pages 6, 7).
BLEND
The BLEND knob adjusts the amount of DRY (unpitched) signal sent to the BIGSBY Pedal’s output.
When the knob is turned all the way down (the knob is dark), the BIGSBY Pedal’s output is fully
WET (pitched signal). This setting recreates the sound of a classic tremolo system.
By gradually combining the WET and DRY signals, the BIGSBY Pedal can be used to produce
nuanced chorus or harmonizer effects, depending on the DEPTH of the pitch-shift.
When BLEND is turned all the way up the volume levels of the WET and DRY signals are equal.
3
MAIN CONTROLS
Auto Mode rate DRY signal mix Foot-pedal
down-shift depth
Foot-pedal
up-shift depth
WET signal tone
WET signal detune
amount

The BIGSBY Pedal's main controls consist of three backlit rotary knobs and the SELECT button.
The knobs on the pedal’s front panel have two “layers”: the WHITE layer and the RED layer.
To toggle between the WHITE and RED layers - press the SELECT button.
RATE
When the RATE knob is turned all the way down (the knob is dark), the BIGSBY Pedal’s
pitch-shift algorithm precisely follows the movement of the foot-pedal, and stays static for as
long as the pedal is pressed down.
Turning up RATE will put BIGSBY Pedal into “Auto Mode”, and the knob will start flashing.
In Auto Mode the pitch shift depth oscillates rhythmically at a given speed, while the maximum
depth of the pitch-shift is determined by the amount of pressure applied to the foot-pedal.
Adjust the RATE knob to change the speed of the vibrato effect.
When in Auto Mode, turning up the BLEND knob will produce a chorus-style effect.
When using MIDI, the BIGSBY Pedal can be synced to an external clock source (see page 6).
In this case, the RATE knob lets you scroll through a variety of beat subdivisions. There is also a
dedicated CC message for adjusting the offset of the vibrato curve.
DETUNE
The BIGSBY’s DETUNE function emulates the instability and asymmetrical nature of traditional
hardware tremolo systems.
When the DETUNE knob is turned all the way down, the BIGSBY will produce even pitch-shifts.
When DETUNE is turned all the way up, chords will have the familiar “out of tune” effect -
a characteristic of mechanical string bending systems. Single notes will also sound “out of tune”
and “warbly”.
DEPTH
The BIGSBY Pedal’s DEPTH knob allows you to set different values for the downward and
upward pitch-shift intervals.
Press the SELECT button to enter the RED layer, which is indicated by a red backlight on the
pedal’s knobs. Use the DEPTH knob to set the desired upward pitch-shift value.
Toggling the INVERT switch on the pedal’s back panel will only affect the foot-pedal’s direction -
the DEPTH values set up for both downward and upward pitch-shifting will remain set.
TONE
The TONE knob adjusts the brightness of the WET signal produced by the BIGSBY Pedal.
The DRY (unpitched) signal is not affected by the TONE control.
When the TONE knob is turned all the way down the WET signal will have a muffled, dark
character - this is well-suited for imitating lower register instruments.
Turn the TONE knob all the way up to boost the WET signal’s high frequencies -
thus highlighting note attacks and overall string brightness.
KNOB LOCK
The BIGSBY Pedal's knobs can be temporarily locked in order
to prevent accidental adjustments during a live performance etc.
To lock the current knob settings, hold the SELECT
button and toggle the INVERT switch on the back of the pedal.
When the pedal is locked, all knob adjustments will be ignored, which will be indicated by
flickering knobs.
The SELECT button will still function as a toggle between the WHITE and RED knob layers.
To unlock the knobs, toggle the INVERT switch to it’s original position. 4

EXP Out / FSW In Connector
The EXP Out / FSW In connector on the BIGSBY's back panel is designed for dual purpose
functionality:
Pressing the footswitch will activate LATCH mode (indicated by the SELECT button).
When latched - the BIGSBY will produce a constant pitch-shift determined by the current
position of the DEPTH knob.
This way you don’t have to hold down the BIGSBY Pedal for long phrases.
In LATCH mode you can still use the BIGSBY's foot-pedal to make momentary dives and detune
effects up to two semitones.
By pressing the opposite side of the foot-pedal the pitch shift's direction will be flipped.
The BIGSBY Pedal´s FSW In connector is compatible with all
standard momentary or toggle type footswitches with a TS
(Tip/Sleeve) ¼” jack (normally closed or normally open).
You can also use a dual latching footswitch with a TRS jack - in
this case only one side of the footswitch will work.
Connect the BIGSBY Pedal to the MIDI OUT of your interface or
controller using a standard MIDI cable and the 3.5 mm TRS to 5 pin DIN
MIDI adapter (Type B) included with the BIGSBY Pedal.
The BIGSBY can be used as an Expression pedal to control external gear with an EXP input.
TRS ¼” jack cable
The BIGSBY Pedal can be put into LATCH mode with a standard external footswitch.
ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONALITY
MIDI In Connector
The BIGSBY Pedal can be fully controlled via MIDI CC and PC messages
(see MIDI CC and PC map sheet included).
The BIGSBY can also be used outside of the signal chain, as an Expression pedal only,
but it still needs to be connected to a power source.
5
In this setup the BIGSBY Pedal is in front of the signal chain and is also connected to the LIGHT
Pedal´s EXP input - functioning as a pitch shifter and an expression controller simultaneously.
The BIGSBY Pedal's EXP Out settings - RANGE, DIRECTION and OFFSET - are adjusted
separately in the SETTINGS MENU (see page 6).