TC Electronic Quintessence Harmonizer

I consider myself pretty knowledgeable regarding music theory, in particular, the 7 modes of the major scale, etc. With that said, I was absolutely confused when I plugged into this unit, set the key to C, and the mode to Ionian (I figured I should try it out with the most basic scale).....then, panic set in. It sounded completely atonal, rather than the major scale in C. Then I noticed the # (sharp) switch was ON ! Lol, I switched it into the down position, and there was my expected C major scale, complete with the 3rd above. I won't make that mistake again.The bottom line is, new pedals take some getting used to, but after that snafu on my part, this harmonizer works like a charm. I have found that i like it best working with a clean or slightly crunchy sound, using the neck pickup on my Ibanez Jemjr going into my Marshall combo. I am very pleased with this pedal. I will say though, you don't have to know music theory if you have a really good ear, but it will surely make more sense using the different modes and keys if you have some basic theory under your belt.I would by it again, and I have considered possibly doing that so I can have a 2nd for a different amp setup. My idea is to have one set to one mode and key, and the other to a different setting so I can change keys and/or modes with the flick of an ABY switch.This unit is solidly built, and would certainly buy from this manufacturer again.

Wow, some truly great sounds out of this pedal - but it has me scrambling to review my music theory. I am having a lot of fun with it, and it will actually teach me a lot as I noodle with it. I literally have created both the best and the worst sounds I have ever made with a guitar with this thing. With great power comes great responsibility - so I am responsible for the bad, and exciting about learning how to make the good. Recommended!!

Guitar loving son approved.

I bought this pedal specifically because it said "custom" harmonies with the Toneprint app. I wanted user defined scales, which this pedal can't do. I wish I hadn't bought it now! All I can do is load up the scales that come with it. Back to the drawing board.

When you're the only guitarist in a cover band, you're sometimes limited when it comes to playing dual guitar parts. There are a plethora of other harmonizers on the market, but I never found the one that could pull off the sound of two guitarists playing together in harmony. The Quintessence probably comes the closest of any of the harmonizers, but there's a cost. In order for it to harmonize correctly, you must enter the key and mode you are playing in along with the steps above and below that you want to harmonize. That, of course, means that you need to know what key and mode you are playing in and the degree of separation from the origin note. If you play a note outside of the key and mode, sometimes you get a sound that is less than pleasurable.The Quintessence is also made for single note runs and solos. I've pulled off double stops with it and been okay, but chording sounds like a hot mess. That's the way it's designed and not a knock on the product.I said I wanted to emulate the sound of two guitars playing in harmony. It tracks so tightly, that it really doesn't sound like two guitars. I've heard that if you add a TC Electronic Mimiq to the stereo track, that it'll sound more like two guitars. But, I haven't tried this, yet.Just to round out the review, there is a feature to hold down (MASH) the switch and bend the notes being played. I never use this. It doesn't sound very realistic to me. It's like using a pitch wheel on a synthesizer. I'm sure it's fine with people who get good at it. The drawback for me is that you have to tap the switch pretty quick to turn it off, otherwise it'll bend the note instead and the effect stays on. I'm used to it now, but it frustrated me at the beginning.I give the Quintessence 4 stars just for the learning curve and inherent musical knowledge you need to use it. It could use another mode that is just a regular harmonizer that merely changes the pitch of the note without confining it to a key or mode. I bet you could do that in the Toneprint, but that still adds a level of difficulty in programming. I haven't messed around with the Toneprint as much as I should have, which is why it's not factoring into this review. But, it is a great addition that gives tons more functionality to the pedal for those who really like to experiment with sounds.

Need a magnifying glass on your knees to adjust this thing. Detents are sloppy- don’t match where knobs are. Sound is meh. Lag is pretty bad.

So far I am satisfied with the product. It is operating just as described and I would recommend it to anyone.

I really wanted a clever pedal that would go beyond an octave shifter. My research led me to order this pedal thinking it was the one! Unfortunately it does not perform consistently enough to justify the cost, any cost for IMO. Clearly it is a sophisticated device and requires knowledge and skill in playing scales and modes. It is tasked with processing each note and simultaneously producing a corresponding shift in pitch according to the user's choice of settings. A couple of reviewers (i.e on Youtube) praised its tracking but in my repeated attempts to work with this pedal I found this claim to come up way short. Playing over and over through a scale, trying to generate interval etc I found the sound output would be distorted and shifting, pedal was not always but frequently unable to keep up. I can perhaps understand that a lot of practice may render better results but I think TC ELectronic needs to revisit the design and perhaps incorporate a much faster processor, tweak the software, whatever. Wanted it to work, guess I'll wait and see if they introduce a version two.