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The Klowra Pedals Vein reignited my love for pitch-shifting effects. 
I’ve always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with pitch shifter pedals. On one hand, they are extremely fun to have on your pedalboard, but on the other hand, dealing with latency issues has always made it hard to find one that is truly usable.
Enter the Vein Pitch Shifter from Klowra Pedals. I’ve been diving into this pedal for the past couple of weeks, and it has been a mind-bending experience in the best way. It has rekindled my desire to add a pitch shifter to my pedalboard.
Note: If you already have a Vein Pitch Shifter (or are thinking of buying one), make sure you have it updated to the latest firmware update (2.0.2). This update significantly improves the pedal’s response time and fixes latency issues. Seriously, it’s like a night-and-day difference between the old firmware version and the new one.
What is the Vein Pitch Shifter?
As it sounds, it’s a pitch-shifting pedal, but under the surface, it offers far more than that (we will get into that later). The Vein is a polyphonic pitch shifter that offers 17 different pitch intervals, ranging from two full octaves up/down to strange, microtonal sounds.
Where to Buy the Vein Pitch Shifter
Here is a breakdown of the 17 pitch intervals you can choose on the Pitch Select knob:
- (-)②: Up (or Down) 24 Semitones
- (-)①: Up (or Down) 12 Semitones
- (-)p5: Up (or Down) 7 Semitones
- (-)p4: Up (or Down) 5 Semitones
- (-)M3: Up (or Down) 4 Semitones
- (-)m3: Up (or Down) 3 Semitones
- (-)M2: Up (or Down) 2 Semitones
- (-)m2: Up (or Down) 1 Semitone
- UNI: Unison
As you can see, you get a lot of choices with each mode (except for UNI), each having the option to pitch up or down – giving you access to all kinds of cool octave sounds and interesting harmonies. The Unison (UNI) mode acts more like a chorus pedal effect that you can adjust using the Rate and Detune knobs.
I’ve really been enjoying the 12 and 24 semitone settings, as these provide either one or two full octaves up or down. Some of the other intervals sound quite good for creating interesting harmonizing sounds, and some intervals (like 1 or 2 semitones) are honestly a bit… strange – but if you’re into eerie, microtonal sounds, then you will dig those settings too!
As I mentioned above, the UNI mode is also extremely usable. It is like a chorus effect and sounds fantastic.
Where to Buy the Vein Pitch Shifter
The other controls on the front of the pedal are what set the Vein apart, as they introduce a ton of interesting, creative features. Let’s talk about them:
LED Button:
The LED on the front of the pedal not only indicates whether the effect is on or off, but it is also a button that allows you to perform various functions and access hidden/secondary features of other knobs:
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- Latched/Momentary mode: Press the LED button to change between Latched or Momentary mode when the pedal is engaged.
- Save a “Snap-Set”: Press and hold the LED button to save the current parameter settings, which you can later recall.
- Secondary Knob Functions: Press and hold the LED while adjusting a knob to adjust the secondary functions of the knobs (see more below).
- Access Negative Pitch Intervals: Press and hold while turning the Pitch Select knob to access negative interval pitches and lower octaves.
- Rate: This knob adjusts the LFO’s pitch modulation frequency.
- Tone: (Rate Knob Secondary Function): Adjusts the high frequencies of the wet signal.
- Detune: Adjusts the stereo deviation of the LFO’s microtonal pitch changes (up to 100 cents).
- Mix: Controls the wet/dry mix of the effect and your input signal.
Vein’s Glide feature:
The Vein features a Glide function where the pitch will ramp up (or down) to the desired pitch when the pedal is activated – the Glide feature can be engaged in both Latched and Momentary modes.
- Glide ATK: Controls the attack time (how long it takes to ramp to the desired pitch)of the Glide feature.
- Glide RLS: Controls the release of the glide effect when the pedal is deactivated.
Vein’s Ramp feature:
The Vein also has a Ramp function that fades the effect back and forth between the panel-set (current knob configuration) and a saved ‘Snap-Set’. The Ramp feature can also be used in both Latched and Momentary modes, and can be tweaked using the secondary functions of the Detune and Mix knobs.
- RampATK (Secondary function of Detune knob): Controls the attack speed of the Ramp effect.
- RampRLS (Secondary function of the Mix knob): Controls the release speed of the Ramp effect.
This has quickly become my favorite feature of the Vein. Having the ability to fade between two different settings on the pedal is really cool. I was jamming on the UNI setting and using the Ramp feature to jump to the +1 Octave pitch setting for fun little accents before ramping back down to the UNI setting.
External Controls
Where to Buy the Vein Pitch Shifter
I’ve found that the Vein becomes even more fun and usable when paired with an expression pedal, which effectively turns the pedal into a pseudo-Whammy type of pedal. An external expression pedal allows you to externally control the pedal’s Ramp or Glide features – giving you the ability to easily change between the “Panel-Set” settings and the “Snap-Set” you’ve saved.
The setup is extremely easy to do. Just connect your expression pedal to the Vein’s “CTRL” input jack using a 1/4″ TRS cable (like this one). The Vein’s LED will then blink red, and you can calibrate the expression settings by cycling through the full range of your expression pedal so the pedal recognizes the expression pedal’s output – and then it’s ready to go.
Final Thoughts
Klowra Pedals have created something really special, and honestly, extremely fun with the Vein. Their new software update fixed a lot of latency issues that I experienced when I first got the pedal (before it was updated), but after the update, it has become an incredibly versatile and powerful pitch-shifting pedal that is packed with so many cool, usable, and unique features.
If you’re on the hunt for a new pitch shifter, the Vein is one that should certainly be on your radar!
Learn more about the Vein here: https://www.klowra.com/vein-pitch-shifter
You can buy the Vein on Amazon here (affiliate link)