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The Gamechanger Audio Motor Pedal is a device that pushes your guitar into new places. It’s not the easiest to use, but if you’re open to sounds that are not typical of the guitar, and you don’t mind a little experimentation and - dare I say it - some manual diving, there’s a lot of fun to be had here.
Pros
+
A real spinning motor.
+
5 different synth engines.
+
A wide array of tweakable parameters.
+
Fun, car-based theme.
Cons
-
Over the long term, DC brushes will wear (3000-5000 hours of playing).
-
Not the most user-friendly.
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Gamechanger Audio is not afraid of being a little different. Its products, like the Plasma Pedal and Light pedal, generally feature an aesthetic that stylistically displays the outlandish components of the pedal in a unique, smile-inducing style. In keeping with this, is the company's newest release - the Motor Pedal.
A real, brushed DC motor is the heart of this electromechanical synth machine, with an inductor that “captures the real-world motion of the motor's spinning coils, transforming mechanical energy into a raw, electric audio signal”.
In other words, a DC current is applied via brushes to a component (the commutator), creating a magnetic field, which in turn causes the rotor to spin. That spinning motion is captured by an inductor, creating the electric audio signal the pedal uses. Note that I am simplifying here; I’m only a guitar player after all.
Functionality is provided by way of MIDI and USB-C connectivity and a separate “Track” input that the pedal can use to sync the motor's speed to a different source if needed. Without using this, it defaults to using the guitar input.
All of which is contained within a rather entertaining car-themed package. Let’s buckle-up and let’s find out what this thing can do.
You would not want to drop this on your foot. At 2.2 lbs, there’s some real heft to the solid metal construction, accompanied by sturdy-feeling controls and an expression pedal with a nice rubberized feel, all creating the impression of a quality build.
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The visuals are striking, with that spinning motor taking centre stage, backlit by a red light that can only be described as cool. Its black chassis with white stripes keeps up the car theme, and modes with titles including Break, Accelerate, and Clutch really, er, drive that home. If you're a racing fan like me, it’s hard not to love it.
(Image credit: Matt Lincoln)
There are two things to note as potential downsides. First, the brushed motor has a 3000-5000-hour life span. That’s a lot of playing hours, but still something to take into consideration. Secondly, the pedal draws 500mA, which is a large current draw that not every pedalboard power supply will be able to do without doubling up on outputs.
Having said that, Gamechanger says that the motor is easy to replace, and there are power supplies such as the Fender Engine Room that can handle the draw, so you’ll just need to double-check that your own power supply has enough juice.
Usability
(Image credit: Matt Lincoln)
Usability rating: ★★★
A rare case where the trade-off in usability is a pedal with some real personality
When it comes to usability, the Motor Pedal is a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the controls are pretty easy to understand with common terms such as Vibrato, Glide, and Shift controlling modulation, portamento, and pitch-based effects via a familiar rotary knob.
The naming conventions of some of the other functions - Clutch and Drift for example, are stylistically fun, but they don’t give the user much info about what they actually do, so you’ll need to do a little experimenting or manual reading to get to grips with the full potential of the pedal and also uncover functions like “Floor It” which aren’t indicated on the front panel.
However, these all serve to exaggerate the Motor Pedal’s car-based identity, which, for a lot of users, will be a bit of fun. This is a rare case where the trade-off in usability is a pedal with some real personality.
Sounds
(Image credit: Matt Lincoln)
Sounds rating: ★★★★½
As you may have guessed, the Motor Pedal is not your typical guitar pedal. It utilizes that spinning motor to create sounds that are firmly in the guitar synth realm, leading to large, fat, and driven synthy soundscapes that are going to be a new world to the majority of guitarists.
And it’s a world with plenty of room to play in, featuring five different synth engines to choose from - Motor, MXD, M-Wave, Coil, and Vocoder. These range from gritty and cutting on the MXD engine, to space-age smooth with a lovely floating portamento between each of the notes on the M-Wave engine.
The M-Wave is easily my favourite, with the Vocoder falling a little short of providing the vowel sounds I was hoping for. The rest are an entertaining collection of wild, synthy goodness, tweakable through the Tone, Drive, Release, and Mod controls.
(Image credit: Matt Lincoln)
The Motor Pedal is not your typical guitar pedal
I find the Tone control useful for taming brighter engines like the MXD, and the Drive handy for controlling the aggression or smoothness, depending on what engine it’s affecting. Then, the Release knob tweaks these tones from a spitty gated sound to infinite sustain.
The Mod control is interesting, as it is dual-function. The first half of its travel increases the intensity of the characteristics within each engine, and the second half, in Gamechanger Audio's words, routes “the Motor signal through an analogue multiplier IC, where it is modulated by the Main Input Signal - producing a wide range of complex, gritty textures, and essentially 'fusing' the two signals together.”
This adds even more aggression to the sounds, with increased drive and bite. The exact change differs on each mode, but in short, it brings out some more wild sounds on each one.
(Image credit: Matt Lincoln)
For some movement, we have the Vibrato/Glide dual-function knob. Vibrato adds a pleasing wobble, and Glide increases the portamento (slide) effect between each note, which is highly enjoyable in single note lines.
Finally, the expression pedal serves to add a range of different functions to the Motor Pedal, which can be selected via the rotary knob located above it. Each mode is car-derived - Accelerated and Brake shift the pitch up and down, Clutch holds a played note, Drift engages a Vibrato, and Volume, unsurprisingly, operates like a volume pedal (I feel like they could have kept up the car theme here!).
Press the pedal harder, and the “Floor It” function is engaged, adding more functionality to each mode. It pushes the pitch changes even further, adds chaotic fluctuations to the Drift mode, permanently locks a note in place in Clutch mode, and sets the Volume to move between 50% and 100% rather than 0% to 100%.
All of this adds a whole other level of expression, greatly expanding the sonic possibilities on offer.
Verdict
(Image credit: Matt Lincoln)
Taking the guitar beyond its usual boundaries is exactly the point of the Motor Pedal
All of these sounds are an interesting proposition for us guitar players. Save a few experimental souls, most of us are more at home with Tube Screamers and fuzz pedals than in the land of synth that this pedal occupies.
However, taking the guitar beyond its usual boundaries is exactly the point of the Motor Pedal. Not only does it do this incredibly well - it does it with a good helping of style.
Guitar World verdict: The Gamechanger Audio Motor Pedal is a device that pushes your guitar into new places. It’s not the easiest to use, but if you’re open to sounds that are not typical of the guitar, and you don’t mind a little experimentation and - dare I say it - some manual diving, there’s a lot of fun to be had here.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Ratings scorecard
Test
Results
Score
Build quality
A weighty unit with a solid construction, it feels like a quality build.
★★★★★
Usability
Controls labeled to further the car theme are a lot of fun, but come at the expense of ease of use.
★★★
Sounds
A host of wild, synthy goodness on offer for the experimental guitarist.
★★★★½
Overall
A robust build, other worldly sounds, and car themed aesthetic make the Motor Pedal endless fun, despite some aspects that are hard to use.
★★★★
Also try
Boss Synthesiser SY-1 $197|£199|€219
The SY-1 features eight different modes, a host of tweakable parameters, and an input for an external expression pedal, all contained within Boss’s compact pedal format. No spinning motor here, but a capable synth guitar pedal.
Offering 9 synth models and a simplified selection of controls, the Synth 9 is easy to use whilst still presenting enough variety to satisfy most, and a dry output for extra routing versatility.
Mooer E7 Polyphonic Guitar Synth £69|€99
For the budget-conscious, Mooer is always worth a look. The E7 Polyphonic Synth sports 9 synth sounds with 5 knobs to tweak parameters, and all in a mini pedal format for the ultimate in space saving.
