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I recently just acquired an older PS-5 and despite my guitar being in tune (in pitch shifter mode too, not harmony) the dry signal seems out of tune with the wet signal in a way that I don't feel it probably should be. It only sounds right with the balance knob all the way wet on all settings except the slight right and left top on the pitch knob. I can't seem to find any info online in this regard Is there a way to calibrate it? Is this just normal? Thanks in advance!!!

I can't access YouTube at the moment because of my slowed down data. However I watched videos before buying it and nothing seemed too unusual. When I try recommended boss manual settings like the "12 string setting" it just sounds badly out of tune. I expect it to have somewhat glitchy pitch shifter sounds but its just that it doesn't really sound right at all unless 100% wet. I really don't know.

Any other PS5 users? Can anyone give me any tips or confirm if this is normal? I'm just kind of confused by it.

Mine doesn't do this on those settings. It's crap at doing +24 semitones though, really really crap, it randomly decides to do +23 or +22 instead

yeah I don't remember my PS5 tracking that badly or being out of tune with the signal at all


have you tried putting your tuner after it to see what the actual pitch is? That might give you an indication of how much it is off

I haven't but I will try that when I get off work. The only thing I can figure is that maybe there is a way to recalibrate it. But if that is the case then I cant find anything about it and I'm not very savy with electronics. I did read about problems like this with the whammy though.

The Whammy can get out of tune, true, but it's very easy to re-calibrate (at least the IV was). I know the PS-2 has internal trimpots that you can calibrate, but not sure about the -5.

I've never had to calibrate my PS-5 and am not sure how you would. I will offer some questions, maybe an answer will come.

Where is it in the chain? If it's in the fx loop of an amp I could see that being a problem. Are you using a power supply or battery? I always used a power supply. If its like Boss delays, a 9V battery gives you like an hour.

I thought the pedal chain/order could be a problem so I played it alone and it was a little better but still not really. I power it from a daisy chain. I have played it in and out of an effects loop through two amps one tube and one solid state and no real improved results. Its quite an old pedal as far as PS5's go. Its from Nov. 01' so who knows what its been through haha.

Yeah my guitar is in standard tuning. I'm pretty stumped.

There won't likely be a way to calibrate it - it'll be handled by the DSP.

Are you sure your hearing is on today?

I'm pretty positive that it's the pedal and not me/other factors. It probably does seem unlikely/silly though.

vidret wrote:standard yes, but is it tuned correctly to 440 hz A, not just EADGBE or whatever. afaik the PS-5 reads the pitch, and if your tuning is off the pitching is off.

That may apply to the harmonist modes, but I'm not even sure of that. Normal pitch shifters read the signal, sample it and play it again at another speed rate (half speed = minus one octave, etc.). I don't know any pitch shifter that needs a tuned guitar. Otherwise you couldn't use a drum machine or whatever with pitch shifters.

Please confirm that the PS-5 produces a clean "E" if you play an "A" if you set it to perfect fifths (+7) in the pitch shifter mode. You can check that with a standard tuner (check clean signal vs. pitched signal through the balance knob). It may be that the tuner needle doesn't stay in the middle, but that's normal. Pitch shifters are always a bit off-tune*, especially in settings higher than +7 semi-tones, but it shouldn't be totally detuned.

If the result is quite in tune - according to the tuner - I have to ask you if you are one of the people that have absolute perception (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_pitch). I'm not really one of them, but I have my problems with pitch shifters as well, because they are always more or less off-tune to my ears. I also cannot stand a lot of music by Bob Dylan or early David Bowie, because they sing so totally wrong! I always hear it when a mate's guitar is out of tune - the others don't. It's a curse.

The PS-5's circuit board has no trimpots as I can see in the pictures (I don't have a PS-5). And I doubt that it has a flaw in the digital processing.


*The higher the length of the sample the better and cleaner is the result, but that does also produce a longer delay before the effect signal is heard. The BOSS PS-2 sounds very lo-fi due to the low sample quality and the short sample time. The PS-3 has two modes (Fast/Slow) and the slow mode sounds a lot better, but as said, it has a longer delay.

I don't find that I have very very precise hearing haha. I love all Bowie, but I get what you're saying. I'll have to admit that I don't really understand how to tune to 440hz, I'm not really familiar with this.

I just messed with a tuner. When I play an E4 dry the wet signal is a G4 that's about 45 cents sharp. On the 2 octaves up setting.