Electro-Harmonix has been in the business of making pedals ahead of the curve for the better part of half a century. The EHX Freeze Sound Retainer delivers "infinite sustain", acting as a snapshot of a played chord or note lasting as long as you’d like. While this feature is totally usable all by itself, there’s a lot more under the hood of this deceptively simple little box.

The Freeze is a obvious choice for the rising class of solo bedroom produces who can put it to use as an instant accompanist almost like a loop station. In a band setting as well, the Freeze is a simple way to add layers of quick texture to your sound to fill in the soundscapes. This is a pedal like no other, but one that is sure to give you plenty of interest sounds to explore.

Freeze Features and Controls

The EHX Freeze is a small and intuitive pedal. Featuring a single input, two outputs for Dry tone and Freeze tone, a toggle switch between modes, and an Effect knob for the volume of the sustained sound, the EHX Freeze is out of the box and in play in a matter of minutes. Despite the Freeze’s compact size, the unit devours batteries in a relatively short time, so the 9V adapter is more of a necessity, which is one of the pedal’s few drawbacks. If you can forgive massive power consumption, the Freeze can play many roles as at least some second guitarists.

What do the Different Modes Offer?

The feature attraction of the Freeze is the toggle switch between Fast, Slow, and Clutch modes. Fast is the most straightforward. When you strike a chord and hit the footswitch, the sustain is instantaneous and lasts as long as you hold the switch down. The Satriani set might find a lot of fun here challenging themselves how much fretwork is possible in the framework of a given chord. The idea is pretty simple: hold a chord as long as you want and play something over it.

When the toggle is taken down to Slow, the possibilities are expanded. Depending on the placement of the Effect knob, the sound is faded in and out with a choice of 3 different speeds. The result is similar to an automatic volume swell providing possibilities for more emotive construction and epic builds. For the detail-inclined, here’s a breakdown of the exact attack and decay:

Which leaves the Clutch setting, by far the coolest feature of this pedal. Functioning essentially like the Fast setting but allowing the sustained sound to last indefinitely by just a tap on the footswitch, the Clutch is a cement foundation for the house you want to build. The effect provides an ambient or melodic backing to tracks, highly favorable in the realms of post-rock or shoegaze.

Is the Freeze for Me?

Obviously, this unit can find a home in a full band setting providing additional texture. Primarily, the pedal seems marketed towards the stay-at-home noodler looking for some backing without the bother of inviting a friend over. Regardless, the EHX Freeze provides excellent sound retention and will play nice on any pedal board.