There are four PITCH CHANGE programs: PITCH CHANGE 1, 2, 3, and STEREO PITCH. Pitch is adjustable to plus or minus two octaves. In PITCH CHANGE programs 1 and 2, you get two independent pitch shifted outputs which are combined with the direct signal. In program 1, all three signals are mixed to the center channel. In program 2, the direct signal is in the center channel and the two pitch shifted signals are sent independently to the left and right channels. Delays of up to 2.3 seconds can be set on each of the pitch shifted signals. There are also independent feedback controls for each output.
PITCH CHANGE 3 offers three pitch shifted signals all mixed with the direct signal at the center channel of the output. Delays of up to 4.6 seconds can be set for each of the three pitch shifted outputs. However, there is no feedback control here, so continued repeats beyond the first one are not possible. This is the sacrifice for having 4.6 seconds of delay instead of the 2.3 seconds found on the previous two programs. Still, having a direct signal plus three pitch shifted signals with different delays makes for an interesting effect. Incidentally, there are independent level controls for each pitch shifted signal to adjust the mix with.
The STEREO PITCH program offers simultaneous control of both left and right channel inputs with one pitch shift parameter. Maximum delay time is 2.3 seconds, and feedback gain is available.
Other programs include a versatile NOISE GATE, two PAN programs, and a DISTORTION program. That's right -- a distortion program. This program simulates the same distortion popularly applied to electric guitars in heavy rock. You can set the amount of distortion on the input from 0% to 100%, and you can delay the distorted output up to 1 second. The distortion sounds just like what you'd expect if you seriously overloaded an input, only 10 times worse (or better, if distortion is something desired).
Other not so common programs found in the SPX1000 include a compressor, a low-level expander, and an exciter. The EXCITER program adds mid and upper frequency harmonics to the direct signal which gives the audio a little more presence. To the ear, the effect resembles an unusual EQ setting with emphasis on the middle and upper frequencies.