TC Electronic QUINTESSENCE HARMONIZER, User Manual

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QUINTESSENCE HARMONIZER User Manual

Here is a table of examples, all in Key of C Ionian Major (C-D-E-F-G-A-B), with the 

note C played on the guitar (for background info on music theory, see “4.4 Scales 

and Intervals”):

HARMONY Knob Setting

Interval (Notes Generated)

MASH Behavior

-6th

6th below (E below C)

E bends upward to F

-4th

4th below (G below C)

G bends upward to A

-3rd

3rd below (A below C)

A bends upward to B

3rd

3rd above (E above C)

E bends upward to F

5th

5th above (G above C)

G bends upward to A

6th

6th above (A above C)

A bends upward to B

3rd-5th

3rd and 5th above (E and 

G above C)

E and G bend upward to 

F and A

3rd-6th

3rd and 6th above 

(E and A above C)

E and A bend upward to 

F and B

When it comes to MASH behavior, the TP1, TP2 and TP3 TonePrint slots are special 

cases, because the default TonePrints contain specialized scales of their own, 

in addition to customized harmonies.
Here is a table showing how the default TonePrints are set up (based on the 

note C played on the guitar):

HARMONY Knob Setting

Scales and Intervals

MASH Behavior

TP1 (TonePrint 1)

Custom Scale:  

Pentatonic Major

Scale Structure: 1-2-3-5-6

Custom harmony: 3rd 

and -4th (E above C and G 

below C)

E bends down one scale 

step to D.

G stays the same.

(Sounds great for pedal-

steel style bends.)

TP2 (TonePrint 2)

Custom Scale: 

SuperLocrian

Scale Structure: 1-b2-b3-

3-#4-#5-b7

Custom harmony: 4th 

and 7th

The upper C bends down 

by an octave to C, while 

the lower C bends upward 

by an octave to C

TP3 (TonePrint 3)

Custom Scale:  

Harmonic Minor

Scale Structure: 1-2-b3-4-

5-b6-7

Custom harmony: 3rd and 

5th (Eb and G above C)

Delay: Voice 1 – 125 ms; 

Voice 2 – 250 ms

Eb and G both bend 

upward by an octave.

(This one is crazy. Go from 

traditional “Yngwie-

approved" harmonised 

lines to whammy-meets-

arpeggiator madness.)

For more information about scale structure, see “4.4 Scales and Intervals”.
For more information about about customizing your own TonePrints, see “5.3. 

Editing TonePrints with TonePrint Editor”.

4.2  Latching/Momentary footswitching

You can set the pedal to latching or momentary switching by choosing the 

appropriate mode with the LATCH/MOMEN selector.
In Latch mode, the effect pedal remains on when the footswitch is pressed 

and released. To switch the pedal back off, simply press and release the 

footswitch again.
Momentary mode is useful when you want the pedal to operate only for a brief 

moment, such as on a single note in a lead line. In Momentary mode, the effect 

pedal only operates for as long as you press and hold down the footswitch. When 

you release pressure on the footswitch, the pedal will immediately switch off.

4.3  Stereo Operation

The QUINTESSENCE HARMONIZER can handle both mono and stereo signals.
Stereo input sources could include guitars with stereo outputs, pedals with stereo 

outputs (such as stereo chorus or flanger pedals), or side-by-side signals from 

parallel chains of effects in your pedal board.
Depending on the type of input signal, you can also bounce a stereo input down 

to a mono output by using only the MONO output jack.
You can also turn a single mono input into a stereo output, with dry signal 

panned to one side, and the effected, pitch-shifted signal panned to the other 

side. These two signals can then be sent to dual amplifiers, with one amplifier 

handling the dry sound, while the other amplifier plays only the pitch-shifted 

signal. (QUINTESSENCE senses which audio input and output jacks are in use, and 

when the pedal detects a “mono in>stereo out” connection, it automatically 

generates a stereo output with wet and dry signals panned hard left and right.)

4.4  Scales and Intervals

The QUINTESSENCE HARMONIZER comes conveniently pre-loaded with various 

major and minor scales commonly used in modern music. QUINTESSENCE 

then harmonizes your played notes according to the key and structure of your 

chosen scale.
For example, if you choose the “3rd” setting with the HARMONY knob, select 

“IOmaj” (Ionian Major) with the SCALE knob, and then play up the scale from the 

root note of the key, QUINTESSENCE will automatically generate the following 

major or minor 3rd harmonies as dictated by the Ionian Major scale:

M-m-m-M-M-m-m
*M = major 3rd; m = minor 3rd

Similarly, if you switch the SCALE knob to “AEmin” (Aeolian Minor) and play up 

the scale, QUINTESSENCE will generate the following 3rd harmonies:

m-m-M-m-m-M-M

Along these same lines, if you then switch the HARMONY knob to the “3rd-5th” 

setting, the harmonies generated in Aeolian Minor by QUINTESSENCE will be the 

major and minor chords native to the Aeolian Minor scale:

minor-minor-Major-minor-minor-Major-Major

Here is a table of the pre-loaded scales available in QUINTESSENCE:

Scale Knob Setting

Scale

Scale Structure

IOmaj

Ionian (Standard) Major

1-2-3-4-5-6-7

DO

Dorian Minor

1-2-b3-4-5-6-b7 (incl. 7)

PH

Phrygian Minor

1-b2-b3-4-5-b6-b7 

(incl. 7)

LY

Lydian Major

1-2-3-#4-5-6-7

MI

Mixolydian Major

1-2-3-4-5-6-b7 (incl. 7)

AEmin

Aeolian (Natural) Minor

1-2-b3-4-5-b6-7 (incl. 7)

CUSTOM

Locrian (default), 

programmable

1-b2-b3-4-b5-b6-b7 

(incl. 7)

NOTE

: All of the scales with flattened 7th scale degrees (Dorian, Phrygian, 

Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian) have been programmed so that the natural 7th 

degree is also available when the music calls for a half-step resolution up from 

the 7th degree to the root note of the scale. This type of resolution is common 

in modern “mixed-mode” music, so the natural 7th is handy to have in case you 

need it.
By using the TonePrint Editor, you can also program the SCALE knob’s “CUSTOM” 

setting with scales of your own choosing. Possible substitute scales for unusual 

harmonies include Lydian Dominant (1-2-3-#4-5-6-b7), Whole Tone (1-2-3-#4-

#5-b7), Whole-Half Diminished (1-b2-b3-3-4-b5-6-b7) and many more. For more 

information, see “5.3 Editing TonePrints with TonePrint Editor”.