Re: [Harp-L] pitch shifters

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Rafael Veggi wrote:
<Have anyone tried pitch shifting pedals?
<
<I'm curious about Morpheus drop tune and capo pedals. They are polyphonic
<and walk in half steps to the next octave -- capo goes up, drop tune goes
<down and they also mix dry signal with octave sound
<I guess one of these chained to a POG would sound nice.
<any advice or information?

Rafael,

A pitch shifter makes a powerful addition to any harmonica rig, especially in terms of adding low octaves and other low intervals to the original pitch.  Harmonicas put out a lot of energy in the high register to begin with, and in my opinion the added weight of low octaves makes for a better sound that additional top end.  (of course, if you're playing a Thunderbird, you might be better off with more top end.)

Wade Schuman's work with Hazmat Modine is an outstanding example of how to use a pitch shifter with harmonica.  Wade uses a POG, which can generate multiple pitch-shifted octaves simultaneously, including low and high octaves and double octaves.  The Electro-harmonix HOG adds low and high 5ths, octaves with added fifths or thirds, and so on for a total of up to ten simultaneous pitch-shifted intervals, which makes for a pretty big roar when you crank it up.

The POG2, Electro-harmonix's latest version of the POG, sells new for over $325. As an alternative, consider any of the Digitech RP series of devices.  These units can generate one pitch-shifted voice at a time, which can be set to any interval from two octaves down to two octaves up, and can be mixed in any desired proportion with the original voice.  In the RP255 and higher of this series, either the pitch shift interval or the pitch shift mix can be put under footpedal control for real-time manipulation of the sound, and can be combined with a range of other FX that include wah, delay, reverb, and distortion. Even the RP155, which sells for less than $100 new, produces an excellent pitch shift effect, which makes it one of the lowest-cost pitch shifters available (not even counting the other FX in the box), and undoubtedly the best single-voice pitch shifter available in a multi-FX device in that price range.  The RPs also include a harmonized shifter that will harmonize original tones with a key- and scale-consistent interval; I haven't played with it much, but it's an interesting effect for tunes where you know what key and mode you're going to play in.

I'm partial to the RP series devices, which in my opinion offer very high value for money given that they include so many other FX along with the pitch shifter. (I also make and sell patch sets for the RPs, so I'm not entirely objective about it.)  The Zoom G3 also contains a decent pitch shifter, though not as robust as the RP's in my opinion in terms of either basic tone quality or tracking.  However, the G3 allows you to chain multiple pitch shifter modules in series, which lets you generate some complex tones that aren't possible on an RP. (By "in series," I mean that the pitch shifters run one after the other in the signal chain, so the second shifter in the series acts on the first, the third shifter in the series acts on the first and second, and so on.  In the POG, the shifters run in parallel, so you can adjust one without affecting the others.) With a G3 you can generate chords from a single original note that span 4 or more octaves; for example, start with a double-octave down shift; then add an octave up, which gives us a chord that includes the original note, the same noted shifted one and two octaves down, and the same note an octave up.  Add a shift of a 5th up to all that and you have a series of roots and fifths spanning four octaves and a 5th.  Phew. If that ain't heavy enough for ya, you ain't from this planet.  Better make sure you've got something bigger than an 8" speaker in your cabinet if you want to run that lineup, or you'll blow the speaker cone to bits the first time you crank it up.

In any pitch shifter, the things to look for are:

1) Rapid response to notes over a wide frequency range.  Some earlier pitch shift designs, such as the Boss OC-2 Octaver, track very poorly on the harmonica above the middle octave.  Others introduce a noticeable lag into the shifted notes, which is not ideal for fast playing, or for any other situation where accurate timing matters.
2) The ability to accurately track chords as well as single notes.  Here again earlier designs like the OC-2 just don't cut it.  Devices like the POG and Digitech RPs reproduce chords accurately.
3)  The ability to mix the original and shifted tones in any desired proportion, ideally in real time.
4)  The ability to adjust the shifted tones to any desired interval, again ideally in real time.  The RP devices are more flexible than the POG in this respect, though the POG allows simultaneous shifting to multiple octaves, along with the ability to adjust the mix on every shifted octave individually.   

I love pitch shifters.  The first time I ran a harp through an RP and tried a low octave double, I picked the thing off the floor and walked it to the checkout counter about 30 seconds later.  The most important effect for any electric harp player is a delay unit, and a pitch shifter is a close #2 in my opinion.  It adds weight and power to any amped harmonica setup, to the point that it changes the game for the player.  If you're playing anything but purely traditional styles, a pitch shifter ought to be in your rig.

Regards, Richard Hunter



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