Virtual Capo any good?

SJonesofva

SJonesofva

Inspired
I'm on the waiting list for an FM9 and one reason for getting it is the virtual capo. I currently use an Electro Harmonic Pitch Fork to shift keys but that box mucks up my tone. How much does the virtual capo feature of the FM9 muck up your tone?

Thanks.
 
Here's a test I did on the Axe-FX virtual capo, testing with a variety of settings, and comparing it do the Digitech Drop. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the FM9, unlike the FM3, has the same virtual capo as the Axe-FX III. You can hear the settings make a big difference, so choose those carefully.

Original, Digitech Drop -7, VC -7 Fast 5, VC Fast 10, VC Off 5, VC Off 10, VC Smooth 5, VC Smooth 10, Original.

There's an audible difference with both the pitch stability and the transient preservation, but thing that stands out to me is that you can get a good pitch shift with the Virtual Capo at amazingly low latency. At Fast/5 it's about 5 msecs less latency than the Drop.

 
IMHO it works great but if you do a search you can have a general idea about what the others think about since this is a "hot" subject ;)
 
when i try something with the vc it sounds weird. i don't get it .would you pls put in the preset in here so i could try it out .
can you tune down the guitar with that ?and is it playable ?
 
Scott Peterson said:
I use it for live performances a lot; here are a few tips:

  1. Put the pitch block first in your preset using a virtual capo
  2. Do a High Pass of 100Hz

Those two things make it very usable and practical.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Curious about the high pass. What is going on below 100Hz that you want to take out?

Thanks,

Steve
 
Another tip for the VC; don't even bother trying to use it on a clean guitar unless you're in a full-band context. The artifacts and latency make it just... not great. But for dirt or gain, it's awesome. But if you think it's going to be much/any better on cleans than your EHX pedal, it probably won't be.
 
Scott Peterson said:
Mud. Leave the bass frequencies for the bass guitar and kick drum.
Click to expand...
This. More specifically, when you’re playing with distortion, the guitar’s lower frequencies produce a lot of harmonics in the lower midrange. The lower midrange is sometimes called the “mudrange,” because that’s where mud lives. Cutting the lows before distortion reduces the mud.
 
Ugly Bunny said:
Another tip for the VC; don't even bother trying to use it on a clean guitar unless you're in a full-band context. The artifacts and latency make it just... not great. But for dirt or gain, it's awesome. But if you think it's going to be much/any better on cleans than your EHX pedal, it probably won't be.
Click to expand...
Oh, that is disappointing for sure. I will be using it in a full band context, but was hoping for a better sound than the Pitch Fork.
 
SJonesofva said:
Oh, that is disappointing for sure. I will be using it in a full band context, but was hoping for a better sound than the Pitch Fork.
Click to expand...
It might be - I've never heard the Pitchfork - but it's on par tone-wise with most of the other stuff out there (drop, Helix, etc.). Again, for dirt it sounds great; it's just cleans where you can hear all the warbly artifacts.
 
Scott Peterson said:
I use it for live performances a lot; here are a few tips:

  1. Put the pitch block first in your preset using a virtual capo
  2. Do a High Pass of 100Hz

Those two things make it very usable and practical.
Click to expand...
Dint think about the frequency, going to try that tonight.
Thanks for the tip.

Ugly Bunny said:
Another tip for the VC; don't even bother trying to use it on a clean guitar unless you're in a full-band context. The artifacts and latency make it just... not great. But for dirt or gain, it's awesome. But if you think it's going to be much/any better on cleans than your EHX pedal, it probably won't be.
Click to expand...
So true.
For clean it feels ok only in a full band.
And BTW the P.F or Drop pedals aren't any better when playing clean.
 
Scott Peterson said:
Mud. Leave the bass frequencies for the bass guitar and kick drum.
Click to expand...
FWIW, for bass guitar, I find that the Digital Whammy at a fixed pitch tracks better than the digital capo. And Yes, I put the digital capo right after the input and set the source to the input block. Also played with the tracking values, but still get fewer artifacts than with the Digital Capo. Maybe it's just a bass thing?
 
I've been using the virtual capo now for a few weeks in church. It works much better than the EH Pitchfork. Much better sound.

I set it up so that each channel on the pitch block is a different shift depending on what I need for a set. I have an OCD pedal and for one of the switches, momentary is pitch on or off and the same switch held down cycles through the channels. Works great.
 
Roadrunner said:
Dint think about the frequency, going to try that tonight.
Thanks for the tip.


So true.
For clean it feels ok only in a full band.
And BTW the P.F or Drop pedals aren't any better when playing clean.
Click to expand...
I find the PF adds a weird Line 6 Variax kind of resonance to the tone.
 
I wish that someone could make a plugin that would process offline or something, like take its time to shift your recorded guitar or bass with no artifacts, rather than being done in real time. Something pro recording quality.

Is that even possible?
 
stm113 said:
I wish that someone could make a plugin that would process offline or something, like take its time to shift your recorded guitar or bass with no artifacts, rather than being done in real time. Something pro recording quality.

Is that even possible?
Click to expand...
Almost every DAW has offline non-realtime pitch shifting that is higher quality than what can be achieved in realtime.
 
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