Axe fx 2 virtual capo

Guitarist9891

Guitarist9891

Inspired
Hello every1

Can the axe fx 2 do virtual capos? Pertuclarly capo on the 7th fret. I need to play hotel California on a gig this Saturday. Main riff capo on 7th fret, solo no capo. I would have it assigned to an ia switch.

Basically something like this http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DUL5I2VQWdY but inside the axe. Start watching at 2:10

Don't know if it matters I am still on 5.07. Gotta find the time to upgrade, but I know it will require serious tweakeage.

Thanks!
 
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Sure. But shifting 7 semitones any pitch shifter is bound to sound a bit like a chipmunk on steroids.

Curious, though. Previously anything more than 3 got unnatural. Haven't tried in a while. Maybe stuff improved.

I think I played stairway with barre chords.
 
antcarrier said:
Buy a capo :p They are cheap and it will sound much better than a pitch shift.
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I have a capo ;) and cheap capos will ruin your strings/necks. Capos should be very high quality.

The point was to do it virtually, to eliminate the fact that I would have to take it off before the solo. Now if I a play a song as iconic as Hotel California, I would play EXACT like the record. (yes one can fake it using bar chords...but certain notes would have to be altered)

Guess I would experiment with the pitch block, and hopefully get an acceptable sound. Basically something like this http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DUL5I2VQWdY but inside the axe. Start watching at 2:10

Just wanted to know if any1 had any experience with this, and maybe could offer some time saving insight/tips.
 
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As Dutch said, you can do it with the Axe-FX, but it won't sound the same as a real capo. A capo will just raise the pitch of your strings by 7 semitones. But a pitch shifter will also raise your guitar's body resonances by the same amount. Your pickup frequency response, too. The farther you shift, the less natural it will sound. That's a limitation of any pitch shifter.

Try it. You may just find the results acceptable. Or not. Only your ears will know for sure.
 
The pitch shifter works fine, but will have a delay to it, especially when playing chords. The feeling is somehow 'odd'. For one song I use a guitar which is dropped a whole step down and when I am too lazy to carry this extra guitar to the rehearsals I use the pitch shifter in the Axe. Even so, I would highly recommend to buy a suitable capo (one that fits the neck of your guitar perfectly) - I would never use the Axe's pitch shifter for this particular purpose live.
 
A capo is something completly different than a pitchshifter. The capo isn't affecting the pitch, it just defines the the open strings.
 
Ok guys please...I know the difference between a capo and a pitch block...I do this for a living. (Been playing for over 15 years and hold a BA in music) The question was and later elaborated on in my second post, I even gave a video link...AND I HAVE A CAPO. very high quality. The delay is a serious issue. Will have to play around with the settings and try to minimize it as best I can)

The reason for the thread was that maybe some1 dealt with a similar situation and could offer some pointers about the pitch block itself.
Obviously a capo would sound better. But sometimes convenience requires certain sacrifices.
Well if I cant get a good sound out of the pitch block in the axe I guess I will then use a capo. (and stop playing to take it off the last 4 bars before the solo :) )
 
Maybe the delay issue has been improved with FW 7 - have not come round to checking it. Apart from that the downshifting one step worked fine and the sound was OKish. Don't know about upshifting seven steps though - you will have to try and find out yourself if it fits your playing and if it affects the sound of soloing.
 
i did not like "uptuning" the guitar via pitch shift over a whole step, i can't imagine 7 frets.
 
guitardoc said:
Maybe the delay issue has been improved with FW 7 - have not come round to checking it. Apart from that the downshifting one step worked fine and the sound was OKish. Don't know about upshifting seven steps though - you will have to try and find out yourself if it fits your playing and if it affects the sound of soloing.
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Yes hopefully it will sound ok. If not there is always the old fashioned way of doing things:)

By the way the solo does not need the capo, just the clean guitar part where I am playing the chords. So during the solo I would turn the pitch shift off. I will experiment tomorrow.

The tonematch is a cool idea, but because of lack of time I am still on 5.07 so no tonematching yet
 
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There was nothing in the release notes about improvements to the pitch block latency when tuning up or down so if you're that concerned about it being right have another band member come up at the right time and take your capo off so you can dive into the solo. A compromise for sure but sonically by far the best option.
 
Please try it. I'm very curious what you find.

That part in stairway does have some artificial feel to it if I remember correctly. You might be good.
 
I wonder if Cliff could program a "capo" effect which would be like a pitch shift, but designed specifically to act more like a capo? So it wouldn't be used for intelligent pitch shifting ... dumbed down to do 1/2 pitch shift increments all the way to 7 shifts up or down before artifacts start surfacing?

I would probably just buy a Variax or Roland Strat for this ... but I need the ability to run both acoustic and electric modeling simultaneously. Right now, I could only mix the electric with only electric/acoustic modeling. Obviously if I have the electric/acoustic model on a "capo" setting, the regular electric won't be. I like mixing an acoustic/electric signal together.

So, my guitar with piezo would definitely benefit with a capo setting in the Axe FX II ... unless the Variax ever started allowing 2 modeling signals that could be split.
 
I've wanted this for a long time with the axefx. The Whammy DT or Morpeheus pedals are you best bet for artificially raising or lowering your pitch. (IMHO)
 
I have not found any pitchshifter sound natural enough for me to use up/down at seven steps. Including the Variax, Roland VG-99, Eclipse, Digitech Whammy DT. The morpheus capo doesn't allow you to capo that high IIRC.

Latency is more problematic down tuning than up.

Personally, I would just use a capo.
 
Variax maybe, havent seen it done but I know it can be.
I have a Droptune pedal I put in front of the axe2. Same company makes a CAPO pedal that goes up. Why not pitch shift a half step down in the axe-because I use three patches in that song, so I would have to switch/hit another switch every time. It does okay for a half step. It will go much lower but sounds funkier the lower you go. Good enough for the 2 songs I need to drop down a half step for-floyd/lifeson LP. Did the guitar switch thing-pain in the butt.
 
I think for substituting a capo a hexaphonic pickup is the way to go, if at all. Monophonic (realtime) processing just has its physical limits.
 
javajunkie said:
I have not found any pitchshifter sound natural enough for me to use up/down at seven steps. Including the Variax, Roland VG-99, Eclipse, Digitech Whammy DT. The morpheus capo doesn't allow you to capo that high IIRC.
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The Morpheus Capo does go to seven steps up.

If Fractal came make a more natural sounding downtune effect (either in the AxeFx or a separate device), many people would want it. Including me!
 
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