Any word on pitch shifting updates/improvements for cleans & bass?

[Skynet]

I recently upgraded from the 2 to the 3 and mirror your experiences.
There are some staple patches for my band using the dual chromatic block, the 3 warbles quite heavily and sometimes misses the harmony altogether.

I've tried all combinations of settings but have yet to get it tracking the way my 2 did.

 

[Bruce Sokolovic]

It's a bass guitar. 5 strings, according to the profile pic. No one has pitch shifting for bassists nailed on any of the modelers. Haven't tried the QC because barf. With a 5 string, you can transpose all over the place. Unless you are doing songs in drop F or something that probably isn't going to happen in coverband land?

While I agree, I've seen more than one coverband (and unfortunately been in one) that can clear a bar faster than an incipient fart fueled inferno with heavy music only the guitarists GFs friend Scott wants to hear. Scott didn't even listen and the dance floor is gone, many to the next bar where the fun band is playing. Mission: FAIL.

FWIW, I hereby claim all rights and uses of Incipient Fart Fueled Inferno for any creative endeavor, including band or song name.

As for the pitch shifter, I imagine it is nearly impossible to make a product that fits all uses for all users. I have a few wishes, too. This one is easy, if you like the Helix shifter, get a stomp or even the cheaper one whatever that is called and throw it in the loop. More money, sure but it immediately fixes the problem as opposed to hoping for an update. Use ALL the things to get the squealy notes you're after.

Thats all I got

 

[steadystate]

I've been siding with Fractal on this issue, since I hadn't directly compared anything else directly to the pitch block. I recently bought an Electro Harmonix Pitch Fork Plus to supplement the FM9's one pitch block. I'm afraid I have to say that it outperforms both the III and the FM9 in virtual capo functionality IMO. There is just no comparison, no matter what settings I use for the Fractal. The Pitch Fork has far less glitching and warbling, especially on intervals that the Fractal just doesn't seem to handle well. The Pitch Fork also doesn't suffer from ramping delay artifacts (meaning the perceived delay is constant rather than constantly changing like the Fractal). I find it difficult to maintain a rhythmic pattern with the Fractal, while it is easy with the Pitch Fork. It obviously isn't perfect, and the overall latency might be slightly higher than the average of the Fractal. It also doesn't preserve the attack as well as the Fractal. If it has an Achilles heel, it's the character of the attack. But the tradeoff for pitch and timing stability is worth it IMO. It's all about tradeoffs, and only you can determine what is best for you.

Granted, all the Pitch Fork can do is polyphonic chromatic shift. But I recommend using this as a virtual capo for anyone having issues with the existing block. The Fractal pitch block absolutely SMOKES everyone else when it comes to intelligent shift. I'd be lost without it.

 

[usersnoozer]

As for the pitch shifter, I imagine it is nearly impossible to make a product that fits all uses for all users. I have a few wishes, too. This one is easy, if you like the Helix shifter, get a stomp or even the cheaper one whatever that is called and throw it in the loop. More money, sure but it immediately fixes the problem as opposed to hoping for an update. Use ALL the things to get the squealy notes you're after.

Thats all I got

"Buy an HX stomp" is something I never thought I'd see as a response to a feature improvement request...

 

[Bruce Sokolovic]

"Buy an HX stomp" is something I never thought I'd see as a response to a feature improvement request...

I guess it depends how mission critical it is to the op. If this is a must have, I’d personally spend the couple hundred bucks and just have what is readily available. If it is a “hey, this would be nice to have” request and the op can work with the current shifter in hopes this particular use case is improved, that’s something else. If I was relying on a pitch shifter and there was a major, audible difference I couldn’t live with at my shows, I’d just go get the one I like. I’m just one user with one opinion so FWIW.

 

[JTI]

I guess it depends how mission critical it is to the op. If this is a must have, I’d personally spend the couple hundred bucks and just have what is readily available. If it is a “hey, this would be nice to have” request and the op can work with the current shifter in hopes this particular use case is improved, that’s something else. If I was relying on a pitch shifter and there was a major, audible difference I couldn’t live with at my shows, I’d just go get the one I like. I’m just one user with one opinion so FWIW.

Good lord all of this.

 

[Ugly Bunny]

I guess it depends how mission critical it is to the op. If this is a must have, I’d personally spend the couple hundred bucks and just have what is readily available.

It's absolutely indispensable, which is why I had to ditch the Axe III and FM3 for the HX Stomp 2 years ago, and why I now use the QC (smaller than my HX Stomp rig, since I used a couple outboard pedals), and why my guitarist has switched from Fractal to QC. This is FAS's one weakness. They do everything else miles above the rest, but pitch shifting has been left in the dust.

If it has an Achilles heel, it's the character of the attack.

Good point; this is something NO pitch shifter has nailed: maintaining the attack, since the "clack" of the bass strings on the frets or the pick attack wouldn't be transposed if you just downtuned. But as long as you're only going up to a few half steps down, it's not too big of a deal, although I occasionally toy around with having a high-pass filter ahead of the pitch shifter to keep the attacks. These days, i don't really bother since I play with a little hair on my bass tone anyway. I never tried the Pitchfork, but I have seen lots of people swear by it. My thing is that I want it all in one box - so far, that's the QC (I could get away with it on the Stomp, too, since I'd only need 4 blocks - the pitch shifter, amp, cab, and compressor - in a pinch.

I recently upgraded from the 2 to the 3 and mirror your experiences.
There are some staple patches for my band using the dual chromatic block, the 3 warbles quite heavily and sometimes misses the harmony altogether.

I've tried all combinations of settings but have yet to get it tracking the way my 2 did.

Interesting; the 2 tracks better than the 3? I never would have guessed.

In any case, if I went back to playing guitar, this would be a moot point, since we only ever had one song that was downtuned and clean (the Sweater Song) and the full band came in quick enough that I could let the artifacts slide for a few measures. But now, even with a monophonic bassline, I can hear all sorts of weird stuff happening to the sound.

 

[FractalAudio]

We'll take a look when we get some time. Thread closed.