Emulating a 7 string without pitch shifting (KORN)

Stringtheorist

Fractal Fanatic
My band maybe about to cover one or two songs by KORN. I don't own a 7-string guitar and even if I did I wouldn't be able to bring another guitar to the gig because of lack of space in my car. I considered using the pitch shifter on the Axe-II but not only does there seem to be significant latency but the Pitch block seems to do really strange things to the sound of the preset (artifacts, garbling, strange EQ stuff). Also, if I lower the guitar's pitch the required high notes will then be out of reach.

I've decided instead I'll just use my 6-string ESP in D standard and omit the Root note of the chords, allowing the bass to fill out the rest. In Korn, the bass is largely adding percussive sounds to the ensemble rather than bottom end, with the guitars providing much of the low end girth. Is there anything I could do with my preset to create the low B-string grunt? (Raise Depth?) Or should I leave it to our bassist to provide the missing low-end?
 
I think just omitting the root of the chord is your best bet. Depending on the song - if there are any spots where its single low notes being played you could maybe just use the pitch shifter for that particular part or do the opposite and tune your guitar down and just use the pitch shifting for those high parts.
 
I play in a cover band with a WIDE range of material. I use the PS to drop my locked Ibanez down a 2nd, 3rd and 4th with almost no issues. There's a tiny bit of latency but nothing huge. There's not really anything TOO intricate going on in Korns stuff where that small lag would be a deal breaker. I would put the pitch block first I your chain and mess around w the settings until you find something you like. You might also consider an eq somewhere else to undo some of the tonal changes from the PS. When you're chugging away in a full mix w drums and bass blaring, you probably won't notice too much. The mix plus a live setting makes a HUGE difference.
For me, changing chord voicings and playing the tune "incorrectly" - which would kill the whole vibe of the tune far outweigh the slight tonal differences and barely noticeable latency. Try it in rehearsal before you really make up your mind. Good luck.
 
Use simeon's trick to retain attack so it doesn't suffer any pitch-shifted "drop tune" latency. Essentially, set up a parallel signal path and use modifier control with and ADSR or Envelope to retain only the attack portion of the picked strings, chopping the sustain before any discernible pitch information kicks in. Latency is all about the attack.

http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-f...ow-reduce-latency-down-shifted-patches-2.html
 
Use simeon's trick to retain attack so it doesn't suffer any pitch-shifted "drop tune" latency. Essentially, set up a parallel signal path and use modifier control with and ADSR or Envelope to retain only the attack portion of the picked strings, chopping the sustain before any discernible pitch information kicks in. Latency is all about the attack.

http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-f...ow-reduce-latency-down-shifted-patches-2.html

Thanks for the link. I'll try it out.
 
Check out the guitarist in Sylosis- Josh Middleton.
He plays 'detuned' metal but in standard tuning.
If that sounds like a contradiction then yes it is.

The trick is to write in keys that are appropriate to the genre.
Writing a tune in B and then barring across onto the 6th string (for instance a Bm chord that also bars the low F#) will give you something that is approximately the same type of tonality, especially when playing with a bassist who has a low B.

Try it, it works.
 
Check out the guitarist in Sylosis- Josh Middleton.
He plays 'detuned' metal but in standard tuning.
If that sounds like a contradiction then yes it is.

The trick is to write in keys that are appropriate to the genre.
Writing a tune in B and then barring across onto the 6th string (for instance a Bm chord that also bars the low F#) will give you something that is approximately the same type of tonality, especially when playing with a bassist who has a low B.

Try it, it works.

That's already what I've been doing, except since Korn play a whole step down I'm using a D standard tuned guitar. It still means losing the bass notes (which provide some of this bands signature timbre) however.

Maybe I should just bite the bullet and get a bigger car. :D
 
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At the moment just Freak On A Leash.

Ok, what you could do is tone match a recording and turn that into an ir. Tone match your own detuned recording with an emphasis on the low end.... Even include a bass line in there. It takes some time to get a useable match but you'll end up with a real heavy dark ir that you can brighten with eq, air, or second cab. This is part of how I simulate layered guitars and it seems to work well. I tone matched the beginning of politics which essentially was layered guitars with bass. The recording I have up on soundcloud doesn't fully do justice to the process but if I have a chance I'll put another one up and post the ir/preset.
 
dude just buy a 7, once you get used to it you'll learn to love it
it opens up a whole new way of approaching how you play guitar.
 
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