Inserting EH PitchFork into signal chain

D

dschaaf

Experienced
Hi All,

Just ordered an EH Pitchfork to try out and I am wondering the best/proper way to connect it to the AXE FX II? I have never any outboard gear/external pedals with my Axe so this is the first time hooking it up this way.
I imagine the Pitchfork has to be at the beginning of the signal chain and I would use a FXLoop block...just not sure how to connect.

Thanks for your help :)

D
 
Curious why you're using the Pitchfork in favor of the AxeFx's built-in pitch shifters? I briefly owned a Pitchfork and sold it since IMHO it was inferior. Are you trying to free up cpu for use with other blocks?
 
Thanks Jim, good question. I have been using the Axe's built in pitch shifting and always have a lot of latency (although it could just be my not tweaking things correctly) I had hoped that the EH PF would be superior (lower latency) and off load some of the duty of the Axe. If you are saying that it was inferior, I may just end up returning it :)

Thanks,
D
 
I was between the Pitch Fork and the Digitech Drop...after watching some reviews, I picked up the Digitech and have had decent luck with it. Like OP, i had latency with the Axe, so I figured it was worth a shot to jam along to some down tuned stuff.
 
Latency was one of the things I was most interested in, and I did some informal, non-scientific tests to compare latency between the AxeFxII pitch shifting and that of the Pitchfork. Basically, I did a parallel split off my instrument and recorded each path on a DAW. As a control, I recorded a dry (L)/bypassed (R) of each to make sure that there was no inherent latency between the direct recording and that of the signal going through the bypassed Pitchfork or AxeFxII.

What I saw reinforced what I was hearing: the AxeFxII had lower latency, that would fluctuate depending on the parameter settings, and it also did not add as much coloration to the shifted sound. The Pitchfork did noticeably color the tone, and of course since it is a basic stomp pedal, you have no opportunity to tweak this. Whether this coloration matters in context might be moot, but certainly, in live performance the latency of the Pitchfork for drop-tuned shifts was something I couldn't deal with, and it certainly was not better than the AxeFxII shifts in this respect.

Certainly it is worth forming your own opinion, AxeFxII vs Pitchfork, but I would also take a much closer look at your settings in the AxeFx's Pitch Block, especially for polyphonic content. I can't recall off the top of my head, but there are some key parameter settings that are "make or break" in terms of tracking and latency.

I've heard good things about the Digitech Drop, but never used one hands-on.

JMO, YMMV.
 
I've got a Drop, love it. I don't have it in a loop, I have it between the guitar and the Axe. I used the pitch block for a while, the Drop just ended up being easier. I haven't noticed any lag and it doesn't sound strange till you tune down about 6-7 steps. Even then it's not that noticeable. It feels pricey, but it's pretty great.
 
Slogan said:
I've got a Drop, love it. I don't have it in a loop, I have it between the guitar and the Axe. I used the pitch block for a while, the Drop just ended up being easier. I haven't noticed any lag and it doesn't sound strange till you tune down about 6-7 steps. Even then it's not that noticeable. It feels pricey, but it's pretty great.
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Thanks
 
I also have the DROP and use it the same way that Slogan does. I generally only use it for tuning down a half step to, play VH and U2 stuff. Works fine. I also use the M13 with good results. Not that there is an issue with the Fractal detune function, I just prefer having the detune before the modeler.
 
The Pitchfork is a pitch shifter? I thought it just told you whether your music was trendy and then rated it a 6.2...
 
Adinfinitum said:
I also have the DROP and use it the same way that Slogan does. I generally only use it for tuning down a half step to, play VH and U2 stuff. Works fine. I also use the M13 with good results. Not that there is an issue with the Fractal detune function, I just prefer having the detune before the modeler.
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I'm looking to do this...primarily a 1/2 step down for U2 stuff etc :)
 
I just got the Digi Drop a few weeks ago and like Slogan and Adinfinitum I have it in front of the axe right after guitar. I read it was better than the PF. No latency and works great, and to me sounds a little better than built in pitch in axe-fx. That said, it sounds better to me on high gain patches than clean. I used it to drop my piezo from E to Eb and it seemed to cut the highs and lose some definition. On spanky clean blues setting it seems to me the feel of a SRV type of tone isnt quite as dynamic.
 
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