Pitch Shifter / Intelligent Harmony

bwanagary

bwanagary

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I'm a newbie here today so apologies in advance for my ignorant questions.
I've been researching extensively for a good Amp Modeler/Multi-effects processor for live performances and occasional recordings. I've looked at a lot of gear and I'm down the to Axe FX II and the Eleven Rack. Without a doubt the 11R is a superior machine and the user community is as great as any I've seen. I perform all variants of Rock live and many other genres of my personal taste but seldom perform those live. I've read the Owner's Manual for the FX II so I love what I read and I love what I hear on Youtube. I'd really like to know if the Intelligent Harmony works well enough to use in a live environment. Has anyone used it? I still own an aging Roland VG-99 which has the feature (and many others) but the sound quality is so poor I can't stand it. Oh, and you *have to* use the poxy GK-3 hexphonic pickup with the VG-99. The VG-99 can only do Diatonic unless you custom program each harmony note yourself. It's useless.

Can anybody comment on the FX II Intelligent Harmony feature in a live (or even recording) setting?
Thanks a ton

EBMM JP6 BFR 6-string
PRS something or other :)
'69 Gibson ES-345
Dynacord Eminent II tube PA head (for guitar)
Custom speaker cabinet with 2X12 Eminence Tonker speakers
Roland VG-99
Fender Twin w/JBLs
Other toys ...
 
Axefx 2 ---- No its rubbish ...its only good for making Cheese..."without doubt the 11R is a superior machine' - !!! please go and buy a 11R - lol
 
the pitch shifter in the axe is probably the best in the world right now. i've used all the variations of it (intelligent, fixed, crystals, custom scales etc etc) and it performs brilliantly

here's forum member Analog doing some Satch with it - Satch patch by 1x10e5 on SoundCloud - Hear the world - if that's not good enough for you, then i don't know what to say. get an 11 rack and an Eventide, i guess...
 
lukather said:
Axefx 2 ---- No its rubbish ...its only good for making Cheese..."without doubt the 11R is a superior machine' - !!! please go and buy a 11R - lol
Click to expand...

LOL. So whacha got against cheese? :)
Thanks for the prompt (if not exceedingly helpful) reply.
 
Thanks a bunch Simeon. Awesome example. I really like the FX II more but its sooooo much more $$ and I absolutely need the MFC-101 for live usage. Ugh. Have to get some jewelry for the wife this weekend. Then she can't say no :)
 
simeon said:
Well there are other pedalboards you can buy which work with the axe :)
Click to expand...

I already own a Roland FC-300 but I've read posts where people say that they are a huge aggravation to get working with the FX II, and that the time spend grappling with it is so much that it's worth shelling out the $700 for the MFC-101. I'm a software developer so I can figure stuff out, but I want to spend my time playing and using the gear instead of doing battle with it. Maybe I'll try to work it with my FC-300 (assuming I buy the FX II) first and if it is a onerous as the other posters say then I'll just cave and buy the MFC-101.
Thanx again.
 
If your getting into some complex presets then the MFC is a no brainer. Basic stuff can be handled with the cheapest of midi boards, FBC1010, Rocktron midi mate, Voodoo Labs GCP take your pick.
 
You can do everything the mfc can do with a Yamaha mfc10, btw. Maybe not so elegantly, but it is a third of the price and it has a cc pedal on it :)
 
With the GCP I have to write every patch name in the GCP unit and highlight every instant accsess button that is active in the preset - manually. This consumes time... would like to have a MFC for sure.
 
The axe kills the 11 rack and you can use any midi board with it, you just have to do the midi programing yourself. If you have the extra cash the MFC is so easy to use, if not then set it up with whatever you have. Btw, I'm using the pitch shifting live so I only have to bring one guitar to gigs and it works flawlessly!
 
simeon said:
the pitch shifter in the axe is probably the best in the world right now. i've used all the variations of it (intelligent, fixed, crystals, custom scales etc etc) and it performs brilliantly

here's forum member Analog doing some Satch with it - Satch patch by 1x10e5 on SoundCloud - Hear the world - if that's not good enough for you, then i don't know what to say. get an 11 rack and an Eventide, i guess...
Click to expand...
That is a wicked patch. I have no idea how to build it. Any presets on AxeChange that would get me started?
 
'K. I'm convinced the Axe is the way to go :) Another (likely stupid) question about the pitch shifter - how does it know which note to "shift"? I mean, playing guitar there are likely "collateral" notes and sounds, if not chords, in the signal going to the Axe. Does it pick the "loudest" note to shift, the most-recently-played-note to shift or does it just shift everything it gets?
 
it shifts everything it gets. it's up to you to be sensible about what you give it. the intelligent harmoniser or the whammy will have problems with chords for example, but the fixed shifter won't
 
I used to use a Roland FC-200 with the Axe. It really wasn't that bad, it just didn't have all the bells and whistles that the MFC has.
 
BTW - UGH! I reread my first post where I crassly typed "Without a doubt the 11R is a superior machine..." - that's not what I meant to say at all! ;-). I meant that the FX II is clearly the superior machine. Thanks for not flaming me believe that I could make such an idiotic statement in an Fractal forum :). A senior moment no doubt. Thanks again Simeon for the reply. That's what I suspected but it's good to know what I'm getting into. I've also found quite a few other harmonizer clips on youtube and I agree, its the best I've ever heard - by far! So ... off to the Jeweler (so I can bribe the wife) :).
 
couple of observations...

"I'd really like to know if the Intelligent Harmony works well enough to use in a live environment."
- like Simeon says, it really is superb.
You'll have no issues there [providing you're comparing with other regular fx-units with mag pups that are handling the pitch shifting in real time]

"I still own an aging Roland VG-99 which has the feature (and many others) but the sound quality is so poor I can't stand it."
- I still have one too. Got it to sound killer in small venues, huge outdoor venues and studio.
It's not a poor sounding unit at all [well.. it don't need to be]. And it has a ton of configurability and is superb at real-time control.

"Oh, and you *have to* use the poxy GK-3 hexphonic pickup with the VG-99."
- this is not true at all. I never used it. Sure I have one mounted on a guitar [for fun] but I always jacked in to the rear and used regular mag pups.
I didn't like the idea of towing that huge cable around the stage. Or the thought of digging holes in my Morgan V6's [cos they're expensive]

"The VG-99 can only do Diatonic unless you custom program each harmony note yourself. It's useless."
- erm.. it's the same in the Axe, you can use predetermined scales or create your own..
that said, the Axe is better in this area [from a mag pup performance and tone standpoint]..
however, with the hex pup you can do alternate tunings [DADGAD, drop D, banjo etc], the Axe can't do that.. that's a job for a hex pup MIDI setup

there's not a unit out there that can go toe to toe with the Axe tone wise..
and likewise, with all that COSM guitar stuff, there's not a unit that can go toe to toe with the VG-99 in that area...
combine the two [if you're happy with the whole hex pup thing] and you have an immense amount of tone creation capability...
 
I went through my 11R phase. It was really good at the time.
The Axe2 is far superior in everything.

Fractal has a term called the new paradigm (when referring to Axe Edit).
I think "the new paradigm" also can used to describe Fractal as a company now, and going forward.
I don't see anyone else coming close to what they've already achieved. The best product and support somehow just keep getting better.
 
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