Question about harmonizing

Devilgear

Devilgear

Member
Ok so I've been trying to get a good sound using the harmonizer on the FM3, but I just can't seem to get it to sound right. Take for example my band is doing ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY, by Lenny Kravitz. When I try, the harmonies seem cheesy sounding and it just doesn't seem right. Same thing with Detroit Rock City. Anyone else have trouble like this or have some advice about this? Thanks in advance
 
Having tried many harmonizers I've concluded that none seem to have a very good generated tone that does not sound artificial - Fractal harmonizer effect is as good or better as any. Having said that, they can sound good to my ears with some adjustments - I tend toward the following:
  • I route my dry Left tone around the harmonizer block using a Vol block panned left to keep the left side pristine (yes, one can set left harmony to 0 in the block but I feel like it affects the left tone slightly so I go around).
  • I try to stick to one generated harmony part as much as possible routed to the right side + mixed to taste.
  • add a bit of detune/delay to the generated harmony tone on the right side.
  • with distortion, I used to think the best results came from routing different pitches into separate amp blocks, but this is cpu expensive, and lately I'm not so sure it sounds better compared to running one amp with pitch after between amp block and a stereo cab block.
  • sometimes a generated hi part sounds better with you playing low - sometime vise versa - try both ways.
Below are some Axe3 patches (I don't have FM3) - sounds good to me.
1627322270252.png1627322292976.png
 

Attachments

  • PITCHHARM-1AMP.syx
    48.2 KB · Views: 8
  • PITCHHARM-2AMPS.syx
    48.2 KB · Views: 6
I've found a few things when trying to dial in harmonies...hope these help some.

1. For harmonies (adding to direct sound) I like the pitch block better when used in parallel (rather than in series), and then put the Mix to 100% wet. THEN use the Level to bring the harmony amount up to where you want it, and also you can PAN the harmony off instead of center, which can help.

2. The high and low cut located in the pitch block are your friend. I will usually cut everything under 100Hz and maybe drop the high cut to 6000kHz or even lower, to taste. That can take out some of the really high top end "digital" artifact stuff, if present.

3. Then it's really the pitch shift algorithm you choose, try a few of them.

4. Sometimes it's about what harmony notes you want to play. Maybe you play the high harmony part, and use the pitch shifter to play the original root line melody. When I do Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith, I do it that way - the classic whammy (algorithm in this case) is set to play the lower original figure/riff, while I play up a 5th on the harmony part. So think about you playing the high harmony on guitar (rather than the algorithm), and let the pitch shift play the lower harmony as one method.

You'll get there!
 
austinbuddy said:
I've found a few things when trying to dial in harmonies...hope these help some.

1. For harmonies (adding to direct sound) I like the pitch block better when used in parallel (rather than in series), and then put the Mix to 100% wet. THEN use the Level to bring the harmony amount up to where you want it, and also you can PAN the harmony off instead of center, which can help.

2. The high and low cut located in the pitch block are your friend. I will usually cut everything under 100Hz and maybe drop the high cut to 6000kHz or even lower, to taste. That can take out some of the really high top end "digital" artifact stuff, if present.

3. Then it's really the pitch shift algorithm you choose, try a few of them.

4. Sometimes it's about what harmony notes you want to play. Maybe you play the high harmony part, and use the pitch shifter to play the original root line melody. When I do Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith, I do it that way - the classic whammy (algorithm in this case) is set to play the lower original figure/riff, while I play up a 5th on the harmony part. So think about you playing the high harmony on guitar (rather than the algorithm), and let the pitch shift play the lower harmony as one method.

You'll get there!
Click to expand...
+1. I find it sounds more natural to let the harmonizer play the lower note of the harmony.
 
As for it not seeming "right", there's also some music theory: the Kravitz tune is jut octaves, but for Detroit Rock City, you'll need to switch between two scales, C Aolian and C Harmonic Minor. Or you can do it by going between keys: C minor and C# minor.
 
Moke said:
Also where it is in the signal chain is very important!
Click to expand...
Agree 100% with Moke. Sometimes a harmony pitch block it sounds best first in signal chain. Sometimes after the Cab (or even between amp and can), before any other wet stuff like delay or reverb. Play with it - just move the block around and hear the difference. Great point Moke!
 
austinbuddy said:
... play the high harmony part, and use the pitch shifter to play the original root line melody.
Click to expand...
+1 on this. Since the ear tends to hear the higher note - especially in a live mix - you don't notice the artificial tone on the lower harmony nearly as much.

Also, an octave is a long way for any device to pitch shift and sound good. 3rds, 4ths, and 5ths generally sound better because the processor doesn't have to shift as far.
 
jefferski said:
+1 on this. Since the ear tends to hear the higher note - especially in a live mix - you don't notice the artificial tone on the lower harmony nearly as much.

Also, an octave is a long way for any device to pitch shift and sound good. 3rds, 4ths, and 5ths generally sound better because the processor doesn't have to shift as far.
Click to expand...
Fixed Harmony works better for octaves (or any "fixed" interval) than Diatonic, in my experience. I think because it doesn't have as much work to do.
 
Adding formant shifting would help with the quality of pitch shifted notes, but it would also add to the CPU cost and likely affect latency and/or quality. It's tough to pull off well in real time with very low latency. It makes it sound much more like the same instrument playing in a different register/position rather than being just artificially pitched up or down. In the example of vocals, it makes the harmony part sound more like the same person singing a higher part instead of like a chipmunk version added on top. Like others said, it's less noticeable when pitching down, so if possible play the high part and let the harmonizer add the lower part.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom