Using Axe II to drop tune my guitar

L

Legion

Member
I wanna play some Type O, but don't want to restring and drop tune my guitar to B. Is it possible to pitch shift my guitar signal in the Axe FX? Everything I read about pitch shifting talks about harmony, but I just want to shift my signal down 4 semitones. Is this possible?
 
Pitch Shifting can only get you so far.
There is a Difference due to the Bagginess of the Strings when you Tune Down that a Pitch Shifter is not going to Match.
I have a Gibson Dark Fire Les Paul, which is their "Robot II" Technology.
This works quite well for Dropping to Drop C, Back to Eb, etc.
The Guitar took quite a bit of setup and a good study of the Manual, because I wanted to shut-off ALL on board EQ and Default all my Coil Switching.
Additionally, I Learned all my "Tunings" to the 1st Bank for easier access live.
This works quite well, because I can get from Eb to Drop C in 5 Seconds on average and the String Tension is how it should be.
These Guitars are Referred to as "Gibson Robot Guitars", there are several different models including the Les Pauls.
I had a Les Paul "Robot I" which I later sold on eBay, because while it worked well, it took a good 30-45 Seconds for me to change tunings.

A factory Preset that would be close to what you would need if still trying to do the Pitch Shift is around 75 in Firmware 9, it is called Down Full Step.
That patch is "Voice 1 Shift" at -2. You would want to take it to -5.
 
I use a Morpheus Droptune pedal in front of the Axe, and it works perfect for me. Digitech Whammy also works fine, but not better.

Take a look XXX Atalaya Rock 2012 2/3 - YouTube I use the Morpheus one step down, and during the solo I switch it off beacuse I prefer to do it that way (easier for me). And the other guitarris uses a Digitech Whammy. Latency for us it is not a problem when giging.
 
I used my axe fx to do this. It works, with some tweaking can sounds quite authentic and the latency was pretty damn minimal.
The below example is a SUPER rough recording which I spent all of 5 minutes on.

EDIT: thats a 7 in b standard repitched to G

 
Version 8. Axe edit is still working for me with that so I haven't upgraded. That's just my normal rhythm patch but with a pitch block placed first up in the chain.
Sounds a little bit dull, I put an enhancer the other day and that made a big difference.
 
I like to tune down a half step from time to time for playing Van Halen, Kiss, Thin Lizzy, etc., so I use the pitch shifter to do so. I think it sounds pretty darn good. You just have to mess around with the settings to your liking. I also set up a preset with a Diezel model where it is tuned down to B (2.5 steps?). It's not perfect but sure is easier than retuning the guitar (especially with a Floyd).

For the above mentioned Diezel preset, I put a Pitch Shifter block before the Amp block and use Fixed Harmony. Voice 1 Shift = -5, Voice 2 Shift = 0, Voice 1 Level = 100%, Voice 2 Level = 0%. Also, adjust tracking at bottom as desired (experiment with different values to see what sounds best). Turn the Mix knob to 100% so all you hear is the pitch shifter without any of the original guitar mixed in.
 
theo said:
I used my axe fx to do this. It works, with some tweaking can sounds quite authentic and the latency was pretty damn minimal.
The below example is a SUPER rough recording which I spent all of 5 minutes on.

EDIT: thats a 7 in b standard repitched to G

Click to expand...


Have a patch you care to share?
 
Teach me how to share a patch and you can have it.
It's really nothing that special though. HBE driving a mesa cab with a boost. The pitch shift is in the first available block. Fixed harmony set your interval, turn the mix up to 100% and then you can play with the track (which I haven't done at all actually).
 
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