Viirtual Capo comparison

kabong

kabong

Inspired
I was comparing the capo effect on my Axefx 3 with my Kemper (still have it, but it's gathering dust) and a friends digitech drop tune pedal.
Both those units do a noticeably better job minimizing warble and maintaining tone than my axefx. I was using clean tones to compare.
I did this after seeing a youtube vid comparing drop tune pedal and axefx. Being the skeptic I am, had to do comparison for myself. Really surprised, but the results were the same.
I hope Fractal keeps improving the effect to be at least on par with those two.
Certainly not a dealbreaker, I love the Axefx more everday that I use it.
Just curious to see hear if anyone else has had similar experience. Not nearly as noticeable when using distorted tones, but easy to hear with clean especially when dropping more than a half step. 🤔
Forgot to mention, the digitech drop tune was the best of the 3....kemper was 2 and my fractal was 3.
Have to give kudos to digitech on that one because I believe this is oldest technology of the 3. Really holds up well.
 
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kabong said:
I was comparing the capo effect on my Axefx 3 with my Kemper (still have it, but it's gathering dust) and a friends digitech drop tune pedal.
Both those units do a noticeably better job minimizing warble and maintaining tone than my axefx. I was using clean tones to compare.
I did this after seeing a youtube vid comparing drop tune pedal and axefx. Being the skeptic I am, had to do comparison for myself. Really surprised, but the results were the same.
I hope Fractal keeps improving the effect to be at least on par with those two.
Certainly not a dealbreaker, I love the Axefx more everday that I use it.
Just curious to see hear if anyone else has had similar experience. Not nearly as noticeable when using distorted tones, but easy to hear with clean especially when dropping more than a half step. 🤔
Forgot to mention, the digitech drop tune was the best of the 3....kemper was 2 and my fractal was 3.
Have to give kudos to digitech on that one because I believe this is oldest technology of the 3. Really holds up well.
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The audio clips you meant to attach to your post are not there.
 
If you were playing quietly enough to hear physical volume of the guitar against the shifted tone, that would be understandable. However, if you have recorded a loop that you use as I did, you eliminate that potential interaction, plus, you can direct your focus totally towards the sound. In fact, that is how I dial in my all blocks. Works much better.
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing the axefx (or my kemper for that matter), just discussing a difference in that particular effect.
For that matter, the old GSP21 I used to use in my rack has a particular chorus sound that I have never quite been able to duplicate.
 
Just did my standard -5 drop B but in a clean scene of a preset - I hear the warble you're talking about.

I wonder how noticeable it'd (will?) be in a band context.
 
Budda said:
Just did my standard -5 drop B but in a clean scene of a preset - I hear the warble you're talking about.

I wonder how noticeable it'd (will?) be in a band context.
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With a little effects and the band and the differing acoustics of the venue, probably barely noticeable at all unless you had a large solo section😂
 
You know how it is.... You want one box the size of your phone that makes all the sounds of everything you ever liked plus magically powers your cabs with no cords and changes sounds when you mentally want it to , right?🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
 
Perhaps this is why I’ve tended to avoid the virtual capo despite many being content with it. I rarely venture into anything that would be considered high gain by todays standards. I’ve always heard the tracking warble with the Pitch block.

It’s been functional in a live context but not as smooth as what Digitech and EHX manages with the Drop / POG.
 
FractalAudio said:
In my tests the Axe-Fx was superior to both. Make sure you set Pitch Tracking to smooth. Fast is intended for single notes.
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Smooth does lessen the warble, but also increases latency. However, I still revisited the comparison..... Digitech still did the best job with larger shifts. Tonality remained truer to original with less warble.
It's not a night and day difference, but easily audible with clean tone.
 
My favorite test, the one I’ve found to bring out pitch shift artifacts the fastest, is just to bend a high note, say the 15th fret of the second string, and apply wild vibrato. That vibrato can just become something like the sound of a wah pedal in the weirdest way with some pitch shifters, e.g., the Morpheus pedal. I had the Morpheus, Whammy 1, 2, and 5, and I know the 5 does not have that particular weirdness, but I don’t remember if the 1 or 2 did. The Axe-FX III is of course the only one of those where you can dial more advanced parameters of shift, and I was able to dial it to get a shift without artifacts on vibrato using the Tracking and Smoothing knobs. For me, any latency or tonal coloration just bugs me, so I just don’t use pitch shifting at all right now. I never play completely clean, so I missed any artifacts in that scenario.
 
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FractalAudio said:
In my tests the Axe-Fx was superior to both. Make sure you set Pitch Tracking to smooth. Fast is intended for single notes.
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Interesting. So smooth for chords and fast for single notes. Hmmm I didn't know that was a thing. So use 2 channels or both blocks?

The warble is there. I've used the VC with a half step down for a full night a few times. Easily heard.

I just started setting the guitars up in Eb. I'll have to go back now and check.
 
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