So I first want to sing the praises of the Pitch block and Virtual Capo update that we got in 12.08, but I also want to see if anyone else is noticing some tone slight tone loss in the high frequencies.
The slight dilemma first
I feel like simply engaging the Virtual Capo results in a tone difference that seems to entail a slight loss of some of the high frequency detail, even when the pitch shift is set to 0.
For example, my basic test is to chug on a nice and crunchy open palm mute in Drop D then switch the Pitch Block with Virtual Capo mode with no alterations going on (no pitch shifting, high and low cuts at max levels to be irrelevant, etc.). When going back and forth with the Pitch Block engaged and disengaged, I notice a little of the high end frequencies that accentuate the crunchy part of the mute and the pick scrapes are not as present any more, and the low end could possibly be slightly more boomy too (it could be that it is just more present now). It is not a huge difference, but I still find it to be noticeable enough even with no pitch shifting. This observation seemsh to become more noticeable the more you drop the pitch (e.g. -4 to Drop A#).
When I play with the low cut in the Pitch Block, I feel like I can find those somewhat veiled high frequency details just fine but at the expense of the low end fullness. I think I could simply throw in an EQ block after the Pitch Block and experiment until I feel like I have sufficiently regained the original tone back, but part of me feels like this should not be needed. I am curious if this issue could possibly be addressed in a future update. I am super appreciative for what we have now and can happily live with this as is, so I don't want to come off the wrong way.
Is anyone else noticing the same thing? Any good solutions found yet? Or am I just crazy?
The great stuff now
The updated Virtual Capo is a game changer for me. Before the update, there was too much lag for this to be truly useful for me and the warbling was too noticeable on top of that. Now I don’t notice any lag at all, and as long as I am perfectly tuned and intonated, I am not noticing any detectable warbling when live playing (not saying a small amount might still be there is you listened back to super clean tone recordings).
I am already so happy this this now that I am in the process of getting rid of the extra guitars that I have kept around just for lower tunings (e.g. 2 6 strings were needed to cover Drop C# to A#). I am now preferring my Drop D guitar (PRS USA Custom 24 with 52-10 strings and HFS/VB), which I previously had setup for Drop C, with the Virtual Capo mode for all of these drop tunings rather than reaching for my dedicated Drop A# guitar (PRS SE277 baritone with 62-13 strings and BKP Black Dogs). Yeah the USA model should beat out the SE even though they are fairly comparable for their respective uses. But there is also something nice about the crisper tone and quicker responsiveness of the relatively lighter gauge strings and the playability of the normal scale is a hell of a lot easier too.
I am excited to be able to focus my collection on just standard/Drop D solutions and go for quality over quantity instead of having to have more guitars than I need just so I can cover all of the drop tunings that I do. I am also planning to try to switch over to Evertune bridges since I wont need to be changing tunings anymore, which will also help with the Pitch block’s sensitivity to tuning and intonation being off just slightly.
The slight dilemma first
I feel like simply engaging the Virtual Capo results in a tone difference that seems to entail a slight loss of some of the high frequency detail, even when the pitch shift is set to 0.
For example, my basic test is to chug on a nice and crunchy open palm mute in Drop D then switch the Pitch Block with Virtual Capo mode with no alterations going on (no pitch shifting, high and low cuts at max levels to be irrelevant, etc.). When going back and forth with the Pitch Block engaged and disengaged, I notice a little of the high end frequencies that accentuate the crunchy part of the mute and the pick scrapes are not as present any more, and the low end could possibly be slightly more boomy too (it could be that it is just more present now). It is not a huge difference, but I still find it to be noticeable enough even with no pitch shifting. This observation seemsh to become more noticeable the more you drop the pitch (e.g. -4 to Drop A#).
When I play with the low cut in the Pitch Block, I feel like I can find those somewhat veiled high frequency details just fine but at the expense of the low end fullness. I think I could simply throw in an EQ block after the Pitch Block and experiment until I feel like I have sufficiently regained the original tone back, but part of me feels like this should not be needed. I am curious if this issue could possibly be addressed in a future update. I am super appreciative for what we have now and can happily live with this as is, so I don't want to come off the wrong way.
Is anyone else noticing the same thing? Any good solutions found yet? Or am I just crazy?
The great stuff now
The updated Virtual Capo is a game changer for me. Before the update, there was too much lag for this to be truly useful for me and the warbling was too noticeable on top of that. Now I don’t notice any lag at all, and as long as I am perfectly tuned and intonated, I am not noticing any detectable warbling when live playing (not saying a small amount might still be there is you listened back to super clean tone recordings).
I am already so happy this this now that I am in the process of getting rid of the extra guitars that I have kept around just for lower tunings (e.g. 2 6 strings were needed to cover Drop C# to A#). I am now preferring my Drop D guitar (PRS USA Custom 24 with 52-10 strings and HFS/VB), which I previously had setup for Drop C, with the Virtual Capo mode for all of these drop tunings rather than reaching for my dedicated Drop A# guitar (PRS SE277 baritone with 62-13 strings and BKP Black Dogs). Yeah the USA model should beat out the SE even though they are fairly comparable for their respective uses. But there is also something nice about the crisper tone and quicker responsiveness of the relatively lighter gauge strings and the playability of the normal scale is a hell of a lot easier too.
I am excited to be able to focus my collection on just standard/Drop D solutions and go for quality over quantity instead of having to have more guitars than I need just so I can cover all of the drop tunings that I do. I am also planning to try to switch over to Evertune bridges since I wont need to be changing tunings anymore, which will also help with the Pitch block’s sensitivity to tuning and intonation being off just slightly.