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Pitch block

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Revision as of 19:19, 26 June 2011 by Yek (talk | contribs)
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The Pitch block has a Learn function. Turn it on, play a note, hold it. The AFXII now sets the key according to the note you played. Source1 Source2

The Pitch Shifter has a lot of modes. Classic Whammy, Detune, Fixed Harmony, Intelligent Harmony, Octave Divider, Crystals. A couple of remarks: ▪ Whammy: the Whammy is a 100% wet (no dry signal) signal, going up and/or down 1 or 2 octaves. Of course you need an expression pedal to make use of it. Enable Auto-engage in the modifier menu to automatically switch the Whammy on when moving the pedal. If the tone is too harsh, turn down the HiCut frequency. If you have an Ultra, then use the additional tracking option Local Mono for better control. ▪ Detune: check the Modern Eddie factory preset as an example. Or use the Multi-Delay effect for very thick detune tones. In general: detune up and down the same amount, between +/-5 and +/-10, delay the voices for more width (7 ms), set mix at 25% or lower, turn down HiCut Freq to 8k or lower, place the block after the amp block, pan the voices hard left and right. Check for phase cancellation when running in mono. ▪ Pitch shifting may work better after distortion (pedals and amp) and even better using individual paths for each voice. ▪ When the Pitch is in the main path, the Mix parameter controls the balance between the dry voice and the shifted voice. But turning the mix up, will lower the output of the block. A way around this is to put the Pitch block in a parallel path, and add that to the dry signal. The Ultra can do a bit more: ▪ It has a Custom Shifter mode. This makes use of up to 32 "custom scales" (Global menu). These scales are used to convert played notes into other notes. ▪ Advanced Whammy, Arpeggiator and Auto Pitch ("Cher" effect) modes. ▪ Better pitch detecting capabilities (choice between Local Mono and Local Poly). Local means that the tracking takes place at the input of the block, Global means that the tracking takes place at the input of the Axe-Fx. If you need an Octaver effect (1 octave down voice), set the pitch shifter to Fixed Harmony, 1 octave down. Alternatively use the Ring Modulator with these settings: Track On, Fmult 0.5, LoCut low. Note: pitch tracking does not work on the right rear input or the effects loop, just the front input and rear left input. So don't use the right rear input if you need to use the Pitch Shifter. Unless you have an Ultra: you can select Local Mono or Local Poly as Pitch Source. The Octave Divider always uses the Global detector, even if you have an Ultra. Cliff: "When going direct, pitch shifting often sounds best when placed BEFORE the cab block. The factory presets may have the block doing the shifting (pitch or multidelay) after the cabinet block. Try moving the pitch before the cabinet block for smoother results." (In this case: set the source to Global, Ultra only). Background (source: Bakerman): "The pitch block basically shifts the entire cab freq. response up/down if it's after cab. A slight detune might sound about the same either way but with a half step, whole step, etc. the difference becomes more apparent."