Best pitch shifter pedal to drop?

[CarlosLeoBass]

Hey guys!
I’m looking for a pedal that works on bass good enough to drop down between one and four semitones. I try with digitech drop pedal but it’s works only for high notes (perfect on guitar)… but when it comes to the E or B string on bass it’s starts to “blooop” and it cannot hold the pitch.
Someone told me to try the bass whammy but it has some restrictions with intervals… same for the classical ehx pitch fork.
I already did some research and I found the EHX pitch fork + (plus) and the BOSS sx-1 as good options.
What do you think about it?
Any recommendations?
Please let me know
All the best!!!

 

[JonathanPDX]

Hey guys!
I’m looking for a pedal that works on bass good enough to drop down between one and four semitones. I try with digitech drop pedal but it’s works only for high notes (perfect on guitar)… but when it comes to the E or B string on bass it’s starts to “blooop” and it cannot hold the pitch.
Someone told me to try the bass whammy but it has some restrictions with intervals… same for the classical ehx pitch fork.
I already did some research and I found the EHX pitch fork + (plus) and the BOSS sx-1 as good options.
What do you think about it?
Any recommendations?
Please let me know
All the best!!!

You probably want this in Pedals, not Pickups.

Anyway, the big question is: what are you trying to accomplish that can't be done with a normal octave pedal? Very few pedals or speakers are actually going to sound good or clear when you drop down below a low A but if you really need to go there, why not just play your A string and drop it an octave with a good octave-down pedal like the EHX Micro-POG?

 

[Jack]

Hey guys!
I’m looking for a pedal that works on bass good enough to drop down between one and four semitones. I try with digitech drop pedal but it’s works only for high notes (perfect on guitar)… but when it comes to the E or B string on bass it’s starts to “blooop” and it cannot hold the pitch.
Someone told me to try the bass whammy but it has some restrictions with intervals… same for the classical ehx pitch fork.
I already did some research and I found the EHX pitch fork + (plus) and the BOSS sx-1 as good options.
What do you think about it?
Any recommendations?
Please let me know
All the best!!!

It's just a really difficult thing to do. I've used the ones in the hx stomp and the quad cortex for minus one or two semitones to passable effect when on stage, certainly wouldn't use them to record or anything.

-3 or -4 is a big ask.

 

[Elmstreet]

It's just a really difficult thing to do. I've used the ones in the hx stomp and the quad cortex for minus one or two semitones to passable effect when on stage, certainly wouldn't use them to record or anything.

-3 or -4 is a big ask.

Agreed. I use the Drop by digitech and it is passable at gigs for a quick shift if needed for a few songs but I wouldn’t record with it.

 

[CarlosLeoBass]

You probably want this in Pedals, not Pickups.

Anyway, the big question is: what are you trying to accomplish that can't be done with a normal octave pedal? Very few pedals or speakers are actually going to sound good or clear when you drop down below a low A but if you really need to go there, why not just play your A string and drop it an octave with a good octave-down pedal like the EHX Micro-POG?

Hello Jonathan!
Thank you very much for your reply.
What I’m trying to achieve is to keep all my basses on standard tuning and drop them between an half and two steps down when needed. I have several bands, everyone with his different tune, and I’m tired of string changing because of the different tensions.
So I’m looking some kind of digitech drop pedal but for bass.
Thanks again!

 

[JonathanPDX]

Hello Jonathan!
Thank you very much for your reply.
What I’m trying to achieve is to keep all my basses on standard tuning and drop them between an half and two steps down when needed. I have several bands, everyone with his different tune, and I’m tired of string changing because of the different tensions.
So I’m looking some kind of digitech drop pedal but for bass.
Thanks again!

But, again, why can't you just play the same part in the octave your bass is already tuned to and then reduce that by an octave?

Playing your part in B at the 7th fret and then dropping it an octave with a pedal is going to be FAR easier than finding a unit that will allow you to play your part in E and drop it by a perfect fifth.

And if you are playing anything fast the tracking is going to suck either way, but at least you can look up which octave pedals have the best tracking to give you a good starting point.

 

[CarlosLeoBass]

Thank you guys for your answers.
I will consider then another solution, as the sound is never gonna be good enough with a pedal, maybe I just should have a couple of basses for each band
All the best and thanks again

 

[oldcatfish]

Take this for what it’s worth. I would just get a 5 string and do the best that I could with that (yes, I realize that you would have to modify/relearn some of your songs). I’m not a 5 string player, but I do have one…primarily for situations exactly like yours. It’s my least favorite of my instruments, but sometimes it’s just the best tool for the job.

 

[Al Krow]

Hey guys!
I’m looking for a pedal that works on bass good enough to drop down between one and four semitones. I try with digitech drop pedal but it’s works only for high notes (perfect on guitar)… but when it comes to the E or B string on bass it’s starts to “blooop” and it cannot hold the pitch.
Someone told me to try the bass whammy but it has some restrictions with intervals… same for the classical ehx pitch fork.
I already did some research and I found the EHX pitch fork + (plus) and the BOSS sx-1 as good options.
What do you think about it?
Any recommendations?
Please let me know
All the best!!!

I've tried quite a few pitch shifters over the years. The newly released Boss XS-1 is the best of bunch in my personal experience. There's a detailed separate thread on it and a couple of excellent YT videos.

 

[LowActionHero]

I still use the Digitech Drop. There might be better stuff now but it still works for me.

I jammed with my old band awhile back and they tune down a half step now. One step and I was ready to go.

 

[Jokubas]

If you are using a DAW and have an audio interface, you could try the Helix Native free trial to see how you like what the Helix platform can offer.
I love its polyphonic pithing stuff.
I have tried dropping my bass two semitones, worked just fine in the rehearsal, nobody in the band noticed.
However, when I need the lower register playing a 4 string, I use my HX Stomp's Bass Octaver, with a momentary foot switch. Playing live, it's great.

 

[bherman]

I "ll give you a different perspective to consider. Years ago, I saw a Ray Brown masterclass video where he was meeting with a bunch of students and one of them asked him for his advice on how to be the bass player that always gets called for gigs. One of his main recommendations was to learn how to play tunes in any key. When someone asked him to demonstrate, he did so by asking one of them to name a tune - I don't remember what it was, some jazz standard - and then asking other students to call out a key. He proceeded to rip through that tune in multiple keys like it was nothing. His explanation - 1) know your instrument - bass is a pattern based instrument, as you move up and down the neck, the patterns across the strings are the same, and 2) learn the tunes well enough that you can easily transpose them. Obviously few people have the mastery and skill of Ray brown. but the lesson stuck with me.

I am in a band that has had to move keys around a bit (usually dropping 1/2-1 full step down) for a number of tunes. I tried the Digitech Drop and didn't like its sound. I also found that it was not that hard for me to just shift positions to accomplish the same thing, with better results. I only play 4 string and I know that if I played 5, it would make it that much easier to move from say, E to Eb or down to D. But any other keys are easy. For Eb or D, I just adjust up the neck as needed. And I added a drop Tuner that is tuned down to D for the E string, when needed.

I sold the Drop and don't miss it.

 

[H K]

I use the EHX pitch fork. I bought the large version, but the smallest one would have been more than enough.
Tons of features but also ofcourse all the basics. Tracks very well.

 

[2thAche]

I use a DigiTech Drop, got it used on Reverb. Sounds fine live in the mix of the band. All of the pitch shift pedals will degrade your tone a little bit (unless your sound is like a tuba), and lower notes (E or if you have a B) will have an audible oscillation like a slow wolf tone if you hold the note. They work better on guitars. We play alot in Eb standard. For one song in-between others, I use the Drop pedal. For a run of Eb songs, I have a bass tuned Eb standard, cause it is a noticeable tonal difference. I feel that tone shift pedals compress highs/ overtones somehow.

 

[Wasnex]

Been awhile since I researched this, so hopefully I get it right.

AFAIK digital pedals tend to track lower than analog. Also my memory is the Drop was one of the better units as far as tracking low notes; it's digital. While it tracked lower it did not necessarily have the best tone. Also, AFAIK tracking below a certain point starts to introduce perceivable latency/delay. I.E. the resulting notes are noticeably behind your playing. This is because a digital pedal has to sense a certain percentage of the waveform before it can start producing the proper frequency and the processing takes time. Low notes have longer waveforms, and thus the tracking gets further and further behind as you play lower.

I can't say if this is correct, but I assume a better solution might be a pedal that can drop notes a full two octaves. Then you play the bass line at a higher frequency that tracks better and has less latency. There are apparently pedals with ability to produce a 2 octave drop, but I don't know if any would suit your needs.

IMHO, using a Drop to transpose is something I would find distasteful for most songs (IMHO an YMMV apply). Anything you can play in standard tuning, IMHO you should learn in standard tuning. The only time I think it would be logical to use a transposition pedal is if a tune actually requires drop tuning. I.E. for licks that are impossible play on anything but an open string.

I would be inclined to either use a bass in drop tuning are alternate standard tuning rather than a transposing pedal. I have used drop D a few times when I still played a 4-string. Been a 6-string player for a long time and have not come across anything that I felt required an alternate tuning.

I could definitely see to use for octave effect, but I have never used one live.

Good luck!

 

[mobeme23]

You might consider a source audio C4. So many pitch shifting options!

 

[ShoesMagoo]

You might consider a source audio C4. So many pitch shifting options!

I spent about a half hour fiddling with the settings in Neuro to see if I could get a transposer/virtual capo out of it for shifting down 1-2 semitones. It's been a while since I conducted that experiment, but I think my takeaway was something along the lines of not being able to fully blend out the dry signal, so the result was always warbly. More warbly than the Drop, and definitely not usable. I'm all ears if you found a way.

I've been using a Meris Hedra for this purpose instead, which works quite well for bass, although I haven't seen it marketed anywhere for this particular use as it's billed as a rhythmic pitch-shifter. Turn two voices off, set one voice to your desired shift, turn the Key knob to Chromatic, the Microtune knob to Off, and the Mix knob to fully wet (all the way to the right), and voila. Works great for 1-2 semitones down, not so much beyond that. One caveat I've encountered one time is that a touch of the dry signal remains even with the blend turned all the way to fully wet. I've seen this mentioned in a couple of other online spaces as a bug, and that a factory reset solves it, but in my case I still had to do a lot of tweaking the settings after to get it back to where it needed to be.

All in all, the recently released Boss XS-1 would almost certainly be the better option since it has this purpose built-in as a primary function, has a newer (albeit who knows how much more advanced) algorithm, is smaller, and $100 less. It sounds good in the videos but I've yet to get my hands on one to try in person.

 

[Jack]

I "ll give you a different perspective to consider. Years ago, I saw a Ray Brown masterclass video where he was meeting with a bunch of students and one of them asked him for his advice on how to be the bass player that always gets called for gigs. One of his main recommendations was to learn how to play tunes in any key. When someone asked him to demonstrate, he did so by asking one of them to name a tune - I don't remember what it was, some jazz standard - and then asking other students to call out a key. He proceeded to rip through that tune in multiple keys like it was nothing. His explanation - 1) know your instrument - bass is a pattern based instrument, as you move up and down the neck, the patterns across the strings are the same, and 2) learn the tunes well enough that you can easily transpose them. Obviously few people have the mastery and skill of Ray brown. but the lesson stuck with me.

I am in a band that has had to move keys around a bit (usually dropping 1/2-1 full step down) for a number of tunes. I tried the Digitech Drop and didn't like its sound. I also found that it was not that hard for me to just shift positions to accomplish the same thing, with better results. I only play 4 string and I know that if I played 5, it would make it that much easier to move from say, E to Eb or down to D. But any other keys are easy. For Eb or D, I just adjust up the neck as needed. And I added a drop Tuner that is tuned down to D for the E string, when needed.

I sold the Drop and don't miss it.

I agree in principle but even something like that is situation dependent. You can absolutely do it a lot of the times, and plenty of songs don't really care what octave a particular note in the scale is in, or whether you play a note open or fretted, or whatever. But sadly plenty do. I was in a rock covers band that did 'Slither' by Velvet Revolver are the main riff, the hook of the song, the bit you absolutely have to get right, is a succession of fretted and then open notes up and down the (low) D string. Now obviously you can transpose that riff easily and play that it any key, you can play it on a normally tuned E string that hasn't been dropped a tone to drop D. But what you can't really do is sit there whilst everybody else in the band is playing that song in D, on drop D guitars, and the singer is singing in D minor, and transpose that riff on a normally tuned bass. Your best bet would be to play it on the high D string and hope that nobody notices there's effectively no bass in that song. Or fret super human fast on the fifth fret of the A and then going back... it'd be a mess.

Sometimes a D tuner or a drop pedal is just the least bad compromise.

 

[CarlosLeoBass]

I've tried quite a few pitch shifters over the years. The newly released Boss XS-1 is the best of bunch in my personal experience. There's a detailed separate thread on it and a couple of excellent YT videos.

Thank you very much!

 

[CarlosLeoBass]

I still use the Digitech Drop. There might be better stuff now but it still works for me.

I jammed with my old band awhile back and they tune down a half step now. One step and I was ready to go.

I try it and it gets really flooby, specially on E string... For one song maybe it's ok, but all the set-list... Thank you!