Digitech Drop (tune) Pedal

[Starford]

Has anyone got any experience using the Digitech Drop pedal with bass guitar? Some years back I used to use a Morpheus Drop pedal but that was with guitar. Wondering what your views are as I don't want to keep tuning up and down 1 semitone (which is what I'm considering it for).

 

[Adamixoye]

Years ago I did a thing:
Pitchshifting---a blind shootout for your perusal

TL;DR the Drop is an improvement over the Droptune. On guitar the Droptune was very good while the Drop is GREAT. On bass the Droptune didn't really work while on bass the Drop is serviceable but not as good as on guitar. YMMV.

 

[bass40hz]

I have used one for a couple of years, it works great, no issues to speak of.
Rock on.

 

[Double E]

Seems like an unreliable compromise to commit to using a pedal to be in tune with the rest of band. I would just re-tune or, preferably, find a way to transpose and play the parts without having to re-tune my instrument.

 

[Starford]

The purpose of the pedal is to come down a semitone for the ease of the vocalist, Eb is easier for him to sing in. I regularly gig and reherse in a second band and just don't fancy tuning up and tuning down all of the time.

 

[Adamixoye]

Seems like an unreliable compromise to commit to using a pedal to be in tune with the rest of band. I would just re-tune or, preferably, find a way to transpose and play the parts without having to re-tune my instrument.

It's perfectly valid to want to use a pedal for this purpose. It MAY entail certain compromises, and a player will have to determine if that is worth it to them. But pedal solutions to this sort of problem are valid.

 

[Double E]

The purpose of the pedal is to come down a semitone for the ease of the vocalist, Eb is easier for him to sing in. I regularly gig and reherse in a second band and just don't fancy tuning up and tuning down all of the time.

Oh... well if this is not something you need to do on the fly... if your just tuning up and down between gigs then this sounds like a great excuse for a new second bass so you can keep each tuned for their respective gigs!

 

[Double E]

It's perfectly valid to want to use a pedal for this purpose. It MAY entail certain compromises, and a player will have to determine if that is worth it to them. But pedal solutions to this sort of problem are valid.

Not saying it isn't valid... just unreliable and potentially unpleasant. If something were to go wrong with the pedal in any way, you would be in a bad situation having learned and rehearsed the parts in effectively the wrong key.

 

[Adamixoye]

Not saying it isn't valid... just unreliable and potentially unpleasant. If something were to go wrong with the pedal in any way, you would be in a bad situation having learned and rehearsed the parts in effectively the wrong key.

In my experience it is neither unreliable nor unpleasant.

 

[birminghambass]

I tried the drop. My band plays a set in Eb and I was trying to avoid swapping basses. It worked ok but greatly impacted my tone. Back to swapping. I'd invest in a second bass if tuning is that big of a hassle to you.

 

[clayworx]

Has anyone got any experience using the Digitech Drop pedal with bass guitar? Some years back I used to use a Morpheus Drop pedal but that was with guitar. Wondering what your views are as I don't want to keep tuning up and down 1 semitone (which is what I'm considering it for).

Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork Polyphonic Pitch Shift pedal works well for me. I no use for twisting tuners all night or try and carry three basses. If it breaks, I have a back up.

 

[Double E]

In my experience it is neither unreliable nor unpleasant.

I guess I am overly cautious. If I needed the effect of drop tuning for a few songs I would probably go for it. Not if it only involved a half step though, I'd just transpose the part to be playable in the key I am tuned to.

I would not go to a gig with my bass tuned to E and use a pedal to reproduce my signal in Eb tuning to match the rest of the band for the whole night. That doesn't make sense.

 

[MoeTown1986]

I bought a Digitech Drop when they came out. I thought it would fix my issue of constantly switching basses. We play on IEM's and I could very audibly hear the latency in the Drop when going down a half step. I sold it quickly and stuck to bringing two basses.

 

[Bodeanly]

If every song is in Eb, you are better off tuning down. I used a Drop for three or four songs in my last band (just parts, not entire songs). It is okay for the occasional single note, but quarter notes and faster will drive you absolutely insane as far as tracking and tone are concerned, especially in the lower register. Again, my vote is to have a bass set up for Eb.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I set up a patch on my Line 6 HX Stomp using pre eq/post EQ and their simple pitch shift. Finally running that into a P bass IR from 3 Sigma Audio. I also have a Drop, but I prefer the HX patch.

 

[smogg]

Not a fan of re-tuning on stage and dislike lugging around multiple basses. This issue was resolved for me by switching to 5 string basses some 25+ years ago. That said, sounds like a wonderful excuse to get a new pedal.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

It would do my head in if the fretboard was a semitone out. I can cope with DADG as I've used that on guitar for a couple of decades which would give me Eb. It might work to emulate the lower four strings of a five string - I might be able to get my head round that, but I just use an octave pedal and blend and play higher up the neck.

 

[Lesfunk]

I tried one and felt it compromised my tone more than I was happy with.
I have a friend who uses one all the time and she is in an international touring group with a legitimate rock star and has no issues with it. So I say go for it

 

[gregmon79]

I set up a patch on my Line 6 HX Stomp using pre eq/post EQ and their simple pitch shift. Finally running that into a P bass IR from 3 Sigma Audio. I also have a Drop, but I prefer the HX patch.

I don't know why I didn't think of this!!!! Damn man, I've been playing in different projects lately and they've all either tuned half step down then drop D or a whole step down. I've been trying different string gauges and I do have the BWhammy. I'm not pleased enough with the BWham, and it kinda sucks bringing 2 to 3 basses to every practice or gig, and I've heard the EHX Pitchfork is the one to use when wanting to drop with a pedal. But I've also had the HXFX since it came out and idk why, but I never considered trying it to perform these drops! Jeez I swear my brain is broken in ways. I'm going to try this when I get home today. I really Prefer the taught-ness of standard tuning. half step down max. I mean, I actually do like half step down, but it would be so much easier to just hit a button and make it so!

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I don't know why I didn't think of this!!!! Damn man, I've been playing in different projects lately and they've all either tuned half step down then drop D or a whole step down. I've been trying different string gauges and I do have the BWhammy. I'm not pleased enough with the BWham, and it kinda sucks bringing 2 to 3 basses to every practice or gig, and I've heard the EHX Pitchfork is the one to use when wanting to drop with a pedal. But I've also had the HXFX since it came out and idk why, but I never considered trying it to perform these drops! Jeez I swear my brain is broken in ways. I'm going to try this when I get home today. I really Prefer the taught-ness of standard tuning. half step down max. I mean, I actually do like half step down, but it would be so much easier to just hit a button and make it so!

With the HX, I can do a lot more with individual effects. By itself the Simple Pitch works okay, but add some EQ tweaking before and after, maybe some compression and then top it off with an IR and you get a very usable pitch shift patch. I may try blending the IR with dry to see if that works better. It's still mono, but you can get away with fifths and octaves and you won't want to use it for slapping.