• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Half-step detuner pedal. Is there such a thing?

BigBadBen67

BigBadBen67

Mar 10, 2018
559
853
Memphis, TN
www.bassmanbenny.com
#1
I've tried searching for this but to be honest don't even know quite what I would be searching for . . .

Is there such a thing as a pedal that will automatically detune your bass a half step? Kind of like an octave pedal but a half step instead of an octave? I've been playing along with a lot of Kenny Wayne Shepherd and other blues guys who tune E-flat. And it's a pain in the ass to retune each time. Does anyone make a pedal that just shifts the signal down a half step? That would be way cool.

Ben
 
#2
Lots of things do this, the question is how well. Here is a thing I did:
Pitchshifting---a blind shootout for your perusal

If you are looking for the state of the art and that's the only thing you need it to do, the Digitech Drop is probably what you are looking for.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HypersoulRocks, RoadRanger and Swimming Bird
#5
Rambazamba said:
Morpheus Droptune and Digitech The Drop are designed for this purpose. But I can't tell you how good they work with a bass.
Click to expand...

See my post above, in which I compare the two side-by-side. The Droptune works poorly with bass. The Drop works adequately-to-well, depending on your exact circumstances.
 
#8
The Drop has less latency than the Pitch Fork & it is also more transparent, as well as true bypass:

Drop-large.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: LowActionHero and armyadarkness
#9
Killed_by_Death said:
The Drop has less latency than the Pitch Fork & it is also more transparent, as well as true bypass:

View attachment 2972173
Click to expand...
Maybe. I didn't get it to do drop tuning. I got it to imitate the sound of an 8-string bass, which it does pretty darn well. But it does do drop tuning, and I've used it before with success. Never tried the Drop, but since I already have the Fork, I'll stick with it for the very limited amount of drop tuning I ever need to do.
 
  • Like
Reactions: armyadarkness
#11
Killed_by_Death said:
The Pitch Fork actually does more, but it won't do 3 half-steps down (or up), for instance.
Click to expand...

This.



YMMV but in pretty much every review I can find that compares the two, the Drop is considered much better for the simple job of drop tuning. The Pitch Fork is more versatile.
 
  • Like
Reactions: armyadarkness and Killed_by_Death
#15
The Drop is permanently on my pedal board.
One band I play with tunes down a half step for everything.
One other band likes to drop certain songs a half and some a whole step.
The Drop works extremely well for all of these.

I've even talked 3 guitarists into getting them.
They love them for all the down tuned stuff without retuning.
Especially songs that need to be "physically" in the original positions because of open string riffs/patterns.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigBadBen67 and HypersoulRocks
#20
I like it a lot & use if at least once/week. I can roll through D Drop C, Drop D, C#, D, & Eb, all with only a twist of the E string tuning peg & a turning of the little knob on the pedal.
It might get more use soon, because I'm liking some of the more angst-ridden songs in those lower tunings.

I owned the Pitch Fork & the Drop at the same time & was able to compare them directly.
PF adds something to the timbre, even when it's off.

PF is more versatile, but not in the case of Drop-Tuning. If you want PF type function in a Drop, get the DT-Whammy.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back