Your choice for downtuning

[Btbp]

Apologies if there's a thread on this, and if so please point me to it, but just found out an audition I was already preparing for that the songs will be stepped down, some none, some a whole tone and some a half tone.

Suggestion was to get a Zoom MS70-CDR or EH Pitchfork, and I think there is another popular pedal out there, a red-colored one which I don't recall.

Also I've always wondered about latency with this kind of thing.

No way am I going to relearn these songs in different positions and might have to bite the bullet for yet another pedal and somehow find space for it on the already full board, ideally with suggestions from this community.

 

[Adamixoye]

Digitech Drop is the one you're not recalling

 

[Dave W]

How many songs is the audition? Seems excessive…

I have to say, it would make me nervous to use something like that for an audition. Not only for it possibly not working or sounding as good as it could, but for what the prospective band members would think.

 

[HelpImaRock]

My choice for downtuning is actual downtuning. My experiences with the pitch functions on the Zoom MS70CDR have been awful. I don't think it has enough processing power to work well. I have used my Eventide Pitchfactor for transposition, but like every other pitch shifter, there's some latency. Additionally, you have to remember it's a synthesized tone. So you'll sound like the pedal instead of your instrument. That's attractive in some cases, but not what I would want in this situation.

 

[DrThumpenstein]

My choice for downtuning is actual downtuning. My experiences with the pitch functions on the Zoom MS70CDR have been awful. I don't think it has enough processing power to work well. I have used my Eventide Pitchfactor for transposition, but like every other pitch shifter, there's some latency. Additionally, you have to remember it's a synthesized tone. So you'll sound like the pedal instead of your instrument. That's attractive in some cases, but not what I would want in this situation.

At one point, my guitarist and I both used Digitech Drop pedals to downtune. It was okay for a half-step drop, but increasingly sucks tone the farther you go. We realized that it is easier on our singer and pedalboards to just stay tuned down. Depending on the bass, you might have to adjust the setup, but it’s free, doesn’t suck tone, and we eliminate the occasional gaffe of forgetting to tune back up when going back and forth.

But with so many different tunings, it’s going to have to be: transpose (fiver useful there), use a pedal, or bring a bunch of basses in different tunings.

My choice is to tune the basses and swap out as needed.

 

[The Anti-Chris]

I would use a bass capable of playing in those keys without alteration.

That being said, have you tried the Meris Hedra? I do not use it for this purpose, but it does track fast and produces a natural sound when you shift the pitch. Not to mention, it is an overall very interesting pedal for a variety of other uses.

 

[2112]

Here's the big red pedal you're looking for:

I've been gigging a Digitech Drop for a 4-5 years now, between it and a Hipshot Detuner, I can cover all the tunings I need, all the way down to BEAD and AEAD, without schlepping a mess of extra basses on stage and switching between songs... now it's just one bass, a backup, and the Drop.

It also offers options for dry+sub octave and sub octave only outputs.

It's not perfect, however. There does seem to be a tiny amount of tone suck added with each consecutive half-step down, but it hasn't been anything for me to get too twisted up about. It beats having to mess with flabby strings and new nut cuts. I compensate simply by bumping my volume, treble, and gain. No biggie.

Some people complain about latency/tracking issues. You have to remember, because this is a digital unit, its performance will depend on the signal that's being fed into it, and some waveforms simply will not work as well as others. I haven't noticed these issues with my signal. If you have them, you might try changing things up before the pedal to see if it helps. I use a compressor and HPF/LPF before my Drop, which helps fence things in before its pitch-shifting DSP is applied.

 

[Killing Floor]

5 string bass.

Taurus pedals.

Keyboardist.

I don’t love pitch change pedals.

 

[Sid Fang]

One question I haven't seen raised that's actually kinda important in thinking about how to approach an audition like this: What does the guitarist(s) in the band do for these tuning changes? Do *they* retune, swap instruments, or use electronics?

I use software tuning on tracks I'm learning, to tune the track to standard pitch, but not on my live bass. Would strongly recommend downtuning the bass rather than invest in pedals - I hope that doesn't make you need to change string gauge. If you invest in anything, get a really good tuner to make it fast and accurate . I absolutely love my Sonic Research "Turbo Tuner".

When my band started doing a mix of standard and drop-D stuff years ago, I tried downtuning (time consuming and felt floppy), re-arranging the parts to be playable on my standard-pitch Steinberger, and ultimately broke down and went BEADG 5-string. Nobody has ever asked me to do drop-A. So far. Sometimes the drummer and I would do litte drum'n'bass improvs while the guitarists retuned, 'cos, nya-nya I didn't have to, and my graphite basses just stay dead nuts in tune.

 

[6-3-2]

5 string bass.

Taurus pedals.

Keyboardist.

I don’t love pitch change pedals.

Altho OP mentioned not wanting to relearn songs in new positions, a 5-string does seem like the ideal tool for this job.

Barring that, I'd just go with the lowest tuning you need and shift up your playing a few frets. There's great strings meant for detuning, like DR's DDT, that'll give you more tension if you want. You could even use a capo if you play with a lot of open strings. It won't be totally ideal, but I don't imagine it'd be any worse than using pedals tonewise.

 

[Oluolugbenga]

Let me join the chorus of people here saying tune down rather than use a pedal. I think of all pitch shifting pedals FX, just like reverb, delay or distortion. Useful for adding texture or (rimshot!) for effect, but will never sound clean or natural, really.

 

[Oluolugbenga]

Altho OP mentioned not wanting to relearn songs in new positions, a 5-string does seem like the ideal tool for this job.

Barring that, I'd just go with the lowest tuning you need and shift up your playing a few frets. You could even use a capo if you play with a lot of open strings. It won't be totally ideal, but I don't imagine it'd be any worse than using pedals tonewise.

+1 to the folks suggesting 5 string too, if that's an option for you.

 

[Adamixoye]

Here's something I did years ago.
Pitchshifting---a blind shootout for your perusal

Since then, I have at least played (in a store) the EHX Pitchfork+ and EHX Intelligent Harmony Machine.

For pure downtuning, I advocate for the Drop. Best tone and the least latency. It is better on guitar than bass and gets worse the more half-steps you go down. YMMV.

Anytime some asks this question, you inevitably get the responses to just tune down your main bass or get a second bass in a different tuning. These solutions just have a different set of pros and cons, but the OP asked about a pedal solution, so I prefer to answer in terms of pedals.

 

[lokikallas]

Kind of ridiculous for an audition, but I’d have a bass for each tuning but not if it’s just a drop tune.

 

[Oluolugbenga]

Here's something I did years ago.
Pitchshifting---a blind shootout for your perusal

Since then, I have at least played (in a store) the EHX Pitchfork+ and EHX Intelligent Harmony Machine.

For pure downtuning, I advocate for the Drop. Best tone and the least latency. It is better on guitar than bass and gets worse the more half-steps you go down. YMMV.

Anytime some asks this question, you inevitably get the responses to just tune down your main bass or get a second bass in a different tuning. These solutions just have a different set of pros and cons, but the OP asked about a pedal solution, so I prefer to answer in terms of pedals.

I can see where you're coming from, but I like to think it's also friendly advice - OP has an audition coming, so this is time sensitive (I guess?). And they may end up wasting time trying out pedals and not getting the sound I think we all dream of with pitch pedals - clean bass tone, just lower or higher.

 

[Adamixoye]

I can see where you're coming from, but I like to think it's also friendly advice - OP has an audition coming, so this is time sensitive (I guess?). And they may end up wasting time trying out pedals and not getting the sound I think we all dream of with pitch pedals - clean bass tone, just lower or higher.

Yes, but strings at different tension also change the tone. It may be a more acceptable change for most but it's still a change.

It's worthwhile to discuss all the options, but sometimes those that are insistent on one type of solution miss the pros and cons.

 

[ThePez]

i chose to just downtune my bass. on a 5 my B is G#… C#F#B E. i don’t use the higher registers enough to miss them. strings are DR Low Rider 45-130.

 

[sedan_dad]

"No way am I going to relearn these songs in different positions"...............

Why not?
A person who relies on crutches to walk will never run.

 

[XLunacy]

I'd probably experiment with a capo first, before I'd buy anything expensive just for the audition. No need to relearn the songs.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

My choice for downtuning is actual downtuning. My experiences with the pitch functions on the Zoom MS70CDR have been awful. I don't think it has enough processing power to work well. I have used my Eventide Pitchfactor for transposition, but like every other pitch shifter, there's some latency. Additionally, you have to remember it's a synthesized tone. So you'll sound like the pedal instead of your instrument. That's attractive in some cases, but not what I would want in this situation.

Agreed!

I'd set an instrument up a step down, with strings to match my favored tensions, and learn the 1/2 step down stuff on that instrument. I keep a PBass set up for DGCF just for this reason, and properly done, it feels a lot like EADG.

Or... play a fiver.