I got a 7 string guitar, I want to drop lower than drop F. Pitch shifter good enough?

[kusabibi]

Hello. Uber newbie in the forums here.

Just wanted your opinions about Helix's polycapo feature. How good is it for you to actually consider not getting an extended range anymore?

For context, I've got a Harley Benton Amarok 7 set to Drop A and I couldn't really ask for anything more with how much mileage I'm getting with it. The EMGs loaded in it is killer and I'm pretty happy with what I can achieve with it, but I'm wondering how much my tone will be affected using Helix's polycapo. That's one reason why I'm still on the fence on getting it. Are there any way better options for pitch shifting?

I don't do much songs in drop F# or lower, even drop E or D, but I don't want my tone to suck either because when I decide that I want to learn low tuning songs, it's because I'm really into them and mudfest is a big no no. Getting thicker strings is a little tricky too because the Amarok has a scale of 25.5, which is kind of too short for those I believe. Thoughts?

 

[CanserDYI]

Honestly I don't think you'll enjoy it much. Maybe for recording a part but not for jamming along. It's barely going to be audible at that pitch, lower than F# on a 25.5. The latency might drive you nuts. Does for me anyways. I also can hear the actual fundamental note from my guitar playing acoustically clashing with the dropped note from the pedal, which drives me crazy.

 

[CovertSovietBear]

Pitch shifter might come in handy if you're not going too low but imo have not had good experiences with most. Drop E/D on the low 8 still sound good on a 26.5" scale and I was using 80 gauge, but I've never tried those tunings on anything shorter, only 26.5" and 27" scale length. Try the pitch shifting feature and see how well that goes.

 

[Hoss632]

In all honesty, a pitch shifter like what you are describing or even a digitech drop pedal are only good for live/recording situations if you are maybe going only 1 or 2 semitones down at most. If you are in drop A and going down to drop F the latency might be too annoying to deal with. Drop Ab and Drop G might be as low as you'll want to go.

 

[Masoo2]

I've really had no problems pitch shifting Drop A down to as low as Drop E, though I only normally go as low as Drop F. I use the pitch shifter found in the Overloud TH3/TH-U plugins and it works fantastic, no latency problems whatsoever. I make sure to cut some lows and slightly boost some highs with the "CT Pre" pedal in the software afterwards to regain a little clarity and tightness, but you could do that with any clean boost or toneshaper or EQ really.

With that in mind, I use thin strings so they're already fairly bright and percussive. If I was using something like a 64-70 gauge string, I'm sure it'd sound MUCH worse than the 54-56 I use nowadays. Heck, I even take that 54-56 down to Drop G with no problems, making it an even better host for pitch shifting.

Haven't had the best results with the Helix polycapo, but I also haven't tested it extensively.

 

[Wucan]

I have a Whammy DT which I use with my 7-string to hit lower tunings. It works nicely, but it sounds best through headphones than speakers - otherwise you'll hear your strumming and get thrown off by the pitch difference.

I'd say up to 3-4 semitones down is fine until the pitch shifting starts to mud up the signal. I keep my 7-string in Drop A but if I want to hit Drop E or lower I prefer to just grab a 6-string and go deep into Mudtown.

 

[CanserDYI]

I have a Whammy DT which I use with my 7-string to hit lower tunings. It works nicely, but it sounds best through headphones than speakers - otherwise you'll hear your strumming and get thrown off by the pitch difference.

I'd say up to 3-4 semitones down is fine until the pitch shifting starts to mud up the signal. I keep my 7-string in Drop A but if I want to hit Drop E or lower I prefer to just grab a 6-string and go deep into Mudtown.

I'm assuming the lighter guage strings on the 6 keep the tone a bit brighter so it has more top end left over after the pitch shift, smart idea, I don't drop pedal my 6s....now I should try.

 

[Musiscience]

I'm assuming the lighter guage strings on the 6 keep the tone a bit brighter so it has more top end left over after the pitch shift, smart idea, I don't drop pedal my 6s....now I should try.

It works really well, or at least for me it does.

 

[Blackspell-666]

I use pitch shifter on Neural dsp : Archetype Gojira. Sounds great, but not as good as the real thing