Greetings folks - anyone heard of a hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
My friend wants to use his didjeridoo through a unit that can shift chromatically, controlled by midi bass pedals. For some dance music. Is there such a beast?
W
Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
digitech made a couple a while ago, and there's always the eventides, but how well they'd work for your purposes...
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jksuperstar
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Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
I had an old ART Multiverb Alpha 2.0 that I used for exactly that purpose.
With the ART, you set the tone of the input (Didje is relatively constant), and just with MIDI notes (ie - keyboard), you could then play the input chromatically. It was perfect, since there's no pitch detection involved, just figuring out the distance between the note you want and the input tone, and setting the pitch shift to be that.
You can find them for $50 or so on eBay. And even if they are old by today's standards, they were in every guitar & bass rack back in the day! Some similar units have preamps, tube distortion, and compression built in.
With the ART, you set the tone of the input (Didje is relatively constant), and just with MIDI notes (ie - keyboard), you could then play the input chromatically. It was perfect, since there's no pitch detection involved, just figuring out the distance between the note you want and the input tone, and setting the pitch shift to be that.
You can find them for $50 or so on eBay. And even if they are old by today's standards, they were in every guitar & bass rack back in the day! Some similar units have preamps, tube distortion, and compression built in.
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
there's another....
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
wow! you're probably right!
an LXP5 would probably do that too!
an LXP5 would probably do that too!
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
Jeez 17 years ago I used a Digitech Vocalist that require I have an empty zone.
I would only use that zone for placing harmonies in realtime.
The chick singer would hit those high Pat Bentar notes and I would hold the " silent " harmonies down and due to the hoghrange the munchkinizing we all feared back then wasn't present.
Lower harmonies sounded semi muffled, but that was a long time ago.
I would think the Digitech Vocalist that's around 3 or 4 years old would easily act in the way you described.
I like the other ideas mentioned here, without using pitch shifting.
Very Cool...........
I would only use that zone for placing harmonies in realtime.
The chick singer would hit those high Pat Bentar notes and I would hold the " silent " harmonies down and due to the hoghrange the munchkinizing we all feared back then wasn't present.
Lower harmonies sounded semi muffled, but that was a long time ago.
I would think the Digitech Vocalist that's around 3 or 4 years old would easily act in the way you described.
I like the other ideas mentioned here, without using pitch shifting.
Very Cool...........
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
I'd throw in the BOSS VF1 and the Rocktron Intellifex.
Of course these do 'colored' transpositions but with flavours that might make it even more interesting
While the VF1 can make you sound like a Didge yourself (voice transformer stuff), I found the Intellifex capable of turning me into a death metal growler once I tried it with a mic for fun...
cheers, Tom
Of course these do 'colored' transpositions but with flavours that might make it even more interesting
While the VF1 can make you sound like a Didge yourself (voice transformer stuff), I found the Intellifex capable of turning me into a death metal growler once I tried it with a mic for fun...
cheers, Tom
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
Well you guys are triffic 
I'm trawling through manuals online - some are a little vague on actual midi implementation, or that might just be my manual reading skills
My mate is a fine Nyoongar didj player, and loves his trance & hard house - wants to produce a few tracks to play live with DJ.
It's an interesting thing - rhythmic drone source with voice call harmonic resonances, lip filtering and some mean overblow notes. It's like a bent synth already.
I actually think he needs an Xite-d and a laptop running ableton or such, plus some expression pedals and a keyboard. That could get modular with filters and vocoding.
I'm trawling through manuals online - some are a little vague on actual midi implementation, or that might just be my manual reading skills
My mate is a fine Nyoongar didj player, and loves his trance & hard house - wants to produce a few tracks to play live with DJ.
It's an interesting thing - rhythmic drone source with voice call harmonic resonances, lip filtering and some mean overblow notes. It's like a bent synth already.
I actually think he needs an Xite-d and a laptop running ableton or such, plus some expression pedals and a keyboard. That could get modular with filters and vocoding.
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
I would love to hear that stuff.
I think his drones would be hypnotic and he could actually sell a sample library of drones for Kontakt easily.
I actually was in a Trance club here in Vegas and yes I even danced. But a kid was playing a mouth harp and dancing around droning rhythms and it was much fun, I really enjoyed myself and even tried to make a JewsHarp patch in Modular.
A diji would be hard to carry around while dancing but that's a great idea I think.
Only an Aussie could come up with that..
Let us know what you decide on...
Peace
I think his drones would be hypnotic and he could actually sell a sample library of drones for Kontakt easily.
I actually was in a Trance club here in Vegas and yes I even danced. But a kid was playing a mouth harp and dancing around droning rhythms and it was much fun, I really enjoyed myself and even tried to make a JewsHarp patch in Modular.
A diji would be hard to carry around while dancing but that's a great idea I think.
Only an Aussie could come up with that..
Let us know what you decide on...
Peace
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
You can hear it :
http://www.didgeridoo-music.com/E-comMo ... d-dtd.php3
A Jews Harp and Didgeridoo set in Kontakt would be great, w/ the mouth shape formant controlled by pitch bend wheel. I have played both & gone blue in the face trying circular breathing. Its best to practice sipping a beer through a straw whilst breathing thru nose first. Then you have to reverse that to play the didg.
http://www.didgeridoo-music.com/E-comMo ... d-dtd.php3
A Jews Harp and Didgeridoo set in Kontakt would be great, w/ the mouth shape formant controlled by pitch bend wheel. I have played both & gone blue in the face trying circular breathing. Its best to practice sipping a beer through a straw whilst breathing thru nose first. Then you have to reverse that to play the didg.
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
Hey Dante - I reckon the straw technique (backwards or forwards) is misleading and difficult - not enough back pressure to get the changeover going. It is more useful to drink the beer.
So you're blowing a raspberry, straight from the diaphragm. You then let your cheeks (facial) balloon full with air - still making with the raspberry - and block the back of your mouth with your tongue - "ng"
This is where you keep the raspberry going by using your cheek muscles (facial) only, expelling the small reserve in the mouth cavity while snatching a nose breath. Thinking of nose/lungs and mouth as two seperate vessels helps.
It is common to blow off-centre (a no-no in tuba world) to give a more pronounced resonant LP filter effect from the mouth.
So you're blowing a raspberry, straight from the diaphragm. You then let your cheeks (facial) balloon full with air - still making with the raspberry - and block the back of your mouth with your tongue - "ng"
This is where you keep the raspberry going by using your cheek muscles (facial) only, expelling the small reserve in the mouth cavity while snatching a nose breath. Thinking of nose/lungs and mouth as two seperate vessels helps.
It is common to blow off-centre (a no-no in tuba world) to give a more pronounced resonant LP filter effect from the mouth.
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
Yep - its misleading alright - thats why I went blue !
Its not easy. Thats why I admire the didgeridoo players skills because its not as easy as it looks by a long shot.
Its not easy. Thats why I admire the didgeridoo players skills because its not as easy as it looks by a long shot.
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
A bit like riding a bike, though. I got into it as a kid with a euphonium in the late 70's - on a tuba if you're careful you can straighten the note right out so there is no filter fluctuation at the changeover. Kills the groove of course, but makes for a very long note, hyperventilation withstanding.
Re: Hardware midi controllable pitch shifter?
Yeah, I was able to play 5ths on a trumpet (also in 70's). Playing brass etc gives you a good lung capacity ...cured asthma within 3 months.