Drop tune pedal advice

[Rick05]

Hi,

 

Iv been wanting to play a few more covers recently with low drop tunings for bands such as Spiritbox, Architects etc (the lowest being F#), but wanting to avoid the hassle of changing my bass tunings every time.

 

Would anyone be able to advise on drop tuning pedals that would be the best to use for a 5 string and lower tunings?

 

Thanks in advance. 
 

 

[Mudpup]

I've been using a Digitech Drop pedal recently and its pretty good. 

[Rick05]

19 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

I've been using a Digitech Drop pedal recently and its pretty good. 

Awesome l! What tunings have you been using it for? 

[Happy Jack]

I started with a Digitech Drop and was very happy until I trod on the p/s where it exits the pedal ad completely f***ed it.

 

When I looked around for a replacement I was shocked at how expensive they'd become, and even more shocked at just how good the Mooer Pitch Box is for less than half the money and a smaller footprint.

 

Even better, the Mooer has a simple 3-way flick switch which turns it from a pitch-changer into a detune (chorus-y) pedal or a 2-part harmoniser. All that for £62. 

 

This video is (a) on guitar and (b) only about the pitch changing.

 

 

[neepheid]

On 18/12/2023 at 22:48, Happy Jack said:

I started with a Digitech Drop and was very happy until I trod on the p/s where it exits the pedal ad completely f***ed it.

 

When I looked around for a replacement I was shocked at how expensive they'd become, and even more shocked at just how good the Mooer Pitch Box is for less than half the money and a smaller footprint.

 

Even better, the Mooer has a simple 3-way flick switch which turns it from a pitch-changer into a detune (chorus-y) pedal or a 2-part harmoniser. All that for £62. 

 

Hopefully you'll see this, thankfully it's not too much of a zombie thread.  Scheming about dabbling in a pitch shifter.  The EHX Pitch Fork is probably the "gold standard" based upon the various videos I've confused myself with, but it's a bit big - was really hoping for a mini pedal to do one job and do it well.  The Pitch Fork Pico I think would annoy me greatly, as they haven't bothered to label the pitch control so it's a matter of guesswork to know which setting you're on, and I don't feel like attacking a circa £200 pedal with a Sharpie.

 

So the Mooer is interesting because it's A) small, B) relatively inexpensive and C) appears to be logically laid out and clear to see what tuning you're in.  I have reservations about sound quality (noise levels, latency, warbling/chorusing on lower tunings).  Do you still have the Pitch Box?  Even if you don't, how do/did you find it in day to day operations vis-a-vis my concerns regarding sound quality?

 

Grateful for any insight you'd like to share.

[Happy Jack]

Yup, I still use the Pitch Box at every gig with my covers band. It has been consistent & reliable for years now.

 

Sound quality when detuned by a full tone is definitely 'processed', i.e. any competent bassist will recognise that something has been done to the sound, but it's unlikely the band will hear that and the audience certainly won't. 

 

The chorus effect is very reasonable but I have little need for that function. If I spent more time playing fretless then that would change. 

 

The harmoniser function is probably the weakest of the three, but also the least useful to a bass player (except perhaps as a novelty item) so no harm done.