The Drop still slays. I use it in front of my FM3 and just use a low-cut around the 110 - 120 Hz region & a high-cut around the 10K range after the FM3's input. The Drop still has lower latency & impressive sound quality compared to what the FM3 can pull off when tracking is set to Smooth & Quality on 10.
Late to the party, but there’s one reason I own multiple Drop pedals and continue to use them in every rig. I own both the FM9 and the Helix floor, and giving up precious DSP is the biggest reason I run the Drop, which is the only pedal I use outside of my Mission pedals. It makes any rig much more flexible. Comparing my actual Drop C guitar to a Drop C that started in standard Drop D is nearly indiscernible in a live environment. I still record with whatever tuning I need using different guitars, but in a live environment I just leave the switch on the Drop (running in the loop) and keep a single guitar in my hands the entire night. Depending on your modeler or amp setup, you can run multiple Drops for whatever your set list requires. It was a game changer. Great videos. Keep up the amazing work on the channel. Good to see a working man’s perspective and not the typical bedroom maestro who’s likely never gigged a day in their life.
I use the Axe Fx 3 and was searching for a way to detune my guitar with the unit. Now i know that truly the best option is the digitech. Very informative video.
@@ZackSeifMusic Can you release it??? :D How is the new pitch block compared to the Digitech? is it in the FM9? after watching the video I am planning to buy now the Digitech as it is noticeably better, however I wonder how the new block is changing things up if it does
Believe or not i used the drop function when i had my Digitech RP255!! it's even doing better more than the pitch shifter in the PODHD500X! after years I just got the digitech drop before a week ago, It’s massive!! even i can hear tiny fluppy sound when i play 7th arpeggios/chords but who cares it doesn’t ruined the experience .. thanks for this video 🤘🏻
There’s a reason I keep repurchasing the Drop - the triumph of hope over experience in thinking I can completely eliminate outboard pedals from my FM9 rig
I think it’s easier to feel the pitch shifting so the loop test doesn’t mean quite as much. But I understand the use of the looper for the comparison test.
That is true. They both feel different depending on the setting you use. For live use the 1/2 step down can be negligible but when listening back (ala recording) it can be pretty noticeable.
I'm a big fan of the Digitech Drop Pedal, For half step Eb. Can you please explain the set up with the fractal. Do you recommend using it through the loop? And how would you set that up? Or guitar ---> Drop ---> Fractal ? Super Vid! Love it
Yeah for 1/2 step it’s great live; very usable. If you’re not using any other pedals you can plug the guitar into the DT direct then the Fractal. You want it to be the very first thing in your signal chain if possible. It’s still routed that way in my video, I just needed to split the signal for the video so the FX Loop was still the first real piece of gear hitting the chain after my splits.
I used to have an old POD HD500 from Line6. The pitch shifting was actually REALLY good. When I got my first Fractal (AxeFX2 XL+), I couldn't believe how INFERIOR it was to an older product at 1/4 of the price, but my ears didn't lie. I think it's even better than the Drop pedal, which I have now, and still rarely use (like you said, bring moar guitars!).
I have an FM3 and FX8II. I’m looking to acquire a digitech drop because the fractals seemingly cause an issue when I’m picking very hard and fast. The initial sharp pick attack of a note rings out as a sharper note and sounds bad. It’s not a dsp issue and I’ve tried it with many different guitars. I don’t think I have the pitch shifting setup incorrectly but I’m not sure what else it could be. Any ideas?
There's many factors that could be at play but ultimately the Digitech does track better. I don't use mine anymore because on the Axe FX 3 it works a lot better than the FM3.
I wonder how digitech drop works with floyd tricks and can it track? One of the potentials of this pedal is to use it with floyd rose guitar and pitch down with pedal. No one is showing any floyd tricks with it.
@@ZackSeifMusic that's actually what I'm thinking. Eventually I'll have to buy a digitech, just to be safe, as I play a lot of stuff in different tunings and a pitch shifter pedal is therefore the most important pedal to me.
I use the FM3 live and I think it does a great job in a band context, even on bass. I still think the drop is superior on guitar but I sold two of them because I'm too lazy to plug in external pedals anymore. Funny enough, the drop was terrible on bass. I used just the mono pitch shifter on my helix for bass when I used the helix full time.
I went to the digitech drop for awhile and then just back to the pitch shift already in the Fractal AX8. I don't see any difference and they all create massive tone suck. I hope the technology gets better. It's so easy just to use a drop box when you play live instead of switching guitars!
I tried that to little success. It worked a little better but still not quite as smooth as the DR. Tracking at 4/5 seems to work best without too much latency. Need to play with it a little more.
The Drop is not perfect either. When playing cleans and arpeggios, up to two or maybe 3 semis down will 'just' work OK live. Certainly noticeable,, but meh,, OK.. AX8 does not cut it at all. Nice simple comparison. Zack.. :)
It’ll never be as perfect as, say a digital keyboard due to the analog nature of the guitar. I do hear that the current generation of the variaxe guitars picks up each individual string rather well and has a pretty solid performance level. I have not been able to try it myself, but one of these days it’ll come as close to perfect as we can get it😁
Make sure you’re not using a blended dry signal. How are you using the pedal and what is your signal chain? It shouldn’t send your original tone through unless you’re on the Oct + Dry setting.
@@ZackSeifMusic it's the first pedal from guitar then amp, yeah I tried that setting and it's more pronounced, it's just a ghost tone coming through lol
@@hwy2hell161 It might just be the acoustic resonance of your guitar, but it should not be coming to the amplifier. If it is than somethings wrong and I recommend just sending it back for a new one. But there is no setting or switch to worry about, the entire wet signal should be sending 100% through your signal chain. If you turn your amp up loud enough so that you cannot hear the original guitar tone you shouldn’t be able to hear it.
Using "Virtual Camp" is not the correct way to down-tune in Axe. You have to use the Whammy in Pitch block to do that without having any artificial tail or something. It's actually fully described in the block manual >pitch block>whammy> a separate FAQ box at the end of whammy description. Leon Todd has a tutorial about it, it's for AXII back in 2017 but still applicable to AXE-III: ua-cam.com/video/Dcz1_Cu6LtY/v-deo.html
Hey Ehsan, for the Axe FX 2, XL and AX8 you would be correct. But for the FX 3, FM3 and FM9, the new Virtual Capo was included to replace the Advanced Whammy use of pitch shifting or using the Fixed Harmony (which is recommended as well). From Fractal themselves: "Axe-Fx III, FM9, FM3: Use the Virtual Capo mode in the Pitch block (firmware Ares and later) for drop-tuning as well as virtual capo. Put the Pitch block in series at the start of the grid. "This is a simple one-voice pitch shift that is intended for drop-tuning and virtual capo use and is easy to configure and use." " The Advanced Whammy and Fixed Harmony trick still work, and you can do that if you'd like on the latest models. However, the VC was created to not have to work around an existing effect and give you a simple UP/DOWN function with a single knob :) Here's Leon Todd using it in 2020: ua-cam.com/video/KNH4kwoj7Rc/v-deo.html
This makes me wonder,would this be the case with other pedals,like a delay or reverb?…..Will ANY dedicated pedal sound better than the AxeFXIII trying to emulate 100’s of FX?…..in other words,is and are multi FX units like the Fractal a Jack of all trades,master of none?…..I own an AxeFXIII,but I have never directly compared it to other pedals….never thought about it…..until now…The Drop pedal absolutely kills the Fractal algorithm….
Not at all. It’s only the Pitch shifting algorithm. The fractal has the best reverbs and delays I have ever used. Been touring and recording with it for years and have not found anything that comes close!
@@ZackSeifMusic Thanks for the reply…..After watching your video I just started wondering…grass is greener and all that…I have owned Strymon,Eventide,and other “high end”FX..but I have never directly compared my AxeFXIII to them….I am very happy with my Fractal for the most part…it’s not perfect,but it covers a lot of ground for sure..
If you wanna detune just detune the guitar! NOTHING can compare to the natural sound of a detuned string. All these shifters sound so shyte lol if shyte could talk he’d say hi, my name’s pitch block 😂
Ideally you’d bring guitars in every tuning as well as a backup. But it can also be impractical for some settings to have half a dozen guitars or so, which is where this can come in handy. I’ve seen a couple of higher level bands use them live (As I Lay Dying, Issues, Jason Richardson) and you really cannot tell in a live setting.
The Digitech absolutely kills
It’s mind blowing how 10+ year old technology can compete with something that’s less than half its age!!
The Drop still slays. I use it in front of my FM3 and just use a low-cut around the 110 - 120 Hz region & a high-cut around the 10K range after the FM3's input. The Drop still has lower latency & impressive sound quality compared to what the FM3 can pull off when tracking is set to Smooth & Quality on 10.
Yeah it can be very difficult to dial in. Hopefully one day we can get near seamless tracking with any guitar!
Late to the party, but there’s one reason I own multiple Drop pedals and continue to use them in every rig. I own both the FM9 and the Helix floor, and giving up precious DSP is the biggest reason I run the Drop, which is the only pedal I use outside of my Mission pedals. It makes any rig much more flexible. Comparing my actual Drop C guitar to a Drop C that started in standard Drop D is nearly indiscernible in a live environment.
I still record with whatever tuning I need using different guitars, but in a live environment I just leave the switch on the Drop (running in the loop) and keep a single guitar in my hands the entire night. Depending on your modeler or amp setup, you can run multiple Drops for whatever your set list requires. It was a game changer.
Great videos. Keep up the amazing work on the channel. Good to see a working man’s perspective and not the typical bedroom maestro who’s likely never gigged a day in their life.
DSP can play a huge role for sure!
I use the Axe Fx 3 and was searching for a way to detune my guitar with the unit. Now i know that truly the best option is the digitech. Very informative video.
Next month I have a video that is an update to this one! I found a better pitch block model to use so keep your eyes out for that 😉
@@ZackSeifMusic Can you release it??? :D How is the new pitch block compared to the Digitech? is it in the FM9? after watching the video I am planning to buy now the Digitech as it is noticeably better, however I wonder how the new block is changing things up if it does
Believe or not i used the drop function when i had my Digitech RP255!! it's even doing better more than the pitch shifter in the PODHD500X! after years I just got the digitech drop before a week ago, It’s massive!! even i can hear tiny fluppy sound when i play 7th arpeggios/chords but who cares it doesn’t ruined the experience .. thanks for this video 🤘🏻
You're welcome!!
There’s a reason I keep repurchasing the Drop - the triumph of hope over experience in thinking I can completely eliminate outboard pedals from my FM9 rig
Good demo as always. Keep it up
Many thanks Don!!
I think it’s easier to feel the pitch shifting so the loop test doesn’t mean quite as much. But I understand the use of the looper for the comparison test.
That is true. They both feel different depending on the setting you use. For live use the 1/2 step down can be negligible but when listening back (ala recording) it can be pretty noticeable.
I'm a big fan of the Digitech Drop Pedal, For half step Eb. Can you please explain the set up with the fractal. Do you recommend using it through the loop? And how would you set that up? Or guitar ---> Drop ---> Fractal ?
Super Vid! Love it
Yeah for 1/2 step it’s great live; very usable. If you’re not using any other pedals you can plug the guitar into the DT direct then the Fractal. You want it to be the very first thing in your signal chain if possible.
It’s still routed that way in my video, I just needed to split the signal for the video so the FX Loop was still the first real piece of gear hitting the chain after my splits.
I will say the whammy in the AxeFx is thee only exception to shifting. Whammy’s are dope
One day it’ll be perfect!
I used to have an old POD HD500 from Line6. The pitch shifting was actually REALLY good. When I got my first Fractal (AxeFX2 XL+), I couldn't believe how INFERIOR it was to an older product at 1/4 of the price, but my ears didn't lie. I think it's even better than the Drop pedal, which I have now, and still rarely use (like you said, bring moar guitars!).
Pitch shifting is something that's never going to be perfect but some products just do it better!
I have an FM3 and FX8II. I’m looking to acquire a digitech drop because the fractals seemingly cause an issue when I’m picking very hard and fast. The initial sharp pick attack of a note rings out as a sharper note and sounds bad. It’s not a dsp issue and I’ve tried it with many different guitars. I don’t think I have the pitch shifting setup incorrectly but I’m not sure what else it could be. Any ideas?
There's many factors that could be at play but ultimately the Digitech does track better. I don't use mine anymore because on the Axe FX 3 it works a lot better than the FM3.
@@ZackSeifMusic thank you!
I wonder how digitech drop works with floyd tricks and can it track? One of the potentials of this pedal is to use it with floyd rose guitar and pitch down with pedal. No one is showing any floyd tricks with it.
I can flutter with no issues
I'm using a Morpheus Droptune. Bought it on January 2011 and it has been serving me well, but it has become somewhat noisy.
I used to have one, but didn’t have it long.
May be worth checking out the Digitech Drop!
@@ZackSeifMusic that's actually what I'm thinking. Eventually I'll have to buy a digitech, just to be safe, as I play a lot of stuff in different tunings and a pitch shifter pedal is therefore the most important pedal to me.
I use the FM3 live and I think it does a great job in a band context, even on bass. I still think the drop is superior on guitar but I sold two of them because I'm too lazy to plug in external pedals anymore. Funny enough, the drop was terrible on bass. I used just the mono pitch shifter on my helix for bass when I used the helix full time.
That's great to hear! Yeah in a live mix and only 1/2 semi tones down, especially with distortion it is hard to distinguish.
Same here, just sold my drop and can easily deal with my Axe-FX 3’s ability.
You should have detector source set to input 1.
According to Cliff Chase the In Block works just as well since I’m only using Input 1 on this direct chain.
If Cliff says so, then it IS so. Always seems a bit better to me, but maybe I just want it to. Haha
@@jimmynorris there are so many nooks and crannies in this thing ya never know!
Gotta get that secret sauce somehow haha
Could I make my drop A# guitar a drop f# guitar with this effect or am I better off buying another guitar?
It'll sound very processed that low. You'd be much better off with another guitar at that point.
*How do YOU detune your guitars!?*
I went to the digitech drop for awhile and then just back to the pitch shift already in the Fractal AX8. I don't see any difference and they all create massive tone suck. I hope the technology gets better. It's so easy just to use a drop box when you play live instead of switching guitars!
Yeah there’s bound to be a better way to achieve the effect soon.
For chords, change Pitch Tracking to “Smooth”. You tried “Fast” and “Off”, but not “Smooth”.
I tried that to little success. It worked a little better but still not quite as smooth as the DR. Tracking at 4/5 seems to work best without too much latency. Need to play with it a little more.
The Drop is not perfect either. When playing cleans and arpeggios, up to two or maybe 3 semis down will 'just' work OK live. Certainly noticeable,, but meh,, OK.. AX8 does not cut it at all. Nice simple comparison. Zack.. :)
It’ll never be as perfect as, say a digital keyboard due to the analog nature of the guitar. I do hear that the current generation of the variaxe guitars picks up each individual string rather well and has a pretty solid performance level. I have not been able to try it myself, but one of these days it’ll come as close to perfect as we can get it😁
I just received my Digitech Drop pedal, I can still hear the original tone, a harmonizing effect, anyone else have the same problem?
Make sure you’re not using a blended dry signal. How are you using the pedal and what is your signal chain?
It shouldn’t send your original tone through unless you’re on the Oct + Dry setting.
@@ZackSeifMusic it's the first pedal from guitar then amp, yeah I tried that setting and it's more pronounced, it's just a ghost tone coming through lol
@@hwy2hell161 It might just be the acoustic resonance of your guitar, but it should not be coming to the amplifier. If it is than somethings wrong and I recommend just sending it back for a new one.
But there is no setting or switch to worry about, the entire wet signal should be sending 100% through your signal chain. If you turn your amp up loud enough so that you cannot hear the original guitar tone you shouldn’t be able to hear it.
@@ZackSeifMusic thank you 🤘
Using "Virtual Camp" is not the correct way to down-tune in Axe. You have to use the Whammy in Pitch block to do that without having any artificial tail or something. It's actually fully described in the block manual >pitch block>whammy> a separate FAQ box at the end of whammy description. Leon Todd has a tutorial about it, it's for AXII back in 2017 but still applicable to AXE-III: ua-cam.com/video/Dcz1_Cu6LtY/v-deo.html
Hey Ehsan, for the Axe FX 2, XL and AX8 you would be correct. But for the FX 3, FM3 and FM9, the new Virtual Capo was included to replace the Advanced Whammy use of pitch shifting or using the Fixed Harmony (which is recommended as well).
From Fractal themselves:
"Axe-Fx III, FM9, FM3:
Use the Virtual Capo mode in the Pitch block (firmware Ares and later) for drop-tuning as well as virtual capo. Put the Pitch block in series at the start of the grid.
"This is a simple one-voice pitch shift that is intended for drop-tuning and virtual capo use and is easy to configure and use." "
The Advanced Whammy and Fixed Harmony trick still work, and you can do that if you'd like on the latest models. However, the VC was created to not have to work around an existing effect and give you a simple UP/DOWN function with a single knob :)
Here's Leon Todd using it in 2020: ua-cam.com/video/KNH4kwoj7Rc/v-deo.html
This makes me wonder,would this be the case with other pedals,like a delay or reverb?…..Will ANY dedicated pedal sound better than the AxeFXIII trying to emulate 100’s of FX?…..in other words,is and are multi FX units like the Fractal a Jack of all trades,master of none?…..I own an AxeFXIII,but I have never directly compared it to other pedals….never thought about it…..until now…The Drop pedal absolutely kills the Fractal algorithm….
Not at all. It’s only the Pitch shifting algorithm. The fractal has the best reverbs and delays I have ever used. Been touring and recording with it for years and have not found anything that comes close!
You’d be spending $10,000 on pedals before you can scratch the surface 😁
@@ZackSeifMusic Thanks for the reply…..After watching your video I just started wondering…grass is greener and all that…I have owned Strymon,Eventide,and other “high end”FX..but I have never directly compared my AxeFXIII to them….I am very happy with my Fractal for the most part…it’s not perfect,but it covers a lot of ground for sure..
If you wanna detune just detune the guitar! NOTHING can compare to the natural sound of a detuned string. All these shifters sound so shyte lol if shyte could talk he’d say hi, my name’s pitch block 😂
Ideally you’d bring guitars in every tuning as well as a backup. But it can also be impractical for some settings to have half a dozen guitars or so, which is where this can come in handy.
I’ve seen a couple of higher level bands use them live (As I Lay Dying, Issues, Jason Richardson) and you really cannot tell in a live setting.
@@fk6232 couldn’t agree more Joe! Well said.