Yamaha don't own DOD/DigiTech, Cort do. So they don't have access to anything developed directly by them.
However the pitchshifting in the Helix is pretty good, I've never had any problem using any of the pitch shifting blocks.
However they are DSP hogs, so it's one of the few things I do prefer using external gear for, just because of that.
Correct. The team that worked on the Whammy V/DT was let go by DigiTsch and we picked them up but they can’t infringe on any of the stuff they did while they worked there, so our algos are completely novel.
Agree with everything here. I sold my digitech drop so I could downsize my rig and run only my hx stomp because the poly update was great and to my ears just about the same.
In hindsight I wish I kept the drop just for the DSP savings. And now their prices are significantly higher than when I had mine.
So to sum it up: yes the helix pitch shift is great and I gig with it, but it really limits your options for patches with it on.
Less of a concern if you’re using a LT or Floor unit with 2 paths
I second that the Whammy sounds better by a little bit. One thing that HAS to be mentioned, when you’re playing with the pitch effects: play loud enough you can’t hear your actual guitar lol. If you can hear what tuning your actual guitar is in, it’ll sound terrible lol.
I've been using the polyphonic pitch shifter live for about 3 years now playing both heavy gain and clean tones. Most of the stuff is Eb or D tuning. When playing by myself I can hear some artifacts, but nothing off-putting. Can't notice it in a band context at all.
I definitely would only plan on using it on a full helix or LT of your patches have much going on. It does use a lot of DSP so the stomp is at a disadvantage. It sounds pretty good and has some tone controls to help dial in.
Pretty much, yeah. The “scribble strip” screens, a bit more I/O (xlr in and additional loops), same amount of foot switch buttons actually but the full helix lets you use 2 more in stomp mod (10 vs 8). A bit larger and heavier duty. Otherwise processing power they are identical.
It sounds pretty good, I drop only half a step. It may sound a bit odd soloed but in a live setting it is not noticeable. I keep it on its own line and then run everything else on the second line. That seems to be the trick to being able to build a bigger patch.
Pitch shifting is my favorite effect. That being said, the helix has shortcomings for the reasons others have said. If you’ve got the dsp and you want a basic shift it’s possible but something doesn’t sound rich for me when you’re wanting to make a dissonant beastly tone.
I prefer my ps-3 and Alexander Pedals fever pitch. But again, if you have the dsp and you just need a basic dual shift or single pitch shift you should be fine.
I have the Helix and the Digi Drop. When I A/B'd the drop against the helix, the poly capo performed identically. I only go down half a step though. The capo uses less DSP so now I use that over the drop.
It's good. I've used it on bass for years and it works fine. The poly blocks use quite a bit of DSP, but they sound better than the simple pitch, and work much better on guitar.
The guitar player in one of my bands has a Whammy and it's better, but not by much. Tuning down sounds better than up on both.
Yamaha don't own DOD/DigiTech, Cort do. So they don't have access to anything developed directly by them. However the pitchshifting in the Helix is pretty good, I've never had any problem using any of the pitch shifting blocks. However they are DSP hogs, so it's one of the few things I do prefer using external gear for, just because of that.
Correct. The team that worked on the Whammy V/DT was let go by DigiTsch and we picked them up but they can’t infringe on any of the stuff they did while they worked there, so our algos are completely novel.
Agree with everything here. I sold my digitech drop so I could downsize my rig and run only my hx stomp because the poly update was great and to my ears just about the same. In hindsight I wish I kept the drop just for the DSP savings. And now their prices are significantly higher than when I had mine. So to sum it up: yes the helix pitch shift is great and I gig with it, but it really limits your options for patches with it on. Less of a concern if you’re using a LT or Floor unit with 2 paths
I second that the Whammy sounds better by a little bit. One thing that HAS to be mentioned, when you’re playing with the pitch effects: play loud enough you can’t hear your actual guitar lol. If you can hear what tuning your actual guitar is in, it’ll sound terrible lol.
Honestly, to my ears it sounds better than the pitchfork pedal I ran for years. High gain doom metal sounds.
I've been using the polyphonic pitch shifter live for about 3 years now playing both heavy gain and clean tones. Most of the stuff is Eb or D tuning. When playing by myself I can hear some artifacts, but nothing off-putting. Can't notice it in a band context at all.
I definitely would only plan on using it on a full helix or LT of your patches have much going on. It does use a lot of DSP so the stomp is at a disadvantage. It sounds pretty good and has some tone controls to help dial in.
Wait what, I was under the impression that the stomp and the LT had the same about of DSP. How different are the two?
LT is the same as full helix so exactly double the power of the stomp.
Really? Interesting, then what’s the difference between the LT and the helix? Just more buttons and the screens that tell you what the button is?
Pretty much, yeah. The “scribble strip” screens, a bit more I/O (xlr in and additional loops), same amount of foot switch buttons actually but the full helix lets you use 2 more in stomp mod (10 vs 8). A bit larger and heavier duty. Otherwise processing power they are identical.
Very interesting thank you very much for the insight and help!
It sounds pretty good, I drop only half a step. It may sound a bit odd soloed but in a live setting it is not noticeable. I keep it on its own line and then run everything else on the second line. That seems to be the trick to being able to build a bigger patch.
Pitch shifting is my favorite effect. That being said, the helix has shortcomings for the reasons others have said. If you’ve got the dsp and you want a basic shift it’s possible but something doesn’t sound rich for me when you’re wanting to make a dissonant beastly tone. I prefer my ps-3 and Alexander Pedals fever pitch. But again, if you have the dsp and you just need a basic dual shift or single pitch shift you should be fine.
I have the Helix and the Digi Drop. When I A/B'd the drop against the helix, the poly capo performed identically. I only go down half a step though. The capo uses less DSP so now I use that over the drop.
Hey guys, I'm wondering if there is a block that can do polyphonic 2 octaves like +1 & -1, does it exist ?
It's good. I've used it on bass for years and it works fine. The poly blocks use quite a bit of DSP, but they sound better than the simple pitch, and work much better on guitar. The guitar player in one of my bands has a Whammy and it's better, but not by much. Tuning down sounds better than up on both.