In my previous post, DSP Adventures: Zero Latency Pitch Shifting, I demonstrated a zero-latency pitch-shifting algorithm. The narrative was that it was born out of frustration because I couldn’t find a suitable plugin for the eWhammy. The truth, though, is that I would have written it eventually anyway. Not finding a good plugin was simply the excuse I needed. A good excuse!
The previous demo showcased various harmonization options applied to guitar audio, covering a wide range of playing techniques, including hammer-ons, pull-offs, right-hand tapping, staccato playing, bends, and slides.
This time, I’ll demonstrate real-time pitch bending on open-string single notes (low E, open D, and open G), each followed about a second later by a harmonic tap at the 12th fret.
For reference, here are the original audio files.
Now I’ll apply real-time, zero-latency pitch shifting to the audio, driven by a synthesized control curve that includes a deep octave dive, an octave pull, some flutter (for the flutter aficionados!), and a touch of vibrato.
For convenience, this demo uses a synthesized control signal generated by the Q DSP library’s synthesizer facilities. In the actual system, however, these control gestures will come directly from the eWhammy.
Now for the demo:
Correction. The third example “Open D” should read “Open G”.
Very interesting – I’m looking forward to hearing some more demos. These pitch shifting examples sound really clean. And the bend transitions sound especially smooth.
I’m looking forward to hearing some examples of more typical playing. It’s hard for my ear to really discern the timbre of the pitch shifting, and surely I can’t really experience the low latency of this approach from this particular demo.
I also appreciate the “synthesized” control signal that is emulating the action of the e-whammy it’s clearly very precise. I think this precision makes th pitch shifting appear vaguely “clinical” due to its precision, though. I strongly suspect that my ear is noting the precision with which the control signal as being slightly unnatural (in the context of a whammy bar’s motion). So I suspect that using a more typical control signal, one from the ewhammy or a pedal, will also assist in making the pitch shifting sound more natural.
Really looking forward to more demos of this pitch shifting approach! This is big stuff!
I’m really encouraged by this approach!
OK, Joel. You have me very interested. But from where I am viewing this, there is a big missing piece of the puzzle. Do I need a hardware MIDI controllable device like an EHX POG 3? Or is there a plugin that you’ve developed that I can use in my DAW? What format is the plugin (VST3, AU, etc.) available in? Will it come with the E-Whammy or will it be an added charge?
This is currently a proof of concept. Where I take it from here is something I haven’t mapped out yet. We’ll see. But a plugin is probably the fastest path forward. When that happens, it will be part of the planned Ascend series of plugins. No, it will not come with the eWhammy by default as it is currently priced. It probably should be, but I can’t justify that without a price increase.
I absolutely understand charging extra for the plugin. So will the plugin be able to assign specific CC message types to the eWhammy so it can be used as an on-the-guitar expression pedal?
Absolutely