How to create a Detuned Sound

[evh5150combo]

Hi everybody, I would like to create a patch with a detuned sound like van halen does. For this I would use the pitch glide, but you cannot set it in cents (0,01) it only works in decimal (0,1). I've read somewhere that you can do it with the hd400, i paste it here:

"I have the POD HD 400 and it definitely has the pitch detune. I select Pitch Glide and don't control for the expression pedal then simultaneously pushdown and turn the adjust knob (not just turn). Pushing it down and turning engages .00 cents. I detune to .02 to get a great detune chorus"

 

Is it true? Can I engage the cents in the HD500?

 

Thank you

evh

[duncann]

What you said. The closest together you can get is +0.1 or -0.1. You could try and convert it by knowing that it goes 2 octaves above, +12, +24, and 2 octaves down, -12, -24.

 

If you're using it for a chorus, just set it to + or -0.1, it sounds really good. Also, put it in either path A or B after the amp. And if you want a nice wide stereo field, make sure the mixer is panned greater than 0% left and right.

 

Maybe one drawback is it does create a phasing/comb filter effect that can be heard by itself, but might disappear inside a mix.

[Rewolf48]

IIRC when editing on the HD500 directly there are two click points for "0.0", the upper one of which is true zero and gives no effect, but the lower one gives the shimmery chorus effect of being micro detuned.

[agbiggs]

Ideally the EVH detuned sound has both a pitch raise and a pitch drop (a dual-detune, I guess). With the HD500 you can have both running at the same time, but with the HD400 you can have only one.

 

I use the pitch glide to get the EVH detuned tone, but I've also found that the Dimension chorus can do it very well -- perhaps better, and it's easier for switching than having two pitch glides running at one.

 

I did a request a while back on Idea Scale to make the pitch glide adjustment go to two decimal points to better catch a detuned sound. But I didn't know then Rewolf48's point about the two click points at 0.0. I'll have to check that out.

[evh5150combo]

Yeah, I know that at 0.0 there are 2 steps if you turn the knob. But I would like to choose the cents of the detune and make a double detune (-3 and -3) for a "fair warning" sound. Is it right that you can activate cents within the HD400 ??

[duncann]

Using reatune in Reaper, as the units are unidentified on the hd500(x), every 0.1 in either direction is approximately 10 cents. Not sure about the HD400, but I would imagine the actual pitch glide effect on the hd400 is the same as on the hd500(x).

 

Here's a link to a webpage with a bunch of calculators dealing with semitones, frequencies, cents, etc.:

 

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-centsratio.htm