Harmonizer pedal?
- Thread starter Ecadad
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guitar dan
Tele-Afflicted
I think the idea is so one guitarist can cover harmony guitar parts. But.... IIRC, the solo on Owner of a Lonely Heart uses a harmonizer - a 5th, and an octave up I believe.
tele salivas
Poster Extraordinaire
I have a Boss PS-5 super shifter. I use it for lots of things. I go pitch down (reference low E sounds like low A) for Baritone stuff(George Jones 'The Race is On", my own stuff "West of Hell"), I use the harmonizer to sound like twin leads, or for this chord shape that I use in cunjunction with a volume pedal to get a very cool accordian sound, I use the Detune to get a low -fi wobble/or chorus sound which is great for open and arpeggiated chords, . The T-arm I use to simulate steel sounds. I can go on and on. For me it works best with other pedals, but it is like a swiss army knife of "freak". Took me a while to get on top of what this thing can do, but it very cool once you spend some time with it. You can find them used -like new for $80 or less.
Brandon mac
Tele-Holic
boston,allman brothers,molly hatchet,thin lizzy. if you are the only guitarist in a band that covers that type stuff,i would think it would be very usefull.
schenkadere
Poster Extraordinaire
The Boss Harmonist doesn't seem useless to me...check out these demos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_VMfrDKzEM&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=fP6j2ZAVD_M&feature=endscreen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_VMfrDKzEM&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=fP6j2ZAVD_M&feature=endscreen
swleamon
Tele-Holic
The biggest problem with the harmonizes mentioned is that they lack the intelligence needed to replicate true diatonic and modal harmonies. It's not adequate to just shift up a major third, etc. try to play In Memory of Elizabeth Reed with a stomp box harmonizer. Will sound like Dicky Betts is drunk! Once a song deviates from diatonicism you run into problems. Intelligent harmonizer like those made by Eventide and Antares are much better for harmonies that deviate from parallel movement.
artdecade
Poster Extraordinaire
I use the PS-6 Harmonist for a lot of things. I love to place it after a synth pedal for some detuning. Then, I run those into my Moogs for all kinds of fun tones.
The harmonies also sound stunning. They track perfectly and have a better tone than the Pogs. There are some odd choices of harmonies as well for doing some strange accents here and there. I don't use the super bend feature all that much, but it has its moments. Harmonizers can be set to a key and they work well, so Dickie won't sound drunk. I think the comment above is confusing harmonizers and pitch shifters. Pitch shifters only do a fixed shift. That will cause harmonies to sound off... in some cases. For example, Trevor Rabin used a pitch shifter set at a 5th above on the Owner of a Lonely Heart solo. As a result, some of the notes created 7ths and diatonic triads rather than just 5ths above because of the key. In that case, it didn't matter because it fit the song very well.
The harmonies also sound stunning. They track perfectly and have a better tone than the Pogs. There are some odd choices of harmonies as well for doing some strange accents here and there. I don't use the super bend feature all that much, but it has its moments. Harmonizers can be set to a key and they work well, so Dickie won't sound drunk. I think the comment above is confusing harmonizers and pitch shifters. Pitch shifters only do a fixed shift. That will cause harmonies to sound off... in some cases. For example, Trevor Rabin used a pitch shifter set at a 5th above on the Owner of a Lonely Heart solo. As a result, some of the notes created 7ths and diatonic triads rather than just 5ths above because of the key. In that case, it didn't matter because it fit the song very well.
I use a ps5 for doing western swing things and old time country songs... on smoke smoke smoke that cigarette for example... especially if we don't have a steel player...
it is just another flavor that used sparingly works very well. The really big smile responses usually come from other guitar players on gigs where they'll come up on the break and say "how the hell did you..." and when I show them... I've seen several write down the name and a couple take pictures of the settings...
I will admit to not using it to its fullest capacity.. oh well... I own two and got both used for 70.00...
it is not perfect (can't play chords and yes, in memory of elizabeth reed will suck with it) but, Jessica sounds pretty good.
it is just another flavor that used sparingly works very well. The really big smile responses usually come from other guitar players on gigs where they'll come up on the break and say "how the hell did you..." and when I show them... I've seen several write down the name and a couple take pictures of the settings...
I will admit to not using it to its fullest capacity.. oh well... I own two and got both used for 70.00...
it is not perfect (can't play chords and yes, in memory of elizabeth reed will suck with it) but, Jessica sounds pretty good.
swleamon
Tele-Holic
artdecade said:
You are nit entirely correct. Not all harmonies are diatonic or move in parallel motion. Also, if a song changes keys, or uses non diatonic chords the harmonies can sound very off with other parts of the arrangement. Yes, it is case by case. If you write for a harmonizer (e.g. Owner of a Lonely Heart), you'll be fine. If you try to emulate a pre-composed harmony. It might not always work out. Trust me, be there, done that. I consider it an effect not a solution - if that makes sense.
TeleTim911
Friend of Leo's
Like any effect device, when used "properly" and "sparingly" it can be a great tool. I've never seen one before now, and was surprised by how good it actually sounded.
I think of 80's stuff.....like Prince doing the big octave down overtone on solos or Yes albums like 90215...crazy harmonies in the guitar solos.
Seems like something that a cover band would use twice per night.
Seems like something that a cover band would use twice per night.
tele salivas
Poster Extraordinaire
So cool to see other users of the Boss Harmonizers/Shifters. Also, when using the stereo option, the harmonies sound about twice as good as when the signal is winding through the same pre-amp. I don't do that often, but the harmony effects sound way better through two amps
swleamon
Tele-Holic
Don't get me wrong it is a super cool effect!
FirstBassman
Friend of Leo's
swleamon
Tele-Holic
FirstBassman said:
I recall he often recorded harmonized parts with overdubs and maybe an Eventide in the studio and live?? Not certain, just recall hearing it.
Speaking of Queen, the most creative use of an Echo Plex (ever) goes to Freddie Mercury.
Brian May did a lot of harmony using only delay......
swleamon
Tele-Holic
studio1087 said:
Amazing!!!! Very underrated player.
The Quasar-Kid
Tele-Meister
He wrote some GREAT songs too...
Freddy gets a lot of credit for some of Brian's tunes
chrom-freak
Tele-Meister
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2011
- Posts
- 379
studio1087 said:
that was f*cking awesome!
FirstBassman
Friend of Leo's
^ Yeah, very cool clip! Thanks.
Not by me. When I saw Queen a few years ago, May played a couple of songs on acoustic 12-string. He was freakin' amazing.
Not by me. When I saw Queen a few years ago, May played a couple of songs on acoustic 12-string. He was freakin' amazing.
