Pichtfactor question

[mrpingua]

Hi Guys,

I am the proud new owner of a Pitchfactor which I picked up on the fleabay. It's been working good but there is a strange issue that I can't seem to resolve.

The main use of my PF is to harmonize 3rd's intervals (similar to what Iron Maiden does). It does a pretty good job in alot of situations with this use, but there is one that I can't seem to fix. When playing individual notes that ring out (just one note at a time not chords) it sounds as if the harmonized note has a fake sounding distortion to it. The harmonized note sounds very fake and almost like it has a fuzz effect to it. What's odd is that with the same setting (same preset) if you play a palm muted riff it sounds pretty good – you cant hear the falseness. Now keep in mind I am not playing a million notes per second these notes are "ringing" out. Nor am I using excessive vibrato or artificial harmonics or 2 handed tapping techniques.

I bought the pedal mainly because of this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeP4kQfWUXQ

In the first minute and a half of playing he uses harmonized 3rd's and his sound (from the pedal) is pretty good and this is what I am after. The riffs I am playing are similar to what he is playing but my sound isn't similar to the video.

Quick description of my what my preset looks like:

Wet 50% (id like to hear both notes evenly)

Pitch Mix: A10 – B0

Pitch A -3d

Pitch B – Unison

Delay A & B – 0

X & Y knob – 0

Key is G Minor

Also I have tempo off if that matters (I don't use this feature).

My amp setup:

Guitar -> Pitchfactor -> Mesa boogie Dual Rectifier (ie run infront of the amp not through EFX loop).Yes, it is setup for Guitar as the source and for Guitar -> Amp on the flip switches on the backside of the pedal. Quick note about my guitar – It has EMG active pickups – and it has a mid boost. I have heard some pedals can overload with active pickups might this be the problem? Or am I using the preset in the wrong way?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking.

[caveman]

Try setting the delay to 10ms or so, or even more if you can.. it gives a more natural sound. Perhaps because the processor has more time to do it's work.

[stringrazor]

Great suggestion! I just tried that myself and setting the delay to about 33ms works great for me and definitely improves the tracking.

[mrpingua]

Is it possible that the problem is that I am running the effect before the distortion from my amp and this is why the harmonized notes sound like they have a fake distortion?

Any other ideas?

Are people able to get good harmonized sounds with running the pedal in front of their amps?

Still looking for help and appreciate any and all suggestions.

[achaput]

For Iron Maiden type stuff I would recommend running PitchFactor AFTER distortion. That way you are are pitch shifting the distorted sound instead of distorting the pitch shifted sound.

[stringrazor]

I don't like the sound of a PF(Diatonic)–>Distortion fx chain config. The harmony notes sound smeared and muddy. If your amp has an fx loop, you could try the PF there so it's placed after the preamp. Unfortunately, then other effects that come before it in the chain like delay won't sound good with a PF Diatonic patch. If you also need delay or modulation on the harmonized riff,  I think the best bet is to switch your amp to a clean setting when using the PF and instead use distortion from a stombox placed in front of the PF. 

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