Stereoshift “vintage mode”

[sadguitarius]

Hi, I was experimenting with the stereoshift module in Vsig to see if I could get it to approximate the sound of my H3000 on my H9000. I was able to get it pretty close,  but from what I’m hearing there seems to be a difference in the fine tuning of the algorithm that doesn’t give me some of the (IMO desirable) artifacts of the H3000 version. I also tried using the h9xx object, which is some ways got me closer due to it having more control over the granulation of the signal, but the lack of stereo correlation is a downside with that method.

There really is something magic about the artifacts on the H3000, especially with extreme downward shifts where I’m hearing some almost bit-crushy qualities. I was imagining that somehow at least some of the guts of this process could be found in the H9000, even though it defaults to a cleaner version of the process. If I’m wrong, would it be possible that at some point more of the internal parameters of the stereoshift module could be opened up for low-level tweaking? Maybe some alternate signal interpolation methods or the ability to ‘break’ the algorithm in subtle ways?

[ndeshpande]

There are a number of reasons you can’t get the H9000 to sound exactly like an H3000, it’s not just a matter of lower level parameters. A lot of it also has to do with the I/O sections, as well as the converters and processors just being fundamentally different.

I imagine you’re looking for diatonic shifters, but we do have algorithm 9602 “H3000 Micropitch” – there are some deeper algorithm parameters in expert mode that might have flavors of what you’re looking for.

[sadguitarius]

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I’m not looking to exactly emulate the sound of the H3000 but more to exploit some of the artifacts that are inherent in the (non-diatonic) shifting algorithm. The H3000 Micropitch module is definitely giving me some of that. I was wondering if there is a module that has a similar level of control granularity but also with stereo correlation as on the H3000 but maybe the answer is just no. Thank you!

[ndeshpande]

Can you define what you mean by “stereo correlation” and the associated artifacts in the context of your needs and uses? Correlation is a slightly overloaded word in both classical signal processing and binaural hearing contexts, let alone in stereo audio production and effect design. I’m not quite sure what your goals are or the sonic ideas you imagine control over, and thus I can’t direct you to the module(s) that I think would be most effective for your work.

Quick edit: to clarify, I think you can certainly do a lot to correlate/decorrelate with Eventide shifters, and I think you’re overall barking up the right trees. It’s just a matter of figuring out the right terminology so I can guide you to get you where you need to go.

[sadguitarius]

I mean stereo correlation in the sense that the “stereo shift” algorithm on the H3000 and the “stereoshift” module in Vsig both sound like the splicing is synchronized between channels, which preserves a sense of stereo imaging for the effect. It gives a different sound from using independent shifters for each channel. If I use independent shifters and play around with the buffer lengths, there’s a point where they sound like they get out of sync with each other, which doesn’t happen with the stereo shift algorithm.

[sadguitarius]

Right after I sent that I went back to the H3000 to double check, and it is indeed possible to get the stereo shift channels to get out of sync with each other when adjusting settings. So I guess the question remains, is there any way to synchronize splicing between two shifter modules in Vsig?

[ndeshpande]

I think you actually want artifacts in your pitch shifter, which deglitching eliminates.

H949-1 is my favorite shifter specifically because I love its stereo pitch artifact. Offsetting the shifters between left and right (so that one channel is +shiftamount, the other channel is -shiftamount) is a classic Eventide production trick which maximizes that artifact, and this can be used in conjunction with short delays for absurdly deep control of the stereo field.

Try algorithm 9305 H910/H949, especially presets using H910 and H949-1. There’s an endless pool of sounds in those presets alone, and they give insight into how you can leverage the pitch artifact for stereo imaging.

You can also access a lot of these sounds in the h9xx module, specifically the H910 (algo = 0) and H949-1 (algo = 1) algorithms.

I recommend keeping track of your sigfile’s module order, too.

[sadguitarius]

Thanks for all of that info! I think I’m doing a horrible job of explaining myself, but what I’m looking for is to have the stereo shifters correlated in a way so that the control over the buffers is exactly synced between them, so that identical settings on each channel do not produce differences in the way the delay buffers relate to each other per channel. So really a more precise effect and not so much about creating additional stereo information. Again, this may not be possible with the current offerings. I guess this might be a job for that granular module people have been whispering about. You’ve given me a lot to play around with though! I’ll try out some of those ideas.

[ndeshpande]

Give the non-deglitched algorithms a shot, I am pretty sure it’s what you’re looking for. Take a look at algorithm 9305 H910/H949 and sample the presets for H910 and H949-1. These presets also give you intuitions for minimizing those artifacts while still leveraging the pitch shift, if that’s what you’re looking to do.

[sadguitarius]

Thank you, yeah looks like I have plenty to go on for now. I’m not super familiar with the history of the DSP algorithms for the last 20 years or so of Eventide processors, so it’s taken me some time to figure out which Vsig modules have been replaced by others, etc.

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