How to Do Pitch Shift Effects for the Electric Guitar

The electric guitar's versatility is due to the fact that it is a solid piece of wood and the sound is produced by electromagnetic pickups. Using a variety of electronic devices, players can alter the sound quality in almost endless ways. A pitch shifter takes the guitar's signal and shifts its frequency up or down, adding harmony as if another guitar were playing at the same time.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Choose a pitch shifter from among the many available products. Consider what you need it for. A pedal device might work fine if you are jamming with your garage band buddies. If you are making multi-track recordings or want to be able to try many different pitch shifts, you might like a more elaborate electronic harmonizer with many possible settings.
2. Try an octave pitch shift. The octave will add depth to your sound without radically altering. Listen to how it sounds with an octave shift up and down.
3. Set your pitch shifter for a fourth up or a fifth down from what you are playing. This is a pitch shift effect commonly heard in rock music, and one that is allowed on many simple pedal pitch shifters.
4. Use the pitch shifter for an effect called doubling when recording. Set the device to shift the pitch slightly downward from what you are playing. Record both shifted and unshifted tracks and mix them. This is useful for making the sound denser, because sometimes recorded music comes out sounding rather thinner than it did when heard live.
5. Experiment. See what effects you can produce. Remember that sometimes even a dreadful sound used at just the right time can be perfect. Experimentation with sound is part of what electric guitar playing is all about.