Down Tuning or Drop Pedal Which is Better?

LiveeviL2000

LiveeviL2000

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I have been looking into getting a drop pedal. So far I have certain guitars dedicated to certain tunings. I want to get a drop pedal but they are on the pricey side.

I am hoping somebody here has experienced drop tuning vs drop pedal.

Here is why I am considering this piece of gear and some of my concerns.

1) Being able to tune all my guitars the same, same strings etc ...
2) flexability to just pick up a guitar and decide on the fly "I want C#"

Here is the concern.
How does it sound compared to actually tuning the guitar down? Do you lose something?
Where in the chain does it go? Does it go into the FX loop or the front of the amp?
 
LiveeviL2000 said:
I have been looking into getting a drop pedal. So far I have certain guitars dedicated to certain tunings. I want to get a drop pedal but they are on the pricey side.

I am hoping somebody here has experienced drop tuning vs drop pedal.

Here is why I am considering this piece of gear and some of my concerns.

1) Being able to tune all my guitars the same, same strings etc ...
2) flexability to just pick up a guitar and decide on the fly "I want C#"

Here is the concern.
How does it sound compared to actually tuning the guitar down? Do you lose something?
Where in the chain does it go? Does it go into the FX loop or the front of the amp?
Click to expand...
I have heard one briefly (while purchasing a slant cab) it seemed like a good piece of gear,, but our favorite thrash artist I believe has and uses one aka @Ramo he would be the one to ask !!

Cheers

Mitch
 
I like things the hard way: detune! I got a Morpheus Drop Tune that works amazingly but, if you are playing at a bedroom level, you will get confused by hearing the actual pitch of the strings vs the created pitch and it's very annoying. At a louder volume? Sure!

I'll say this: if you got Floyds and you don't have certain guitars already detuned or you just own one? Sure, the drop tune pedal works in this context. But, for non locked bridges, go with detuning. It will loosen the strings, makes it easier to play and bend and plus it sounds as genuine as it gets

As far as placement? It should be the first in line in my opinion thru the front since it's effectively the same signal as if you detuned the guitar. Soundwise it's accurate UNLESS you are at a low volume and then the effect meets reality against your actual tuning
 
Clockworkmike said:
I like things the hard way: detune! I got a Morpheus Drop Tune that works amazingly but, if you are playing at a bedroom level, you will get confused by hearing the actual pitch of the strings vs the created pitch and it's very annoying. At a louder volume? Sure!

I'll say this: if you got Floyds and you don't have certain guitars already detuned or you just own one? Sure, the drop tune pedal works in this context. But, for non locked bridges, go with detuning. It will loosen the strings, makes it easier to play and bend and plus it sounds as genuine as it gets

As far as placement? It should be the first in line in my opinion thru the front since it's effectively the same signal as if you detuned the guitar. Soundwise it's accurate UNLESS you are at a low volume and then the effect meets reality against your actual tuning
Click to expand...
Right now I have 2 guitars in each of the following tunings E, D#, D, C# ... and 1 that I do all kinds of open tuning experiments with, so it's like having a drop pedal, but doing it the hard (and expensive) way.
Yeah, I dont always play that loud, just for my riff videos that I do occasionally. Hearing 2 different notes would drive me batty I think.
Thanks Mike, that answered everything I needed to know.
 
Clockworkmike said:
Matter of fact, it was the great @steveb63 that taught me about karma and paying it forward when you get a deal, which he made with me. So by that logic, if you want a barely used Morpheus Drop Tune? It's yours man, I don't honestly use it at all
Click to expand...
What you said in your previous post made a ton of sense, it would probably just collect dust here. Thanks for the offer anyway.
 
Clockworkmike said:
I like things the hard way: detune! I got a Morpheus Drop Tune that works amazingly but, if you are playing at a bedroom level, you will get confused by hearing the actual pitch of the strings vs the created pitch and it's very annoying. At a louder volume? Sure!

I'll say this: if you got Floyds and you don't have certain guitars already detuned or you just own one? Sure, the drop tune pedal works in this context. But, for non locked bridges, go with detuning. It will loosen the strings, makes it easier to play and bend and plus it sounds as genuine as it gets

As far as placement? It should be the first in line in my opinion thru the front since it's effectively the same signal as if you detuned the guitar. Soundwise it's accurate UNLESS you are at a low volume and then the effect meets reality against your actual tuning
Click to expand...
If you want to play low low low vol might as well give up down tunings and play abba instead.

Metal is loud, fast and unforgiving sonic assault! :)

You play radio caster so you wouldn’t know about metal :)
 
LiveeviL2000 said:
Here is the concern.
How does it sound compared to actually tuning the guitar down? Do you lose something?
Where in the chain does it go? Does it go into the FX loop or the front of the amp?
Click to expand...

I've never tried a drop pedal, but I have a suspicion it would probably feel weird to me. I would feel one frequency at my fingertips, but hear another with my ears. Maybe this isn't really an issue, but it does occur to me as a possibility.

Personally, I would be less concerned about what you lose and more about things you might get, such as unintended harmonics or digital artifacts.

As for where in the chain...of course you should experiment, but I would think you should start by trying it right after your guitar and before any effects or even overdrive pedals. The idea being it seems it would be more transparent for the pedal to alter the raw guitar signal and then feed the pitch-adjusted signal to the rest of the chain. This more closely matches what actually happens when you alter your tuning...the effects and amplifier get whatever is produced by the guitar. In the case of the drop pedal, the pedal becomes the alternatively-tuned guitar sound which becomes the source for everything else. I also think you'd encounter fewer of the aforementioned artifacts and other potential audio anomalies.

But, as I said, I've never tried one, so I have no personal experience. These are just my initial thoughts on the matter.

Looking forward to your review!
 
smitty_p said:
I've never tried a drop pedal, but I have a suspicion it would probably feel weird to me. I would feel one frequency at my fingertips, but hear another with my ears. Maybe this isn't really an issue, but it does occur to me as a possibility.

Personally, I would be less concerned about what you lose and more about things you might get, such as unintended harmonics or digital artifacts.

As for where in the chain...of course you should experiment, but I would think you should start by trying it right after your guitar and before any effects or even overdrive pedals. The idea being it seems it would be more transparent for the pedal to alter the raw guitar signal and then feed the pitch-adjusted signal to the rest of the chain. This more closely matches what actually happens when you alter your tuning...the effects and amplifier get whatever is produced by the guitar. In the case of the drop pedal, the pedal becomes the alternatively-tuned guitar sound which becomes the source for everything else. I also think you'd encounter fewer of the aforementioned artifacts and other potential audio anomalies.

But, as I said, I've never tried one, so I have no personal experience. These are just my initial thoughts on the matter.

Looking forward to your review!
Click to expand...
Mike talked me out of it by echoing the same things you stated here.

So unfortunately Mike canceled the video.
 
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