Polyphonic guitar effects?

[Endrik]

Does anyone know anything other than Electro Harmonix polyphonic octave generators (Pog, MicroPog, Pog2, Hog) when it comes to non-MIDI, non-huge-rack-processor effects? Boss OC-3 has a polyphonic function but it only goes one and two octaves down and is not very good when it comes to playing chords.

What I need is to create sort of an orchestra or synth pad effect. I can emulate monophonic analog synth sounds and whatnot but I also need some big spacey background sound which can only be made polyphonically.

Pog2 or Hog are great for this. But I'm wondering if there's something similar out there?

[Hellbat]

Does this count as a polyphonic effect?





I just picked up the new Boss PS-6 Harmonist and it will do some interesting polyphonic stuff in pitch shifter mode. It works better on d string or higher note-wise. Down lower it gets kind of muddy but it shifts polyphonically at some neat intervals. The harmony modes work pretty awesome for a $150 stomp box too.

Check out P7 of the manual for the intervals you can pick. The octave lets you pull off some good 12 string sounds.

http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/PS-6_OM.pdf

Best thing is everyone and their dog carries Boss stuff so it's easy to try one out and see if it's suitable.

[Hellbat]

Here's a quick demo of guitar clean, then through the PS6 in pitch shift mode. (+7,-5) Keep in mind this is an effect demo and not an attempt at creating art.

http://soundcloud.com/magentaslaad/ps6-demo/s-owNV1

P.S. sorry for the reverb, I had it on Supa Long and was too lazy to change it up and re-record...

[Endrik]

Gotta have reverb or delay for the trippy stuff man! Sounds cool, it does the same kind of organ effect like MicroPog + a lot more. I watched some videos and it also did a pretty cool whammy pedal effect. I'm very interested in that new Boss harmonizer.

But I also wish something with even more tones (2 octaves up etc.) and possibly with attack control to great this big spacey sound like in these videos -

This is pretty much what I want http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3aqZSywx7k

And this drone thing during the first part http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOEOdrkWN_4

This guy also gets a pretty cool spacey sound at 3:27 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llQ_irOD4ys

[Endrik]

I'm still gonna check the PS-6 out, I think it might get the job done too, just need to loose the attack with volume knob or pedal.

This guy did it with MicroPog http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqjVeulLZFs

[Devotee]

Awesome thread, i didn't even know about the HOG or POG before now and the PS-6 looks incredible! So beautifully simple and super clever! Endrik, if you've never tried Native Insturments Guitar Rig, i recommend you do - you can get all of these great swelling and shimmering effects easily and it's great for studio work. Although if you have this in mind for more of a live setting then i guess a pedalboard of EHX stompboxes would be the way to go rather than a laptop.

[Endrik]

I have NI Guitar Rig. Just earlier today I used a pitch shifter (a whammy pedal simulator) with +1/-1 octave setting, a chorus a lot of delay and by doing swells with my volume knob I got pretty much what I need. But Guitar Rig is for messing around at home and for recording ideas which pop into my head. In studio or live I'm strictly a tube amp and stomp box motherfucker.
Usually I don't use much effects but in one of my projects I need to emulate keyboards, samplers and whatnot. And I don't want to use fancy processors and MIDI systems, that would be too easy and impersonal, anyone can do it with all that shit. I want to use the least amount of effects as possible and relying more on playing technique but the music demands a lot of different textures so inevitably a lot of pedals are piling up.
This atmospheric-string-synth sound was the only thing which I didn't manage to get yet. EHX stuff would be the best option of course, they make absolutely amazing pedals but HOG, Pog etc. are rather expensive and big. I'm a city person, I either walk everywhere or use public transportation. I can't carry big pedalboards along. I already carry a guitar case or two and a really heavy backpack which is full of stomp boxes, cables, a laptop etc. So smaller pedals would be a lot better for me. MicroPog is smaller but PS-6 has the same function + a lot more. Definitely gonna try it out next week.

[Hellbat]

POG's are perfect for getting organ sounding tones, other guitarist in my band plays one and I'd still love to add a HOG to my board. It's just low on the GAS priority list because they are kind of a 1 trick pony, even though it's an awesome trick. The PS-6 for me was bought to satisfy a need (in my mind haha) for one of my band's songs to have a Thin Lizzy 3rds harmony section. The other stuff it can do is just awesome bonus.

[Endrik]

Nah, definitely not one trick ponies, specially HOG which has all kinds of crazy filter effects built in. You can do spacey string sounds, analog synth lead sounds, with distortion a really brutal singular riff sound. With either bass or guitar you can do an authentic drum'n'bass bass-synth sound just by cutting off the dry signal and all the other stuff completely and cranking the sub-octave.

[Endrik]

I still decided to get POG2 and Ring Thing (ring modulator which also does other modulation effects (great univibe and leslie emulator), pitch shifting, whammy effects, downtuning and a punch of crazy out of space sounds) from EHX.

I get pretty cool disco fag sounds with them.
This one is with crybaby wah->pog2->ring thing->boss ce-5 chorus->boss-dd3 delay straight into MacBook, no post processing.

http://soundcloud.com/emarbre/house-pad-guitar-crybaby-pog2

[VitaminG]

I could feel my lapels widening just listening to that. And my pants developed this shimmery satin lustre

[Nightbat]

This one is with crybaby wah->pog2->ring thing->boss ce-5 chorus->boss-dd3 delay straight into MacBook, no post processing.

....Because by itself it has enough processing to last a lifetime

[wilkinsi]

I would suggest a Roland GR55. I've seen demos of it, and its good for chords too. No straying notes or unwanted mutes as I get on my Boss GT-10's synth patches. You will of course need to fit the GK3 pickup to the guitar too. The tracking/response on the older GR33 and GR20 is shit.

[hippietim]

No effect that takes a mono signal does a great job for polyphonic shifting. I had a POG. It was OK. You could get some organ type tones out of it - convincing strings not so much. I've got the Boss harmony pedal - I'd be more than happy to get rid of it

The GR-55 is awesome though - it using a GK pickup which is polyphonic so all that stuff works great. Same with the VG-99.