How to Play Ambient Guitar #10 - Use a Pitch Shifter with Ambient Chords / Ambient Swells

[@apanapandottir205]

These videos are totally changing my way of thinking. I'm a metal/hardcore kind of guy, but always been a huge fan of soundscapes. Normally I just put a ton of strings on top of everything, but this changes everything. Very exciting!

[@chordsoforion]

Also - I think (since you are metal / hardcore) that there is an awesome opportunity to take ambient guitar techniques and blend them into that genre. The mind boggles!

[@apanapandottir205]

Absolutley! It's probably gonna take a while to figure out what i want and how to put it together, but your videos certainly help alot! So, thank you! :)

[@hansneervoort6167]

Apan Apandottír : You might want to have a listen to Widek. He combines metal with ambient soundscapes. Unreal!

[@ylonmc2]

Sort of like Sigur Ros used to do

[@drpibisback7680]

Ambient guitar and Metal? That just sounds like Isis. Or maybe Neurosis if that's your style. Post-Metal seems like a great place for ambient guitar, particularly seeing how This Will Destroy You have already made ambient guitar into a kind of droney metal thing.

[@juanchix88]

this video will dramatically affect my bank account.

[@chordsoforion]

Ha! :-)

[@EasterThisEgg]

The whole series is gonna make me go bankrupt...

[@camiloleao3249]

The money of you wil circle around your own economy. One day the money will turn back to your pockets.

[@randym3982]

lol Hahaha but just a note [pun intended] there is power in our speech!! Start saying I am blessed, I am prospering and see what happens Boom!!

[@robsgirl6465]

Juan Benitez :: 👍😄👍

[@geluix69]

Synth guy here. I find your videos fascinating, been hoarding pedals since I discovered the sonic design possibilities of pedals. All I can say is Thank U and don’t stop.

[@fredholland7525]

I've been watching and learning from these videos for a little bit and I wanted to say thank you. I have been playing since '68(self taught) and for the past three years have been trying to make some headway with ambient or contemplative music. Your videos have been so helpful. I don't know how far this series goes but I hope you are still posting them. Thanks again.

[@chordsoforion]

+Fred Holland I am really glad you are getting value from the videos. Episode 14 of "How to Play Ambient Guitar" posts the coming Wednesday (5/4)! If there are any specific topics that you would like to see covered, let me know...

[@aidanoliver8209]

I like how humble and clear you are. I sub'd to your channel.

[@LoVeAmBiEnT]

Bill your Carvin holdsworth is literally the most beautiful guitar ive ever seen.

[@Steven-u5w]

Wow! Thank you so much for this awesome video! This is right at my street. Thank you so much!

[@kickbiker7920]

Your languid relaxed presenting & playing style makes your video clips well worth watching. I became a subscriber on the strength of this particular episode (having just bought an EHX Pitchfork. I also the attention you have paid to the editing and the smaller screen showing what your feet are doing ... Really nice.

[@chordsoforion]

+Kick biker Thanks so much for the kind words and for subscribing!!

[@exploringwithasmr]

Thank you! This was exactly the video I was looking for to see what the pitchfork could do with ambient playing. Sold!

[@GlennMichaelThompson]

Watching you use a pitchshifter in this video reminded me of a technique I use when analyzing something I've put together. When writing a chord chart there's an easy way to name a chord- if it's built in 3rds the root is the lower note, 4ths it's the upper, 5ths the lower, 6ths the upper is the root, 7ths...I think you get it by now.... you most likely knew this already, but it may be of help to others. Like your Carvin btw, I'm playing an HF2S (love that it's hollow - sounds great when using the piezo & magnetic pickups at the same time) .

[@chordsoforion]

Excellent tip on chord names! Excellent guitar too! That's got the Synth Access piece, correct?

[@GlennMichaelThompson]

+Chords Of Orion- Yes it's an arranging tip i learned when studying with a great musician & guitarist Fred Torak. He was the musical director for the Quebec group "Harmonium", who were quite popular in the 70's & 80's. Fred should have gotten more credit than he did- particularly for their earlier albums... he m

[@GlennMichaelThompson]

+Glenn Michael Thompson - I'm not used to this tiny keyboard on my new (& 1st) mobile phone. So this interval/chord naming technique really nails the harmonic gravity. It can be fun to use stacked intervals of the same quality. For example all 2nds, 4ths, 5ths, etc. ...

[@GlennMichaelThompson]

+Glenn Michael Thompson arrgh this touchy phone keyboard! ! use the intervals in parallel or alter as needed to stay diatonic. yes the hf2s has a graphtech bridge & saddles for synth access(haven't used it yet). But y do like the Graphtec piezo a lot. The neck as a slightly smaller radius to match the different bridge radius. Thanks for all that you share! :0)

[@rolandmarckwort]

Beautiful stuff - love the fifths!

[@frankschrodinger1424]

What I like to do with pitch shifters is set them an octave down and use them sparingly to punctuate certain chords, or fade them in gradually with an expression pedal to add weight to a song as it progresses.

[@chordsoforion]

+Frankly Frank I really like the idea of fading in the the octave with the expression pedal. Unfortunately, the Pitch Fork expression pedal feature only controls the pitch of the shifted signal. I'll have to get another pedal at some point to try it out.

[@TimothyBussMusic]

The perfect fourth thing is something I have never tried but am going to experiment with!!! Thanks so much!

[@chordsoforion]

+Timothy Buss Definitely worth trying out. And ya know, might be worth your time on the synth stuff that you do...

[@Warsel]

Love your videos, they are as soothing as the ambient sounds :)

[@klessner68]

i find your channel both ekstremely helpful and inspirational,it is deeply appreciated here - thank you :-)

[@hansneervoort6167]

Ok. This tutorial really put me over the edge. I'm gonna buy a pitch shifter and use it for my ambient pieces. Thanks for the lesson!

[@mnemosynegates625]

Love you're work man, your tone is so warm its great.

[@chordsoforion]

+Mnemosyne Gates Thanks so much!!!!!

[@michaelsnydermusic]

One thing to note that if you don’t have a pitch shifter (or don’t like that digital re-creation) you can achieve the same effect by doing a second or even third guitar track with the harmony. Change some settings and you have two guitars melding into one.

[@stefangolubek8219]

I really Don't kmow

[@SoundAuthor]

When I use a pitch shifter with perfect fifths, I used to just look at it like major triad = maj9 chord ... but yeah, it's quite literally the major triad of the 5 chord stacked on top of it. I never thought of it that way! :O

[@chordsoforion]

It's funny - there's a lot of ways to think about stacked chords, for sure.

[@eddraper]

This was very interesting... I thought of those stomp boxes as being a lot more "boutique" like. Now, they are looking a LOT more interesting and useful.

[@aircooled0801]

Just came across your channel this evening and quickly found myself watching video after video. Very informative, and SUPER COOL!!! Thank you for sharing! Subscribed!

[@chordsoforion]

Thanks for letting me know you are enjoying the videos!!

[@Allthingsambient]

Loving it. Infact. I've been experimenting with ambient music myself...I suffer from panic attacks and playing this sort of and I would use that exact word 'meditative' technique...i feel calmer and theres a satisfaction. I just ordered the mr black ambience echo verb, i have the strymon dig and the earthquake dispatch master light blue and white. And a way huge distortion pedal. Is that enough to get scientific in this genre. By the way you are a huge inspiration and I watch all your videos. By the way what guitar is that?

[@ckrug32]

Really enjoy your content man. Clear explanations and beautiful playing. I learn something every video. Side note: this video helped me decide to grab a pitch shifter to use for scoring my short film. (Learning towards the Meris Hedra.) Thanks!

[@nazmoking3171]

Nicely done as always! I am using my Marshall Code 25 modeling amp with its internal pitch shifter to experiment with your settings. It has a Semitone setting (-12 to +12) to set up the octave or the 5ths. It also has a Regeneration setting (amount of signal fed back into the pitch shifter) that I will experiment with as well. Really appreciate these educational videos - thanks again!

[@Gazsoka66]

And top of that your english accent is really cool nice and clear!

[@AndersMcTee]

How is that an English accent?

[@coolworld316]

I like to stack harmonized 5ths using a Pitch Fork and a Montreal Assembly Count To Five. Pitch Fork does the real time pitch shift, and I send the signal on in series to the CT5, set for short delays that pitch shifts the signal up another 5th. After the pitch shifting I do modulation with a stack of choruses: an RT Electronix Threeway (Tri-Stereo Chorus clone) and a Roland Dimension D preset on my H8000FW. This creates a very synthy effect that reminds me alot of the sound of the Juno 60 and Oneohtrix Point Never. At the beginning of my chain, I use a hexaphonic analog distortion, the Spicetone 6Appeal. Because of the much cleaner tones produced by hex distortion, my pitch shifters have a much easier time processing the signal post gain than they would after a monophonic distortion. Highly recommended

[@chordsoforion]

Sounds like a really cool effects chain!

[@AndyDuckala]

i just discovered your channel today, I'm more of a metal guy, but this is some amazing music mate. just absolutely awesome, keep doing what you're doing!

[@chordsoforion]

Thanks so much!!!

[@maham593]

Wow! This is the most beautiful thing I've heard from a guitar! Thank you for sharing this 🙏

[@chordsoforion]

+MAHAM Thanks for commenting and letting me know you liked it!

[@aleksanderdrakulic6632]

Very good teaching, will help a lot of people out there. For all those who can't afford expensive pedals, get a digitech rp360 - xp, 5sec delay, looper, good amps cabs, modulation pedals, onboard octaver, digi pitch shifters. nice pc editor, usb recording, for the price of the pitchfork.

[@chordsoforion]

+psyhokineticart one Thanks for the great suggestion!

[@Kmuggle]

Great series of lessons Bill ... thanks much!

[@chordsoforion]

+Kmuggle You are very welcome!!

[@ramon2008]

Awesome video sir. Thanks very much!!

[@frankschrodinger1424]

Have you thought about doing a truefire course for ambient guitar? I believe there's a niche for that...

[@chordsoforion]

+Frankly Frank Nope. That's a new thought for me! I've heard of Truefire, but am not very familiar with it. Will check out...

[@Vibrochambient]

Thank you!

[@jfrbcelloguitar]

Gracias! Hermosa carvin

[@JohnMurrayMusic]

Beautiful sounds !!

[@H3nrySwans0n]

Very nice

[@errilonghin7872]

very interesting lesson....bill! thank you

[@chordsoforion]

+Erri longhin And thanks for checking in to watch it!!

[@Dan6399]

very nice my good man.

[@pedrovenegas-rodriguez8962]

Amazing idea! i will try it. Thnx!

[@chordsoforion]

+Pedro Venegas-rodríguez You'll like it - for sure!!!

[@MichalPfeifer]

I don't have a pitch shifter, but the chord tonality changes are wonderful, thanks for the explanation!

[@chordsoforion]

+Michal Pfeifer Sure thing!!! And thanks so much for commenting!

[@danjack-son4871]

Great video. Maybe do a comparison video on pitch shifters.

[@chordsoforion]

+Dan Jack-son That would be a fun vid to do for sure. Might take me a little to build up the pitch shifter inventory! ;-)

[@chordsoforion]

If you are using a pitch shifter to create ambient chords, comment here, and let us know about your pedal and techniques!

[@psilocypher]

Chords Of Orion Hi, great video! You've inspired me to purchase a pitch shifter AND a lil alligator, and I'm curious... Where do you keep the minimum volume knob set on the gator?? Thanks.

[@jamescassidy3995]

Very cool - thanks from England ✌️✨🎸

[@chordsoforion]

You are welcome - and thanks very much for commenting!

[@silverxbladeX]

your videos are extremely helpful! i also have a pitchfork and was ecstatic when i saw you use it. i know have more knowledge of the functions of the pedal

[@chordsoforion]

So glad you got value from the video. Thanks for letting me know!!

[@Vegadelujan]

Thanks, I really appreciate this video! I have a question about it, would you say is Pitch Fork a noisy pedal? Maybe depending on the power supply? Thank you!

[@chordsoforion]

No, I don't think it is particularly noisy. Some of it depends on the order of pedals and the gain staging.

[@Vegadelujan]

@@chordsoforion Thanks, Bill. Last night I decided to buy one, finally. Your videos always inspire and help me a lot. Best regards from Spain.

[@vekii677]

@@Vegadelujan hey, how are you happy with the Pitchfork, is it noisy and how's the latency?

[@Vegadelujan]

@@vekii677 Unfortunately I canceled the purchase the next day. The seller warned me that it is a little noisy. Finally I bought the Ps-6, which was a mistake, because it is not comparable to the PitchFork. On the Ps-6 the tracking is bad and I'm mainly interested in the octaver mode. Harmonizer mode is completely useless for me. I have to sell it and get a simple octaver-up, the other functions I need are already in the Digitech Drop, which I have for a few days (with an amazing tracking), my girlfriend made me happy for my birthday ^^

[@vekii677]

@@Vegadelujan thank you very much, enjoy! :)

[@FREEZER4000]

hello , really enjoying your videos as I watch more and more of them , I noticed the volume pedal helps a great deal , could you recomned one ?

[@chordsoforion]

Hello billy: Definitely a big fan of volume pedals, and I've got a few videos on related techniques. My favorite volume pedal is the Morley Little Alligator. This model is no longer, however, the smaller footprint Morley 20/20 is very nice: amzn.to/2YoR1NL These are active circuit units, so they require a battery or power supply. Bu the advantage is that the circuit is buffered so there is no signal loss, which can occur with a passive volume pedal.

[@FREEZER4000]

@@chordsoforion Thanks !

[@stefanz4836]

Love this one !

[@erkohara]

amazing, thank you!

[@chordsoforion]

So glad you liked it!

[@dougsignorovitch1493]

Dude, Thanks for the videos. Great stuff 👍

[@chordsoforion]

Thanks!

[@CommissarBooks]

Beautiful!

[@nickdurfey2312]

ive got a pitchfork and im wondering if the evantide would be a worthwhile upgrade

[@allandoughty1039]

Thank you! Just bought a Pitch Fork and this has given me a load of ideas. Question. Would you consider making a series on playing ambient bass guitar?

[@chordsoforion]

I've hesitated to do anything with bass related tutorials, because I am not a real bass player. That being said, I could do a little about how I use the short scale bass.

[@travelingbsides]

Great video

[@chordsoforion]

Glad you liked it!!

[@arcturusvmoon]

Sweet guitar!

[@darrenclark6552]

Hey Bill, i have the sub'n'up....will that be ok to follow this lesson?

[@elvis_chen]

Lovely!

[@-ron-8155]

Those tones are excellent! Question. Can you use a pitch shifter only thru the send/return in back of eleven rack with the built in internal stomp boxes on eleven rack?

[@chordsoforion]

You can run it in the effects loop or in front of the guitar input. If you do run it in the effects loops, be sure it is set for stomp levels.

[@nazmoking3171]

One quick question. I love the sound of the Immerse Reverb pedal by Neunaber but I have a feeling I can emulate its sounds with the Code amp or certainly with my Zoom multi-effects pedal. I'd like to try and emulate the Immerse's Shimmer effect and it seems like when you were applying the full octave on the pitch shifter, it generated a bit of that Immerse "Shimmer" effect - any ideas here??

[@JessieThorne886]

Well, the Neunaber creates its effect by creating pitch-shifted reverbs, but it also adds modulation to them, plus there's a delay before the pitch-shifted, modulated delays set in, which creates a sense of them slowly building up; so you'd need delay into pitch shifter into modulation, all on a separate loop to emulate the Neunaber. On the plus side, you get your own unique brand of shimmer! I do this by running a loop with Meris Enzo (pitch shifting plus delay and modulation) into a Rat 2 distortion into a hall reverb.

[@jaylamb1434]

I really been liking your channel. Question for you, with the TC electronics Sub n up are we able to make the sub 2 into a perfect fifth? Thanks for your time.

[@stewarttunbridge]

Hi. And thanks for the videos. I wonder if the Pitch Fork would work better on the input side of the volume pedal as the device will be able to sync with the raw note before you "swell" up.

[@chordsoforion]

Correct - it does indeed work better on the input side of the volume pedal. My effect chain in this video is guitar -> compressor -> amp modeler input. All the other effects and the volume pedal are in the effects loop of the amp modeler in this order: Pitch Fork -> Volume Pedal -> Delay. I did not mention the effects loop in the video as not everyone has one available, and sometimes folks think they must have one, which obviously is not the case.

[@neilgroves181]

How are you getting those beautiful deep tones? is that guitar what is giving those deep tones?

[@chordsoforion]

Are you referring to the example at 13:09 and following? That is the Pitch Fork, blending in the shifted pitch above, the standard pitch, and the shifted pitch below the standard pitch. Pretty cool!

[@eduardodemaria]

Great video, congratulations. I have a question: I have an RV5 boss, do you think it would be nice to use a PS-3 along with him for ambiences, maybe making a shimmer, adding an octave effect (PS-3) and a long reverb (RV5)?

[@chordsoforion]

Yes I think that could work. You will need to experiment with settings of course.

[@AnalogueVenom]

What volume setting do you have for your volume pedal and where do you normally put it in your chain?

[@neilgroves3592]

Is the pitchfork the same at the sub'n'up Bill?

[@chordsoforion]

Nope.

[@absolutelyalmost]

I use my Pitchfork like this too. Perfect fifths with the blend at about 9/10 o'clock. Gets a bit too synthy for me above that.

[@chordsoforion]

+Absolutely Almost Good observation on the Pitch Fork blend. I find it to be somewhat touchy. It's easy to get too much of the shifted tone...

[@absolutelyalmost]

Yeah, very touchy. Great pedal though! I definitely like it more for chords than single notes, just as you demonstrated here. Thanks for the video.

[@atozee1500]

What do you think of the Digitech whammy DT harmoney section?

[@chordsoforion]

Unfortunately, I can't speak directly to the Whammy, as I have never used one. Seems like a really cool pedal though.

[@ktmad]

Great vid, sorry it's a little off tangent, but for playing bar-chords/open, which pedal would you recommend? at the moment my preliminary research is taking me to either the Digitech Drop or EHX Pitch-fork, the tuning I'd like to know this for is C-standard tuning. Thanks!

[@JohnDoe-dh8xc]

ktmad Are you playing in C standard or just want the pedal to do this?

[@chordsoforion]

I am not familiar with the Drop, but the Pitch Fork could do this kind of transposition, but playing full bar chords may not be as clean as you want. Also, I don't normally use the pitch shifted tone by itself, as it sounds a little artificial, even synth like. I prefer to blend the shifted pitch with the original pitch of the guitar itself.

[@ktmad]

Thank you for your quick response man, this was very useful!

[@JohnDoe-dh8xc]

ktmad The drop only goes lower. So you could be playing in e standard tuning but have it pitched like c standard or possibly lower.

[@ktmad]

John, yes I'd like to keep the guitar in standard E tuning, while transposing the end signal into C or 4 semitones down

[@AmbientJoe]

Do you use the effects loop on your amp?

[@chordsoforion]

+deadstarlights I do indeed use the effects loop in my Eleven Rack. Works really well in getting stereo effects in the chain without having to use 2 amps.

[@AmbientJoe]

+Chords Of Orion please make a video. I have the Behringer RV600 (VerbZilla Clone) I have it on space (shimmer) I'd recommend it as a pedal I like it and would like to see you review it (the rv600 I mean). I put the Space setting in the front of the amp due to the shimmer. You can mix it completely into the guitar sound.

[@R_Durand]

Hi, do you know if there’s a poly pitch pedal out there that has an amount delay feature (I guess like an Attack setting)? This would be, so that the pitch effect can be eased into the signal.. Example, when not using a volume pedal, the pitch effect can still be blended in.. Any hardware models that do this?

[@chordsoforion]

Yes, there are a number of delays that do pitch shifted repeats. The Source Audio Nemesis is a great example. Here's a piece I recorded using it. Let me know if this is what you are thinking: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKGYqYltm8dnd68

[@federicorodriguezlopez6905]

Hi Bill, gretings from argentina, can i use a ehx pog to replicate a simil sound of pitch shifter / ambiente Swells or is more recomendable the guitar pedals you talk on this video ? beside, im going to buy a volume pedal, you use de morley little alligator for some special reason or can i buy another like dunlop o boss ? Thanks !

[@chordsoforion]

The POG only does octave intervals, so if you are looking for other types of pitch shifting, you will need another pedal. As far as volume pedals go, the Little Alligator is my preference, but many players use Dunlop, Boss, etc. and get great results.

[@vKarl71]

I want to leverage my Nap Music production with a pitch shifter that will: 1. let me specify ANY interval, 2. make my own custom microtonal adjustments to those intervals and to each of the notes in the chord played when that interval is used (in order to be able to play with perfect intonation like a violin); 3. apply the different intervals in a specified linear sequence - or a non-linear pattern, based on chord changes or individual notes (and alternating between those two) 4. be able to move from one interval to another in the sequence in #3 by using a [silent!] pedal switch 5. set the shifter to use specified intervals in response to particular specified chords or registers. Let me know if there is such a thing. Or make one. Please. Thanks. Let me know.

[@fredmorgan996]

Have you used or have any comments about the Behringer US600? I'm a little cost conscience and the Behringer is around $100 cheaper than the ones you listed. Any knowledge or preferences would be appreciated.

[@chordsoforion]

+Fred Morgan No - I have not used the Behringer, but it looks like it would provide the same basic functions that I talk about on the video. If you are in the USA, you might want to consider ordering from an online place (think Musicians Friend) that has a good 30-45 day return policy and give it a try. I do that all the time. It's a good way to try out gear if it is not available locally to you.

[@neilgroves3592]

Is the pitchfork better than the sub'n'up Bill?

[@chordsoforion]

It is different. If you want a dedicated Octaver, the Sub 'N' Up has more options. If you want to do other intervals than an octave, the Pitch Fork is the one.

[@fredrodnick2881]

It all seems to clash to me,and I never really went for that because you can't play a ballad with that. The one with the perfect 4th wasn't too bad , though and if I did a particular song I would use that.

[@Billyleenyan]

i have 2 doubts: the whammy isn't a polyphonic pitch shifter? and would this have the same effect as using a pog to create the octaves?

[@chordsoforion]

+Billie Lee Ñan Good question on the Whammy - I don't really know too much about that pedal. And yes, I think that you could get some similar effects to the POG with the Pitch Fork. You might want to check out Nathan Shafer's comparison of the Micro POG to the Pitch Fork: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mV68kpRmfN6aZ5I

[@TwangAndDrip]

+Chords of Orion You've created a very nice channel and amazing videos. Keep on! +Billie Lee Ñan Maybe I can shed light about the whammy. It all depends on which incarnation we're talking about, as far as I know, from version 1 to 4 they all are not polyphonic, but from whammy DT to whammy 5 they are polyphonic; also the 5th version includes a switch where you can choose how the pedal sounds: Original (not polyphonic) and Chords (polyphonic). About the POG, it only gives you from 2 octaves below to 2 octaves above.

[@Billyleenyan]

+Oscar Peña Wow Thanks for that info, i was going to get the dt. I have the pog 2 so i wondered about the difference from using a pitch shifter or a pog to generate octaves. In timbre i guess

[@Billyleenyan]

+Chords Of Orion The pog sounds to me more like strings and the pitch fork more like a metallic sort of ringing. Would be awesome to have this shifters or octavers able to change the sound of the layers. Maybe with lots of fx loops. If i knew something about elextronic i would build it... I guess i still could

[@chordsoforion]

+Billie Lee Ñan I agree that the octaves from the POG sound more natural compared to the pitch fork. And that makes sense, since it focuses only on octaves.

[@theycallmejpj]

is the guitar not weighted very well? i'm surprised to see someone using a strap whilst playing sat down

[@chordsoforion]

I use a strap a lot while seated. It helps to keep from slouching over, which I tend to do without.

[@johnnyguitar7921]

anyone have tried the Pitchfork +? its about $50 more but it has more variables but i guess you trade in ease of use

[@chordsoforion]

here are my thoughts: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqesnKWnm72Bebc

[@colelewis9940]

Pitch fork vs micro pog?

[@chordsoforion]

If you want something other than an octave, the Pitch Fork for sure.

[@vKarl71]

I'm always wary of people who use "leverage" in the first sentence.

[@chordsoforion]

That comes from my looooong IT/business career. :-)

[@edtsech]

Have you abandoned it?

[@eljapel]

you could probably even get nice chords from a bass using this

[@chordsoforion]

Indeed!

[@joeturner7880]

I do a fair bit of this kind of stuff on bass, usually using a Whammy, or Gojira fx Octave generator to take care of any pitch shifting. It does indeed sound great! Really enjoying the videos man, some great sounds!

[@stefangolubek8219]

Learn how to play guitar, and aftrr