Pitchproof is a free audio plug-in that can shift the pitch of the input. The effect is meant to combine old styles of pitch shifting with the quality you expect from modern plug-ins. The result is this pitch "pedal" simulation that has most of what is great about guitar harmonizer pedals, and still preserves the signal's integrity.
The Blend control will let you use a fully shifted output, or the dry and wet signals mixed (a harmony). The Pitch menu lets you select pitches like +7 or -7, or harmonies which are intelligent pitch shift effects. These harmonizer effects are intended to be played in a certain major or minor scale. So selecting C (major that is) scale for Key, which doubles as Am (A minor), means you should play only the notes A, B, C, D, E, F, and G for the most harmonized results. Key is not important for non-harmony settings. Detune is good for getting a more natural effect, only a little is needed (a little up or down from the center position).
On the bottom there are some other options. You can choose mono, for lower CPU usage, or stereo for stereo inputs. Transient Fix can be on or off, on is recommended but if you have strange glitches you may try turning it off. If you have a strong attack to your input it will clearly preserve that better, but if you have a fade in to notes, like a pad it won't have a noticeable effect.
It's got a guitar tuner! That's right, since it detects pitch anyway we decided to display it as a tuner and it can be made stationary in the bottom right if it is an eyesore.
Harmonies |
These are the possible harmony options.
| Harmony | Info |
| 2nd | Dissonant harmonies. |
| 3rd | The typical major/minor chord harmony. |
| 4th | The same as the +5 semitones setting except a few notes are flat. |
| 5th | The same as the +7 semitones setting except the last note of the major scale is flat making it "diminished". |
| 6th | A nice sounding alternative to typical harmony intervals. |
| 7th | Dissonant 7th chord sounds. |
Like many old hardware pitch shifters Pitchproof works best with monophonic signals. Guitar solos work fine, and even power chords above a certain pitch.
The maximum range is an octave up or down, or a little more with detune.
Note the instructions above about harmonies and scales, playing in the wrong scale or off scale can be a little weird sounding.
- Fix: When loading presets knob positions are now correct.
- Fix: Output volume was too loud, now it is very similar to whatever the input volume is.
- Tips: You can see a tooltip for knobs telling you the value.
- New Modes: Keyboard-Modu Mode and Keyboard-Force Mode
Keyboard-Modu Mode: The pitch is offset by the incoming midi note. Set pitch in the mid left menu to 0 to have C offset by 0, C# by 1 and so on. The bend wheel will work as well.
Keyboard-Force Mode: The pitch shift effect will try it's best to match the midi note, or to just do the default if no note is pressed. It is preferable to use Keyboard-Modu Mode instead of this if possible since it is more reliable. See video to understand the process further, and instructions are in the video as well at the end (for Reaper specifically but the principals should apply to whatever you are using).
