It is wise to be mindful of the melody the source is playing as you automate and adjust the pitch "instability" to complement rather than clash with the actual notes you're playing. Oh, I forgot to add this part as it can be somewhat important! You just need to be attentive to detail to get the results similar to what you hear in your head. In summary, it's just pitch shifting at its core. I'll edit this post with it when it's complete. I'm rendering out a little unmixed 5 minute live jam using the piece in the example as I type this to show how a mix can render it all but inaudible should you not be more forceful with it. I have no way of recommending a recommended range for both the delay and pitch, but the delay is usually only but the tiniest of shifts whereas the pitch may be more rangey.Īlso, when used in the context of a song, depending on the density of the mix and the elements surrounding it you may need to be a bit more heavy handed to have the effect still come through.
VHS EFFECT GENERATOR
Sadly I can't remember which was which (though I believe 1 was the entire signal while 2 was the generator source), but I'll check in just a moment to be sure.īear in mind you will need to zoom closely in most daws as these are by no means drastic shifts even at their most extreme. I used two examples for a particular reason though, one demonstrates this process when using on the pitch of the sound generator itself (ie: automating the fine pitch of an oscillator) while the other shows it upon an already recorded sound (automating the fine pitch of a recorded signal).
VHS EFFECT SOFTWARE
I'm sure you could use some type of DSP language such as Max or simply just write a piece of software to make the process all but automatic, though you'd need experience at achieving it via automation first as to know what ranges to stay within. There's really no magic to it other than careful and detailed automation of both types of processing concurrently. I like to do it in a manner in which I have control over the overall "wet" of these combined effects though that may be misleading, as playing both the dry and wet automated signal simultaneously may ruin the effect in some contexts. Then it's just a matter of automation (ideal) or if using outboard a very steady and slow/precise hand. You simply need a relatively smooth pitch shift of some kind that allows control on a cents and preferably microtuning level, and a delay in which the delay time can be extremely low. It's very easy and probably completely free depending on your current DAW or outboard FX selection.