Odd H910 Harmonizing Behavior

[matthewjweiner]

First post … I love the H910 plugin, but a question about something that is stumping me a bit. When I play C’s and G’s I play (on, say, a Rhodes) I find that they harmonize much cleaner than any other notes (Bb, etc.). This happens no matter what sound I use or what I set the pitch shift to — .50, 1.40, 2.00.

I recognize we are emulating the first harmonizer in history, not the Octavox here. But is that the way it’s supposed to work? If so, why? Is it because of a static oscillator of some sort that was tuned to a particular frequency in the original box? Thanks.

[DGillespie]

Hi Matthew,

This is inline with the original box and to my knowledge is somewhat intentional.  The H910 doesn't use any intelligence to determine where to splice, but the splice points have to be somewhere.  So by choosing a spacing that lines up with the period of a C note, C's (and G's because they're a simple ratio apart) end up sounding deglitched.

Dan

[matthewjweiner]

Thanks, Dan — that is a third option I wasn’t aware of. But it makes complete sense! (and is consistent with records I’ve heard recorded w the H910).

One other q: can you provide a little insight into the hidden parameters? I see that there is “Converters” on and off and “Pitch Drift Loc” — I have something of an idea of what they do, but can you shed any light on those? And, if possible, suggest how to manipulate them? I haven’t noticed anything when I’ve played with them but imagine differences might show up in particular modes w particular settings.

[DGillespie]

Hi Matthew,

As is the case with the real box the converters are very quiet, but do produce a very small amount of noise and distortion.  Convertors on/off allows you to turn that part of the model which adds the noise and distortion off.

There is also a small amount of pitch drift in the H910 which is independent between the two channels.  This creates a nice stereo spread, but in come cases can cause image shifting.  Pitch Drift Lock allows you to lock the pitch drift between the two channels so that it doesn't cause a stereo spread.

Dan

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