Cheap Drop Tune Pedals

Travisthedog · September 2023

Do any of the cheap brands do a pedal that can tune down like the digitech drop. I used to use one to do QOTSA stuff in the band but a bit too spendy for me now I’m not gigging

theatreanchor · September 2023

The drop isn’t that much used is it?

Travisthedog · September 2023

theatreanchor said:

The drop isn’t that much used is it?

If you can find one used - 80-100£

MentalSharps · September 2023

Mooer pitch box, and maybe some others from memory, but supposedly Drop is still top dog performance wise.

VeggieShark · September 2023

Are these drop tune type pedals totally authentic when you use them? Seen a couple of demo's where it seems they are...but I still wonder if in the flesh they're just as convincing? My band tubes to E flat so I tend to go up a string gauge to compensate for the extra slinky feel that tuned down strings give. Be great if you could say just go drop D and tune down and be fully natural and convincing in drop C. No need for bigger strings, no nut slots to cut for the bigger strings etc..

S56035 · September 2023

I've tried a few and I'm afraid to say that the Drop is by far the best.

Nerine · September 2023

VeggieShark said:

Are these drop tune type pedals totally authentic when you use them? Seen a couple of demo's where it seems they are...but I still wonder if in the flesh they're just as convincing? My band tubes to E flat so I tend to go up a string gauge to compensate for the extra slinky feel that tuned down strings give. Be great if you could say just go drop D and tune down and be fully natural and convincing in drop C. No need for bigger strings, no nut slots to cut for the bigger strings etc..

If you go down a half step or two, then it's passable.

I have done whole gigs with my guitar tuned to E standard, and the Drop pedal set to half a step down. If you listen really hard you can hear it doing its thing, but in context in a live mix, it's negligible/unnoticeable

If you're playing drop tuned Nu Metal etc, then the Drop pedal is pretty good. Lower registers seem to sound better than higher ones. There is also a slight amount of latency. Some people don't notice it - I'm really perceptible of it, so I do.

If you're playing boomer stuff and listening for or appreciate "bloom", "sag", "chime", "butter", "creaminess", "whey", "note separation", "articulation" etc, then you might find you can hear the Drop doing it's thing too much. Especially when going down further than 2/3 semitones.

For context I do also believe it's better than the "virtual capo" in the pitch block in the Fractal FM9/AxeFx III, which I also use when i need to tune down for a tune or two at a gig.

I play in a Nu Metal band amongst other things, and covering Soil, Korn etc with songs tuned down right in the muck, I play a guitar tuned to Drop C# (Eb and Drop D on top) and I can hit that low shit with both pitch devices and it sounds crushing. The Drop is slightly better to my ear, though. I can hear things get a bit more warbly with the Fractal algorithm.

Ultimately, the Drop hasn't really been bettered by anything else since it's release.

I'd stretch the budget for one, personally. Everything else I've tried has been less impressive.

Kebabkid · September 2023

I got a Drop recently as I required it for Eb tuning as my trem-equipped guitars didn't like me tuning down.

It works a treat and from reading various posts on it, people recommended using it's own or a separate power supply rather than running it off a multi power supply i.e. Cioks, Voodoo Labs etc and this lessened/eliminated any glitching but others have said, multi-power supplies worked fine. I did find a slight tone change and my sound wasn't as bright but it worked really well.

If you can find one used between £70-90, I'd get one

MrTee · September 2023

Your original post states that you're no longer gigging
If you're playing at home (and presumably quieter) make sure you're still playing at a level at which you can't hear the ring of the strings unamplified. If you use the drop to go down half a step but can hear the ringing of the strings in standard it ain't pretty!

S56035 · September 2023

MrTee said:

Your original post states that you're no longer gigging
If you're playing at home (and presumably quieter) make sure you're still playing at a level at which you can't hear the ring of the strings unamplified. If you use the drop to go down half a step but can hear the ringing of the strings in standard it ain't pretty!

This actually put me off getting one for a quite a while. I'm a home only player and pretty much use the pedal with headphones exclusively so the end it's worked out ok but you definitely need the volume up loud enought drown out the strings, which can vary during a song depending on the dynamics.

Travisthedog · September 2023

does anyone use a morpheus droptune anymore?

S56035 · September 2023

Travisthedog said:

does anyone use a morpheus droptune anymore?

I have both. The Drop is better I think. Also, a lot smaller.

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Cheap Drop Tune Pedals

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