Pitch shifter

A digital effect that changes the pitch of the incoming signal by a chosen interval, either in a fixed amount or according to a musical key.

It differs from a harmoniser mainly in intent: a shifter moves the sound itself, so a part can be transposed, detuned or made slightly sharp and flat for thickness, where a harmoniser adds a second voice alongside the original. Tracking latency and artefacts on chords are the usual limitations, and small shifts of a few cents are used as a subtle thickening effect. Large downward shifts begin to sound synthetic because the formants do not move with the pitch.

Example: a shift of a few cents in opposite directions on two takes is a standard way to make a doubled guitar part sound wider.

Pitch shifter

See also