Pitch Bend Circiut Ideas Onboard 8-string Guitar

[chrisaxeman]

Hello Everyone,

Know I don't post often but hopefully I can get some ideas. Long post warning...sorry in advance.

This is a bit nutso.......I'm after a device of sorts, that is virtually is similar to the octave up/octave down pitch bend that was one of the presets on the Digitech XP100. The newer and older whammy's don't have this preset, only it's harmony. What I'm proposing is investigating the possibility of having it on-board an 8 string guitar, instead of installing a floating tremolo system - and some sort of mechanical implementation of the effect on the guitar. Obviously a WH or Boss PS is too big to go into a guitar cavity, and since I'm not looking for multiple presets or auxiliary functions I'm hoping size could be kept down.

Guess I come from the big hair and spandex generation, so love all of my guitars to have floating FR-style trems. But I use reasonably heavy strings, and have found my 7-string RG Ibanez to be at the limit of string tension and usability with any sort of stabilisation.  As to get that stabilisation, I built my own version of the ZPS system into the Edge Pro Trem it has. With a split block system like the ZPS, to bring the pitch down means overcoming a seeming exponential increase in spring tension to move the bridge in the flat direction as the size/number of the strings and therefore springs goes up, there is a lot more spring tension to overcome, and these by the split block design are required to keep the bridge at its zero point (seat the stop bar).

Since a couple of years ago after acquiring a RG2228 8-String, I've tried to get my head around how to have a split block ZPS-style trem system that is physically usable with the huge string tension of the 8, and the huge spring tension that would need to be used to counteract it - but to no avail. Also, I've heard that the 8- string Floyd with the standard block is only really usable with shredder string gauges anyway. I need heavier gauges than that.

Any ideas appreciated, or ridicule if you must

Chris.......

[Digital Larry]

That's an interesting challenge.  You may be into uncharted territory here.  Although the FV-1 can be made to do pitch bend, it has a bit of delay and not the greatest tone when shifting up.  Anything more elaborate is probably too difficult to build for general DIY.  I'd love to be proven wrong though!

[chrisaxeman]

Thanks Larry,

It was a long shot. Getting enough power on-board a guitar (the 2228 is active via EMG's) to run a DSP-based deal makes for a tough one, too.

The XP has the oct up/down preset, and I was thinking I'd only need a at max a 5th up anyway. I do have a Eventide Pitchfactor and a Digitech IPS33b, that can be made to do that via MIDI. There are probably already ways to send a variable MIDI CC remotely. But was hoping to avoid an extra cable from the guitar, but it's not impossible.

Maybe I need to grow up!

Cheers

Chris.......