User scale for the guitar harmonies for Jessica by Allman Brothers

  • Does anyone have the user scales using the Harmonic Pitch shifter for the harmonized guitar parts in Jessica?

    I have tried making my own and customizing other settings but can't make it sound right.

    The song is in A, and I think there is one guitar a 3rd above and maybe the keys a 4th below.

    I am thinking I would set a different scale for each of these two parts, right?

    If you have any other Pitch shifter setting tips that would go along with the scales that would be greatly appreciated.

  • I believe the bulk of the song is A and the solo modulates to D.

    Not sure of your meaning, but you wouldn't want to use different scales for each guitar. Different scale degrees for the harmonizer, sure. But one guitar with (potentially) two voices added to comprise the whole thing. A 4th below/3rd above sounds correct. Except the 3rd above is Gregg's organ, no? Also.....it's the Allman Brothers. They did what felt right a the time, so nothing will be 100%.

    Check out the version on Songsterr: https://www.songsterr.com/?pattern=jessica

    These aren't always 100%, but this one is pretty good. You can switch between Dickey, Duane and Gregg's parts to see how they overlap.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • Here is what I have so far for the 3rd above guitar:


    This is in the key of A, so in step zero below, the harmony note I want to hear when I play an A is a C# which is 4 semitones above A. -- Right?


    Does what I have below make sense?


    Step 0 (A)+4semitones

    Step 1 (A#)+4semitones

    Step 2 (B)+3semitones

    Step 3 (C)+4semitones

    Step 4 (C#)+3semitones

    Step 5 (D)+4semitones

    Step 6 (D#)+4semitones

    Step 7 (E)+5semitones

    Step 8 (F)+4semitones

    Step 9 (F#)+5semitones

    Step 10 (G)+4semitones

    Step 11 (G#)+4semitones


    EDITED BY KELLYMIDI (6/8/21): The steps above originally started with number 1. I changed the list to start with the number ZERO.

  • I’m not sure the KPA can do it. It might be able to but I have not really spent much time with the harmonizer.


    The reason it could be difficult is because the melody starts with a 4th between the low and high voices and immediately switches to a third.

  • I’m not sure the KPA can do it. It might be able to but I have not really spent much time with the harmonizer.


    The reason it could be difficult is because the melody starts with a 4th between the low and high voices and immediately switches to a third.

    Even those kind of changes can be handled but it is often more work than it is worth. You would need to morph between the two intervals with an expression pedal. As an experiment for fun I managed to get the harmoniser to do Hotel California but I definitely wouldn’t want to try playing it in front of an audience with all the tap dancing required ?

  • I have utilised user scales on a couple of songs, but sometimes you have to accept that a patch change is needed a some point in a solo. Alternatively I have made the singer pick up his guitar and play the extra part!

    Karl


    Kemper Rack OS 9.0.5 - Mac OS X 12.6.7

  • You may be able to alter which part you are physically playing on certain notes to cut down on/prevent using Morph or to FX switching of the harmony effects.


    For example:

    If you play the part that starts with a E, the lower part can be created using -3rd, and the higher part using +6, with the key set to D(Bm). But, at the end of the second line, the lower part resolves to a -4th below the melody A, instead of a -3rd below the earlier melody note A. If you play a D at the end of that line instead of the A, the chord will resolve, admittedly at a different inversion than on the record.


    I don't know if the entire song can be played with this kind of approach or not, but, you may want to mess around with it. It may be a great alternative to complicated switching.


    Another thing to consider is just doing two part harmony. I remember seeing a four piece band do this song live once, and it sounded great with two single line guitar parts, bass, and drums.

  • In the Profiler, it would be available by activating an FX slot, selecting Pitch, and then Harmony Pitch. The Presets should appear along with the FactoryPresets.


    In Rig Manager, look in the "All Presets/My Profiler" folder.

    Thank you paults .

    I have looked in both places and my saved scale preset is not in either place.

    Below is an excerpt from the Manual:


    User Scales


    The Harmonic Pitch effect can also be linked to one or two custom User Scales. These allow you to create custom harmonies to fit whatever musical style you require. From harmonic minor, to blues, to Hungarian Gypsy scales - anything is possible by programming the User Scales. As soon as you select “User Scale 1/2” as the interval for one of the two voices with the corresponding soft knob, you will be able to access their configuration pages via soft buttons.


    Over three display pages, you can select the pitch offset for each of the twelve chromatic steps of both User Scales. Remember to set the “Key” as desired, whenever you use them; the key represents the tonic, or the first step of the scale. User Scales are saved within the Rig, so you can use many different scales by using different Rigs. They are not part of any harmonic pitch preset but are stored as independent user scale presets - to do this, simply push the STORE button whilst editing one of them. The default User Scales are both blues scales - one major, and the other minor. These can be used to instantly harmonize a blues or rock scale with one or two voices. Since blues is often somewhere between major and minor, try both “Key” settings to find the best fit for the melody, and your playing style.


    So, I still have the question. Where do I find the scale I saved? The manual excerpt above says it is saved as an "independent user scale presets"

    How can I retrieve that scale to add to another rig?

  • Thank you paults .

    I have decide to go with just adding the third above. I also found out that by putting the Harmonic Pitch in in the X block, I can pan the harmonies right or left. Since my PA is stereo, I can soft pan the harmony to one side or the other.

    Also, you mention the part of the main melody that starts with E. You said using + 6 with the key set to D. How would I pull that off when the rest of the riff is in A?

    That part you mention is in the middle of the first phrase where Dickie bends the E string at the 10th fret up to E. Until I made step 7 +5, (It was a +4) the harmony note produced was an high Ab, when the original recording had a high A harmony. When I changed it to +5, I got the high A.


    Regarding your comment where you heard the four piece band do the song with just two guitars brought back a memory of my own.


    Many years ago, I saw a "show-band" where the sax player had two saxophones in his mouth at the same time and played both parts of Jessica! He NAILED IT!

  • What part are you physically playing? I was playing the part that starts out E-A-C#-D-E, etc. -3rd generated the part that starts with a C#.


    Ignore +6th - it is an octave above the low part.


    I f you are playing the part that starts with a C#, try +3rd, key D(Bm)




    Presets location:


    In Rig Manager. when I look at Harmonic Pitch presets, I see a box containing:


    Load Type

    Load Defaults

    -------------------

    (the names of my presets)

    -------------------

    Octaver

    Pitch +4 -3

    Big Attack



    In the Profiler, I see:

    (the names of my presets)

    Octaver

    Pitch +4 -3

    Big Attack


    If you don't see it there, Perhaps you inadvertently Stored the Rig, and not the Preset? You can still Store the Preset from the Rig.

  • paults

    OK. Now I see it in both places you mentioned.
    But, here is the “funky” part. It did not take the name I had given it. It took the name of the rig.
    My rig’s name is Mars Solo by mbritt.
    I found Mars Solo in My Profiler after I sorted by type. It was grouped with other Harmonic Pitch Presets and the Mars Solo had today’s date.


    Now I have to figure out how to change the name to be more descriptive.


    Also, when I look at the Harmonic Pitch in in Rig Manager it still called User Scale2 (the existing scale I edited ) But, it has the correct settings that I changed.