Chopper effect

  • At first I was going to suggest that the waveform could be selectable in the tremolo effect, but had a better idea, so here it goes: the chopper effect would produce a harder effect than the tremolo because instead of a sinus or triangle waveform it would abruptly cut the sound (depending on the depth parameter setting) using a square waveform. It would have the usual pulse width parameter which determines the percentage of the waveform on the positive half of it, but why stop there? I thought it would be interesting to spice things up a bit by adding 4 "switches" that would allow for producing some very interesting rhythmic patterns (think Fruity Loops).


    So the parameters would be:
    Time/speed: in seconds or hertz, and would be syncable with tap tempo/MIDI clock
    Multiplier: 1/2x, 1x, 1.5x or 2x (relates to the above and would be really only useful when using tap tempo/MIDI clock)
    Depth: depth of the effect, how much it "cuts" the sound
    Pulse width: the percentage of the square waveform it stays open or closed (sound is heard/not heard)
    Switch1, Switch2, Switch3, Switch4: each one of these, when ON will cause the effect to be applied on that slot, when OFF there will be no effect in that slot.


    Note that a traditional, simple chopper effect would be achieved by using pulse width 100%, switches 1 and 2 ON and switches 3 and 4 OFF.

  • I already have this effect in my 2 old Boss VF-1 units which was released circa 1999 and my Boss GT-pro that got in 2005 which is still my main preamp. Boss/Roland calls it the "Slicer" effect, the VF-1 has for example 20 preset patterns with different modulation, rythmic patterns and also volume swells.


    I personally use a basic square pulse modulated slicer effect in one of our songs and therefore i would need this effect if i were to get a KPA sometime in the future, if there were a KPA in rackmount it wouldnt be an absolute must to me with all these built in effects although it is much prefered and sure is nice having all the built in effects, computer editor and great midi that the GT-pro has, thats why i really havent found any real replacement yet. To me there is really nothing wrong otherwise with the toaster format of the KPA, but it really seems geared towards using as a stand alone unit with its mechanical format which to me requires all effects needed built into the KPA.


    BTW i use one of the VF-1 units as backup in my rig since it actually can do most of the things the GT-pro can but in a half rack format rather than the 2 unit GT-pro. I use the other one at home for recording.

  • Old request I know, but I was looking for an effect like this lastnight to use as an intro to a new song. Couldn't get the effect I wanted messing with the tremolo settings. A chopper that has several different different chopping patterns (all referenced off the tap delay maybe?) would be great.


    So a +1 from me.

  • Quote

    At first I was going to suggest that the waveform could be selectable in the tremolo effect


    That is exactly the reason why I added a square wave setting on my custom made tremolo, works like a charm. Would be great to have "Waveform" setting in the Kemper for modulation effects.