2019-07-01_Computer_Music

PSP’snewplugineffectisa straightforward

andeasy-to-usestereofrequencyshifterwith

a coupleofclevertricksupitssleeve.If you’re

notfamiliarwithfrequencyshiftingandthe

differencesbetweenit anditssiblingtechnique,

pitchshifting,seeFrequencyshiftingvs

pitchshiftingbelow.

What’sthefrequency?

HertzRider’s(VST/AU/AAX)twofocalShiftknobs

• LeftandRight– settheamountbywhichthe
  inputsignalisshiftedupand/ordownoneach
  side.If thatsignalisstereo,theinputcanbe
  switchedfromleftandrightchannelsfeedingto
  theircorrespondingshifters,ortoleftorrightin
  isolationfeedingtobothshifters.ThreeRange
  settingsenabletheshifterstosweepupto1kHz,
  3kHzor10kHzineitherdirection,andtheknobs
  arenon-linear,shiftinginsmallerincrements
  aroundthezeropointforoperationalprecision.
  ThetwoShiftknobsarelinkedbydefault,
  movingtogether,butyoucaninvertthis
  relationship,sothatraisingonelowerstheother,
  forstrangestereoeffects– particularlywhenthe
  LFO,whichwe’llgettomomentarily,isbrought
  intoplay– ordisableit entirelyforindependent
  adjustmentofeither/both.
  Atthebottomrightoftheinterface,theMix
  knobsetsthedry/wetbalance,andtheDry
  Defeatbuttonsnapsit instantlyto100%wet
  whenactivatedandbacktowhereit waswhen

disengaged.Clearlya goodtargetfor

automation,anda nicefeature.

Sofar,then,we’vegota perfectlyviableif not

terriblyexcitingfrequencyshifter,butit’sthe

onboardLFOthatbringsHertzRidertolife.Six

waveformsareonoffer– sine,triangle,square,

sawup,sawdownanda smoothrandomiser

(calledWobble)– andtheoscillatorrunsat

speedsfrom0.1-10Hz.TheDepthcontrolsetsthe

amountofLFObroughttobear,andtheSpread

knoboffsetsthephaseoftheLFOintheleftand

rightchannelsformorestereomayhem.The

influenceoftheLFO(orthestaticpositioningof

theShiftknobswhentheLFOisinactive)is

visualisedinthevertical‘meter’inthemiddleof

theinterface,whichsimplyshowstheamountof

shiftbeingappliedtotheleftandrightchannels

inrealtime.

TheonlythingmissingwiththeLFOishost

sync,whichisa strangeomission– wedon’tsee

anyreasonnottoprovideit forthosewhowant

togettheirmodulationperfectlyintime.

Freqout

HertzRiderdoesa greatjobofhandlingthe

frequencyshiftingbasics,fromtheprecise

applicationofsmallshiftswhenretuningdrums

atoneendofthescale,toautomatingwild

breakdowneffectsattheother,viaallkindsof

strangemetalising,robotising,tremolo,phasing

anddistortiontreatments.TheRangeswitch

provesusefulfortailoringtheShiftknobstothe

taskathand,whiletheLFOaddsa verywelcome

extracreativedimensiontothewholething(the

Wobblewaveformisawesomeforsci-fipads).

And,thisbeinga PSPplugin,thesoundquality

andresponsivenessaresecondtonone.

Everyelectronicproducershouldhavea

decentfrequencyshifterintheirsignal

processingarsenal,andthesimple-but-effective

HertzRidernotonlyticksalltherightboxesbut

comesinata veryreasonablepricetoo.

Webpspaudioware.com

PSP Audioware

HertzRider $49

With LFOmodulationand independent left/rightprocessing,this

uncomplicated plugintakes frequencyshiftingup a notch

Verdict

ForLinked/inverted/unlinkedstereo

frequencyshifting

OnboardLFOforshiftmodulation

Versatileinputrouting

DryDefeatbutton

LFOWobblewaveformisfun

AgainstCan’tsyncLFOtohost

Fromtuningdrumstobonkerssound

design,HertzRider’sLFO-drivenfrequency

shiftingis powerfulandcreative

8/10

Alternatively

SonicChargeEchobode

220 » 10/10 » $53

Fabulous delay effect with a Bode-

style frequency shifter in its

feedback loop

Kilohearts Frequency Shifter

NA » NA » €9

Plugins don’t get more rudimentary

or affordable than this ‘one-knob’

plugin/Snapin frequency shifter

Frequency shifting is similar to pitchshifting

in that it moves the frequency content of the

source signal, but it’s the way in which those

shifts are applied that differentiates the two.

While pitchshifting multiplies the

fundamental frequency and every harmonic

by the dialled-in amount, maintaining their

tonal relationships for ‘musical’ results,

frequency shifting adds or subtracts the

specified frequency to the entire signal,

moving all harmonics by the same amount

and messing up their relative octave spacing

to yield inharmonic sounds.

For example, the note G3 is at 196Hz.

Applying a 196Hz pitchshift raises it an

octave by doubling the fundamental to

392Hz, the second harmonic from 392Hz to

784Hz, the third harmonic from 588Hz to

1176Hz, etc. Frequency shifting it by the same

amount doubles the fundamental but sets the

harmonics to 588Hz, 784Hz, etc, which are no

longer octave harmonics of the fundamental.

Frequency shifting vs pitchshifting

96 / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2019

reviews / psp audioware hertzrider