Quinta Pitch Machine

Name: Quinta Pitch Machine
Price: 9.99 USD
Author: Nembrini Audio

by Nembrini Audio · Pitch & Tuning · Octave and fifth pitch shifter

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A pitch-shifting plugin from Nembrini Audio that adds an octave up, an octave down and a fifth up, each with its own level.

It has a dry/wet mix and low- and high-quality modes, and is on sale for $9.99 (regular $49.99).

Best for: Guitars, Bass, Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Rock & Indie, Metal, Ambient & Cinematic.

Keywords: pitch-shifting, bass, keys, synths, electric guitar, mixing, live performance, AUv3/iOS, dry, enhancement, fat, heavy, low latency, minimal controls, sound design.

What it does

Quinta Pitch Machine is a pedal-style pitch shifter that stacks fixed intervals on top of the dry signal. The developer calls it "more than your standard octave", because it adds a fifth up to the usual octave up and down.

+1 Octave: adds a voice one octave above the input.
-1 Octave: adds a voice one octave below, for bass-heavy or organ-like layers.
+1 Fifth: adds a perfect fifth above, so a single note becomes a power-chord shape.
Level per voice: each interval has its own knob, and you can use one, two or all three at once.
Mix: blends from totally dry to fully shifted, so the effect can sit under the dry tone or replace it.
Two quality modes: a low-quality, low-latency option for live playing and a High Quality mode with more latency for mixing and bouncing.

The current version is 1.0.9. It was on sale when checked, and a demo is included.

Source: Nembrini Audio product page

When to use it

Quinta Pitch Machine is a cheap, simple octaver for instruments rather than a vocal tool. Compared with Little AlterBoy and Graillon 3, it has no formant control or pitch correction, but it can stack three fixed intervals at once, which neither is built around. It is far narrower than Melodyne 5 or Auto-Tune Pro 11, which correct and edit pitch note by note. Its one trick, the added fifth, makes it quicker than a general pitch shifter for power chords, 12-string-style shimmer and organ-like layers.

Best for: octave and fifth layers on guitar and bass, fattening monophonic synths, and organ-like textures.
Genres: rock, metal, stoner, ambient, psychedelic.
Look elsewhere if: you need vocal pitch correction or formant control (Little AlterBoy, Graillon 3), free intervals beyond octaves and fifths, or a two-octave drop.
Tip: Benoni Studio suggests starting the Mix between 30 and 50%, and switching High Quality off for live playing to cut latency.

What producers say

Reviewers like how much it does with three knobs; latency in High Quality mode is the main complaint.

Benoni Studio said it is based on the T-Rex Quint Machine pedal and praised its use on guitar, vocals, bass, synths and strings, from one-finger power chords to 12-string sounds.
Loopy Pro forum users (on the iOS version) liked its "almost-synth sound" and rich low end, and used it to make mono synths sound fuller.
Criticisms: the same forum users found the latency too high for live playing, heard artifacts in High Q mode, and wished for a -2 octave option.

Where to buy

Nembrini Audio: $9.99

Tutorials and reviews

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