I’ve owned a whammy DT for almost 3 years now and here’s my 2 cents. Pros: -Can easily go down to B standard/Drop A without major issues on guitar and to C standard on Bass -Much less gear to bring to shows saving cargo space during travel and precious time between songs -Coming up ideas in different tunings at home or during jam sessions is a equally convenient and easy -The octave Up/Down + dry settings sound amazing -Believe it or not but I’ve actually saved money since owning it because I have less use in owning more instruments to set up in different tunings -I’ve tested it with guitars already set up in lower tunings and it seems to handle it almost 100% as well as a guitar set up in E. Cons: -The “flub” and other artifacts do indeed become a lot more noticeable below 5 semitones on guitar and 4 on bass -While great in a live setting, I still either borrow or set up an instrument for a different tuning for recording as with headphones, it’s glitchiness can sometimes be heard. -Price point, I understand why the Whammy DT is priced as is but the standalone DT should honestly be cheaper -Availability, it seems like there’s either only ever 1000 of these or 3 on the market, no in between lol Overall these are really awesome and versatile pedals. I play everything from straight up blues to funk/psych to jazz to doom metal so I get a lot of use out of mine wether I’m just setting it to Eb or Drop A. It’s become one of my “always on” pedals and it’s saved me a lot of trouble over the past 3 years ESPECIALLY in live situations.
I think it works great. I use mine all the time and never have any tracking or latency issue, and I’m pretty sensitive to that. The main thing is you just have to be loud enough to not hear the acoustic note of the string, or it sounds like some crazy warped harmony lol
@@brandonbryson3317 so I guess I just got a “bad” one. It’s not the cables or the amp. If it was, I’d have noise issues all the time. But everything is quiet, until I hit the pedal. Major noise! So much so I can’t use it live… never mind recording! Thanks for the input.
I use this in a 90's cover band. One guitarist and I (bassist) have the Drop and the other guitarist has the Whammy DT. I notice a very slight latency at times, but it's so minimal. Nobody in the crowd would ever know. Maybe half the songs drop half a step, there's one that we drop a full step, and I'll use the octave on one song. I'm not aware of anything better other than setting up another instrument and switching throughout the gig. This pedal has been a welcome addition to my pedalboard.
For a bass player, this pedal really shines if you are... - in a cover band, and don't want to retune between songs or switch basses - willing to stick with the neck pickup, it gives a stronger fundamental for the pedal to work with, just like an OC-2 - able to pretty much stick to quarter notes or shorter, no long held out notes below E as you can hear in this video, they get wonky - ok with not having your perfect tone on those songs - not trying to play anything fast (this will be a deal breaker for some of you) This pedal has been indispensable for me. I've even been able to use it 5 steps down like a virtual B string if I follow these guidelines.
Great tests! I came here through looking at reviews of this. I dont have it, but I have a Helix LT which just got a Poly Capo (same effect). I had not even given this thing a second look before. Tried it out and agree with your assessments. I was also messing around and got mine to record a "dry" signal out that was an octave lower and got some decent captures (checked with tuners on Reaper). Its *relatively accurate for fun little projects like that. I then re-amped through an Ampeg preset and laid down a decent bass line. Super useful and can easily translate guitars in a live scenario to lessen what guitars you need to carry for dropped tunings.
It’s definitely a powerful tool for the gigging guitarist needing to bounce around tunings. I didn’t find it to be so useful for bass. Im not sure its really designed for use with bass.. but i was having trouble as early as 2 intervals. But again.. im not sure this was ever designed for bass. Thanks for watching! 🤘🏼😜
I use mine all the time, but I never go below C standard using a 6 string with standard E tuning. It just gets too muffled and sounds like it's underwater. As long as you don't go below C, standard the thing works like a charm.
I'm using one since it came out. It's amazing if you don't drop more then 3 half steps. After that it's almost unusable. And the 8ve plus dry it's amazing too.
@@MadManMusic same man I just ordered one I have 3 guitars in D standard and 1 in E flat and 1 in standard and my new one is going to be in B standard and I really want to be able to switch Tunings and this is exactly what I need.
I've been using the EHX Pitchfork for over a year. When jamming with people or under a backing track, it blends pretty well, but playing alone or with headphones you do hear the artifacts. I did order a Digitech Drop since it seems like an approvement in terms of artifacts and latency. Plus you can't do 3 half steps (C#) with the Pitch fork
Myself & two friends have each purchased a "Drop", the unit works as advertised, but, sometimes when engaging the Drop with a "Drive" pedal a strange medium pitch (RF?) hum is audible, of course when I returned it the the retailer the bloody thing wouldn't hum ! It occurred to me after leaving the store that the amp we were using to test the pedal was the only item turned on in the "loud" room we were using for the test, does the retailer have the worlds best RF killer as well ? My two friends have the same problem, we live in different suburbs, we have different drive pedals & amps both tube & solid state, so no matter what combination each of us has tried, more often than not you can hear the "funny hum". I'm not an electronics expert but we are all of the belief it's something to do with the Drop. I have contacted Digitech but have not received a reply yet.
Hmm 🤔 So it hums when user with a drive? Where is the drive located in your signal chain? It should come after the Drop, not before. The Drop should be the first effect in your chain after your tuner and noise gate. Otherwise… 🤷🏻♂️ Thats pretty wild, Im curious to see what they reply with. 🤘🏼😜
I bought it and sold it. Just couldn't get it anywhere that I liked. I tune my guitars to drop A, and even when I go a step down it just sounds weird when strumming two string at the same time. On one string it works, put that's about it. Sold it because it wasn't worth 150 euros to me.
It’s designed for guitars tuned to Standard E. So it works best in E, D, C.. below that the information is to difficult for the pedal to decipher. Sorry it didnt work for you. 🤘🏼😜
@@MadManMusic so I like to play songs as it was recorded in the studio, some Metallica kill em all album songs are 40 cents detuned from standard rather than a full step. Same thing for Nazareth Hair of the dog, that tuning is not quite a half step sharp or flat
@philbouffard715 Thats true! Metallica and Pantera were both known for being slightly off of 440. I never really understood why though. But thats a good use case if you can keep the latency at bay. 🤘🏼😜
Just a question, I bought my Drop but it looks octave in all the options when I play single notes, like solos. The guy in Guitar Center told me it is normal but It doesn't like normal.
Yes. If you’re in standard E using the pedal on its first setting will drop it to Eb. The effect will always work across your entire guitar. So it wont produce a “Drop D Tuning” type effect. 🤘🏼😜
@@MadManMusic right, and if where to already be in drop d in E standard same story if i drop it down to eb tuning (it will just be in what is it drop c right? )
I spent a good 2 weeks researching both the Drop and the EH Pitchfork and I ended up going with the Pitchfork... While I do hear the chorus-ey effect in it, its been in a good way... Do you like the Drop better than the Pitchfork?
I havent had the opportunity to try it yet. But I would love to! Maybe even do a little comparison video. The Pitchfork appears to be a bit more expensive BUT it has EXP Pedal Capabilities… I wonder how you would use that. 🤔 But either way, I pitch shifting will always be hit or miss depending on the use case. It requires so much processing power to shift the pitch in real time.. i think these companies are doing a great job so far! 🤘🏼😜
@@MadManMusic The Exp is kinda cool because it goes up in pitch as well as down, so you can do Tom Morello kinda stuff... But yeah man, i would love a comparison video from you if you ever get one.. (i havent had the pleasure of trying a Drop myself)
At some point I did the same kind of research Digitech Drop vs EHx Pitchfork and what turned me off from EHX version was that it supposedly had a more noticeable lag which I could confirm from my experience with B9 organ EHX pedal. I went for Digitech Drop and use it to replace bass in basking with a looper situations, so I only use it in a drop an octave mode with a preset specifically designed for bass. To me it totally works for that purpose because the bass is meant as a background instrument that I layer other parts over. The lag is very slightly noticeable but to me it's actually not an issue because I tend to rush about the same.
I’ve had both, the Drop tracks better than the pitchfork, hands down. If you like the chorus like sound, cool. But if you want it tight, the Drop does a better job .
I just bought a Drop… has anyone experienced excessive noise when turning the pedal on?? I’ve changed cables, outlets… everything I could think of. I even unplugged the guitar cord from the input jack. No difference. As soon as I hit the foot switch, massive noise. I’m thinking I’m the lucky one who got a defective unit.😔
@@MadManMusic guitar to pedal to amp. I was just playing with it at home. Live I have a rack, so it would be wireless to drop to preamp. But none of that applies if I can’t even use it in my living room without major noise.
I use gibson and im in standard tuning when your in drop c and when you use it for solo is sounds like shit. I had the pedal for 3 days im gonna bring this back and buy a guitar to drop
Dropping to C from E is 4 intervals down. Thats is pretty much the limit Of usefulness for this pedal. I mention that in the video. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Enjoy the new guitar! 🤘🏼😜
Would be a great pedal if it was reliable!! Mine worked great for a month then developed a fault and it sounded terrible as a result. Now it’s in the trash.
There is a fraction of a millisecond of latency. There will always be latency because to process the signal in real time would take a very powerful processor. But they have really made it SUPER FAST. This is also why when you drop it too low it gets all Warbley. I think that have managed to make a really useable pitch shifter for the size and price point. 🤘🏼😜
I’ve owned a whammy DT for almost 3 years now and here’s my 2 cents.
Pros:
-Can easily go down to B standard/Drop A without major issues on guitar and to C standard on Bass
-Much less gear to bring to shows saving cargo space during travel and precious time between songs
-Coming up ideas in different tunings at home or during jam sessions is a equally convenient and easy
-The octave Up/Down + dry settings sound amazing
-Believe it or not but I’ve actually saved money since owning it because I have less use in owning more instruments to set up in different tunings
-I’ve tested it with guitars already set up in lower tunings and it seems to handle it almost 100% as well as a guitar set up in E.
Cons:
-The “flub” and other artifacts do indeed become a lot more noticeable below 5 semitones on guitar and 4 on bass
-While great in a live setting, I still either borrow or set up an instrument for a different tuning for recording as with headphones, it’s glitchiness can sometimes be heard.
-Price point, I understand why the Whammy DT is priced as is but the standalone DT should honestly be cheaper
-Availability, it seems like there’s either only ever 1000 of these or 3 on the market, no in between lol
Overall these are really awesome and versatile pedals. I play everything from straight up blues to funk/psych to jazz to doom metal so I get a lot of use out of mine wether I’m just setting it to Eb or Drop A. It’s become one of my “always on” pedals and it’s saved me a lot of trouble over the past 3 years ESPECIALLY in live situations.
I think it works great. I use mine all the time and never have any tracking or latency issue, and I’m pretty sensitive to that. The main thing is you just have to be loud enough to not hear the acoustic note of the string, or it sounds like some crazy warped harmony lol
@@brandonbryson3317 so I guess I just got a “bad” one. It’s not the cables or the amp. If it was, I’d have noise issues all the time. But everything is quiet, until I hit the pedal. Major noise! So much so I can’t use it live… never mind recording!
Thanks for the input.
I use this in a 90's cover band. One guitarist and I (bassist) have the Drop and the other guitarist has the Whammy DT. I notice a very slight latency at times, but it's so minimal. Nobody in the crowd would ever know. Maybe half the songs drop half a step, there's one that we drop a full step, and I'll use the octave on one song. I'm not aware of anything better other than setting up another instrument and switching throughout the gig. This pedal has been a welcome addition to my pedalboard.
For a bass player, this pedal really shines if you are...
- in a cover band, and don't want to retune between songs or switch basses
- willing to stick with the neck pickup, it gives a stronger fundamental for the pedal to work with, just like an OC-2
- able to pretty much stick to quarter notes or shorter, no long held out notes below E as you can hear in this video, they get wonky
- ok with not having your perfect tone on those songs
- not trying to play anything fast (this will be a deal breaker for some of you)
This pedal has been indispensable for me. I've even been able to use it 5 steps down like a virtual B string if I follow these guidelines.
All good info! Thanks for sharing!
🤘🏼😜
Great tests! I came here through looking at reviews of this. I dont have it, but I have a Helix LT which just got a Poly Capo (same effect). I had not even given this thing a second look before. Tried it out and agree with your assessments. I was also messing around and got mine to record a "dry" signal out that was an octave lower and got some decent captures (checked with tuners on Reaper). Its *relatively accurate for fun little projects like that. I then re-amped through an Ampeg preset and laid down a decent bass line. Super useful and can easily translate guitars in a live scenario to lessen what guitars you need to carry for dropped tunings.
It’s definitely a powerful tool for the gigging guitarist needing to bounce around tunings.
I didn’t find it to be so useful for bass. Im not sure its really designed for use with bass.. but i was having trouble as early as 2 intervals. But again.. im not sure this was ever designed for bass.
Thanks for watching!
🤘🏼😜
I use mine all the time, but I never go below C standard using a 6 string with standard E tuning. It just gets too muffled and sounds like it's underwater. As long as you don't go below C, standard the thing works like a charm.
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@@MadManMusic 🤘
this pedal saved my life, we have songs in setlist in both e and drop a tuning :D
It works well! 💪🏼
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Finding a guitarist who also does the job for us bass Player, is just fantastic.
Thumbs up and subscribed to your channels. 😉👍
I dabble in a little Bass Playing here and there. I try to include what I can, when I can! More to come!
Thanks for watching!
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I'm using one since it came out. It's amazing if you don't drop more then 3 half steps. After that it's almost unusable. And the 8ve plus dry it's amazing too.
The Wet / Dry Octave Setting is super fun, especially with the Momentary Switch Activated!
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Oh thank you, I’ve been waiting for this🎉
Im happy to help!
Let me know some more topic suggestions and I’ll try to make videos when i can!
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@@MadManMusic same man I just ordered one I have 3 guitars in D standard and 1 in E flat and 1 in standard and my new one is going to be in B standard and I really want to be able to switch Tunings and this is exactly what I need.
I've been using the EHX Pitchfork for over a year. When jamming with people or under a backing track, it blends pretty well, but playing alone or with headphones you do hear the artifacts. I did order a Digitech Drop since it seems like an approvement in terms of artifacts and latency. Plus you can't do 3 half steps (C#) with the Pitch fork
I hope it works well for you!
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Great video. Totally what I want in pedal reviews. Appreciate you dawg.
I’m glad it was helpful!
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I Love That Pedal, works Great! This pedal has no noticeable latency when playing!!
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I love that pedal so much, I have two of em!
Nice! 🤘🏼😜
Myself & two friends have each purchased a "Drop", the unit works as advertised, but, sometimes when engaging the Drop with a "Drive" pedal a strange medium pitch (RF?) hum is audible, of course when I returned it the the retailer the bloody thing wouldn't hum !
It occurred to me after leaving the store that the amp we were using to test the pedal was the only item turned on in the "loud" room we were using for the test, does the retailer have the worlds best RF killer as well ?
My two friends have the same problem, we live in different suburbs, we have different drive pedals & amps both tube & solid state, so no matter what combination each of us has tried, more often than not you can hear the "funny hum".
I'm not an electronics expert but we are all of the belief it's something to do with the Drop.
I have contacted Digitech but have not received a reply yet.
Hmm 🤔
So it hums when user with a drive? Where is the drive located in your signal chain? It should come after the Drop, not before.
The Drop should be the first effect in your chain after your tuner and noise gate.
Otherwise… 🤷🏻♂️ Thats pretty wild, Im curious to see what they reply with.
🤘🏼😜
I bought it and sold it. Just couldn't get it anywhere that I liked. I tune my guitars to drop A, and even when I go a step down it just sounds weird when strumming two string at the same time. On one string it works, put that's about it. Sold it because it wasn't worth 150 euros to me.
It’s designed for guitars tuned to Standard E. So it works best in E, D, C.. below that the information is to difficult for the pedal to decipher.
Sorry it didnt work for you.
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just bought this one and WOW a can play every song i want with one guitare. nirvana switch to steel panthers switch to korn loll
Nice!! It works so well for jammin songs from different bands in different tunings!
Glad it works for you! Enjoy!
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its a great pedal, would be cool if it could drop in cents increments. But my catalyst 100 does it
So to like shift your tuning slightly out of tune??
Like 440 to 443?
Thats interesting! Where would you find that to be useful?
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@@MadManMusic so I like to play songs as it was recorded in the studio, some Metallica kill em all album songs are 40 cents detuned from standard rather than a full step. Same thing for Nazareth Hair of the dog, that tuning is not quite a half step sharp or flat
@philbouffard715 Thats true! Metallica and Pantera were both known for being slightly off of 440.
I never really understood why though.
But thats a good use case if you can keep the latency at bay.
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The lower it went, the more intense the constipation
Well thats one way to put it... 🙈
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This pedal is really cool, but for example if I have to tune the guitar to Drop D(Half Step Down) how can I do it? Can it be done with the pedal?
Just a question, I bought my Drop but it looks octave in all the options when I play single notes, like solos. The guy in Guitar Center told me it is normal but It doesn't like normal.
That is not normal.. no.. talk to a different dude at Guitar Center and get that pedal swapped out.
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well if you’re using the octave effect it makes sense why chords don’t work, you just made your 6 string into a e standard 4 string bass
What happens if you sing through it? 😁
Sound like we’re gonna have to try it!!!
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@@MadManMusic Yes🤘🤘...please do😁
so you i know its a dum question but it can be dropped down to eb standard tuning (for van halen ofcourse)? cause Ed used this pedal right???
Yes. If you’re in standard E using the pedal on its first setting will drop it to Eb.
The effect will always work across your entire guitar. So it wont produce a “Drop D Tuning” type effect.
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@@MadManMusic right, and if where to already be in drop d in E standard same story if i drop it down to eb tuning (it will just be in what is it drop c right? )
@nathanroelands429 Yup! It affects the tuning of the whole guitar.
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@@MadManMusic ahhhh nice thanx for the info:)
@nathanroelands429 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
By far the most useful video about this pedal 👍👍
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Glad you think so! Thanks for watching!
🤘🏼😜
I spent a good 2 weeks researching both the Drop and the EH Pitchfork and I ended up going with the Pitchfork... While I do hear the chorus-ey effect in it, its been in a good way... Do you like the Drop better than the Pitchfork?
I havent had the opportunity to try it yet. But I would love to! Maybe even do a little comparison video.
The Pitchfork appears to be a bit more expensive BUT it has EXP Pedal Capabilities… I wonder how you would use that. 🤔
But either way, I pitch shifting will always be hit or miss depending on the use case. It requires so much processing power to shift the pitch in real time.. i think these companies are doing a great job so far!
🤘🏼😜
@@MadManMusic The Exp is kinda cool because it goes up in pitch as well as down, so you can do Tom Morello kinda stuff... But yeah man, i would love a comparison video from you if you ever get one.. (i havent had the pleasure of trying a Drop myself)
At some point I did the same kind of research Digitech Drop vs EHx Pitchfork and what turned me off from EHX version was that it supposedly had a more noticeable lag which I could confirm from my experience with B9 organ EHX pedal. I went for Digitech Drop and use it to replace bass in basking with a looper situations, so I only use it in a drop an octave mode with a preset specifically designed for bass. To me it totally works for that purpose because the bass is meant as a background instrument that I layer other parts over. The lag is very slightly noticeable but to me it's actually not an issue because I tend to rush about the same.
I’ve had both, the Drop tracks better than the pitchfork, hands down. If you like the chorus like sound, cool. But if you want it tight, the Drop does a better job .
I just bought a Drop… has anyone experienced excessive noise when turning the pedal on?? I’ve changed cables, outlets… everything I could think of. I even unplugged the guitar cord from the input jack. No difference. As soon as I hit the foot switch, massive noise.
I’m thinking I’m the lucky one who got a defective unit.😔
Where do you have the pedal in your signal chain?
It should be the first “Effect” after your Tuner and Noise Gate.
Let me know.
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@@MadManMusic guitar to pedal to amp. I was just playing with it at home.
Live I have a rack, so it would be wireless to drop to preamp. But none of that applies if I can’t even use it in my living room without major noise.
I had it and hated it. I ended up selling it and then buying 3 more guitars for drop tunings.
Seems that for bass until D standard is very decent…
👏🏻
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I use gibson and im in standard tuning when your in drop c and when you use it for solo is sounds like shit. I had the pedal for 3 days im gonna bring this back and buy a guitar to drop
Dropping to C from E is 4 intervals down. Thats is pretty much the limit Of usefulness for this pedal. I mention that in the video. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Enjoy the new guitar!
🤘🏼😜
Could be your Kemper head causing it to get flubby. Plug it in to a tube amp and try again.
Its just the nature of the pedal processing the sound with as little latency as possible. It doesn’t matter what amp you’re using after the pedal.
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Sick!!!
It is for sure!!
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How is it compared to the kemper detuning feature?
Comparable. Kemper is more powerful overall but the technology is essentially the same.
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@@MadManMusic thanks!
Would be a great pedal if it was reliable!! Mine worked great for a month then developed a fault and it sounded terrible as a result. Now it’s in the trash.
It wasn’t repairable? Or under warranty?
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Yeeeeep 🤘
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Anyone try vocals through it?
Oooo thats a good idea! 🤘🏼😜
I must've got a bad one. Couldn't track a simple 1-5 power chord on the 5th string. Nothing like your demo. Sigh. Just sent it back.
Oh no.. I’m sorry to hear that…
Maybe it was a faulty unit.
You’re not the first to mention issues..
Where did you have it in your signal chain?
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@@MadManMusic it was direct..geetar(s) - drop pedal - amp. Getting a replacement today.
Everyone says there is latency but hes playing fast and theres clearly no latency? What's the deal
There is a fraction of a millisecond of latency. There will always be latency because to process the signal in real time would take a very powerful processor. But they have really made it SUPER FAST. This is also why when you drop it too low it gets all Warbley. I think that have managed to make a really useable pitch shifter for the size and price point.
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@@MadManMusic Good to know! I only plan on using it for dropping from Standard to Half step and as long as theres no noticable delay it's good
@vitobratta_WL It will work well for you then!
Enjoy it and let us know how it works!
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Clarify me something, would you? Where comes the idea behind drop only (no pitch up)? That gives me the OCDs
@@sarchoj The whammy dt has both up and down i think...🤔
because they want you to give more money and buy whammy dt
Amazing
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Thank you😊😊
Nice and Doomy
gr8 video
Thanks so much!
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I rather stick with a baritone guitar
You can change tunings on the fly with a baritone? 🤔😉
Play what makes you feel good! 💪🏼
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