If you could only choose one octave pedal

[stewblack]

8 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Cripes! Mine arrived an hour ago.

You weren't joking when you posted that. It's beautifully made with cool 'ambient lights', but the sounds are amazingly flexible.

Most impressive is the multi-note tracking, it's lovely on two notes, but seems to hesitate a bit with if you play three or four strings that include an octave.

I found the 'modulation' a bit odd, a small amount helps most sounds, but generally higher settings were a bit in your face. Then I put dry at about 1 o'clock and up at 3 o'clock with a tiny bit of sub, and dialled the mod to see what would happen. The note swells in and shimmers sounding like the 'vox humana' setting on an organ, ethereal and potentially very useful.

I can see this being really useful for all sorts of organ/synth like effects.

 

So glad you like it. Often I go overboard about a piece of kit and wonder if others will get the same pleasure from it. 

Joyo really stepping up here I'd say. 

[Stub Mandrel]

16 minutes ago, stewblack said:

So glad you like it. Often I go overboard about a piece of kit and wonder if others will get the same pleasure from it. 

Joyo really stepping up here I'd say. 

Thanks for the pointer!

It came from the Czech Republic and curiously included a 13A plug to Euro plug adaptor...

 

[bottomfeed]

Blimey!.... That was a BIG read! (....and I skipped a few pages! 🤫)

Fascinating & very informative, as always .... If you need to explore opinions on bass kit... this is the place!

So, throwing my bit in...

I've used the EBS Octabass (old blue one) for many years & been very happy with it.. My pedal board is shrinking & it is now the largest one on it! 

So I've been looking at alternatives with a smaller footprint. The world has moved on!... so much choice..

Thanks to some investigation & mostly this thread!... I have a new short list.

1. MXR M288 Bass Octave Deluxe Pedal - not really much smaller but I'm impressed. The knobs look good! (Growl, Girth & mid button)

2. MXR M280 Vintage BASS Octave - emulating the OC2, I guess.. nice small footprint but don't really want the 2 oct down

3. COG T16 Analogue Octave - That filter sweep looks interesting for some quirky different sounds 

4. EBS OctaBass Studio Edition - slightly smaller footprint than the old blue one & a bit different in the control department

5. Markbass Raw Octaver - nice & simple operation......

I thought I was down to a two horse race... but then I read on!

There's been much talk about some of these but any more information/experiences about the Markbass Raw (how much is this?), EBS new version & MXR 280 vintage would be gratefully received.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2019 by bottomfeed
added content

[Quatschmacher]

7 hours ago, bottomfeed said:

Blimey!.... That was a BIG read! (....and I skipped a few pages! 🤫)

Fascinating & very informative, as always .... If you need to explore opinions on bass kit... this is the place!

So, throwing my bit in...

I've used the EBS Octabass (old blue one) for many years & been very happy with it.. My pedal board is shrinking & it is now the largest one on it! 

So I've been looking at alternatives with a smaller footprint. The world has moved on!... so much choice..

Thanks to some investigation & mostly this thread!... I have a new short list.

1. MXR M288 Bass Octave Deluxe Pedal - not really much smaller but I'm impressed. The knobs look good! (Growl, Girth & mid button)

2. MXR M280 Vintage BASS Octave - emulating the OC2, I guess.. nice small footprint but don't really want the 2 oct down

3. COG T16 Analogue Octave - That filter sweep looks interesting for some quirky different sounds 

4. EBS OctaBass Studio Edition - slightly smaller footprint than the old blue one & a bit different in the control department

5. Markbass Raw Octaver - nice & simple operation......

I thought I was down to a two horse race... but then I read on!

There's been much talk about some of these but any more information/experiences about the Markbass Raw (how much is this?), EBS new version & MXR 280 vintage would be gratefully received.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

The MXR VBO is great. If you don’t need the 2-octave down, just don’t use it (I don’t). Tracking is superb and the best I’ve ever seen across the many octave pedals I’ve had. 

Don't rule out the Emma Okto Nøjs - it’s worth it for the distortion circuit alone. I sold mine last year when I needed money and missed it. Finally scored another which should arrive today.  

[radiophonic]

34 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

The MXR VBO is great. If you don’t need the 2-octave down, just don’t use it (I don’t). Tracking is superb and the best I’ve ever seen across the many octave pedals I’ve had. 

Don't rule out the Emma Okto Nøjs - it’s worth it for the distortion circuit alone. I sold mine last year when I needed money and missed it. Finally scored another which should arrive today.  

+1 for the Okto Nojs. I don't think the Okto side sounds as good as the OC2 (although that's pretty subjective - I'd describe it as blander though), but the combo with the Nojs is unique. I wish it were possible to get that fuzz sound from somewhere else, because I can't fit them both on my board! Even though I have an OC2 and a Mastotron, I haven't sold mine. 

[bottomfeed]

1 hour ago, radiophonic said:

+1 for the Okto Nojs. I don't think the Okto side sounds as good as the OC2 (although that's pretty subjective - I'd describe it as blander though), but the combo with the Nojs is unique. I wish it were possible to get that fuzz sound from somewhere else, because I can't fit them both on my board! Even though I have an OC2 and a Mastotron, I haven't sold mine. 

The Okto Nojs sounds interesting but it's just too big for my small board... 

i have several other dirt boxes for combo sounds .... Gotta be a smallish footprint octaver for my needs..... 

Edited December 18, 2019 by bottomfeed
Added more content

[Quatschmacher]

1 hour ago, radiophonic said:

+1 for the Okto Nojs. I don't think the Okto side sounds as good as the OC2 (although that's pretty subjective - I'd describe it as blander though), but the combo with the Nojs is unique. I wish it were possible to get that fuzz sound from somewhere else, because I can't fit them both on my board! Even though I have an OC2 and a Mastotron, I haven't sold mine. 

Wonder if you could get a custom build that takes the noise circuit and OC-2 circuit and combines them. Might be worth having a look inside to see if they are separate. Or talk to Tom at Cog and see what he can do. 

[Stub Mandrel]

😞

The Joyo XVI is producing a high pitched whine when running after my compressor and homebrew HPF.

I think it's the voltage converter in the HPF making a very high pitched sound, this is boosted by the compressor and then it seem to react with the ovctaver so the Octave up channel makes it into an audible whine.

I think some filtering on the power line of the 'Gumpinator' will be a cure, hope so...

[stewblack]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

😞

The Joyo XVI is producing a high pitched whine when running after my compressor and homebrew HPF.

I think it's the voltage converter in the HPF making a very high pitched sound, this is boosted by the compressor and then it seem to react with the ovctaver so the Octave up channel makes it into an audible whine.

I think some filtering on the power line of the 'Gumpinator' will be a cure, hope so...

I hope so too

[Stub Mandrel]

Whoop de doo!

Rehearsal this morning... set up the XVI with max modulation and through a delay then started playing slow notes to do the intro for Club Foot. I scraped my nails don the strings near the bridge to get some weird mechanical clanging and huge grin spread across our guitarists face.

It isn't spot on, but it's enough in the spirit of it. And what an ace song for a bass player - I get the intro, the driving riff AND the solo 🙂

[Friskydingo]

I can't read through every page so sorry if this has been asked but has Anyone used the pigtronix octava micro? Small footprint and the option of a fuzz is nice

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Friskydingo said:

I can't read through every page so sorry if this has been asked but has Anyone used the pigtronix octava micro? Small footprint and the option of a fuzz is nice

Is it mono or polyphonic?

I've got a Voodoo Octave fuzz (which doesn't give you the octave without fuzz) as well as the XVI which is a way of doing it for just over £100 (£70 for XVI, £32 +P&P for Voodoo Octave) that gives you polyphony with +/- 1octave and the fuzz octave but takes more room.

[Doddy]

I've not read every page, but I'll throw in my 2 pence worth.

I've got a bunch of good octave pedals, but I've pretty much not done a gig in the last 5 years where I haven't used my 3 Leaf Audio Octabvre. I love that pedal.  It might not be quite as subby as the OC2, but it's pretty damn close, and I think it has a wider tonal range and the switch to solo the sub makes it super versatile.

I've also been liking the Digitech Whammy Ricochet for the times that I want to use an octave up, and though not strictly an octave pedal, I've been using a Mantic Beef Bag  a lot for some super low subs.

[callmeblind]

I've tried most octave pedals and my favourites are COG T16 and Malekko Downer.

If I had to keep one I would chose Malekko.

If those options wouldn't be available for some reason, my next options would be Aguilar Octamizer and DOD Meatbox. 

[Quatschmacher]

For anyone having the problem of the chattery circuit on the MXR Vintage Bass Octave, Dunlop are offering to either replace the unit or add the noise reduction resistor which is now standard on it. There is scant info on the web but Darryl Anders who is head of the bass department at Dunlop had said on talkbass that customers could get in touch and send their units back to Dunlop to be sorted out. I’ve returned mine to my local shop to try and get it done through the UK arm of Dunlop, which should hopefully eliminate any postage or customs fees. I’ll let you know the outcome. 

Edited February 9, 2020 by Quatschmacher

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, Quatschmacher said:

For anyone having the problem of the chattery circuit on the MXR Vintage Bass Octave, Dunlop are offering to either replace the unit or add the noise reduction resistor which is now standard on it. There is scant info on the web but Darryl Anders who is head of the bass department at Dunlop had said on talkbass that customers could get in touch and send their units back to Dunlop to be sorted out. I’ve returned mine to my local shop to try and get it done through the UK arm of Dunlop, which should hopefully eliminate any postage or customs fees. I’ll let you know the outcome. 

Thanks for that.

When you say "chattery" do you mean very noisy even in by-pass? i.e. the thing I've been banging on about about the ("non-vintage") BOD for the last couple of years (and others for way longer)...

 

Glad that Jim Dunlop and Co are looking to sort this out, but a little worrying that the Vintage is displaying the same traits as the BOD - this was specifically something it was supposed to have eliminated.

Anyway hopefully you get yours sorted, not sure how many other BC'ers have followed you down the vintage BOD route but the same goes for them.

[Quatschmacher]

5 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Thanks for that.

When you say "chattery" do you mean very noisy even in by-pass? i.e. the thing I've been banging on about about the ("non-vintage") BOD for the last couple of years (and others for way longer)...

 

Glad that Jim Dunlop and Co are looking to sort this out, but a little worrying that the Vintage is displaying the same traits as the BOD - this was specifically something it was supposed to have eliminated.

Anyway hopefully you get yours sorted, not sure how many other BC'ers have followed you down the vintage BOD route but the same goes for them.

It’s when it’s engaged; bypass is just fine. The circuit is ridiculously sensitive to the slightest movement of the string (even muted ones). Basically any tiny movement induces a current via the magnets and the pedal picks that up. 

The Vintage didn’t fix the problem until they added the resistor to the later run.   

Edited February 9, 2020 by Quatschmacher

[Al Krow]

Check out the analogue octaver on this amp (24.00 in to our very own Dood's review). It competes with the very best analogue octavers out there in terms of tracking. Very few analogue octavers (which tend to have less latency than their digital counterparts) can manage to track down to an open E without glitching. This can - love it! 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

Used the Joyo XVI on a dropped D today (we were just jamming the Dr Who theme and playing with different sounds) made the modern Fender Bassman through a 4x10 struggle a bit!

Sounded better an octave up with +/-the octave on.

Increasingly finding the Joyo useful for 'real world' sounds especially as an overdrive with with the Bassman in the reharsal space as it makes it break up a bit (which my TE doesn't).

It sounded ace last night on Feeling Good (Nina Simone song).

[iamtheelvy]

Just did a bit of a comparison of my Boss octaves. I’d say there’s more difference when playing them live (on a loop here to keep it consistent), but the older Japanese models are pretty much the same, slight change in the tone for the Taiwanese, and the less said about the OC-3 the better...

 

[Stub Mandrel]

50 minutes ago, iamtheelvy said:

Just did a bit of a comparison of my Boss octaves. I’d say there’s more difference when playing them live (on a loop here to keep it consistent), but the older Japanese models are pretty much the same, slight change in the tone for the Taiwanese, and the less said about the OC-3 the better...

 

I can't see the numbers, but the one at the left sounds much warmer and richer that the others.

[iamtheelvy]

21 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I can't see the numbers, but the one at the left sounds much warmer and richer that the others.

They’re in date order, right to left:

Japanese - April ‘82

Japanese - March ‘83

Japanese - October ‘83

Japanese - Unknown Date (later 80’s following the name change)

Taiwanese - Unknown Date

Taiwanese OC-3 - January 2013

 

The OC-3 has more volume, I’ll give it that, but just sounds so digital compared to the others (not surprising, really...).

Edited July 4, 2020 by iamtheelvy

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, iamtheelvy said:

They’re in date order, right to left:

Japanese - April ‘82

Japanese - March ‘83

Japanese - October ‘83

Japanese - Unknown Date (later 80’s following the name change)

Taiwanese - Unknown Date

Taiwanese OC-3 - January 2013

 

The OC-3 has more volume, I’ll give it that, but just sounds so digital compared to the others (not surprising, really...).

My ears are fairly indiscriminate, it may just be that its the only one that stands out or perhaps its that I'm a sucker for any pedal that growls.

I must ask... why do you have so many? It';s an odd thing to collect. I was wondering if you daisy chain them to play music to whales or bats?

[iamtheelvy]

6 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

My ears are fairly indiscriminate, it may just be that its the only one that stands out or perhaps its that I'm a sucker for any pedal that growls.

I must ask... why do you have so many? It';s an odd thing to collect. I was wondering if you daisy chain them to play music to whales or bats?

Just an obsession. Haven’t found an octave to rival it yet, so worth having a few backups for an old pedal...

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, iamtheelvy said:

Just an obsession. Haven’t found an octave to rival it yet, so worth having a few backups for an old pedal...

Aww, if you haven't already, please get a Valeton OC-10 and let me know if you can hear any difference to your OC2s. I'd lend you mine if it was still in my possession!