Octave Pedal recommendations

[SumOne]

7 minutes ago, prowla said:

Did you try doing octaves in your HX Stomp?

Yeah I thought it tracked really well, and can choose how many semitones up/down. It has that digital polyphonic sort of sound though - not quite the same character as Analog ones. 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by SumOne

[Boodang]

17 hours ago, prowla said:

I have an Aguilar Octamizer and it is the only one I've heard which preserves the essential character of the bass being played. However, for me it only works down to C on the A string (others have said theirs goes lower) and it breaks up as a held note decays. That means you have to think about precisely how you are going to use it, but it can be wonderful when it's right; you'd have to construct your song around its capabilities.

I've also got an EBS Octabass (Mk 1); it's more stable but less characterful.

On the octave-up angle, I've got an EH Mosaic, which is really designed to make a 6-string guitar do a 12-string, but it does interesting things on a bass, albeit slightly synthetic sounding.

I've also got a Mooer Tender Octaver, which is a bit plinky, but might work in a mix.

I agree about Aguilar octamizer, a great sounding, very organic pedal. As for tracking, I don't find it too bad... you have to 'play the pedal' tho. There's a good video by Ian Allison on octaver tips (posted in another thread on bc), by playing close to the neck, using the neck pickup to avoid harmonic overtones, I found the octamizer behaves itself quite well for an analogue device. 

Mostly I blend in a small amount of smooth filter to thicken the tone, but cranked up and a bit edgy is fun, especially with an envelope after it.

[Quatschmacher]

On 08/01/2022 at 11:39, SumOne said:

This looks good

https://www.jimdunlop.com/mxr-poly-blue-octave/

 

"MXR has unveiled the Poly Blue Octave, a pedal that offers four separate octave divisions and a “thick, unruly” fuzz. The octaves include one down, two down, one up, and two up." 

 

“You get to control the level of each in the mix as well as decide whether to
run them with the contemporary clarity of polyphonic mode or the raw vintage grit of
monophonic mode,” the company writes. “With a Blue Box Pedal-inspired fuzz mode and a dual Leslie-inspired/Phase 90-inspired modulation mode, you can infuse your pitch-shifted output with liquified thunder and lightning."

Got one arriving tomorrow. I blame @Jonathan Bee for breaking my gear abstinence resolve. 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

1 minute ago, Quatschmacher said:

Got one arriving tomorrow. I blame @Jonathan Bee for breaking my gear abstinence resolve. 

Let me know how you get on. Would be nice to know how it stacks up against the Octabvre, which I’m pretty much given up on getting any time soon.

[SumOne]

2 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Got one arriving tomorrow. I blame @Jonathan Bee for breaking my gear abstinence resolve. 

 

Nice!  2x up, 2x down, polyphonic/monophonic, fuzz, and modulation all in one compact enclosure seems like a winner (especially as MXR make decent octavers, phasers and fuzz).

[Quatschmacher]

1 minute ago, SumOne said:

 

Nice!  2x up, 2x down, polyphonic/monophonic, fuzz, and modulation all in one compact enclosure seems like a winner (especially as MXR make decent octavers, phasers and fuzz).

Yep, MXR octave pedals have the best tracking I’ve come across. I’m also intrigued by the ability to morph between two distinct knob settings (on all knobs simultaneously) via expression. 

[Quatschmacher]

7 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Let me know how you get on. Would be nice to know how it stacks up against the Octabvre, which I’m pretty much given up on getting any time soon.

Will do. 

[Bunion]

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Let me know how you get on. Would be nice to know how it stacks up against the Octabvre, which I’m pretty much given up on getting any time soon.

The 3leaf is well worth the search, I’ve tried a few different brands but I love dialling in just a touch of octave with the Tim switch, I find the 3 leaf does this most subtly almost like a compression, you know somethings happening but it’s not obvious. 

You can of course go full bore and the sub is just beastly 

[Jonathan Bee]

5 more MXR poly blues here! 

 

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/220106379128025--mxr-m306-poly-blue-octave

[Oomo]

Was considering an OC5, but sounds like the new MXR might be worth holding out for (if it's favourably received...).

[Quatschmacher]

3 minutes ago, Oomo said:

Was considering an OC5, but sounds like the new MXR might be worth holding out for (if it's favourably received...).

I’ll let you know. I had an OC-5 briefly. 

[Jonathan Bee]

Quick comparison of Octavbre octave down only (tone all the way counter clockwise) and the MXR polyblue down only...

 

Octavbre first, then line is repeated on the MXR

 

I think I prefer the more mid quality of the Octavbre... the MXR is really subby but perhaps wouldn't cut through as well as the Octavbre

 

 

[Jonathan Bee]

Also Octavbre seems to compress signal more... 

[Quatschmacher]

10 minutes ago, Jonathan Bee said:

Quick comparison of Octavbre octave down only (tone all the way counter clockwise) and the MXR polyblue down only...

 

Octavbre first, then line is repeated on the MXR

 

I think I prefer the more mid quality of the Octavbre... the MXR is really subby but perhaps wouldn't cut through as well as the Octavbre

 

Definitely prefer the Octabvre in this clip. I was wondering which circuit is in the MXR, perhaps the “girth” circuit from the BDO. I was hoping they’d use the OC-2-style one from the VBO.

[such]

The MXR is fully digital, so it's neither. 

[Quatschmacher]

11 minutes ago, such said:

The MXR is fully digital, so it's neither. 

Where did you get that info from? Sure the polyphonic is digital by necessity, but haven't seen any info on the mono circuit, though I guess it's likely a bit like the OC-5 in that it's a digital emulation of an analogue circuit, so it could still be made to mimic one of their own analogue designs.

[Quatschmacher]

Will try this again. 
 

 

 

 

Not sure what the problem was there, seems that adding already-uploaded audio attachments isn’t working properly. 
 

Anyway, morphing feature on this is capable of lots of interesting stuff, including being able to engage/disengage fuzz and switch between poly/mono. 

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by Quatschmacher
Upload failure

[such]

15 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Where did you get that info from? Sure the polyphonic is digital by necessity, but haven't seen any info on the mono circuit, though I guess it's likely a bit like the OC-5 in that it's a digital emulation of an analogue circuit, so it could still be made to mimic one of their own analogue designs.

 

Someone on talkbass reached out to MXR and apparently that's what they've confirmed. Hardly better than "I read it on the Internet", I know... 

[Quatschmacher]

11 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Will try this again. 
 

 

 

Not sure what the problem was there, seems that adding already-uploaded audio attachments isn’t working properly. 
 

Anyway, morphing feature on this is capable of lots of interesting stuff, including being able to engage/disengage fuzz and switch between poly/mono. 

 

Fixed the upload. 

[Quatschmacher]

As good as this PBO is, I’ve returned it as I don’t think it gives me anything above what I can do using my current gear. That being said, if you want a one-stop shop for loads of different sounds with an easy on-pedal interface, the PBO is a pretty good choice. 

[Stub Mandrel]

My brother has ordered one of these:

 

https://www.tcelectronic.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DDQ

 

 

Does poly and mono as well as toneprints. I'll report back.

[Quatschmacher]

10 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

My brother has ordered one of these:

 

https://www.tcelectronic.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DDQ

 

 

Does poly and mono as well as toneprints. I'll report back.

These have a plethora of options. For me, the latency was too noticeable, which is often a thing in digital octavers. The TC stuff is really well featured. It’s a bit hamstrung by the rather daft method of how one loads the patches onto the pedal. Would have been so much better had they adopted MIDI PC messages via onboard preset slots. I believe it is possible to send a SysEx message to them to alter settings but that adds lots of extra hassle when having to construct the file. Source Audio’s implementation is far better. 

Edited February 19, 2022 by Quatschmacher

[Doddy]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

My brother has ordered one of these:

 

https://www.tcelectronic.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DDQ

 

 

Does poly and mono as well as toneprints. I'll report back.

I thought the TC was ok. I don't like it's octave down as much as the OC2 or Octabvre and I prefer the octave up on the Digitech Ricochet, but I got some really cool faux organ type sounds out of it. 

 

1 hour ago, Quatschmacher said:

 It’s a bit hamstrung by the rather daft method of how one loads the patches onto the pedal. Would have been so much better had they adopted MIDI PC messages via onboard preset slots. I believe it is possible to send a SysEx message to them to alter settings but that adds lots of extra hassle when having to construct the file. Source Audio’s implementation is far better. 

This is why I like analogue pedals. None of that makes sense to me 🙄