stewblack Posted January 26, 2023 Share Posted January 26, 2023 I knew I wanted to try this pedal as soon as I saw it. I've been patient, and waited for a second hand one to pop up. First impression - it's amazing. It's so much more than just an octave pedal. Example; it's a phaser. Subtle and delicate until you punch the mono button when it becomes rich, and gooey. It's a filthy fuzz, if you punch the fuzz button. If you punch both it's a gloriously disgusting phaser. Use the sub 1 and punch mono it's an OC2 type synth. Add fuzz and modulation it's a full on bass synth. Dial in some of the other available octaves (there's 4 and a clean ) and it's a monster synth. Take out the mono and fuzz and it's a much more clean usable mix of octaves. It sounds so very good. Only downside is the crazy bright light rendering the controls virtually invisible. But that's an easy fix. Other than that I cannot find any fault. Its small size is a win when your board groans beneath the weight of pedals, it looks sexy as hell, it doesn't introduce unwanted noise, it's many pedals in one. Well done MXR. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted January 26, 2023 Share Posted January 26, 2023 I have the bass octave deluxe and it is amazing as well. Best analog octave down in the game for a reasonable price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted January 26, 2023 Author Share Posted January 26, 2023 2 hours ago, lidl e said: I have the bass octave deluxe and it is amazing as well. Best analog octave down in the game for a reasonable price. Yep. MXR know what they're doing octave wise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javi_bassist Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 I agree. I love mine. It's one of the only pedals that my Stomp cannot take out 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ander87 Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Hm - interesting way to get myself into trouble - I was thinking of the C4 as a synth / octave but this being simpler and having fuzz could get me out of some trouble... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted February 21, 2023 Author Share Posted February 21, 2023 28 minutes ago, Ander87 said: Hm - interesting way to get myself into trouble - I was thinking of the C4 as a synth / octave but this being simpler and having fuzz could get me out of some trouble... True story: did a gig recently and Don't You Want Me Baby came up. I had a couple ready made sounds on my C4 pulled one up and it was horrible, just didn't work live as it did at home. Before the riff came around again I twiddled some knobs on the Poly Blue, and produced a way better sound . 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ander87 Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Thanks @stewblack! I’m interested in a C4, lots, but all the menus etc editing and so on does take me aback a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted February 21, 2023 Author Share Posted February 21, 2023 1 hour ago, Ander87 said: Thanks @stewblack! I’m interested in a C4, lots, but all the menus etc editing and so on does take me aback a bit. You can simply download other people's patches, however, if I can set up a sound on a pedal while actually playing the song live, and it's better than one I spent hours working on at home, I think that tells me something. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Heartily agree, I love my Poly Blue 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoirBass Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Couldn’t agree more, one of my favourite Octaves ever! And so much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javi_bassist Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 I have to admit that I got one because of the octave up. In my band there is only one guitarist and when she does a solo I wanted something to fill more, but I'm not convinced. I have to spend more time with it to try some of things you guys use it for. I seems to have a lot of possibilities Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 Also worth noting that a simple volume pedal allows you to switch between 2 different setups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentext Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 On 26/01/2023 at 14:31, lidl e said: have the bass octave deluxe and it is amazing as well. I've never seen a poly blue octave before, how does it differ from the standard MXR Octave Deluxe? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 (edited) 8 minutes ago, greentext said: I've never seen a poly blue octave before, how does it differ from the standard MXR Octave Deluxe? Very different. The bass octave deluxe is an octave down pedal with teo dofferent "voices" you can blend. The poly has octave up and down (i believe you can select one ortwo octaves each way) and has a fuzz button that sounds killer when you activate it. Also the poly you xan play more than one note at a time, hence the name. It also has an expression pedal. A much more fully featured pedal than the BOd Edited February 22, 2023 by lidl e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentext Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 Just now, lidl e said: Very different. The bass octave deluxe is an octave down pedal with teo dofferent "voices" you can blend. The poly has otave and and down (i believe you can select one ortwo octaves each way) and has a fuzz button that sounds killer when you activate it. Also the poly you xan play more than one note at a time, hence the name. It also has an expression pedal. A much more fully featured pedal than the BOd dammmmmm that is a lot more functionality! thanks for the info, im off to Youtube and then Reverb to get my own haha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 15 minutes ago, greentext said: dammmmmm that is a lot more functionality! thanks for the info, im off to Youtube and then Reverb to get my own haha Do note, that the BOD, as an analog pedal, is worth the trade off in tone to some, to lose some functionality a digital pedal like the poly would have. I personally prefer to stack analog pedals because I'm stupid and like to waste money! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentext Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 9 minutes ago, lidl e said: I personally prefer to stack analog pedals because I'm stupid and like to waste money! ahh that is a good point im more of an analogue man myself, so we can set up camp in the stupid wasting money area together ahha 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ander87 Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 21 minutes ago, lidl e said: I personally prefer to stack analog pedals because I'm stupid and like to waste money! this just cracked me up. We could form an army!! I chose to go the same route, and whilst I was considering the poly blue, I’m going for a more analog thing, the Mastro Valvola OFF1 - octave fuzz filter, with latching and regular foot switches, and more control on sculpting the fuzz and filter… I do have enough with two sub octaves and a flickable octave up! This demo, even if for guitar, really sold me: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoirBass Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 (edited) 41 minutes ago, greentext said: ahh that is a good point im more of an analogue man myself, so we can set up camp in the stupid wasting money area together ahha The MXR poly has a mode switch. One side is analogue style (not sure if it’s actual analogue - but convincing enough and I’m a proper octave snob) and the poly side is digital. That’s part of the reason it’s so cool. Chuck in the fuzz circuit, all the different blendable ocatves (up and down) and some modulation and you can hit Royal Blood, Pino octaves, POG organ sounds, synth, sub octave and everything in between all in one MXR sized pedal! Edited February 22, 2023 by NoirBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentext Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 32 minutes ago, Ander87 said: I chose to go the same route, and whilst I was considering the poly blue, I’m going for a more analog thing, the Mastro Valvola OFF1 - octave fuzz filter, with latching and regular foot switches, and more control on sculpting the fuzz and filter… I do have enough with two sub octaves and a flickable octave up! This demo, even if for guitar, really sold me: dammmmmm son that is a serious piece of kit, assuming it also has a serious price tag to boot tho 🥴 thanks for sharing the video tho that slapped heavy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentext Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 6 minutes ago, NoirBass said: 47 minutes ago, greentext said: The MXR poly has a mode switch. One side is analogue style (not sure if it’s actual analogue - but convincing enough and I’m a proper octave snob) and the poly side is digital. That’s part of the reason it’s so cool. Chuck in the fuzz circuit, all the different blendable ocatves (up and down) and some modulation and you can hit Royal Blood, Pino octaves, POG organ sounds, synth, sub octave and everything in between all in one MXR sized pedal! Hmmmmm some very good points here to consider, thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ander87 Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 49 minutes ago, greentext said: 1 hour ago, Ander87 said: dammmmmm son that is a serious piece of kit, assuming it also has a serious price tag to boot tho 🥴 thanks for sharing the video tho that slapped heavy Hmmm not cheap! But very good kit, sounds monstruous as you can tell. And pretty unique, they’re made in small batches! I worked out a deal with Joe at Joes pedals with some pedals I wasn’t gonna use and voila! It’ll be with me next week to share impressions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentext Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 Just now, Ander87 said: It’ll be with me next week to share impressions. Always good to clear down some old stock for something new, look forward to hearing your impressions, ill keep an eye out for the thread! Or quote it in here so I cant miss it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 21 hours ago, javi_bassist said: I have to admit that I got one because of the octave up. In my band there is only one guitarist and when she does a solo I wanted something to fill more, but I'm not convinced. I have to spend more time with it to try some of things you guys use it for. I seems to have a lot of possibilities I use mine for this as I only ever play with one other instrument (not counting drums and vocals). Mix the single octave up with the clean signal , a tiny smidge of 1 octave down, and a tickle of 2 up and it enriches the sound beautifully. If I'm using a biamped rig it really sings 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyS Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 I picked up a Poly Blue Octave recently and I've grown very fond of it very quickly. It's managed to boot my MXR Phase 90 EVH off the board immediately and it's doing it's best to help me make room with the octave and fuzz options. I build a wee tap switch since it lets you turn the fuzz on and off with a single tap and the modulation on and off with a double tap, literally the only negative I have with it is that there is a slight delay when hitting the tap switch (not an issue for me but may be for some) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.