really good octave pedal?

ersheff · 4th April 2006

Hi, folks. I'm looking for an opinion from people with great ears.

I'd like your opinions on a really great octave pedal that is good enough to accurately track both an octave up and an octave down and can faithfully crank out the lows on the sub-octave. I'm going to start playing with a drummer soon, and instead of looking for more players right away, I'd like to find something that can fatten up bass and guitar equally well.
As an extra thought, how is the octave reproduction on the Digitech Whammy? If that's good enough, then I may just get one of those instead to have more options.
Thanks.

squeegybug · 4th April 2006

I bought a bunch of octave pedals a couple of years ago and tried all kinds of things to get them to work reliably. Pretty fussy. Really dependent on your pickup.

There can be dips and bumps, some frequencies too strong and some too weak. I used Boss OCL-2 and OCL-3, MXR M88, Danelectro, Octabass, Digitech... then tried enhancer/subharmonic rack units like BBE, Peavey Kosmos, and even a Behringer. Also got the Waves MaxxBass.

Of all those, I think the best pedal was probably the MXR M88. It tracked fairly well and had a very good tone. The "polyphonic" model Boss OC-3 was terrible. A bad latency, and just didn't sound good. Octabass is supposedly premier, but I didn't think it was that special, just ok. Digitech... might work, but not the greatest sound...

The best rack unit that I used for real subharmonics was the Kosmos. It can work well if set up right. I think dbx makes one similar.

The MaxxBass is cool (when it works, that is....). It doesn't really create suboctave notes, it actually works by creating higher harmonics of the fundamentals. The psychoacoustic effect is that your brain decodes these sounds as deep bass, but the woofer is not really doing any more work than normal. Maybe try the rackmount version, it is +4 and balanced, and might be a little more durable than the little 1/2 RU unbalanced RCA unit, mine broke in nothing flat.

The only pedal I kept is the MXR. But I'm not using octave FX anymore and am going to sell it. $55 delivered if you want it.

Steve

respirator · 4th April 2006

The best octave pedal I've used - and the one I won't sell again - is the 80's Pearl Octaver (the Pearl pedals are generally great value). Three octaves (one above and two below). Dare I say phat? No! It's very warm and thick. Tracking is so-so, but not worse than other octave pedals.

picksail · 4th April 2006

I'm a big fan of the octave divider preset in the original Digitech Whammy pedal.

ersheff · 4th April 2006

Thanks for the offer, squeegy.

I would definitely take it if the pedal also did an octave up.

T-fonk · 4th April 2006

Love the brown boss, the classic! It's brutal. Ebs has no balls! dfegad

squeegybug · 4th April 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by mopppish

I would definitely take it if the pedal also did an octave up.

Whoops sorry, I missed that you needed that.

Steve

octatonic · 4th April 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by picksail

I'm a big fan of the octave divider preset in the original Digitech Whammy pedal.

Definitely...

My other favourite is an 80's Ibanez OC10.
Amazingly good tracking.

needlz · 5th April 2006

I second the EBS Octabass... very sweet pedal. If you have any DIY chops, check out the Craig Anderson pedal featured in his book.

picksail · 5th April 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by richmondjames

Definitely...

My other favourite is an 80's Ibanez OC10.
Amazingly good tracking.

I also, like the Boss Octave Divider. It's similar to the whammy, yet doesn't have that nasty 12 bit sound-which I prefer.

DeepSpace · 5th April 2006

My fave octave pedal is in fact not a pedal as such, but the G-Force from TC Electronic.

4th April 2006	#1
ersheff Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 508 Thread Starter	really good octave pedal? Hi, folks. I'm looking for an opinion from people with great ears. I'd like your opinions on a really great octave pedal that is good enough to accurately track both an octave up and an octave down and can faithfully crank out the lows on the sub-octave. I'm going to start playing with a drummer soon, and instead of looking for more players right away, I'd like to find something that can fatten up bass and guitar equally well. As an extra thought, how is the octave reproduction on the Digitech Whammy? If that's good enough, then I may just get one of those instead to have more options. Thanks.

4th April 2006	#3
respirator Gear nut Joined: Jul 2005 Location: Denmark Posts: 113	The best octave pedal I've used - and the one I won't sell again - is the 80's Pearl Octaver (the Pearl pedals are generally great value). Three octaves (one above and two below). Dare I say phat? No! It's very warm and thick. Tracking is so-so, but not worse than other octave pedals. __________________ www.respirator.dk

4th April 2006	#4
picksail Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2002 Location: Hollywood Posts: 3,632	I'm a big fan of the octave divider preset in the original Digitech Whammy pedal. __________________ Stewart Cararas IMDB Discogs Myspace Facebook Studio Twitter _________________________________ The new is necessarily abstract - Rudolf Borchadt

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4th April 2006	#2
squeegybug Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2004 Location: MO USA Posts: 2,153	I bought a bunch of octave pedals a couple of years ago and tried all kinds of things to get them to work reliably. Pretty fussy. Really dependent on your pickup. There can be dips and bumps, some frequencies too strong and some too weak. I used Boss OCL-2 and OCL-3, MXR M88, Danelectro, Octabass, Digitech... then tried enhancer/subharmonic rack units like BBE, Peavey Kosmos, and even a Behringer. Also got the Waves MaxxBass. Of all those, I think the best pedal was probably the MXR M88. It tracked fairly well and had a very good tone. The "polyphonic" model Boss OC-3 was terrible. A bad latency, and just didn't sound good. Octabass is supposedly premier, but I didn't think it was that special, just ok. Digitech... might work, but not the greatest sound... The best rack unit that I used for real subharmonics was the Kosmos. It can work well if set up right. I think dbx makes one similar. The MaxxBass is cool (when it works, that is....). It doesn't really create suboctave notes, it actually works by creating higher harmonics of the fundamentals. The psychoacoustic effect is that your brain decodes these sounds as deep bass, but the woofer is not really doing any more work than normal. Maybe try the rackmount version, it is +4 and balanced, and might be a little more durable than the little 1/2 RU unbalanced RCA unit, mine broke in nothing flat. The only pedal I kept is the MXR. But I'm not using octave FX anymore and am going to sell it. $55 delivered if you want it. Steve

4th April 2006	#5
ersheff Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 508 Thread Starter	Thanks for the offer, squeegy. I would definitely take it if the pedal also did an octave up.

4th April 2006	#6
T-fonk Gear nut Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 86	Love the brown boss, the classic! It's brutal. Ebs has no balls! dfegad

5th April 2006	#9
needlz Gear maniac Joined: Mar 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 224	I second the EBS Octabass... very sweet pedal. If you have any DIY chops, check out the Craig Anderson pedal featured in his book.

5th April 2006	#11
DeepSpace Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2006 Location: Inside the Outside Posts: 1,193	My fave octave pedal is in fact not a pedal as such, but the G-Force from TC Electronic.