Chorus or octaver?

[Venom of God]

I play in a three piece hard rock band, and before recording I think I'll be able to afford one new pedal. I'm thinking either a chorus or octaver.. which one would be a better idea? The octaver for using when a guitar solo is going on to give it more depth, mostly for live situations though I guess, and I'm not 100% with the chorus.. a few people have just said that I should get one!

I currently just have a Korg Pitchblack tuner and a Programmable BDDI, and would like to keep it analogue.

Thanks!

[ScottB.]

The octaver as you said will come in very handy live, but if youre recording you can just overdub the guitarists solo.

EDIT: Dojnt get tricked into thinking that that is the only use for an octave pedal though

[kevteop]

I don't think switching on pedals to pad out guitar solos works very well. All it does is bring attention to the bass at the start of the guitar solo, which isn't really ideal...

If the sound is thin, change what you're playing. Play longer notes or less-staccato notes, get the drummer on his darkest-sounding ride, maybe play the odd chord or double-stops. That sort of thing will work a lot better than stomping on a chorus pedal.

If any effect would be suitable, I'd say a bit of overdrive. But you'd be better off with it engaged for the whole song so your bass doesn't suddenly have that "Look at me" moment half-way through.

[Unrepresented]

Originally Posted by kevteop

I don't think switching on pedals to pad out guitar solos works very well. All it does is bring attention to the bass at the start of the guitar solo, which isn't really ideal...

If the sound is thin, change what you're playing. Play longer notes or less-staccato notes, get the drummer on his darkest-sounding ride, maybe play the odd chord or double-stops. That sort of thing will work a lot better than stomping on a chorus pedal.

If any effect would be suitable, I'd say a bit of overdrive. But you'd be better off with it engaged for the whole song so your bass doesn't suddenly have that "Look at me" moment half-way through.

I'm of the mind that if the bass and drums can't support a guitar solo without an overdub that the guitars have too much of the mix during the rest of the song.

+1 for octavers having more function than half-assing a rhythm guitar track live.

[Venom of God]

I already run a bit of drive out of my SansAmp, so I'll give just digging in a bit more under solos a go.. see how that works! What is the actual use of a chorus pedal? I know that it adds a harmonic to your sound, but that's about it..

[Unrepresented]

Originally Posted by Venom of God

I already run a bit of drive out of my SansAmp, so I'll give just digging in a bit more under solos a go.. see how that works! What is the actual use of a chorus pedal? I know that it adds a harmonic to your sound, but that's about it..

Actually, a chorus effect is more of a very slight delay that mixes with your sound making it appear that there's a second (or multiple) version(s) playing with you almost simultaneously.

[Lord Trau]

Chorus can definitely thicken your sound, especially with some distortion, but it also adds an ethereal feel. It can change the attitude of the song, so be careful about that.

[BassJunkie730]

Originally Posted by Lord Trau

Chorus can definitely thicken your sound, especially with some distortion, but it also adds an ethereal feel. It can change the attitude of the song, so be careful about that.

+1

while both a chorus and an octaver can be used to thicken, they do so in decidedly different ways

and octaver focuses your tone more

and chorus spreads and stretches it out - removing some of the focus.


hope that helps.