Effects Newbie Help Needed (Boss OC-3)

[IotaNet]

I have never bought or used bass effects but I think I'm about to in order to solve a problem.

I have a tune to play this weekend that consists of a repetitive figure on the B and E strings -- it also necessitates a 3-fret stretch. Same figure for the duration of the song -- no break, no rest, just play the thing or the song falls apart. Trust me, it's a bear and after a while my hand starts to cramp.

It's far more comfortable to play one octave up but it doesn't sound nearly as good.

I'm thinking that a good workaround might be to get an octave pedal and I'm looking at the Boss OC-3 (A local music store has a used one for $69)

Smart move or am I overlooking something important?

[JanusZarate]

It's not going to sound as natural as the actual notes you're trying to imitate, but if your tone is already "dark" (i.e., not much top end), it should do fairly well. Buy it and try it out on your own bass and rig. The used price is good, too, considering how much they usually go for new.

I'd suggest trying out both the "Guitar" AND "Bass" inputs. See which one you like best. Both inputs work fine on bass.

The OC-3 is a good choice. Not necessarily the best, but it's a great expansion on the classic OC-2.

[Floridabwoy]

i dont know about the oc3 but the oc2 plays both octaves or three octaves at once. It doesnt just drop an octave when you press it.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by Floridabwoy

i dont know about the oc3 but the oc2 plays both octaves or three octaves at once. It doesnt just drop an octave when you press it.

The OC-3 has level knobs for the dry signal and 1 octave below. He can set the balance as desired (i.e., all octave, 50/50, etc.). AFAIK, you can do that with the OC-2, too.

It also has the classic OC-2 mode (with that second octave below), and some other modes.

[RunBeerRun]

You should go to a store and test an octaver. The sound is far different and more fake.

You could download a free octaver plugin, if you have a little know-how on how to do that.

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by RunBeerRun

You should go to a store and test an octaver. The sound is far different and more fake.

But (certainly in the case of the OC-2, one of my top-three favourite pedals ever) it sounds very musical and tasty.

It's a taste thing though. So long as the thread starter appreciates that it doesn't reproduce your exact sound an octave down - it's a synthesised note you'll hear.

As I understand it the EHX Micro POG actually attempts to duplicate your sound an octave down, so that would be worth trying too. If that sounds too "digital" but the OC-2 is too "synth" then maybe try the EBS Octabass which has a few voicing options - still an analogue effect but you might find a voice that suits better.

[Billy Low]

I really don't think it's going to give you what you're looking for. Most octavizers actually give a "harmonized" effect. They quite audibly combine the natural note with the synthesized harmonic. In the lower registers, in some cases, the synthetic sound of the harmonic is somewhat seperated from the natural note due to phasing issues with the slower synthesized frequencies. As stated earlier, these tend to be quite unnatural sounding. I would reccommend, like most scenerios, that you find a way to play it in a live setting to see if it will be effective. I would have to agree that the EBS pedal is one of the more natural sounding of the octive effects on the market.