Guitar Octave Fuzz pedals work with bass?

Ur2funky · #1 11-23-2010, 10:21 AM

Hi,

I have Boss GT-10B that has a great patch that mimics a lead guitar solo. My band now loves that sound on some of my solos, but it's the only sound I really like in the GT-10B. I want to ditch the boss and get the same effect with a pedal(s).

Octave up with distortion/fuzz would get me there I guess.

I've seen videos of the Fulltone Octave Fuzz and Home Brew's UFO...looks good for guitar, but has anyone tried this kind of pedal with bass?

I like the idea of this kind of pedal...it gets me the lead solo tone (fuzz and octave up) in one pedal click, as compared to a micro POG and distortion pedal multi-step dance, and is cheaper than the POG alone (which I have never tried).

But will these octave up guitar pedals work with bass?

There are no videos I could find with bass, and nowhere around where I live to try them out.

Advance thanks for the help with this!

DiscoFreq · #2 11-23-2010, 12:59 PM

With a lot of octave fuzz pedals the octave is only there once you play above the 12th fret (on both guitar and bass).

An affordable alternative are the Polish Exar OC-03 and OC-04 Octavers, both have -2, -1 and +1 octave and the OC-03 is cheaper and has mini-jack power inputs (2, to power the next pedal in line as well), the OC-04 is made for export and has Boss-type power supply inputs and separate tone controls for the 2 lower octaves.

Bongomania sells Exar pedals here: http://www.ovnifx.com/

Exar also sold Koda pedals, another Polish brand that stopped production years ago, but Exar bought their stock. Koda had a great octaver too (and one of my favorite envelope filters), with -1 and +1 octave (I prefered this octave up), but that's one of the models that's not for sale anymore.

Chowowbus · #3 11-23-2010, 01:56 PM

Have you tried the Big John Granny Puker?
Youtube it, there are bass demos for it. I think it is designed for bass.
What a disgusting name....

KsToaDangr · #4 11-23-2010, 08:58 PM

I've got the Danelectro French Toast on my board. Sounds great on guitar, but as previously mentioned, with bass, it only really works well playing 12th fret and above.

Stan13 · #5 11-23-2010, 09:07 PM

Wounded Paw Battering Ram I think was designed for both bass and guitar...I have one and I like it.

Fellow TB'ers site dedicated to fuzz...
http://bassfuzz.com/2009/05/31/fuzz-...battering-ram/

Ur2funky · #6 11-24-2010, 08:20 AM

Thanks for the replies.

I checked out the Battering Ram, has an octave switch, but no octave up sound that I could hear, just bright fizzle. And the Granny Puker (funny name!) is octave down, not up, like what I'm searching for.

Checked out the Exar...not crazy about the sound or price of it and it's just an octave pedal, not a fuzz/distortion.

No one has tried a UFO or Fulltone Octave with bass on here?

Thanks again...still searching!

ryognbass · #7 11-24-2010, 04:07 PM

Theres ads floating around here for the elite tone octave fuzz, which might be worth looking into. I've been looking for something like this for quite a while, but it's always gotten pushed aside by more pressing wants

Swimming Bird · #8 11-24-2010, 09:07 PM

The Brassmaster is an octavia for bass. There are cheaper and more expensive versions and various clones, but I think this might be what you're looking for. Notable ones are the Malekko B:assmaster and the Iron Ether Oxide. The Oxide is cheaper, super versatile, and gets a lot of love.

I've tried a bunch and the only octavia type fuzzes that aren't specifically intended for bass that I would even look at are the Devi Ever ones (there are a couple). I have no specific info, but her gear usually sounds great on bass.

Oh, and you may want to give the Pigtronix Disnortion a shot. I wasn't a fan, but there's no accounting for taste.

Mark Olson · #9 11-24-2010, 10:47 PM

I've owned lots of octave fuzzes and used them on bass, including multiple Foxx Tone Machine clones (which is what the Fulltone and HBE are clones of). None of these pedals are going to sound anything like a digital octave up, at all. There's a lot of technique involved in unveiling the upper octave, and to be blunt, you're not going to be satisfied with an analog octave fuzz. Even if you did master the technique, etc, they're not going to sound good with your rig.

Mark Olson · #10 11-24-2010, 10:57 PM

Also, not to be a search nazi, but I put this stuff up and it's pretty easy to find with a search. Normally I wouldn't have even bothered to chime in but eventually I get tired of people not knowing the score. This is what the UFO can sound like:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...songID=7498908

But to be blunt again, it's not going to sound like that with your rig.

chicago_mike · #11 11-24-2010, 11:11 PM

I had an experience pedal that I thought was cool on bass.

Now you can DIY that one.

Tritone · #12 11-24-2010, 11:35 PM

You could also try to find a used Akai Unibass. It has octave up, with an optional distortion and an optional 5th above the octave. It also has an additional output, so you can send the octave effect to a guitar amp if you choose to do so.

Moe45673 · #13 11-25-2010, 08:30 AM

The Foxrox Octron is generally agreed by most gearheads to be the best fuzz/octaver on the market for guitar. Here's a post from 2007 with soundclips of a TBer using it with bass.
Foxrox Octron - Now with Samples

Foxrox has since released the Octron 2. Worthy of a look.