MI Audio Pollyanna Octave Soundclips and Review

fightthepower · #1 02-08-2009, 10:43 PM

I received the Pollyanna octave pedal yesterday! The tracking sucks. It sounds good- very synthy, and it sounds great filtered. Filtering it also covers up a lot of the slop. It would probably track better with other basses, as the Pbass I used with it has a very hot output that can easily make the OC2 fart out.

Notes trigger easily, so a light touch closer to the neck netted the best results for me, with the tone rolled off and sensitivity at 9:30. Any other string vibrations will kill the tracking so you need to use extra care when playing, and simple lines are ideal. The tracking really sucks, but I really dig the sound through filters, so it's sticking around. For synth stuff it sounds great and I can definitely find use for it, but not for fast and complex bass lines.

Signal chain is: Hwy1 Pbass, Pollyanna octave, XO BMS, Prometheus, Grinder with a Bass Murf in its effects loop, Markbass LMII- Recorded into an MBox2 into Ableton Live.

The filtered clips are going through an XO BMS, Prometheus, Grinder, and Grinder with Bass Murf in the loop, and various combinations of them.

Anyway, here are the clips, I just noodle around above the 12th fret, switch back and forth from dry tone to affected tone, and mess with tone knob at the end, as well as changing the sensitivity to let notes ring out.

Dry tone
-1 oct
-2 oct
+1 oct
Various octave settings
Downward filter sweeps
Upward filter sweeps

Pollyanna, BMS, HOG- all with dry tone
+1oct tone and sensitivity settings

Pollyanna+Moog LPF

I have to get going soon, so either later tonight or tomorrow i'll make a clip with it in the Grinder's effects loop, and through the XO BMS and the regular BMS to show the difference in tone between the microsynths in identical settings. I should also do one with the +1 oct mixed with the dry signal because the +1 octave sounds pretty good and also tracks much better. The sub octaves are only good for synth stuff IMO, but I think the +oct could work for other stuff pretty well.

superbassman2000 · #2 02-08-2009, 11:42 PM

wow--i really like that +1 oct soundclip--the single note runs sound a lot like a rhodes piano, which is really really cool--i might have to buy one now!

fightthepower · #3 02-08-2009, 11:44 PM

I'll keep that in mind when I add a couple clips later, and let a few notes ring from below the 5th and after the 12th frets, at the end of the clip.

Jared Lash · #4 02-08-2009, 11:57 PM

Sounds good to me, especially (as you said) for synth stuff which is really where my head's at right now anyway.

How is it's tracking compared to say, an OC-2?

And is the tracking about the same for -1 and +1?

fightthepower · #5 02-09-2009, 12:06 AM

The OC2 blows it away. I'm being very careful with my touch to make this thing track well. The OC2 is on another level.

The +1 tracks very well, all over the neck. I'm heading out right now, but I was planning on comparing the OC2 with squarewave from the BMS and the Pollyanna again with just the guitar slider- and then into the voicing section and/or other filters. The squarewave is almost inaudible when used with the Pollyanna.

At first impression, I think the Pollyanna sounds fatter and synthier through filters than the OC2+gated fuzz/squarewave etc does. Sub suboctaving The OC2 is just on another level with it's tracking.

OhThePeacock · #6 02-09-2009, 06:51 AM

Bump for checking at the end of the day...

merlinaz · #7 02-09-2009, 07:28 AM

nice clips. I dig the -1 Octave.
I'm looking for something to replace the awful tracking Boss Syb-5 for squarewave sounds...but my OC2-Fuzz combo will never be redundant...

Is "-1 octave" Pollyanna only?
How does it interact with other pedals after? Cause I've got the Guyatone Micro Octave 3 which does nearly similiar tones, but pedals after it like Fuzz and Noisebox sound like **** in Bypass mode....

cheers,
merten

rasthedoctor · #8 02-09-2009, 08:08 AM

If you'd told me the downward filter sweeps had been played on a keyboard synth, I'd believe it (and I mean that in a VERY good way).

Thanks for the review/clips.

**DosiYanarchy** · #9 02-09-2009, 02:34 PM

hey, i remember looking at one of these a few months ago, almost bit the bullet and got one based on some guitar clips. Sorta glad i didnt at the time, as your oct-down clips prove that wasnt what i was looking for (i pretty much wanted an analog micropog).
However, now im kinda sorted for octave (OC3, micropog and BMS), but that dirty analog octave up is gently clawing for my wallet.

I have a BMS which also does a great analog oct-up, but to use it just for that would be a waste of a pedal IMO, so im seeing a space fill up - might make my Micropog obsolete tho (my girlfriend bought it for our anniversary, so she probably wouldnt b best pleased if i sold it)

I think the only mass produced pedal i could compare it to would be the Blue Box - this could in fact be the Blue Box Deluxe.
The Blue Box's tracking was also horrendous (ie: play above the 12th fret unless you want instant spazz-out), but it could give some good synth tones, BUT for about £40 more i could have had the Pollyanna, which has a clean blend, -2 octaves AND an octave up, having known then what i know now, i woulda gone with the pollyanna and it may well still be here today

Thanks for the clips

OhThePeacock · #10 02-09-2009, 03:35 PM

Cool sounds!

fightthepower · #11 02-09-2009, 04:13 PM

Merlinaz*- Pedals after the Pollyanna don't seem to have any effect on it, for these last clips, my signal path was HOG-Pollyanna-OC2-xo bms-regular BMS- and there wasn't any notable difference with out any buffers before or after it. It could also replace the SYB5 for those sounds... but it wouldnt net you any better tracking..

DoisYanarchy*- I could see the Pollyanna replacing the +1oct setting in your BMS, if that's all you're using it for.

rasthedoctor*- Thanks, I thought it did a pretty convincing keyboard synth is well... moog anyone?

Here's two more clips of the +1oct settings;

First is just the Pollyanna- in this clip I change the tone and sensitivity settings, going more extreme clockwise on every riff- The sensitivity knob allows more of the +1oct to shine through, at the expense of good tracking and quiet operation.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7322755

And the second clip is of Dry tone + the following--- Pollyanna, then the BMS +1oct/squarewave, and finally HOG-bms squarewave. Near the 5th fret, the HOG really shines through compared to the others.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7322760

mrsquishy · #12 03-04-2009, 09:57 PM

hey im really an octave pedal noob. i was just wondering if the pollyanna would allow a mere clean octave +1/-1 without any synth or fuzz interferences. Just a clean octave up or down. is that possible with the pollyanna?

thanks sorry if this is a dumb question

fightthepower · #13 03-04-2009, 10:17 PM

No clean octaves with the Pollyanna- it squares your signal so it always has the squarewave-fuzzy kind of sound to it.

Here's a clip from a jam a few days ago- Its just the bass track solo'd; Pollyanna with -2,-1,+1 and a little dry signal, into alesis Bitrman and then moog lpf. I really like the Pollyanna, great sounding octaver.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7395392

Jared Lash · #14 03-04-2009, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsquishy

hey im really an octave pedal noob. i was just wondering if the pollyanna would allow a mere clean octave +1/-1 without any synth or fuzz interferences. Just a clean octave up or down. is that possible with the pollyanna?

thanks sorry if this is a dumb question

Analog octavers will always have that synthy/dirty tone to them. If you want clean octaves you'll have to go digital. You might want to check out the micro POG.