MXR Blue Box or EH Octave Multiplexer???

[18eranaRic]

Looking for a "bitty" fuzz and sub octave all in one box to do moog smooth, kind of synth bass.

Blue Box: I've looked up the mods to improve the MXR, but have not heard clips of the Blue Box with bass.

or

Octave Multiplexer: I like that the Multiplexer has more knobs and more setting, but only a poor staccato type clip from Electro Harmonix.

Sub/ Sub Bass, Any issue running two octaves down?

[Deluge Of Sound]

If you want smooth, stay away from the Blue Box. It's a great pedal, but it doesn't do smooth.

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by 18eranaRic

Sub/ Sub Bass, Any issue running two octaves down?

there is ALWAYS an issue running 2 octaves down when you play bass

[bassman03]

Does anyone have any soundclips of the Blue Box on bass? That's something i've been looking for some for a long time but have never been able to find any of them

[18eranaRic]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

there is ALWAYS an issue running 2 octaves down when you play bass

Thanks for the reply. What kind of issues are we looking at here?

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by 18eranaRic

Thanks for the reply. What kind of issues are we looking at here?

inaudibility at best and glitch city at worst

[bigchiefbc]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

inaudibility at best and glitch city at worst

+1 - I have a Mid-Fi Glitch Computer, which is a 2-octave down fuzz + glitchiness (on purpose). When the control knob is all the way up (i.e. no glitches), I really only get a sound when I play from the 3rd fret up on the D and G strings. Which makes sense, since 2 octaves down from that is right around 20 Hz

[Deluge Of Sound]

Originally Posted by bassman03

Does anyone have any soundclips of the Blue Box on bass? That's something i've been looking for some for a long time but have never been able to find any of them

I use my Blue Box on bass, unfortunately I'm at school right now, so my gear is a couple states away. Once I can get back to my gear I can record some clips, but that'll be at the end of April...

[monsterthompson]

i know you want one pedal, but i'd suggest a Micro Pog and a fuzz. I'm sure there are others out there that combine fuzz/oct, but I'm pretty happy with my BlowTorch+MicroPOG.

[DosiYanarchy]

I had a blue box for a while, heres my quick opinion:

tracking is aweful, so keep your playing above at least 5th fret on the A string.

stock Blue Boxes just dont have enough volume, you'd need a boost after it (i did the c11 mod to my BB, and it didnt make any difference)

blend doesnt blend in clean bass, it blends in/out the octave effect to the fuzz i: the fuzz is always on.

theres prettymuch no lowend to the pedal at all, could never get it to work in a band setting



ok

its a glitchy, synthy sound that actually can sound pretty cool, but its alot of work (with the possibility of having to get extra pedals to make it work)

my advice is get a Boss OC3 and use the Drive mode - -1octave with fuzz - less glitchy, still cant play chords but the tracking is much better and is probably closer to what you want

[Mudfuzz]

Originally Posted by DosiYanarchy

I had a blue box for a while, heres my quick opinion:

tracking is aweful, so keep your playing above at least 5th fret on the A string.

Um that is what a blue box is suppose to do.

[Mudfuzz]

The best two octaves down sound I ever got without digital pitchshifting was ti run two octave pedals at the same time.

[18eranaRic]

seems like the Blue Box has such an attractive quality, like everybody wishes it would work really bad, but it just doesn't. I've been thinking a micro pog and a way huge pickle, but a lot more money for that combo than a $64 Blue Box. oh well...let it go.

[monsterthompson]

more money, but also allows for some cool stuff - the mPOG gets you one oct down and one up. you can control the order of the fuzz pre/post fuz by switcing the cables around. if you are a guitarist, the mPOG helps make a dope 12 string sound when you find the right blend. it also gives you the option to run fuzz w/o oct if you run two pedals.

[The Lurker]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

If you want smooth, stay away from the Blue Box. It's a great pedal, but it doesn't do smooth.

+1.

[Deluge Of Sound]

Originally Posted by 18eranaRic

seems like the Blue Box has such an attractive quality, like everybody wishes it would work really bad, but it just doesn't. I've been thinking a micro pog and a way huge pickle, but a lot more money for that combo than a $64 Blue Box. oh well...let it go.

Don't get me wrong, I use mine all the time, and I love it. I'm actually going to respond to Dosi's post when I get a little more free time, as I disagree with a lot of what he posted (mostly the tracking issues and the lack of low-end).

I just think that its the wrong pedal for your application. You said "Moog Smooth, Synthy" and the Blue Box is none of those. Its a fuzz pedal with a ridiculously fun and unstable Sub-Octave effect. I'm not going to tell you to use a hammer when you're asking for the best needle-nose pliers. Know what I mean?

[fightthepower]

Originally Posted by 18eranaRic

seems like the Blue Box has such an attractive quality, like everybody wishes it would work really bad, but it just doesn't. I've been thinking a micro pog and a way huge pickle, but a lot more money for that combo than a $64 Blue Box. oh well...let it go.

It is indeed much more expensive- make the MicroPOG a cheaper analog octaver and you'll spent about half the money and get closer to the bluebox anyway--- Keep in mind, the bluebox only does two octaves down, making much of the effected range inaudible and glitchy, as mentioned above. An OC2 can be for $40-60 and would be somewhere in between the bluebox and mpog functionally. It's analog like the blue box, and it does -1 and -2 octaves, making it very useable on bass with the option of running only -1 oct, and as much or little of your clean signal as you please. Tracking isn't as good as the mpog, but much better than a bluebox Im sure- And if you have the -2suboctave glitchy mess, you got it if you want it. You'll still need that fuzz, but you can spend 1/3 of the money on the OC2 and have a dedicated octaver and fuzz as well.

[Deluge Of Sound]

Originally Posted by fightthepower

It is indeed much more expensive- make the MicroPOG a cheaper analog octaver and you'll spent about half the money and get closer to the bluebox anyway--- Keep in mind, the bluebox only does two octaves down, making much of the effected range inaudible and glitchy, as mentioned above. An OC2 can be for $40-60 and would be somewhere in between the bluebox and mpog functionally. It's analog like the blue box, and it does -1 and -2 octaves, making it very useable on bass with the option of running only -1 oct, and as much or little of your clean signal as you please. Tracking isn't as good as the mpog, but much better than a bluebox Im sure- And if you have the -2suboctave glitchy mess, you got it if you want it. You'll still need that fuzz, but you can spend 1/3 of the money on the OC2 and have a dedicated octaver and fuzz as well.

Actually the blue box does 1-2 octaves down, and switches randomly between the two.

[bassman03]

Originally Posted by DosiYanarchy

my advice is get a Boss OC3 and use the Drive mode - -1octave with fuzz - less glitchy, still cant play chords but the tracking is much better and is probably closer to what you want

Got any clips of the OC-3 then?

[DosiYanarchy]

Originally Posted by bassman03

Got any clips of the OC-3 then?

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7274303 - one i made earlier

its not a very good clip (i was purposely trying to show how the pedal react to low notes as well as high ones), i think the 'Drive' setting is at the end.


hey, its cool to disagree with my post, but I was just saying it was my experience/opinion. I wanted it to work with the band, im only in trio, but no amount of boost or clean blend actually made the pedal have any presence in the mix once the guitar was playing (ok im hardly playing through an SVT with an 810, but my Ashdown mag 300 1x15 isnt exactly atrocious with low end). Also for moog-like sounds, i dont know if you'd really want unstable pitch fluctuations , hence my comment about tracking. And as far as octave/fuzz on a budget goes, the OC3 is kinda similarly priced (ok about £20 difference in the UK, depending where you look) will provide more overall options, which IMO will help get a tone closer to what the OP may be looking for than either the BB or the Octave Multiplexer.