octave up? mimic 8 or 12 string?

**IvanMike** · #1 01-25-2009, 09:51 AM

hey all, i looked and found nothing recent.

i miss my 8, and would love a 12. till i can swing one are there any pedals out there that can generate a passable octave UP to mimic an 8 or 12 string bass? any links or clips would be cool too.

Thanks, and if i asked this question 4 years ago forgive me.....

Heck i can do it recording on my pc with some adobe editing software and it sounds ok, but of course that's a different animal.......

**DosiYanarchy** · #2 01-25-2009, 09:55 AM

Ehx MicroPOG, check out youtube.

best tracking ive ever heard, polyphonic so you can play chords, controls for dry signal, octave down, and octave up

Jared Lash · #3 01-25-2009, 10:05 AM

The POG is probably your best bet in terms of a stomp box. It will track well and give you a very clean sounding octave up. But it does have a very digital quality to it and it lacks the "chiming" sound of a real 8 string.

Personally I think this is sort of the same deal as when people ask for a pedal that will make their fretted sound fretless or make their 4 string sound like it has a low B string. There are always ways to accomplish it to some degree, but it never sounds nearly as good as a real 8 string, fretless or 5 string bass.

acleex38 · #4 01-25-2009, 11:14 AM

I tried several pitch-shifters (whammy, ps-5, pog) looking to mimic an 8-string because I missed mine. The octave-up always sounds too digital (neat sounds, just not what I wanted). I find I have better luck using Octave down and playing higher on the neck. That way, the higher and more noticeable note is coming from a real string, and the digital nature of the sub-octave is far less apparent.

But even then, TheBigO is right. It isn't the same as the real thing.

**IvanMike** · #5 01-25-2009, 02:11 PM

cool i'll probably try a pog and hate it but oh well.......

i considered playing higher on the neck and using a standard oc, but that kind of kills the vibe as well

Jared Lash · #6 01-25-2009, 02:15 PM

Check out Bryan R. Tyler's POG video he made a while back.

**IvanMike** · #7 01-29-2009, 02:06 PM

will that pog let you send out a totally wet signal w/o any original in it?

or more to the point will it let you send out a wet and a dry signal at the same time?

Jared Lash · #8 01-29-2009, 02:10 PM

Yes, on both counts.

You can separately adjust and send out anywhere between 0-100% of the three signals: 1 oct down, dry, and 1 oct up.

So you could have 100% dry and 100% 1 octave up with the octave down at 0% or any other combination you want.

bigchiefbc · #9 01-29-2009, 02:16 PM

I'm always puzzled by the fact that people always always recommend the Micro Pog, and the full POG is never suggested (except by me). I would say the full POG is a much better choice than the micro for what the OP wants. First of all, it has both 1 and 2 octaves up, so you could do either an 8 string OR a 12-string if you want. Second of all, it has the detuned sliders, and (most importantly) the low pass filter, which when used sparingly, can take out most of that digital chirp that the POG/HOG pedals can have sometimes. And it has an input gain control which you can overdrive, which is also cool sometimes.

And yes, the full POG has a separate slider for the dry signal as well.

Jared Lash · #10 01-29-2009, 02:29 PM

Good point.

I never recommend the full size POG only because I've never tried it.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #11 01-29-2009, 02:40 PM

I never recommend it because it's gigantic and costs a zillion dollars

I haven't heard any of the 2oct up clips that don't sound really synthy and weird yet.

agreatheight · #12 01-29-2009, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigO

The POG is probably your best bet in terms of a stomp box. It will track well and give you a very clean sounding octave up. But it does have a very digital quality to it and it lacks the "chiming" sound of a real 8 string.

Yup. I had a Hamer 8, and now I use a POG. It's not the same thing, really, but it's the best option I have heard.

Peace!

agreatheight · #13 01-29-2009, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigchiefbc

... it has both 1 and 2 octaves up, so you could do either an 8 string OR a 12-string if you want.

A 12 string is string / 1 octave up string / 1 octave up string, not string / 1 octave up string / 2 octaves up string. FYI.

bigchiefbc · #14 01-29-2009, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

I never recommend it because it's gigantic and costs a zillion dollars

I haven't heard any of the 2oct up clips that don't sound really synthy and weird yet.

makes me wish I still had mine so I could demonstrate how useful that LPF is to remove all of that chirpy weirdness. And IIRC, I got mine on eBay for about 200 bucks, which is what a new Micro POG will run you. As for the size, ya you got me. But then again, at one point I had a BMS, a Flanger Hoax and a HOG all on the same board

Jared Lash · #15 01-29-2009, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigchiefbc

makes me wish I still had mine so I could demonstrate how useful that LPF is to remove all of that chirpy weirdness. And IIRC, I got mine on eBay for about 200 bucks, which is what a new Micro POG will run you. As for the size, ya you got me. But then again, at one point I had a BMS, a Flanger Hoax and a HOG all on the same board

No Bi-Phase?

bigchiefbc · #16 01-29-2009, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agreatheight

A 12 string is string / 1 octave up string / 1 octave up string, not string / 1 octave up string / 2 octaves up string. FYI.

Yeah, you're right, my bad. Although I think I did see someone do that once somewhere (do the norm/1/2 thing on a 12 string), that's probably what I was thinking of. Although the detune slider will be even more useful, imitating the minute tuning differences between two strings tuned in unison (see how I will unashamedly change the argument to defend myself?

)

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #17 01-29-2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigchiefbc

makes me wish I still had mine so I could demonstrate how useful that LPF is to remove all of that chirpy weirdness. And IIRC, I got mine on eBay for about 200 bucks, which is what a new Micro POG will run you. As for the size, ya you got me. But then again, at one point I had a BMS, a Flanger Hoax and a HOG all on the same board

Yeah, I saw that board when they were building it for you

$200 is a really good deal for one. I've managed to get both my MicroPOGs new on eBay for around $175....I might've tried for the big one if I had seen one at that price back when I had massive pedalboard space.

I currently have a patch on my VF-1 that is two octaves up and two octaves down- you can also fine-tune the pitches on the pitch shifter with that unit. While it's not useful as far as regular sounds go, it makes a fantastic percussive sound- almost like the old Transformers transforming noise

**IvanMike** · #18 02-02-2009, 12:38 PM

VF-1? sorry i'm just way out of the loop when it comes to bass effects. (pun intended)

I'll have to see if i can try a pog or mini. I'm really not planning to use something like that much. I've been adding some cheap trick songs to my playlist and i'd love to get a bit of an 8/12 string sound if possible as that fattens things up. Although a 12 would be ideal i'm wondering if by the time i put some sans amp on it, maybe route the octave up just to my 12", and the entire band starts playing, if it won't be good enough.

millahh · #19 05-03-2009, 05:40 PM

So I was thinking...would sending the octave-up signal from a POG into a chorus, then mixing the signal back in with the dry get you alot closer to an authentic 8/12 string sound (since part of the 8/12 sound comes from very slight deviation the phase of the waves, which is exactly what a chorus will give you)?

JimmyM · #20 05-03-2009, 09:26 PM

Millahh, I started to try that idea out, but I got lazy and I just tried the octave up by itself with the chorus instead, then I tried mixing dry and octave up running mono with the chorus. In both cases, I thought it sounded a lot more natural with the chorus off. It pretty much made it sound like a bass running through the Micro Pog and a chorus. It would sound less chorusy with none on the dry signal, but I don't think it would bring it any closer to the goal.

Ya, it's a little chirpy compared to my Dean 8, but I think it's no less useful, especially if you just want to do a song or two with the 12-string sound. And I kind of like the chirp. Makes it sound big and jangly. The one thing I'm having a little trouble with, though, is the delay between your dry and effected signal. It's not real noticeable, but it's there. If you mix it a little quieter than the dry it's not so bad, but they could tighten it up by a few millisecs.