Octron vs. Aguilar Octamizer

[OhulahanBass]

So I have been gassing for one of these and one will soon be mine, but which fits me the greatest?

I just got a matrotron for dirt and my favorite pedal is the original Mutron III so an Octron would bump me up to 3 total trons which is meaningless but still really cool.

The octave will likely run infront of my Mutron and SA BEF often, I have yet to find a standalone octave sound I like. However, the Aguilar seems to promise a standalone octave tone most would love.

Any thoughts my knowledgeable bass enthusiasts?

Octron: octave up, octave down & clean level
Octamizer: octave down, clean level and tone control

[TaySte_2000]

Get the octron purely on how well it will sit asthetically next to the muton with it's step

I think for starters you should think about if you'd ever use the octave up, if not then I'd start looking at the smaller units like the aguilar or MXR.

[OhulahanBass]

Most importantly I want the octave down, however, when I owned a Source Audio Multiwave Bass Distortion I loved the octave up feature. I will use it if I have it but the priority is a solid octave down.

[Smurf-o-Deth]

The Octron has a tone control trimmer inside the box (for the octave, not the clean). Also, if you have a hot-ass signal, the Octron can safely be powered by 30+ volts for crazy headroom. The Octamizer farted like crazy with my 18v active. If you don't have a lava-hot signal, though, the Octamizer is a nice pick.

[TaySte_2000]

Then I would defo look at the single octave down units just due to board space and footprint, sounds like you have a lot of big pedals already and the Octon will take up another chunk of space.

[TaySte_2000]

Oh by the way most of my comments are regarding size etc my personal pref has always been the Octron well the Octron 2 until I switched to the M13

[OhulahanBass]

Originally Posted by Smurf-o-Deth

The Octron has a tone control trimmer inside the box (for the octave, not the clean). Also, if you have a hot-ass signal, the Octron can safely be powered by 30+ volts for crazy headroom. The Octamizer farted like crazy with my 18v active. If you don't have a lava-hot signal, though, the Octamizer is a nice pick.

I have a 9V powered J-retro preamp in my main jazz bass. I run almost full gain on the retro, so it's hot but not 18V hot.

[TheBasicBassist]

Just picked up an Octamizer, love the tone. It's really fat and organic sounding, it doesn't sound synth-like at all, to my ears. Though, it certainly adds a lot of depth, I had some minute problems with tracking at the store I tried it out at (it seemed to glitch a lot, the problem was rectified by diming the volume) but I figured, wth, so I took it home and it works wonders with my Smith and P-bass and, strangely, I don't have to max-out the volume knob with either. I think the Octamizer is a solid purchase if you want that organic tone.

[OhulahanBass]

Originally Posted by TaySte_2000

Oh by the way most of my comments are regarding size etc muy personal pref has always been the Octron well the Octron 2 until I switched the M13

Size is important for space, this is the space I have right now (keep in mind Mastrotron is on it's way also).



http://www.flickr.com/photos/60352550@N04/5506399978

edit: I used the "" but the inmage isn't showing up in my browser. Anyone know what I did wrong?

[TaySte_2000]

Originally Posted by OhulahanBass

Size is important for space, this is the space I have right now (keep in mind Mastrotron is on it's way also).



http://www.flickr.com/photos/60352550@N04/5506399978

Oddly the Octron might be the nicer fit just below the BMS but you also have an Aguilar pedal on there so you can save space by wacking them next to each other.

I think at this point it's up to you, I have friends that swear by the aguilar even over the Octron, I personally haven't tried it but I love the Octron and that has been my favourite over every octaver I've tried (and I've tried most)

[P-oddz]

Octamizer owner here:

I love the tone of my Octamizer. My uses might be different from your intentions though, so I'll give you my experience.

I use it to really beef up certain parts of songs. These lines are usually deliberate whole note/half note phrases, but I do kick it on in a song where I play a 1/16th note progression with a pick. I play with a passive Jazz, and it tracks well down to about a low G. Beyond that introduces some spotiness, and a flat low E warbles in and out of tracking like a mutha. Fingerstyle took me a little bit of technique concentration to track great everytime, but now that I know how it responds, I love it. I also couple it with a ZVex Distortron (Octamizer being before the Distortron) for some really nice grindy octave tones.

In conclusion, my octave use is a more limited effect, but what the Octamizer adds is complete organic, fat, and nicely dirty octave tone "beef".

In my own words, I use it when I want to "drop the a**".

[OhulahanBass]

Any other thoughts from an owner of both?

Maybe the only answer is to save up and own both at once. Aguilar's quality and tone is top notch but the Octron seem the most similar to Musitronics which is my favorite of all tones. However, the Aguilar seems to have the mojo to open me up to using octave as a solo organic effect rather than just a synthy stage in my chain.

Any thoughts on how the otave up compares to the octave up on the EHX BMS, my BMS will never leave my board so if it is the same than I think I'll try the Aguilar first.

[Higgie]

Haven't tried the Octron. But after buying an Octamizer, I've never wanted to

[OhulahanBass]

Originally Posted by Higgie

Haven't tried the Octron. But after buying an Octamizer, I've never wanted to

This seems to be the reaction of owners from each of these pedals. Maybe you can't choose wrong with these two.

[nad]

For a straightforward octave down pedal, Octamizer.

As a wonderfully wicked synth/fuzz/awesome thingy, Octron.

You can't go wrong here. It's like the left boob / right boob decision: both are the correct answer.

[DuoSonicII]

Originally Posted by OhulahanBass

Aguilar's quality and tone is top notch but the Octron seem the most similar to Musitronics which is my favorite of all tones.

Quality-wise, Foxrox is second to none - the designer Dave Fox builds them all by hand; the layout and wiring are immaculate and his pedals seem basically indestructible. My Octron is the one pedal that will never leave my board, it is unmatched in its fuzzy analog glory. And it is definitely inspired by the Musitronics stuff.

Originally Posted by OhulahanBass

Any thoughts on how the otave up compares to the octave up on the EHX BMS, my BMS will never leave my board so if it is the same than I think I'll try the Aguilar first.

The Octron's octave up has more cut to it than that of the Microsynth, to my ears, where the Microsynth's sound ends up being more wall-ish. And the Octron has internal controls that let you choose between two octave-up modes (one cleaner, one more Octavia-like), plus adjust the tone and drive of the +1 signal, and the tone of the -1 signal. Anyway, I have both on my board and don't feel like they're redundant at all.

I still don't understand why more bass octave pedals don't include the +1 option.

[OhulahanBass]

And sold!

Originally Posted by DuoSonicII

Quality-wise, Foxrox is second to none - the designer Dave Fox builds them all by hand; the layout and wiring are immaculate and his pedals seem basically indestructible. My Octron is the one pedal that will never leave my board, it is unmatched in its fuzzy analog glory. And it is definitely inspired by the Musitronics stuff.



The Octron's octave up has more cut to it than that of the Microsynth, to my ears, where the Microsynth's sound ends up being more wall-ish. And the Octron has internal controls that let you choose between two octave-up modes (one cleaner, one more Octavia-like), plus adjust the tone and drive of the +1 signal, and the tone of the -1 signal. Anyway, I have both on my board and don't feel like they're redundant at all.

I still don't understand why more bass octave pedals don't include the +1 option.

[Smallequestrian]

Originally Posted by OhulahanBass

Any other thoughts from an owner of both?

Maybe the only answer is to save up and own both at once. Aguilar's quality and tone is top notch but the Octron seem the most similar to Musitronics which is my favorite of all tones. However, the Aguilar seems to have the mojo to open me up to using octave as a solo organic effect rather than just a synthy stage in my chain.

Any thoughts on how the otave up compares to the octave up on the EHX BMS, my BMS will never leave my board so if it is the same than I think I'll try the Aguilar first.

I've owned both...twice (I've owned most of the available octave down pedals at least once) and currently am sticking with the Octamizer. I wish the Octron had a bit more output, but I think it tracks the best out of all the analog octavers. That's not to say the Octamizer tracks bad, but the Octron was really good.

The Octamizer, at least with my playing technique and basses, has trouble tracking on the G string. There is a bigger variety of sounds, though the basic sound of the Octron is great, where I don't need variety. And frankly, one octave setting is all I need, so once I found the setting I liked on the Octamizer, it doesn't matter that there is more variety.

Best advice is to try both and see which one works out the best for you.

[iamdenialNJ]

Octron is coming

[Vlad5]

give us a review when you get it! I'm scrutinizing the same two peddles myself...