2 Queations

[bozobarnum]

2 Questions:

1) there are a ton of octave pedals in a huge range of prices. Is there any real difference? I just want to add an octave and not break the bank.

2) would it be better to use a fuzz, distortion or synth pedal to achieve a sound similar to Parliament's Flashlight. I'm aware it's keys on the recording. Anyway, the Boss syb 5 sounds similar but some fuzz pedals seem to be a bit more diverse.

Thanks in advance. This forum is always very helpful!

 

[bassbrad]

Octave up or down, clean, distorted or synthy?

As far as synth soundz go chek out the post from Jimmy M about making synth pedals sound better.

My suggestion is get a Zoom B3 its all good stuff there.

 

[gregmon79]

Those are tough ones for what youre trying to get. Those guys had some of the most sought after, rare (at times) and expensive gear there is.

1. I would think you could find an OC2 relatively cheap. I just found an Arion Octave for $10 used and it is almost an exact clone of the OC2. Very well done Arion. Does the synthy stuff very well, tracks pretty good and is even louder. These are great octaves for the synthy stuff.

2. This is gonna be where you may have problems not breaking the bank. You could go with a B:assmaster or Mastotron type fuzz. But this run quite high. A muff would work well enough though too, and would be quite a bit cheaper in most cases. You could also simply get a DigiTech Bass Synth Wah and call it a day. Those go for $50 used all the time. Its not the greatest available obviously, but for not breaking the bank and trying to get those sounds, its not the worst you could do.

In the end, a Zoom B3 or MS60b may be your best bet. It has dedicated synths, octaves and fuzzes in it and doesnt sound half bad for what it is. Plus they will not kill your bank account. Plenty of threads and users here on TB of both those pedals. One of them posting this right now

 

[Dave W]

1. Yes, there is a huge difference between octave pedals. Most importantly they all produce different tones, but they built different, have different controls, are different sizes, etc. It's almost like asking if all bass amps are the same.