- Feb 21, 2001
- 1,084
- 509
- Disclosures
- I Support the following: Fodera, Noble Amps, JHAudio, Trickfish Amplification
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3Leaf Audio Club - Episode 2
- Thread starter fivestringgecko
- Start date
So I have a request for you WL users. Can you post a quick shot of your pedal as its currently set so I can have some quick samples to start from? It would be really helpful. You too Spencer!
Thanks Spencer for getting the Octabvre's & Wonderlove's to us so quickly! Octabvre sounds fantastic! Cheers from MetalString Sound!
I've had my Octabvre since Sunday, and I've only been able to use it twice. I've been dying to do a shoot out between it and my long time favorite MXR BOD. I took the day off work tomorrow, so it shall happen. Soundclips might even be part of it.
If I have time to do some soundclips, would people prefer them solo or with drums for context?
Why not a little of both?
If one or the other I would have drums...
Nice! Funk is "back" - did it go somewhere before?
Ditto!
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Hey guys, I was reading up on the Wonderlove (the only 3Leaf pedal I haven't owned), and I was trying to figure out how the expression pedal works with the filter. The manual says that when the expression pedal is plugged in, the sensitivity, attack and decay controls are bypassed. So how does the pedal control all of these knobs at once? Is it possible to do some sort of sweep like a low pass filter, or is that not how it works? I currently have a Xerograph deluxe, but I would love to have more control over the envelope...just didn't know if you could create sweeps with the wonderlove.
You control the filter opening with your foot, the parameters that are set by the knobs aren't relevant when your foot does the work, you control how the filter opens and closes.
Ahh...I see, so you could technically open it up really slow and do some sort of a sweep? Maybe not a sweep per say, but kind of a slow release?
Sure, just move your foot slowly. 
EDIT: I should add I'm not a big fan of using an expression pedal with the WL, it's a bit mild if you're looking for dramatic synth sweeps.
EDIT: I should add I'm not a big fan of using an expression pedal with the WL, it's a bit mild if you're looking for dramatic synth sweeps.
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Not the kind of sound I enjoy but that sounds pretty unique. I think a lot of people will like it.
- Feb 21, 2001
- 1,084
- 509
- Disclosures
- I Support the following: Fodera, Noble Amps, JHAudio, Trickfish Amplification
The sub dubby dub dub is what made me place my order...which landed today.
Heading home to check it out after I drop my wife off for another night of work at the Houston Ballet...The Nutcracker
Heading home to check it out after I drop my wife off for another night of work at the Houston Ballet...The Nutcracker
Okay everyone, as promised, here is my shootout between my 3Leaf Octabvre, and my MXR Bass Octave Deluxe. The BOD has been my longtime favorite octave pedal. It just works for me. Being a big fan of Spencer's work (I've owned an original Groove Regulator, and currently own a Proton), and being on a quest to remove all non-boutique pedals from my board, the Octabvre was a no-brainer. Since the BOD has been such a favorite of mine, I wanted to compare these as thoroughly as made sense for my needs. I'm publishing those tests here for everyone to hear.
The Test:
I played a lick from one of my band's tunes where I use an octave pedal. This was to get a feel for how the pedals work in the way that I use it. After that I wanted to see how well the pedals work while holding a whole note. I walked down chromatically from F# on the 9th fret of the A string, to F# on the second fret of the E string. I stayed on the A string until the 6th fret, and then transitioned to the 10th fret of the E string and continued down. I mistakenly held the last note (F# on the second fret of the E string) for two measures rather than one while tracking the first dry signal, so I opted to just do it on all of the proceeding tracks. I did my best to be as consistent as possible, but there are definitely some notes that got a way from me. This was most noticeable when going from the 6th fret of the A string to the 10th fret of the E string. I decided to do it this way because most of my octave pedal work happens between the 7th and 12th frets, and I wanted to maximize the number of notes in this range of frets.
The Gear:
I played my Jazz bass, which is a Warmoth solid alder body with a Status-Graphite carbon fiber neck, and mostly Gotoh hardware. The bass is equipped with EMG JVX pickups and an EMB BTC preamp that are run at 18v. The preamp was set flat, the pickup blend was 50/50, and the volume was on full. The strings on the bass are D'Addario XLs, nickel-steel, 45-105 that are well broken in, but not yet dead. I ran from the bass directly to the Octabvre or the BOD, and sent the output of the pedal into one of the inputs of my Mackie Onyx Blackbird. All tracking was done around -12db, and then normalized in post to account for some of the volume differences between different pedal settings, as well as inconsistencies in my playing. The pedals have different controls, so I had to do an approximation between the two. I used the Octabvre as a starting point, and then tried to achieve comparable differences on the BOD.
This test is far from perfect, and definitely doesn't pretend to be so. This was just a comparison for me that others might find useful. I've done my best to describe the settings for each clip below. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Link to the files (descriptions of each file are below): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e9s3v3aurawvd82/AADkgJUb-rF-Va3NxZJH-opma?dl=0
-------------------------------------------
Dry: This was only included to give a reference for what the bass used sounds like without any influence from the pedals.
-------------------------------------------
This first batch was intended to show a 50/50 mix of dry and octave signal in various forms. I feel like this is a very common starting point for lots of folks, myself included, when using an octave pedal.
Octabvre_50_OC-2
Mix: 12 o'clock
Tone: 7 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_50_Mutron
Mix: 12 o'clock
Tone: 5 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_50_Middle
Mix: 12 o'clock
Tone: 12 o'clock
BOD_50_Growl
Dry: 12 o'clock
Growl: 5 o'clock (full)
Girth: 7 o'clock (off)
BOD_50_Girth
Dry: 12 o'clock
Growl: 7 o'clock (off)
Girth: 5 o'clock (full)
BOD_50_Middle
Dry: 12 o'clock
Growl: 12 o'clock
Girth: 12 o'clock
-------------------------------------------
This next batch was intended to be a copy of the first batch (50% dry, 50% octave), but with a heavier ratio of octave to dry (25% dry, 75% octave). I feel like this is a good starting point for someone who wants a heavily affected tone, or someone trying to cop keyboard/synth tones while still sounding somewhat like a bassist.
Octabvre_75_OC-2
Mix: 2-3 o'clock
Tone: 7 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_75_Mutron
Mix: 2-3 o'clock
Tone: 5 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_75_Middle
Mix: 2-3 o'clock
Tone: 12 o'clock
BOD_75_Growl
Dry: 9-10 o'clock
Growl: 5 o'clock (full)
Girth: 7 o'clock (off)
BOD_75_Girth
Dry: 9-10 o'clock
Growl: 7 o'clock (off)
Girth: 5 o'clock (full)
BOD_75_Both
Dry: 9-10 o'clock
Growl: 12 o'clock
Girth: 12 o'clock
-------------------------------------------
This third batch was built on the same framework as the first two batches, but completely removes the dry signal from the equation. On the Octabvre I simply engaged the sub switch. On the BOD I turned the 'Dry' control down to zero, which happens to be at 7 o'clock.
Octabvre_Sub_OC-2
Mix: Sub
Tone: 7 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_Sub_Mutron
Mix: Sub
Tone: 5 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_Sub_Middle
Mix: Sub
Tone: 12 o'clock
BOD_100_Growl
Dry: 7 o'clock (off)
Growl: 5 o'clock (full)
Girth: 7 o'clock (off)
BOD_100_Girth
Dry: 7 o'clock (off)
Growl: 7 o'clock (off)
Girth: 5 o'clock (full)
BOD_100_Both
Dry: 7 o'clock (off)
Growl: 12 o'clock
Girth: 12 o'clock
-------------------------------------------
This last batch is simply a representation of my preferred settings on both pedals. This may or may not be useful to anyone, but I wanted to include it as a basis for hearing what my tastes are when it comes to octave pedals. If nothing else, that could be useful as a tool to better understand my opinions of both of these great pedals as this thread moves forward.
Octabvre_Preference
Mix: 12 o'clock
Tone: 8 o'clock
BOD_Preference
Dry: 12 o'clock
Growl: 2 o'clock
Girth: 10 o'clock
The Test:
I played a lick from one of my band's tunes where I use an octave pedal. This was to get a feel for how the pedals work in the way that I use it. After that I wanted to see how well the pedals work while holding a whole note. I walked down chromatically from F# on the 9th fret of the A string, to F# on the second fret of the E string. I stayed on the A string until the 6th fret, and then transitioned to the 10th fret of the E string and continued down. I mistakenly held the last note (F# on the second fret of the E string) for two measures rather than one while tracking the first dry signal, so I opted to just do it on all of the proceeding tracks. I did my best to be as consistent as possible, but there are definitely some notes that got a way from me. This was most noticeable when going from the 6th fret of the A string to the 10th fret of the E string. I decided to do it this way because most of my octave pedal work happens between the 7th and 12th frets, and I wanted to maximize the number of notes in this range of frets.
The Gear:
I played my Jazz bass, which is a Warmoth solid alder body with a Status-Graphite carbon fiber neck, and mostly Gotoh hardware. The bass is equipped with EMG JVX pickups and an EMB BTC preamp that are run at 18v. The preamp was set flat, the pickup blend was 50/50, and the volume was on full. The strings on the bass are D'Addario XLs, nickel-steel, 45-105 that are well broken in, but not yet dead. I ran from the bass directly to the Octabvre or the BOD, and sent the output of the pedal into one of the inputs of my Mackie Onyx Blackbird. All tracking was done around -12db, and then normalized in post to account for some of the volume differences between different pedal settings, as well as inconsistencies in my playing. The pedals have different controls, so I had to do an approximation between the two. I used the Octabvre as a starting point, and then tried to achieve comparable differences on the BOD.
This test is far from perfect, and definitely doesn't pretend to be so. This was just a comparison for me that others might find useful. I've done my best to describe the settings for each clip below. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Link to the files (descriptions of each file are below): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e9s3v3aurawvd82/AADkgJUb-rF-Va3NxZJH-opma?dl=0
-------------------------------------------
Dry: This was only included to give a reference for what the bass used sounds like without any influence from the pedals.
-------------------------------------------
This first batch was intended to show a 50/50 mix of dry and octave signal in various forms. I feel like this is a very common starting point for lots of folks, myself included, when using an octave pedal.
Octabvre_50_OC-2
Mix: 12 o'clock
Tone: 7 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_50_Mutron
Mix: 12 o'clock
Tone: 5 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_50_Middle
Mix: 12 o'clock
Tone: 12 o'clock
BOD_50_Growl
Dry: 12 o'clock
Growl: 5 o'clock (full)
Girth: 7 o'clock (off)
BOD_50_Girth
Dry: 12 o'clock
Growl: 7 o'clock (off)
Girth: 5 o'clock (full)
BOD_50_Middle
Dry: 12 o'clock
Growl: 12 o'clock
Girth: 12 o'clock
-------------------------------------------
This next batch was intended to be a copy of the first batch (50% dry, 50% octave), but with a heavier ratio of octave to dry (25% dry, 75% octave). I feel like this is a good starting point for someone who wants a heavily affected tone, or someone trying to cop keyboard/synth tones while still sounding somewhat like a bassist.
Octabvre_75_OC-2
Mix: 2-3 o'clock
Tone: 7 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_75_Mutron
Mix: 2-3 o'clock
Tone: 5 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_75_Middle
Mix: 2-3 o'clock
Tone: 12 o'clock
BOD_75_Growl
Dry: 9-10 o'clock
Growl: 5 o'clock (full)
Girth: 7 o'clock (off)
BOD_75_Girth
Dry: 9-10 o'clock
Growl: 7 o'clock (off)
Girth: 5 o'clock (full)
BOD_75_Both
Dry: 9-10 o'clock
Growl: 12 o'clock
Girth: 12 o'clock
-------------------------------------------
This third batch was built on the same framework as the first two batches, but completely removes the dry signal from the equation. On the Octabvre I simply engaged the sub switch. On the BOD I turned the 'Dry' control down to zero, which happens to be at 7 o'clock.
Octabvre_Sub_OC-2
Mix: Sub
Tone: 7 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_Sub_Mutron
Mix: Sub
Tone: 5 o'clock (full)
Octabvre_Sub_Middle
Mix: Sub
Tone: 12 o'clock
BOD_100_Growl
Dry: 7 o'clock (off)
Growl: 5 o'clock (full)
Girth: 7 o'clock (off)
BOD_100_Girth
Dry: 7 o'clock (off)
Growl: 7 o'clock (off)
Girth: 5 o'clock (full)
BOD_100_Both
Dry: 7 o'clock (off)
Growl: 12 o'clock
Girth: 12 o'clock
-------------------------------------------
This last batch is simply a representation of my preferred settings on both pedals. This may or may not be useful to anyone, but I wanted to include it as a basis for hearing what my tastes are when it comes to octave pedals. If nothing else, that could be useful as a tool to better understand my opinions of both of these great pedals as this thread moves forward.
Octabvre_Preference
Mix: 12 o'clock
Tone: 8 o'clock
BOD_Preference
Dry: 12 o'clock
Growl: 2 o'clock
Girth: 10 o'clock
Nicely done!
For me, on its own I like the sound character of the BOD better, but I think in a mix maybe the Octabvre will be heard better.
For me, on its own I like the sound character of the BOD better, but I think in a mix maybe the Octabvre will be heard better.
My opinion, after just finishing the shootout, and only having one full band rehearsal with the Octabvre is as follows:
I'm torn between which pedal will stay on my board. In terms of tone, the Octabvre wins as it's much more "lively" sounding. It has a much sweeter sounding top end, and generally translates a bit brighter than the BOD, which I appreciate. The holy grail of octave tone for me is Tony Levin's playing on Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," which was done on an OC-2. I don't foresee much use from the Mutron side of the pedal as the OC-2 side just sounds perfect. If I want to add dirt I'll do it downstream of the pedal rather than having it be my primary octave tone. I'll maybe find a use for the sub switch, but as of now I don't really have one.
In terms of board real estate, it's a wash. The Octabvre is bigger, but the top jacks end up saving a lot of space. The BOD wins slightly in this regard, but the difference is so small that it's not worth comparing.
In terms of tracking, the BOD seems to work better for my technique and my bass. I haven't tried this with my other bass, but will do that next week. The BOD tracks great with both basses. The difference is enough that I can't base my decision solely on tone.
One thing is certain... More "research" (ie playing with both of these fantastic pedals) is in order.
I'm torn between which pedal will stay on my board. In terms of tone, the Octabvre wins as it's much more "lively" sounding. It has a much sweeter sounding top end, and generally translates a bit brighter than the BOD, which I appreciate. The holy grail of octave tone for me is Tony Levin's playing on Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," which was done on an OC-2. I don't foresee much use from the Mutron side of the pedal as the OC-2 side just sounds perfect. If I want to add dirt I'll do it downstream of the pedal rather than having it be my primary octave tone. I'll maybe find a use for the sub switch, but as of now I don't really have one.
In terms of board real estate, it's a wash. The Octabvre is bigger, but the top jacks end up saving a lot of space. The BOD wins slightly in this regard, but the difference is so small that it's not worth comparing.
In terms of tracking, the BOD seems to work better for my technique and my bass. I haven't tried this with my other bass, but will do that next week. The BOD tracks great with both basses. The difference is enough that I can't base my decision solely on tone.
One thing is certain... More "research" (ie playing with both of these fantastic pedals) is in order.
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