EBS Octabass problems. (Did a search)

[Rockon!]

Ok. So I need a few pedals for live gigs with my band.
Allready ordered the EHX (stereo) Memoryman. (Can't go wrong there )

And... I pulled the trigger on an octabass from EBS (black label)
Ordered it online and ripped open the packaging when it got here.
I bought it because of the raving reviews it was getting. Great tracking even with chords.... uhhhhhh not.

Well. I'm a bit dissapointed. It sounds great! No problems there. But the sustain on some notes is not that great. I use an SR5 and even open strings sound "wobbly" when played near the bridge.
I did run it with only a fresh battery in it.
Is it the setup on my bass or dead spots? I tried a Digitech whammy as well. Although it sound like ######## compared to the EBS it tracks really good. No glitches on a dead note.
Ill try it in the effect loop of my Eden 1205 (was planning on running it that way anyways because it can switch channels).Maybe it gets better with a little more bass in it and a bit of compression.

Or should I just send it back and get a replacement or the EHX Octave Multiplexer instead?

 

[Yvon]

Or should I just send it back and get a replacement or the EHX Octave Multiplexer instead?

that's what I would/will do.

I have the same problems with mine.

 

[Mudfuzz]

But the sustain on some notes is not that great. I use an SR5 and even open strings sound "wobbly" when played near the bridge.
I did run it with only a fresh battery in it.
Is it the setup on my bass or dead spots?

Open strings and playing by the bridge is the exact opposite of what you do the get good tracking out of a octave. FUNDAMENTALS are what they respond to. The more harmonics, overtones ect. you play confuse analog octaves.

 

[Rockon!]

Open strings and playing by the bridge is the exact opposite of what you do the get good tracking out of a octave. FUNDAMENTALS are what they respond to. The more harmonics, overtones ect. you play confuse analog octaves.

Ah. Ok. I understand. But why is the Digitech unit sounding so much better when playing open strings?

Im going to try it in the effects loop now.



Ok. If I put it in the effects loop it isn't getting any better. :-(
Seems it has got something to do with dead spots also.... But the Digitech whammy doesn't seem to care about dead spots. How come?
Will it get better with the EHX pedal?

 

[Mitchell Royce]

The reaction to a dead spot shouldn't surprise you since the octabass will just track the note you're playing and if the note is dying fast, so will the octave. Odd that the whammy doesn't react to that but since it's built for guitar range it might be that it's going off the higher harmonics in the signal than the EBS. Honestly, I don't know.

Anyways, all of the things you describe are pretty normal, as already noted the more bass is in your signal the better the ebs will track. If another pedal works better with your technique then by all means go for it. The EBS is working very well for some people(including me) but that shouldn't mean that it will work for you.

If you wanna keep at it with the octabass I would recommend you put it after a compressor, that should help some with the tracking.

 

[jucas]

Also, I'm pretty sure that the wammy is digital which apparantly solves a lot of the tracking "issues" that people run into with analog octaves... its just that the tone is usually different.

There may be some differences with the multiplexor's tracking, but honestly, for every review on here saying that one octave pedal has the best tracking ever, there's another that says its terrible. So its pretty hard to tell without trying them out.

As has been said, a neck pickup, probably picking at least a little further from the bridge, and a compressor should help with tracking. Also, I think that the middle of the neck rather than open strings should help with tracking, and usually analog octave reviews on here say the tracking stops somewhere around A on the E string depending on the exact unit.

 

[speak_onion]

The reason that the whammy's tracking is better than the octabass' tracking isn't just because it's digital, but also because it uses a completely different scheme for getting you that lower tone. You could implement the octave division process that he Octabass uses digitally, and it would still glitch like that.

Anyway, the advice you have above should help you get better tracking from your Octabass. I find the tracking on mine to be scarily good, and I play near the bridge, but I also use compression before the octave. If you're not satisfied with the tracking on the Octabass, I doubt that any octave divider will do it for you. I could be wrong though, maybe there's something about the multiplexer or some other unit that just suits your playing style. The Octabass was "it" for me though.