• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

EBS Octabass????

T

theaxel

Guest
Jun 9, 2011
39
0
#1
I'm thinking of get a octave pedal, I play in a concertband and a lot of the pieces i play are tuba parts. I was thinking if i got a octaver then i'd be able to play parts in the right ocvtave.
But i would like to know about th Ebs octabass, Ive heard alot about it and would like to know how it handles the open E, does it play that low???

Thanks
 
#2
Anything below C2 and my OctaBass stops playing the lower octave, but it still tracks. It basically starts a doubling effect on the lower notes, which does still thicken the sound up a little. Just for comparison, my pog2 tracks down to G1 and my Pitchfactor tracks (and attempts to play out) down to low B. However, frequencies that low can not be reproduced using normal equipment. And if it were, you'd feel it more than you'd hear it.
 
#4
The lowest I've gotten an octaver to track (well) is a low G (third fret on e-string). I have the EBS and the MXR, and also had the Boss OC-2. The two forementioned are pretty similar, though the MXR has two voicings. Both are good, but I feel the MXR is more versatile with the added voicing. It can get more, in lack of a better term, "boomy" than the EBS.

Sold the OC-2 due to poor tracking and glitch-o-rama; it sounded like the doubled octave was out of tune with the played note. But that's my 2 cents...
 
#5
I don't know which octabass you happen to have, BassMonstrum, but all the ones I've seen have three different voicings, and the top one has quite a few similarities with the MXR. I'd say get either of the two.
From what the OP mentioned, the OC-2 may be a bit too synth-like for his tastes. You should need a clean, strong octave pedal, and the MXR and EBS do a good job at it. The POG tracks better than any octave pedal I've tried, but it's also a fairly digital sound that doesn't have the oomph of these two. I have the POG as well, and love it for what it does, but it doesn't do the beefing up that you would get from the EBS or the MXR
 
#7
For you purpose you don't actually need an octave pedal. Tuba music is 'written' lower but the notes don't 'sound' lower than what you have on a 4 string bass. In fact it's really the other way around - bass guitar music is notated 1 octave higher than it sounds. e.g If you play an open G on bass (4th space) it will sound the same as a tuba playing a G (1st line).
It's just a pain having to read the music for tuba when there is no bass specific music. That's why bassoon, trombone, euphonium or baritone parts are easier to read. The best solution is to write out the tuba parts 1 octave higher in a program like Sibelius or Finale or you could write them out by hand. This takes a lot of time but is worthwhile in the end.
 
#9
That's funny, I never thought of the music reading that way - what yer sayin' is that tuba music, to keep it inline with all the other concert instruments largely appears "below the line" in music notation. Sorry, it's been 20 years since I played trombone in high school....

Octabass and OC2 and some others have a different sound also.

OC2 is really synthy to me, the note that the Octabass sounds lower is not just a lower transposed note, it has a bit of a gritty edge to it that sounds great when you want to double a solo played high on the neck.

Personal preferences.

If you want a more real-sounding but transposed note I'm thinking that EHX POG or HOG is better.

Don't have experience with the other octavers mentioned.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back