good octave?

I tried a few:

POG - yup, DEFINITELY the best, but expensive.
Ashdown - I was VERY disappointed. Wanted to like it. Tracked terribly.
Boss - Didn't track well.
Digitech BSW - yea, it's goofy, but this is the one I bought. $60 used. It's not the POG, but for what I needed, this was the ticket. Still happy with it. Eats batteries though - get a transformer.

-M

 

The Digitech IMO is the best bang for the buck. I don't use any of the synth stuff either.

 

Yeah, the MXR did some decent things at a pretty good price, better than the boss imho. haven't tried the digitech, so can't compare. I have read good things about ampegs newish pedal, but it doesnt come up alot. Anyone tried it?

 

yeah, i tried it some time ago. like most of all the other octavers (the analog ones), it is based on the circuit that the boss uses. where they all differ more or less is the filtering section before the frequency detection+octave generation, and the filtering and shaping of the synthesized octave sound.
to return back to your question, the ampeg tracks really well, but the octave sound is very bassy with not much mids, i prefer more mid-oriented sounds like the oc-2 (yeah, i know, you´re all sick of hearing me rant bout the oc-2). very heavy and big (and, on the plus side, prolly indestructible) housing.

cheers,
lowstar

 

I have a OC3 and actually like it a lot. Tracks great for me when I use a active bass, tracks ok with a passive.

 

Thanks,
I'd been pretty curious about those, but the only thing I'd ever been able to find was that they tracked well, no comments on tone. The size was one of the big things that stopped me from looking into them too much.

 

the ampeg is the bomb. i tested every octave on the market and found the ampeg to be the best. i swear by it and you'll hear me rave about it in every octave thread i find. if you are looking for octaves every which way, go for the pog, but if you need a solid polyphonic (yes, can track chords) octave pedal, the ampeg can't be beat. it is simple to use and has killer sound.

as far as the complaint about the mids, i've had no problem hearing the octaves from the ampeg on my low b, so perhaps the problem you are having with mids lies somewhere in your signal chain, and not the pedal? the only thing that i like about the ebs vs the octave is the size of the ebs. other than that, the ampeg IS hands down the best straight octave out there. it will track every note and chord you play, no matter how fast, no matter how low the notes are.

 

no, there is no prob in my signal chain. if you compare the oc-2 and the ampeg, it is easy to hear the different flavor in the octave sound.
liking strawberries better than raspberries doesn´t mean that there is a problem in my tastebud chain, me thinks

cheers,
lowstar

 

i hear ya lowstar, what might be right for some, may not be right for all...but i've never found a lacking of mids with my ampeg. liking strawberries better than raspberries definitely doesn't mean there is a problem in your tastebud chain, but saying that one doesn't taste very berry-like might mean there is a problem...or perhaps you tasted a rotten berry.

 

DOD octoplus?
i tried the ashdown, and also was really disappointed, tracked even worse than the OC2.
I know it's just nitpicking, but the Ampeg scrambler is a fuzz and octave up isn't it? The Ampeg sub-blaster is their octave.
I think i might try and find one to try now, after the glowing words above!

 

i promise you won't be disappointed - especially when it comes to tracking. i was searching for the perfect octave and i checked out evertyhing, then i stumbled across the ampeg at the music player live show and got one within a week. since then it has been one of my staple effects for when i play using effects.

 

that you don´t find a lack if mids in the ampeg doesn´t mean that the oc-2 doesn´t produce more mids. have you owned one or played it extensively ?
would be surprised if i would´ve had a rotten berry...

as for (one of my) signal chains, i do my testing via external fw audio card into daw, monitoring with beyerdynamic dt770 headphones (5hz-35khz), no frequencies should get lost that way.

cheers,
lowstar

 

at the risk of continuing the debate on which octave is better or has better mids, etc -

i'll say just this...everyone's ears are different. to my ears, nothing compared to the ampeg sub octave. i've played the oc-2, the oc-3, and line 6's modeled versions of the oc-2...and the poor monophonic tracking did carry a certain kind of vintage charm, but forced me to immediately discount these pedals from the running since they couldn't keep up with my playing (and i certainly am no billy sheehan). they couldn't track more than a single note at a time either. but then again, i don't own a fender jazz or p bass, so what do i know? i know what i like...and boy oh boy, i like that ampeg sub oct.

i think the moral of the story is "what do your ears like?" i often try to spend a good amount of time with an effect before deciding if it is what i'm looking for. i end up buying/selling/trading equipment all of the time as i find new favorites.

so do i!!! i don't use the beyerdynamics, i use a bunch of others, but beyerdynamics makes KILLER stuff. an interesting test might be for someone to post a raw bass clip with some fast playing & some chords & high register and low register playing and both lowstar & i should run that raw bass file through our DAWs out to our octave pedals and back in with a bunch of comprable settings and then post the files here. it'd be interesting to see how they sound side-by-side.

 

hey cosmicevan,
i see it as an interesting exchange of knowledge on a deeper basis rather than a debate
jokes aside,
i just wanted to get my point across about the mids in the former posts and that i can hear the difference...

i´m quoting myself here, it definitely has the best tracking of all the analog octavers out there, if it would sound like the oc-2, i´d have it on my pedalboard already
the bass makes a difference too, now that i sold my jazzbass, i find that the oc-2 tracks less well with the streamer.
and yeah, we all play different styles, i never play double stops with an octaver, so polyphonic tracking is not an issue for me.

cheers,
lowstar

 

I have a friend who is a "PRO bass player". He tried everything and he claims nothing compare to EBS octabass tracking.
It's the best in that price range.

 

My EBS Octabass works well ... bought it based on reviews and wasn't disappointed. Good tracking and sounds ok.

 

yeah, the EBS is a quality pedal. all EBS gear is solid. I've got a bass IQ listed in the classified section right now for anyone who is interested.

 

hey sorry for postin here. i presumed it would be the best forum/thread.

i'm considering going for an octave pedal, but, i'd rather have the octave going up, rahter than down.

but i'd still like to be able to hear the origanal lower notes (i might add i use an active 5 string) but still hear the higher stuff from the octave.

Id be mainly using it for parts where both guitars are solo'ing.

which octave would go up rather than down?

 

EXAR oc4 - if it's anything like as good as their Pig Nose envelope filter it'll be amazing. It does 1 octave up and 1 & 2 octaves down.

 

If you're open to a rack piece, DigiTech put out several Harmony Machine single space units that are amazing - and they can be had pretty cheap as they are obscure and woefully (or fortunately ) under-rated.

I owned the HM4 and the IPS-33B - the 33B offers multiple simultaneous pitch shifting and tracks very well.