Is it just me or do octave pedals with a blend control instead of separate volume controls suck?

Not really. On my Octabvre Mini I adjust blend until the ratio sounds right, then adjust volume until it's loud enough.

I also have an Octamizer with separate level controls. I do slightly prefer this setup but it's not a major factor.

 

It’s just you.

 

It's fine on my XMR too. Are you spanking your octaver with a hot signal or active signal? Usually, the blend control is a simple passive circuit and only has so much range.

 

Whether you have a mix+volume or two separate volume knobs the end result is the same. Maybe it’s more about the sound character of the pedals you’ve tried? Some are more ”smooth”, some are more ”synthy”.

 

Ah, in that case yes. Any pedal with a blend needs a master volume control to go with it, like the Octabvre does.

Looking at the website though, the Zeus does have these but as internal trim controls.

 

Balancing dry and octave levels is tricky. If your dry volume is the same as bypassed then once you start rolling in the octave it's going to get louder. Add to that how different the mix sounds between a bass amp and PA with subs. How do you get round that?

 

This

With a blend and a master volume you can achieve the exact same results as a volume-volume setup. Without a master volume... Yeah that would suck.