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MXR M288 Bass Octave Dx Review
- Thread starter Chronicle
- Start date
For you.
Not for me.
At least not until I hear some good clips of the 100% wet sounds of each knob.
BTW, why do they sound the same with the "smooth" knob? The "Growl" is clearly being marketed as the OC-2 sound and the "Girth" as approximating the EBS.
i like the "hi" setting on the EBS for "growl", myself. The OC-2 gets props, but it's also kinda harsh for some applications.
It does have -2 going for it though...
I'm going to break down and try an MXR BOD, but I'm not holding out a lot of hope that it will solve the problem I have with octavers.
Yeah, the OC-2 is often too harsh sounding, especially when used in combo with other pedals. I like the EBS more for "synthy" combos and I also prefer its tone for fretless playing.
But for really aggressive funk sounds, I like the Boss. And the real deciding factor for me is that the OC-2 has the best 100% wet tone for my purposes - mainly sounding like the old Casio keyboards from classic dub riddims.
Well I've got one of these, and suffice it to say my old OctaBass is off crying in the corner.
EBS: Massive, fat, natural, throbbing tone. Sounds amazing when you slide off notes. Score 10 points.
MXR: Sweet, synthy, tweakable tone with awesome tracking. Score: priceless.
To my ears, GROWL and GIRTH are just 'mid-to-low mid' and 'low' frequency bandwidth controls for the octave oscillator.
Oh, and when you get yours, before plugging it in open the cover and get the freakin' battery holder away from the PCB.
EBS: Massive, fat, natural, throbbing tone. Sounds amazing when you slide off notes. Score 10 points.
MXR: Sweet, synthy, tweakable tone with awesome tracking. Score: priceless.
To my ears, GROWL and GIRTH are just 'mid-to-low mid' and 'low' frequency bandwidth controls for the octave oscillator.
Oh, and when you get yours, before plugging it in open the cover and get the freakin' battery holder away from the PCB.
the tracking is really good.. I got it to track F# on the E string pretty damn well.... for what it's worth
Hmm, did you recently add those or did I miss them? Either way, thanks for those clips.
Interesting. The soloed "Girth" is really smooth. I don't care for the soloed "Growl". And unfortunately neither of them does a very synthy "keyboard" like sound.
That's unfortunate for my purposes. I may try one anyway and see for myself.
Maybe, but then I think pretty much all octavers sound synthy with fuzz.
The Girth sounds usable 100% wet, though it actually sounds so smooth as to not really be much of an effect. But the Growl to me is just way too flabby and undefined to be used 100% wet.
And neither of them will get the classic dub "keyboard bass" sound I need like the OC-2. And while the Boss can be overly harsh at times, the MXR doesn't seem capable of dialing in that aggressiveness when needed.
I suppose it's not fair, but I was really hoping this pedal was all of the good points of the Boss and EBS in one small, TBP package, but it can't quite make that claim.
Just got mine in yesterday and tone-wise it blows the pants off my old Zoom (which had pretty decent tracking for an older cheap pedal). Never played thru the Boss or EBS, but I really like what I'm hearing with this MXR...very round and dimensional. I really don't consider it synthy either...more of a natural bass sound which is perfect for me. I just need to beef up my tone at times without any flashy stuff. I like the ability to mix the growl and girth. They seem very dependent upon one another...and yes...the mid switch is a nice touch. Overall I'm pretty happy.
Just ordered mine from The Perfect Bass! Woo hoo! 
I called my local GC today and talked to one of the guys in Accessories (not the guy who "put one on hold for me" two weeks ago and said "they'll be here in a couple weeks"). The clerk I talked to today informed me that they don't have any on order. Yet another disappointment from GC.
Anyway, I should able to do an A/B with the Octabass soon!
5sg.
I called my local GC today and talked to one of the guys in Accessories (not the guy who "put one on hold for me" two weeks ago and said "they'll be here in a couple weeks"). The clerk I talked to today informed me that they don't have any on order. Yet another disappointment from GC.
Anyway, I should able to do an A/B with the Octabass soon!
5sg.
I agree with you.
I also had to reopen the pedal and get the battery holder tucked in because the pedal was making horrible "thump" noises everytime I touched it. The I realized it was the battery holder hitting the PCB everytime.
Works perfectly now and sounds incredible. I think this pedal is really 2 very different octavers in one. Sounds great.
The one in the B2 does track pretty well, but it has zero upper mid or high end. Can't EQ it back in, either.
Got mine in yesterday, real happy with the sound and tracking so far. It easily tracks to Gb. So far I've only used my Sterling with light rounds, next up will be the Jazz with flats. I like the mid boost at the lower frequency setting, slightly down from center.
Anyway, the only thing I don't like is the rattling sound when I shake it. It's not the battery harness, the jacks nor the pots. Anyone else have this rattle? Just don't want something loose that will promote a failure. Thanks, EPS
Anyway, the only thing I don't like is the rattling sound when I shake it. It's not the battery harness, the jacks nor the pots. Anyone else have this rattle? Just don't want something loose that will promote a failure. Thanks, EPS
Same thing happened to me and it was the battery harness. Check if there's anything inside that is making contact with the board.
I've got the old 506 model...most of it's features are nothing to write home about...but it's octaver stood out from the rest of the effects. So I used it specifically for that effect (because of the tracking). Right now I'm finding more applications I can use the MXR for...mainly because it is very full sounding and will support the band...where before with the Zoom, I was hesitant. I'm finding that pre-amp EQing does make difference with this pedal.
I'm liking the girth at a little less than noon and the growl at about 9 oclock. Dry knob is fully clockwise and the mid boost trim pot is 850 at about 1:00.
It's all good stuff in my book.
Dudes this pedal is f***ing sick, the blended tone of this baby is just awesome. With my OC-2 I always just play 100% wet with oct1, but with the BOD I play 50/50 with 100% girth and 60% growl. The tone is super chunky and tracks very well from about F down. The 100% wet tone of the girth still can't match the smooth video game like tone of oct1 on the OC-2.
