Octave Pedal for "Growl"?

[M Sterling]

For one of the bands I work with, I use an octave pedal exclusively as the basis for my bass sound. I literally use it on every song. The only time I've ever blown a speaker was on a pedal-less cover band gig when my foot accidentally bumped the volume knob on my power amp to maximum.

Just be smart and listen to your speakers for signs that it might blow (i.e. farting or unwanted distortion) and you will be fine.

 

[Dave W]

^^^ Nonsense! You need religion and horses and all kinds of stuff to determine if it works.

 

[M Sterling]

^^^ Nonsense! You need religion and horses and all kinds of stuff to determine if it works.

Lol!!! I was thinking unicorns, but a horse will have to do!!!

 

[Stealth]

Since it's in the Amps section... anyone tried the Ashdown Mag II's sub-bass mode? It's essentially a down-octaver. Adds quite a good growl to the bass.

 

[will33]

Bgavins measurements and the measurements in this thread http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/bass-frequency-waterfall-plots-what-they-mean-rigs-510749/ don't seem to agree.

Now...before anybody starts arguing about it, I for one, think they're both right.

I think there are way too many variables there to just say there's only one answer that applies in all cases.

Think of how many different sounds you can get out of a bass just by how and where you pluck the thing, let alone different pickup types and their placement, string guages and type of winding, etc. You get all those different tones because all those things change the relationship/ratio of the fundamental to the harmonics and the ratio of all the different harmonics to each other. Pluck (or pick, or slap, or thumb) the bass one way and you'll get a big fundamental, do it another way and you'll get a subdued fundamemtal, and many ways in between the extremes. And that's all before the sound ever gets to your amp.

Again, I think they're both right, just different.

In order to get a real even comparison, in addition to using the exact same bass, signal chain, measurement tools, etc., I think you'd almost have to have a machine play the bass to be sure it got hit the exact same way every time. Do that at all the little different points along the string length and you'll get a bunch of different results. Let a human get their hands on it, and you'll get different results still.

Bit of a mix of science and art...and the human factor. Way too many things going on to just have one answer that applies in every case.

 

[JimmyM]

Perhaps, but your horse is uneducated.

Bumble bees can indeed fly, the world is not flat, and electric basses can indeed produce a low E.
The Catholic Church slaughtered people who disagreed with their belief the Earth was the center of the universe.
They were dead wrong.

I find it amusing that folks are willing to trade dogma (I read it on the internet, so it must be true) over facts.
It was a simple matter to find the facts behind this question, so I measured them.

"Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up."
This sort of mindless adherence to dogma is why Bill Fitzmaurice and others have left this board and won't come back.

If Bill was still here, he'd say the exact same thing I said. How do I know this? He's said it before. And the source of most of the graphs proving what little fundamental content the low notes on a bass have? Greenboy.

I got your mindless adherence.