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Octave pedal for more beef?

M

MilesOnline

Jan 27, 2014
13
0
Baltimore
#1
So this is my first time posting.

I recently joined a sludge doom band, and in practice I feel I can't compete with our guitarist in the sense of beef.
He's running an sg with dual humbuckers out of an all tube b52 amp and uses a digitec whammy with his down two octave enabled.
He's ****ing low and heavy!

I'm looking for an octave pedal that will allow me to do the same, drop down an octave or two per note. I've read allot of reviews but I want somthing that will play nice with my other pedals. I don't want to use the octave for distortion, I already get my dirt from a swollen pickle for the fuzz and a boss bass overdrive for my OD. I'm playing a fretless ibanez soundgear with dual humbuckers out of an ampeg 200w micro hooked up to an 2x15 acoustic cab that I replaced the speakers for a pair of jbl 140's

Any advice?
 
#7
Are there 2 Octave down bass pedals that can actually track well?
The good thing about Aguilar's Octamizer is that you can control the tone of the octave down sound, which will help you get a more blended sound.
But maybe you'd like to try subharmonic pedal stuff like Mantic's Density Hulk or DOD's Meatbox (pricier). It's hard to get a good review from those because those frequencies are more. The Mantic one is supposed to be less grittier - since you asked for something clean-ish.
 
#8
+1 to what bassgod0dmw said. I play in a really heavy band and both guitar players have quite a bit of low end. I don't try to compete with that too much because if I did it would just make us sound like mud. I go for more mids/highs in my tone so that it cuts through and still plays nice with the low frequency stuff but it's definitely still bass-y, if that makes sense. I thought I wanted to try an octave pedal to thicken it up but it didn't really work all that well - too muddy and not enough clarity.

Another example for this is Meshuggah. Both guitar players in that band are playing 8 strings tuned down to F# I believe? So they are definitely filling that low register. Their bassist, Dick Lovgren, has a really mid-heavy tone that helps to complement the low tuning on the guitars rather than trying to tune down an octave lower. Getting too low into the bass frequencies (usually) just makes things sound like butts.
 
#9
devin_bass said:
What amp are you playing through?
Click to expand...

aUjV7-jO_G


It's an ampeg micro vr head through an acoustic cab loaded with jbl 140s
 
#11
One thing I may suggest is that if you do try out an octave pedal, play a higher string (like the D string or whatever tuning you are in) and do the 1 or 2 octave down. The higher string tension on the higher strings can help "clean up" the sound and keep it from getting too whompy but still get you into the lower frequency.
Another trick to try out and see if it works for you is to play a 5th or an octave above. It helps thicken things up a little bit, especially in those situations where guitars are encroaching on that "traditional" bass register. I do that quite a bit in both of my bands (both bands tune down to drop B or B standard) and at least IMO it helped me way more than the octave pedal ever did.
 
#12
I have an OC-3 but it's tracking is meh, I also use a Digitech Whammy IV, but any sub octaves get too muddy plus tracking issues below the A string. Lots of people love sub-octaves, but I haven't found any effects yet that I thought sounded really good. EHX pog/pog 2is a big go to, but I haven't shelled out the dough yet to give it a shot so I can't vouch for it.

My OC-3 in OC-2 mode with the 1st sub blended in <50% is the best I've been able to get. And I have to stay A string and up or it falls apart. But as far as getting a really deep heavy bass line that doesn't have modulated written all over it I haven't found the answer yet.

Supposedly the new bass whammy has primo tracking and good sounds. And the Aguilar octamizer (i think) has a lot of fans. Save your pennies and prepare for the ravages of GAS /BASS while you try to find an option that works for you.
 
#13
Have you tried playing completely clean? I play in a somewhat similar band, and I find that the band generally sounds "heavier" and "fuller" when I use a very pure, full bass tone to supplement the heavily distorted/detuned guitars. I generally then use dirt and fuzz as a boost when the bass is solo'd or when I need to really kick a part into gear.

In my experience, the tone that will make you sound the best and doomiest when solo'd rarely sounds the best in the full band mix.
 
#15
MCS4 said:
Have you tried playing completely clean? I play in a somewhat similar band, and I find that the band generally sounds "heavier" and "fuller" when I use a very pure, full bass tone to supplement the heavily distorted/detuned guitars. I generally then use dirt and fuzz as a boost when the bass is solo'd or when I need to really kick a part into gear.

In my experience, the tone that will make you sound the best and doomiest when solo'd rarely sounds the best in the full band mix.
Click to expand...

Honestly because I havnt found the sound I want from my two pedal combo I've just been playing clean durring practice and cursing the guitarist for getting so heavy and low haha.
 
#16
MilesOnline said:
aUjV7-jO_G


It's an ampeg micro vr head through an acoustic cab loaded with jbl 140s
Click to expand...

I own this head, and I believe you are going to need a lot more amp than that. Ultra low frequencies require way more wattage than the rest. At the very least I would also consider an HPF of some sort, like the fdeck hpf3 or microthumpinator, to get the most efficiency out of your head. And actually, the Zoom MS-60b has a preamp model with an hpf built in, and the 60b has some decent octave options, too.

But really, I think more amp if you want to sludge it out.
 
#17
jumblemind said:
I own this head, and I believe you are going to need a lot more amp than that. Ultra low frequencies require way more wattage than the rest. At the very least I would also consider an HPF of some sort, like the fdeck hpf3 or microthumpinator, to get the most efficiency out of your head. And actually, the Zoom MS-60b has a preamp model with an hpf built in, and the 60b has some decent octave options, too.

But really, I think more amp if you want to sludge it out.
Click to expand...

I was really really hoping this wouldn't be the case haha.
 

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