Never going back to 5, but I agree that it would be the easiest solution.
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Octave Pedal Poll
- Thread starter Bodeanly
- Start date
A pitch shifter is designed for what you seek. An octave pedal might be able to do it somewhat....
I tried a lot of ocatvers -- the Boss, the EBS Octabass and a ton of others at the store. The one that tracked the best and was solid in every position on the keyboard was this one. I swear by it. Even though it is meant for guitar, it works fabulously on bass!!!
Electro Harmonix Micro POG Octave Guitar Effects Pedal PD 4203 683274010700 | eBay
Electro Harmonix Micro POG Octave Guitar Effects Pedal PD 4203 683274010700 | eBay
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I understand what you're saying and I guess I wasn't completely clear. I want the illusion of the lower octave in there, but I don't want it to be the only note heard. I just don't want it to sound digital.
The Pitchfork has a blend knob to include as much original signal as you like.
- Sep 4, 2010
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+1 on the pitchfork, even though it is digital. The blend knob is a godsend, it tracks fantastic, and you can do both isolated octave down or root + octave down, and then blend. Also, light, small and affordable. Clean sound. I have retired my beloved Whammy, the root of my pedal board for many years, for it.
The only way to not sound digital when playing by yourself is to get a five string. That said, when playing in a band, my micropog sounds rad.
I tried my octavers and the Pitch Fork for the use the OP is asking about (downshifting to go below low E) and they frankly all sound nothing like the uneffected bass. From what I've seen the Digitech Drop or Bass Whammy are really the only ones that get close enough.
I used the EBS Octabass off-and-on for the last 12 years. It's a pretty good pedal (newer version is supposedly improved, tracking the lowest notes of chords and double stops--I have tried the newer version and it does chord tracking about as good as the MXR).
I recently had a chance to A/B my Octabass with the MXR B.O.D.
The MXR is more versatile and seems slightly more useful/easy to hear in a band setting. The girth and growl knobs offer two very different sounds, while the three switch positions on the EBS offer subtle differences. The mid button on the MXR is helpful (but I don't use it much). They both track down to a low G on my semi-hollow and a low F# on my Jazz bass. The MXR seems to track slightly faster and has slightly longer sustain (before letting-go the octave).
The Octabass has a much more massive and cleaner sounding Octave signal compared to the girth knob on the MXR. If you are into rolling-back the Dry or Normal knobs and using the lower octave signal by itself the EBS sounds louder/stronger.
The MXR wins for me in a band setting and varying contexts.
I spent some time last week reading Aguilar vs. MXR threads.
The main differences I remember reading are:
MXR has much longer tracking, will hold lower octave as long as note sustains
Aguilar will lose octave much sooner, so it doesn't work with longer sustained notes
Aguilar sounds much cleaner around the 12th fret and above. Some said overall it has a more pleasant and clear sound than the MXR, with less noise. And I remember a few folks saying the Aguilar can mimic the OC2 sounds, being such a versatile pedal.
The sustain issue is a big deal for me, so that ruled-out the Aguilar. Otherwise it sounds like a great pedal.
I recently had a chance to A/B my Octabass with the MXR B.O.D.
The MXR is more versatile and seems slightly more useful/easy to hear in a band setting. The girth and growl knobs offer two very different sounds, while the three switch positions on the EBS offer subtle differences. The mid button on the MXR is helpful (but I don't use it much). They both track down to a low G on my semi-hollow and a low F# on my Jazz bass. The MXR seems to track slightly faster and has slightly longer sustain (before letting-go the octave).
The Octabass has a much more massive and cleaner sounding Octave signal compared to the girth knob on the MXR. If you are into rolling-back the Dry or Normal knobs and using the lower octave signal by itself the EBS sounds louder/stronger.
The MXR wins for me in a band setting and varying contexts.
I spent some time last week reading Aguilar vs. MXR threads.
The main differences I remember reading are:
MXR has much longer tracking, will hold lower octave as long as note sustains
Aguilar will lose octave much sooner, so it doesn't work with longer sustained notes
Aguilar sounds much cleaner around the 12th fret and above. Some said overall it has a more pleasant and clear sound than the MXR, with less noise. And I remember a few folks saying the Aguilar can mimic the OC2 sounds, being such a versatile pedal.
The sustain issue is a big deal for me, so that ruled-out the Aguilar. Otherwise it sounds like a great pedal.
All this octaver talk makes me want to bust out the OC-3 again! haha. I want to see how it does against my PS-6 and Digitech BSW.
Hello, all. Just an update to say that I picked up an MXR Bass Octave Deluxe and it's going to work just fine for me. It was really hard to walk outta the shop without a silver MIM Jazz Bass Deluxe. I traded an old acoustic for the pedal. Dialed it in once I got home. Pretty sweet.
I'd like to thank you all for your help, knowledge, and patience with this.
I'd like to thank you all for your help, knowledge, and patience with this.
being MXR fanboi I must pick EBS hands down. A/B/C'ed against MXR and OC-2 Octaver as I'm all about empirical evidence
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@fourtet102 , this is rather confusing. Did you mean you like MXR pedals, but through testing chose an EBS over an MXR and OC-2?
Have you looked into The Great Divid from Godlyke? It lets you blend your dry, octave up, octave down, sub, and a sub synth together with faders. But you really can't play below the 10th fret. It starts to glitch out pretty bad which can sound awesome depending on what your going for.
I ended up getting the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, then, because I'm a little nutso, picked up a 5 string a couple of weeks ago (I vowed never to play a 5 again). This week, I modded one of my 4 strings to B-E-A-D. So... The pedal isn't getting any use right now. I do, however, appreciate your recommendation.
