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Octave Pedals - What For?
- Thread starter 6810
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An octave pedal is not a good substitute for a 5 string bass - IMO. The tone produced is very artificial sounding and bears absolutely no resemblance to the tone of a 5 string bass.
An octave pedal quite simply makes your bass sound fatter and the applications are many and varied. They are used in a very wide selection of musical genres in different ways and to varied extents. Subtle octave will just fatten up your tone a bit. Playing high on the neck gives you a distinct tone that is often used in bass solos. Full on octave with distortion and wah will sound like Godzilla belching!
An octave pedal quite simply makes your bass sound fatter and the applications are many and varied. They are used in a very wide selection of musical genres in different ways and to varied extents. Subtle octave will just fatten up your tone a bit. Playing high on the neck gives you a distinct tone that is often used in bass solos. Full on octave with distortion and wah will sound like Godzilla belching!
I used to do this in an old band of mine, it worked pretty well. However, when I ditched my amp that had an octave down effect I never replaced it with a pedal, and honestly, have yet to miss it. I spend a lot of time above the 12th fret still, but I've found the girth is retained pretty well with decent EQ settings as well as playing on the E and A strings when possible.
I also tried to cheat my way into Five String Land when I left my 5er at home one day back then. Failed. Never tried again.
Others have said some of this, but:
1) Synthy-sounding lines - analog octavers just using the sub-octave signal especially good for this, people often add fuzz and filter
2) Faux-doubled lines/faux 8/12-string bass - I used to use an OC2 in this way a lot, but now I play a 12 string bass for this sort of thing!
3) Different texture
4) Extra impact - dropping in that extra low line can add a lot of impact to a bridge section or other part of the song that needs impact
5) Filling extra sonic space (sort of like 2), but without the active intent to sound like something else)
6) For the glitchy sounds of the artefacts created by the octaver - i personally don't get this, but people do it for the noize...
steve
1) Synthy-sounding lines - analog octavers just using the sub-octave signal especially good for this, people often add fuzz and filter
2) Faux-doubled lines/faux 8/12-string bass - I used to use an OC2 in this way a lot, but now I play a 12 string bass for this sort of thing!
3) Different texture
4) Extra impact - dropping in that extra low line can add a lot of impact to a bridge section or other part of the song that needs impact
5) Filling extra sonic space (sort of like 2), but without the active intent to sound like something else)
6) For the glitchy sounds of the artefacts created by the octaver - i personally don't get this, but people do it for the noize...
steve
- Jan 11, 2008
- 1,373
- 155
- 45
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Aguilar, D'Addario
I was jammin some blues riff with a guitarist buddy tonight, and mine (OC2) allowed me to play an octave higher than I normally would, thus placing me in solo land while still holdin down the groove. For a dude that doesn;t like pedals, my buddy was impressed....
What pedal is Wimbish using at 0:48 when he does the "instant replay" type thing? It doesn't sound so much "delayed" as much as the phrase is "repeated". Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds more like when you loop a short segment than when you apply delay.
It really is one of the easiest, cheapest, no muss-no fuss ways to do a "synthy" sound, in particular copping a Moogy vibe (since so many Moog bass sounds have the oscillators set to different octaves).
As for replacing a five string--I HAVE used it that way, when the gig only had a few instances of going down low, but for the most part I don't find it that useful for that.
As for replacing a five string--I HAVE used it that way, when the gig only had a few instances of going down low, but for the most part I don't find it that useful for that.
See, that's exactly how I end up thinking/feeling whenever I use one. It seems like a good idea, but with my EQ set the way it is, even when I do ride up past the 12th fret my sound is fat, fuzzy and furry (loving how the Peavey VB-2's power stage starts clipping before an SVT would!) just the way I like it.
I am still curious though how other people use it in a non-effect-y way. I get all the synthy stuff and understand the value, even if it ain't for me... I'm curious about how other people are using it (octave down that is) in a trio situation (or any situation for tha matter)...
agreed with everyone here,
for myself, my octabass adds a nice extra thickness to my upper register lines, and i'll add some thick overdrive for a psuedo guitar/bass unison lines.
other times, i'll completely dial out my bass and just have the lower octave w/ my envelope filter for synthier lines.
frankly, i cant get enough of my octave pedals.
for myself, my octabass adds a nice extra thickness to my upper register lines, and i'll add some thick overdrive for a psuedo guitar/bass unison lines.
other times, i'll completely dial out my bass and just have the lower octave w/ my envelope filter for synthier lines.
frankly, i cant get enough of my octave pedals.
i use my micro pog so my bass sounds like and 8 string, mostly. i have the low octave about half blended, the upper octave about 3/4's of the way, and the dry full up. i use it to make my bands sound bigger, thicker, fatter and fuller. not to mention when i have it kicked on in little solo bits for the bass, it just sounds massive.
you have 2 guitars in your band? they ever harmonize leads? dosn't the rhythm just seem empty and hollow? not when i kick the micro pog on. add distortion, and the band sounds like you just added a 3rd guitar player.
i had to explain to my guitards when i bought my pog why i did. now they're happy i have it. just another awsome tool at my disposal.
you have 2 guitars in your band? they ever harmonize leads? dosn't the rhythm just seem empty and hollow? not when i kick the micro pog on. add distortion, and the band sounds like you just added a 3rd guitar player.
i had to explain to my guitards when i bought my pog why i did. now they're happy i have it. just another awsome tool at my disposal.
Sure, you can use an octave pedal to "thicken" things up when a guitar player takes a solo, especially if you shift your line up an octave, but in generally I don't think many people use and octaver in a "non-effect-y way". For me that's almost like asking how you use a fuzz or an envelope filter in a non-effect-y way.
I kick it on when I want that sound.
Okay, Micro POG question:
If you used two good octave pedals, one for the up octave and one for the down, would it be capable of doing what the Micro POG does? If not, why not?
If you used two good octave pedals, one for the up octave and one for the down, would it be capable of doing what the Micro POG does? If not, why not?
Well, first I'd say that I am drawing a blank as to a pedal that does octave up only. Most pedals I can think of that can do it also have the octave down (Octron, BMS etc). I suppose you could have two whammys, one set for octave down and one for octave up . . .
But to answer your question, I suppose if you ran them in parallel it could work, but not in series. Reason being that whichever pedal was second would be trying to pitch shift the entire signal it is being fed, not just the dry.
