Octave Pedals?

No matter how many I try I am still partial to the Boss Oc-2 (I think the OC-3 is a bit meh in comparison).

The only one that has come close for me is the COG T-16 and rest of series and the Broughton Broughctave (but the latter is very hard to find).

Technique is the key to getting analog octaves to track well.

 

OC2 is the classic one to get. Then try others.

 

For a great Octave get the mxr vintage. 3 leaf is coming out with a new version in the spring so I wouldn't just yet. EBS is always good. A little different from the OC2 but still nice. To me the vintage OC2 is best but the MXR vintage is pretty close.

 

I have an OC-3 and I love it. It's got a lot of low end, tracks well, and has a nice, musical sound. The overdrive is surprisingly cool and usable. It's right on the edge of cheesy but falls on the badass side, like it grew up playing NES but got into a few fights at school along the way. It's an endearing pedal really.

 

The boss OC2 is the best octave pedal i've used, recently bought a POG 2 and sent it straight back because it sounded no way near as good as the OC2. you can pick up an OC2 fairly cheap, get it and love it

 

TCE Sub n' up?

 

Unless you want exactly the tone of an OC2 and nothing else, there are better options. The MXR Bass Octave Deluxe gives you a far wider range of tones with better tracking and less glitchiness. I run mine after a MicroPog or a Pitchfork, which buffer the signal when in bypass, further improving tracking. This gives me a range of analogue, digital, monophonic, polyphonic, up, down and sideways options.

 

If you dont mind a big pedal or the hunt for it, Ive had an ampeg sub blaster on my board since they were reissued years ago. At the time, NOTHING compared...and Ive never felt the need to explore others, though I am interested to see the new octavbre from 3leaf and also curious about the Cog based on the tiny size and supposed robust tone. The ampeg is killer if you ever see onr for sale.

 

I have a 3leaf i like very much. Good luck finding what works for you

 

LotsL of options....but imo start with the king.....
OC-2......then......use whatever wotls for you. There are a lot of opyopti for octave pedals.

 

Aguilar Octamizer is worth a look too. It's one of my two favorites - other being the 3Leaf Octabvre.

 

Wow - nice demo of the Aguilar....

 

TC Sub'n'Up all day long

 

COG T16 - great octave, small size, the filter gets you that OC-2 Tone and more.

MXR Vintage Octave - it totally nails the OC-2 tone, is true bypass, no volume issues and has the mids switch that gives it more definition.

Valeton OC-10 - it's an OC-2 clone, that's small and quite affordable and sounds great.

 

I use an OC2. To me it’s almost an instrument in its own right, and I “play it” a certain way to get the sounds I want. It replaced an OC3 because it sounded better to me.

 

A comprehensive list of analogue octave down pedals...is there one?

 

Consider the following:
a) Do you need polyphony?
b) Are you looking for a detuned bass sound or something more synthetic sounding?
c) How important is latency to you?
d) Do you expect reliable tracking below ~Ab?
e) Do you want octave up and down?

Analog octavers are all monophonic, won't hold onto low notes too reliably and don't sound like a detuned bass. It's also technically almost impossible to make a clean analog octave up. However, they have near zero latency and if you want to sound like a bass synth, it's the way to go. The OC2 is the daddy and all others are typically measured in terms of how much like an OC2 they are. Valeton OC10 is a cheap way to get into this territory. 3Leaf, Aguilar, MXR all make well liked alternatives. I use an Octo Nojs. Digital octavers can handle polyphony and track lower albeit at the cost of latency. Some of them sound like a detuned bass, others (Sub N Up comes to mind) can be made to sound more organ like. They generally have an octave or two up. None of them that I've heard sound anything like an OC2. I had a Sub N Up but found the latency too intrusive. I have a Boss PS6 (for faking 5 string requirements) which feels better in the latency department but has no control over the tone of the detuned sound.

 

The T-Rex Quint is a solid polyphonic octaver. Mix, tunable octave + and -, and can add a 5th up

 

I currently own an Electro-Harmonix POG2, and I can highly recommend it. The tracking is excellent, the tone is pristine with no glitching, aliasing, or artifacts, the construction is robust, blah blah blah... but I will offer this caveat:

It can do so much more than just simple 8vb doubling that I sometimes think I should have another simpler stompbox to just do the traditional octave effect, and then free up the POG2 to do all the other wicked cool exotic stuff that it also excels at.

Also, I sometimes wish it either didn't have any presets at all, or else had a slightly more comprehensive user interface with a more informative display. In the heat of battle trying to remember what a dim amber LED means (versus, say bright amber, or green, etc.) can be confounding.


fwiw I used to own an original Musitronics Octave Divider and that was...interesting. Also capable of some very cool sounds, and the construction was definitely robust too, but I don't think anybody would ever claim that its tracking was "excellent" or that its tone was "pristine with no glitching, aliasing, or artifacts"