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What octave pedal to get?

#21
Another vote for the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe. Tracks very well; I can go all the way down to my low E, though the sound there is so dark that I usually stop around open A. What I most like about it, though, is the tonal flexibility it has. Like others, it has a blend control, which lets you adjust for taste or take out the dry signal altogether for a somewhat synthy sound. But the "growl" and "girth" knobs, adding two distinct flavors of octave sound, are terrific. The former has more complexity to it, the latter a nice big roundness to it, and it's great to have the option, as sometimes one of them is really the best fit for the sound. I've found the latter is nice to use with an actual synth, for fattening up midrangey patches. It also has an adjustable midrange-boost button, with different frequencies to choose from. If you need a little more punch or cut in the tone, it's nice to switch that on, or leave it off for a smoother sound. Best part of all this is that it's quite easy to use, so the features don't become cumbersome. True bypass, analog.

It's worth nothing that any octave pedal will require you to adjust your playing style a little. They work best when you play tight & clean, and long sustained notes can be prone to glitching as notes decay or as strings age.
 
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#22
Drdehnana said:
I have the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe and love it. It tracks great for me and I love the different sounds you can get with the "Growl" and "Girth" knobs and the Mid boost switch. Honestly, I don't believe octave pedals are intended to be used with anything lower than the A string. Nothing is going to track well that low, but I'm sure others will disagree.
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Yep, I have the MXR as well, love it. I dont bother using with the low E and A unless I have a distortion set up that I need some more bottom on. I use two amps though, one for clean, one for effects.
 
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#23
I've got an OC3 that is pretty good tracking wise but I don't normally go below G on the E string with TBH.

I get quite good results with my picollo bass into a Line 6 Otto Filter, into the OC3 and then into a Bass Big Muff if I want a synth bass sound. I don't use octave to add sub type sounds as I find them a bit a too flabby for my tastes.
 
#24
I'm happy with my analogue FoxRox Octron - simple to use, tracks well, has octave down and a nice fuzzy octave up, (which can be mixed in), & sounds great with an envelope filter. I am very keen to hear the Mu-Fx Octave Divider when it's out though, (the original Octave Divider prices are out of my league). Totally agree with the other comments made about adjusting your playing style on analogue octavers, like avoiding sustained notes unless you want them to glitch out, and that there are noticeable tonal differences when playing an Octave pedal through a passive vs. a active bass or the hotness of the signal. It can take a lot of mucking about with settings on your pedal, bass and playing style to get it right, so I guess to the OP, don't give up on the EBS Octabass yet.
 
#27
Drdehnana said:
I have the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe and love it. It tracks great for me and I love the different sounds you can get with the "Growl" and "Girth" knobs and the Mid boost switch. Honestly, I don't believe octave pedals are intended to be used with anything lower than the A string. Nothing is going to track well that low, but I'm sure others will disagree.
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Indeed - the fundamental frequency of open E is about 41Hz - an octave below is 20.5Hz so even if your rig can reproduce it most people will 'feel' rather than hear it, and even then you will need oodles of power and lots of air-moving capacity to really make it happen.

Personally I like the Digitech Bass Synth-Wah which has a blend in the 'OctaSub' setting, tracks well and has a whole load of other tricks up it's sleeve. A really useful feature of this pedal is the 'Dry' and 'Effect' outputs which allow you to add further 'treatment' to just the effect sound before either blending it back with a mini-mixer/2nd channel on your amp or sending it to another amp altogether. It is also dirt cheap. I used to use a Boss Octave (OC-2) but found it glitchy and a bit too 'synthetic' - in particular the 'OCT 2' tone was a good as useless.
 
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#28
Drdehnana said:
I have the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe and love it. It tracks great for me and I love the different sounds you can get with the "Growl" and "Girth" knobs and the Mid boost switch. Honestly, I don't believe octave pedals are intended to be used with anything lower than the A string. Nothing is going to track well that low, but I'm sure others will disagree.
Click to expand...

+1 for this pedal. Also, the Digitech Bass Synth Wah on mode 7 can be an excellent octaver, if you're more into synthy stuff.
 
#29
mouthmw said:
OC-2 sounds great but I was never too happy with the tracking. Of course, this might vary from one certain pedal to another.

I had EBS Octobass and didn't really like it.

My current favorite is Madbean LowRider. Amazing tracking for an analog pedal and fantastic fuzzy octave up option that allows for some awesome dirty synth tones. It's true bypass too. Seriously took care of my octave pedal gas.
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How does the tone of the madbean's -1 octave compare to the OC-2? Alone and blended with the dry signal.
And how about the +1, I know analogue is gonna be dirty, but can you do a decent subtle blend with dry say for soloing that's not too fuzzed out?
Any chance of a demo?

The only youtube vids for this and the foxrox octron on bass didn't really answer these questions for me.
 
#31
I like the sound of the MXR better, but the MicroPog tracks better and lower. The octave sound is more in the realm of "low organ" as opposed to the punchier MXR, but you also get an octave up that may or may not be handy in your playing situation. ;) I'm about to get mine modded so that there are individual switches to bring each octave in and out. Dialing them in on the fly is troublesome...
 
#32
bassistheplaceofcourse said:
How does the tone of the madbean's -1 octave compare to the OC-2? Alone and blended with the dry signal.
And how about the +1, I know analogue is gonna be dirty, but can you do a decent subtle blend with dry say for soloing that's not too fuzzed out?
Any chance of a demo?

The only youtube vids for this and the foxrox octron on bass didn't really answer these questions for me.
Click to expand...

-1 is similar to OC-2 but a little less synthy/dirty, and a bit more organic and clean. Tracks much better than OC-2. +1 can be blended in subtly. I put my +1 at 9 o clock pots wise. +1 is sort of like a gated fuzz type of tone, but not exactly. It's very tight and responsive and doesn't actually track your notes so no artifacts. With both -1 and +1 and dry, you get a very fat synthy gritty tone.
I'll try to do a demo when I get home.
 
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#33
It depends on what you want and whats important to you. Most octaves will cause you to sacrifice something. THe POG2/mini POG tracks awesomely, but you will sounds digital. To me, it takes some getting use to. But I love my POG2. I once had a mini and flipped it becasue I thought it sounded too digital. Well, I really missed it and its tracking so I get the 2. Totally worth it, what a grand octave.

The OC2 and the like are warm sounding, natural and analogue octaves. They sound great IMO. But you lose tracking on the lower registers. It will cause you to have to play higher up the neck to really work to your advantage. Which could be a good thing at times.... I have an OC2 as well, and had an OC3 and the MXR BOD, and still want to try many other analogue octaves out there.

SO in the end I ended up having the best of both worlds on my board, the POG2 and the OC2 (which I now use the Zoom ms60b for that type of octave as I think it tracks better than but sounds just as good as the OC2). I use both for different things. It would be hard to pick just one. THe newer BWhammy would be a good choice too, it does some really good, strong tracking octaves that are very musical. Then again, like I had stated above, maybe check out the Zoom MS60B, it has pitch shifting and octave capabilities galore. And its only $100 brand new ;)
 
#34
mouthmw said:
-1 is similar to OC-2 but a little less synthy/dirty, and a bit more organic and clean. Tracks much better than OC-2. +1 can be blended in subtly. I put my +1 at 9 o clock pots wise. +1 is sort of like a gated fuzz type of tone, but not exactly. It's very tight and responsive and doesn't actually track your notes so no artifacts. With both -1 and +1 and dry, you get a very fat synthy gritty tone.
I'll try to do a demo when I get home.
Click to expand...
Thanks man, that's O for Awesome.
 
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#36
I wasn't a big fan of the MXR. I just didn't like the tone, but it functions quite well. I'm not a stickler for tracking, so that's less of a concern for me than how it sounds. I really liked my OC-2, but I went for the Aguilar as I could get it to sound really close to my OC-2 and it was more versatile in the end. But I think I'll be giving the 3leaf a shot when I can.
 
#39
I have tried several over the years/decades ... I have never thought they worked very well below the C,B , maybe A range ... cabs won't really reproduce those lowest freq to well anyways ...

tone wise ... I liked my first gen Aguilar , ... had a second gen also , but didn't sound or work as well IMHO

tried MXR , various versions OC3 , micro POG , many modeling multi fx units ... they where just OK ..

really I found the tone of the original Aguilar very nice ...

they all have their own tracking quirks ... !! always ... the mono analog units go wacky from other overtones or misc notes/noises sneaking in ... digital ones seem to track better but aren't as thick and fat ..

I'd find one ( used ) that has a tone you can live with ... then You have to learn how to play to suit that units tracking quirks ... like playing certain notes on certain strings , no open strings , cleaner than usual technique , can't play to low on certain strings , etc , etc ....
 
#40
The bass octave in the Line 6 M series pedals is surprisingly good. It's apparently based on the EBS model, but tracks better from what I've read.
It's certainly a worthwhile consideration for an effect that usually sees limited use such as an octave as several of the other effects are quite good as a well.
 

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