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Which phaser and Octave pedal for me?

V

Vibhas Patil

Supporting Member
Sep 9, 2010
199
37
#1
Hi.

So after looking at various pedals for sometime, I have decided to buy the following pedals:

MXR Bass Envelope Filber
Xotic Bass RC Booster

I still have to decide which Octave and phaser to get.

I am playing a Fender 50's Precision Bass with DR Sunbeams. The pickup is stock, however, I might go in for a Seymour SPB-1 soon.

First, the question about octave pedals:

I have read loads of threads on the Aguilar Octamizer versus the MXR BOD. I am leaning towards the Octamizer. I wanted your thoughts on playing it thru a precision. I have seen the demo on the AGuilar website where a NYC bass player plays a precision and demoes the pedal. Sounds cool. But will I miss anything if I get the Octamizer over the BOD?

Now, about phasers:

I have three in mind as of now:
MXR Phase 90 Script version
MXR Phase 90 block version
EHX Small Stone Nano.

I want the phaser not to lose any low end. My main use of this pedal will be to play grooves with a pick. Think 'For the Love of Money.' I know that none of these pedals are true bypass, but I'd like one that has minimum signal loss.

Now, these are the only phasers that I am familar with. If you have any other recommendations, feel free to write about them. Bear in mind that I don't think I can spend more than $ 100 on a phaser.

Thanks.
 
#2
You may want to look into the VFE Enterprise. Fantastic phaser, tons of options and tweaks, will cover pretty much any phaser sound.
Got mine used for $115, so that exceeds your budget a little, but thought I'd suggest it as the pedals you're thinking of are fine, but more of a one trick pony (good trick though).

For octave, the EBS Octabass is solid. May want to consider that one too.
 
#3
Love the MXR Phase 90, I haven't tried those others, but my 90 is currently on the shelf because I got a M5 and it doesn't all kinds of Phasers, chorus, flanger, delays that all sound great. That said, I'm not selling my 90 incase I might ever need it. I really like it, but it isn't as controllable at the M5.

edit: M5 does Octave / harmony / pitch shift stuff very well too.
 
#5
I absolutely love my MXR EVH Phaser 90. I've used it with a pic for years & never lowend loss. VFE looks great too, but I just don't need a crazy/versatile phaser. I'm pretty the sure the EVH toggles between block & script as well....

Octaves -- only want octave down? I love the Micro POG a lot. I own the original POG, Micro POG, POG2, and MXR BOD. MXR is cool, but I play a lot of chords & that's where the POG family shines. Micro POG is super friendly & can quickly go from down octave funk to 8 string bass!
 
#6
Phasers: I don't have any experience with the 90 script, but I did use the Small Stone for a year and now have the 90 block. The SS was OK, but the 90 block works real well in either rock or funk. Good low-end, warm, simple to use (duh, 1 knob) small footprint...what's not to like.

Octavers: Never used the Octamizer. Had the BOD for 6 months or so, worked well enough, but got rid of it because couldn't not justify a pedal I seldomed use on a smaller board. I have a Digitech BSW that doubles as envelope filter and octave.
 
#11
+1 to the EVH Phase 90. I've got a standard block-logo Phase 90 that has been worked on by GarmopatMods. Great phaser, but the EVH just has something I can't define about it that I love.

I had the Octamizer for about a year, then switched over to the MXR BOD. I liked how clean the Octamizer, but I wanted to do more synthy stuff with it. The MXR can do more synth-like tones, but also does the pure and clean octave really well. It's very versatile and honestly the mid+ button makes a world of difference if you're trying to cut through in the mix.

My disclaimer is that my board seems to be slowly moving to all MXR products... they are very hard to beat.
 
#14
I have an EHX Small Stone Nano and like it a lot. Better then the older (non-nano) version, which used to cause a volume drop when turned on... not the case with the nano.

As far as octave pedals go, I really really love my EHX Octave Multiplexer. True fat analog tone.
 
#16
Another advocate for the Boss OC-2 not only for its FAT sounds but the synth mod makes it another pedal completely!

As for a more expensive but MUCH more comprehensive route you copuld look at the EHX HOG which has lots of octaves/harmonies but it may be overkill for what it seems you are looking for.

As for phasers my fave is the Boss PH-2 Super Phaser (12-stages of analog goodness, 2 modes, can go slooooow and fast.) Modded it for a LFO disable and pulsar mode essentially making it a very versatile little box.

These of these are key components in my set-up
 
#19
I'm a huge fan of the Boss PH-1r. Big improvement over the PH-1. Can't speak for the PH-2 as I've never used it.

Octave is OC-2, without question.

I'm not usually a big Boss fan in general but I've found some great stuff in their vintage analog models. They sound great!
 
#20
personally I dislike the block logo P90. I have a hand wired script version now which sounds way better to me. The block version has a nasty midrange boost when you turn it on which makes the levels all wrong

DSC00867.jpg
 

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