Why is EBS OctaBass not more popular?

[okabass]

There are many flavors.
I have tried all EBS small pedals (black). I was very disappointed of them and sold all away but phaser. It is the only EBS pedal that works for me and only if used with Boss OC-3 (to get a Taurus-type sound).

 

[prowla]

Stumped. It's a really great tracking pedal that sounds organic. It's quiet and the case is really tough. I only took it off my board because of my C4, which does a great octave below as well.

I suspect it has to do, at least a bit, with the flavour of the octave down sound. It’s a very natural sounding octave down, in contrast to the octave pedals with “OC-2” origins, which tends to lean synthy.

Speaking for myself, I don’t want a “natural” sounding octave down; I use octavers for dub reggae, and synth bass tones. I haven’t had similar success using something like the EBS or Aguilar (also very natural sounding) for similar purposes. It’s all personal preference/different strokes, but at least on TB, it seems more folks are aiming for the synth-style octave sounds. That would be my guess for why we don’t see the EBS talked about more.

Interesting - I have an Aguilar Octamizer and it is a great sounding pedal but doesn't track the lower notes so well; I also have an EBS and it does the job better but doesn't sound quite as good.
However, I've hoofed all of the standalone pedals off my board in favour of a C4 and a HX Stomp; they do take some programming though (which I keep meaning to spend some quality time on)!

 

[Zbysek]

How do all of you that have it like to run it? on my board, it really likes a boost or overdrive in front of it. Is that how you are running it?

I have it second after compressor.

Let me quote recommendations from manufacturers how to improve tracking of analog octavers.

EBS:
To create a variety of sound with an octave pedal, use it in conjunction with other effects such as a fuzz, drive pedal, envelope filters, or other sound processing effects. It will turn your bass into an analog synthesizer! Place the additional pedals after the octave pedal to feed it with as clean a signal as possible. A compressor before the octave pedal can help improve tracking though. It helps with the control of the overtones.

How to improve the performance of your analog octave pedal

Broughton Audio:
Understanding how analog octavers work can improve your interaction with this, and any analog octaver.

Most octavers work by detecting the strongest frequency and dividing this frequency in half. If your signal contains high levels of harmonics, the octaver may fluctuate between which frequency it chooses to reproduce. To produce a tone that does not fluctuate, you will need to play in a way that ensures the fundamental frequency remains prominent.

Here are some tips on how to ensure your fundamental is strong, optimizing the octaver's ability to track your signal. Experiment with what works for you.

• Play finger style instead of with a pick.
• Play away from the bridge and closer to the neck.
• Favor pickups closer to the neck.
• Use a compressor to even out your signal.
• Improve your fretting technique to ensure there is no fret buzz or string noise.
• Boost your signal before the octaver.
• Use a tone control and/or EQ to cut treble frequencies.
• Keep your signal clean (no overdrive/distortion) prior to the octaver.

https://www.broughtonaudio.com/product-page/synth-voice-deluxe

 

[fretlessman71]

I had one of the early ones - where the input and output jacks were swapped. I had a friend mod it to run signal the correct direction, and a year or so later they came to their senses and changed their signal path on subsequent releases. I lent it to a friend, they moved out of state, pedal gone. But I have an HX Stomp, so no biggie.

 

[Mojo34]

I think this pedal will be nice for my Mayones Cali 4 mini-bass, on which the open strings are like the 12th fret of a regular bass. That High range switch might be just the thing. I have tried other pedals and don't want synth sound, or they had problems tracking in a couple of places. It's also battery powered, which is great for the portability I wanted with that bass.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Whenever EBS pedals are discussed there's always a couple people mentioning faulty foot switches.

I own several EBS pedals myself, and I've seen many come through the workshop (although electronics isn't really my department). In most cases this is a VERY easy fix. I'm not saying the following will fix all EBS pedals but 95% of the faulty EBS pedals I've seen had this exact problem, which can be VERY easily fixed by anyone who owns a soldering iron.

I'm not sure which exact series/models of EBS pedals are affected by the "bad footswitch" issue but it mainly seems to affect pedals from a couple of years before and after their transition to true bypass. I've seen it happen to at least the MultiComp, OctaBass and MultiDrive (but it probably affects all EBS pedals from this period).

How to fix it:

-Tighten the footswitch firmly to the chassis.

-Open the pedal.

-Re-heat all the solder joints to the footswitch, one by one. You may hear "creaking" sounds from the circuit board as the stress on the PCB and solder joints is released. You may have to go over all the solder joints 2 or 3 times to release all the tension. If you hear any creaking sounds or see any movement, do another round.

And that's it! It's done in less than 5 minutes. This has fixed 95% of all faulty EBS pedals I've encountered.

Of course you can unsolder the footswitch completely and re-solder it but that would be far more messy. The important things is that the stress that has caused the damage to the solder joints needs to be released. It seems like a poor design to have the footswitch on the same circuit board as the rest of the components. It's very easy to end up with unwanted stress at the solder joints when you tighten the footswitch to the chassis (or if it comes loose with use). Which is why it's important that you tighten the footswitch properly BEFORE you re-heat the solder joints.

Of course, like every other pedals EBS pedals may also develop other issues so I've not saying this will fix all EBS pedals. But if the problem seems to be with the footswitch and your pedal is from around late 90s/early 2000s there's a good chance you can bring it back to life with a minimum of effort and no cost (as long as you own a soldering iron). It doesn't even require good soldering skills. ANYONE should be able to re-heat a couple of existing soldering joints like these. Don't apply TOO much heat, just melt the solder quickly and remove the heat.

 

[Luke the Fluke]

Interesting - I have an Aguilar Octamizer and it is a great sounding pedal but doesn't track the lower notes so well; I also have an EBS and it does the job better but doesn't sound quite as good.
However, I've hoofed all of the standalone pedals off my board in favour of a C4 and a HX Stomp; they do take some programming though (which I keep meaning to spend some quality time on)!

oddly enough I had a stomp and now have a C4 and was thinking of selling to get a octamizer or octabass

 

[G.Bisson]

About those footswitches. It was the first release of pedals carrying the 'true-bypass' label made in 2008 that had soldering issues that lead to early footswitch failures. The footswitch was changed in later revisions. There is no way to tell from the outside of the enclosure what kind of footswitch is inside, you have to remove the back plate to look at the pin configuration.
The faulty footswitches were 4PDT type with a 2x6 pin array. Later footswitches were industry standard 3PDT footswitches with a 3x3 pin array.
Having the footswitch soldered directly to the main circuit board is not ideal, but other manufacturers can manage it without having reliability issues. MXR is an example that solders footswitches and jacks directly onto the main circuit board without issues.

Here's a gutshot of a 2008 Multicomp with fault 4PDT footswitch. Notice the 2x6 pin layout.

Here's a gutshot of a 2013 Multidrive with 3PDT footswitch

 

[eddododo]

Supremely underrated pedal- the tracking was always good for me (and better than some of the crowd favorites), and I think the sound is super usable and has a nice tight sonic aperture.

This is one where people seem to make their ‘analysis’ with their eyes and their narratives, and i immediately judge anybody who flippantly calls it a trash pedal.

 

[eddododo]

oddly enough I had a stomp and now have a C4 and was thinking of selling to get a octamizer or octabass

I have a C4, an Aguilar, and an OC5 on my board.. The C4 has the worst tracking of the 3, in terms of choking on string slop and on lower fret flubs. The Aguilar has been one of the best trackers in my experience- it’s worth noting that I’m basing this on using a 5 string and playing almost entirely above the 10th~12th fret.
Considerations are a little different for anyone playing a four string and having to dip down the fretboard on the E to get notes

 

[Deleted member 271037]

About those footswitches. It was the first release of pedals carrying the 'true-bypass' label made in 2008 that had soldering issues that lead to early footswitch failures. The footswitch was changed in later revisions. There is no way to tell from the outside of the enclosure what kind of footswitch is inside, you have to remove the back plate to look at the pin configuration.
The faulty footswitches were 4PDT type with a 2x6 pin array. Later footswitches were industry standard 3PDT footswitches with a 3x3 pin array.
Having the footswitch soldered directly to the main circuit board is not ideal, but other manufacturers can manage it without having reliability issues. MXR is an example that solders footswitches and jacks directly onto the main circuit board without issues.

Here's a gutshot of a 2008 Multicomp with fault 4PDT footswitch. Notice the 2x6 pin layout.
View attachment 5436438

Here's a gutshot of a 2013 Multidrive with 3PDT footswitch
View attachment 5436439

I've experienced the exact same problem with both these versions, and in both cases it was easily fixed by simply re-heating the solder joints (after making sure the footswitch was firmly fastened to the chassis).

Maybe some EBS pedals actually have faulty switches but I've fixed at least 20 (probably more) over the years, both versions, but mostly the earliest true bypass version. In every single one of these the problem wasn't the footswitch itself, but broken solder joints.

Like I said before, I'm not saying ALL EBS pedals can be fixed this way, but based on my experience I suspect a LOT of faulty EBS pedals are just a quick 5 min fix away from a new, long life.

EDIT: Actually, I think I got the earlier version without true bypass mixed up with the second true bypass version... The first true bypass version seems to be the worst, but I've ALWAYS been able to fix it by simply re-heating the solder joints. The switch itself has never been faulty on the ones I've fixed.

 

[Dynacord]

I had one of the early ones - where the input and output jacks were swapped. I had a friend mod it to run signal the correct direction, and a year or so later they came to their senses and changed their signal path on subsequent releases. I lent it to a friend, they moved out of state, pedal gone. But I have an HX Stomp, so no biggie.

Mine is still that way with the backwards jacks. Idiosyncratic but I'm used to it...

 

[elpancho]

Got rid of mine for MXR BOD

 

[slagheap]

got rid of my early one 'cause no true bypass. otherwise good.

 

[acleex38]

About those footswitches. It was the first release of pedals carrying the 'true-bypass' label made in 2008 that had soldering issues that lead to early footswitch failures. The footswitch was changed in later revisions. There is no way to tell from the outside of the enclosure what kind of footswitch is inside, you have to remove the back plate to look at the pin configuration.
The faulty footswitches were 4PDT type with a 2x6 pin array. Later footswitches were industry standard 3PDT footswitches with a 3x3 pin array.
Having the footswitch soldered directly to the main circuit board is not ideal, but other manufacturers can manage it without having reliability issues. MXR is an example that solders footswitches and jacks directly onto the main circuit board without issues.

Here's a gutshot of a 2008 Multicomp with fault 4PDT footswitch. Notice the 2x6 pin layout.
View attachment 5436438

Here's a gutshot of a 2013 Multidrive with 3PDT footswitch
View attachment 5436439

Thank you for this - I have the 3x3 and I know it was from later in that black label true bypass run. So it sounds like "no guarantees, but better chance of dodging the issue."

I'm also grateful for the soldering-fix solution you posted, just in case.

 

[G.Bisson]

Thank you for this - I have the 3x3 and I know it was from later in that black label true bypass run. So it sounds like "no guarantees, but better chance of dodging the issue."

I'm also grateful for the soldering-fix solution you posted, just in case.

Give credit to @Deleted member 271037 for advice to reflow solder to fix the issue.
I've fixed two of those 4PDT footswitches. First one was replaced with an identical switch from EBS. Those footswitches are no longer available. I fixed the MultiComp pictured above by replacing the footswitch with a momentary footswitch and adding a relay bypass daughterboard.

 

[sunbeast]

I remember several years ago there were a number of threads on TB about the decline in quality of EBS gear and customer service after they moved production out of Sweden, of course most companies have followed suit with overseas production in the meantime to "stay competitive". I only tried a few of their pedals and an amp or two over the years in shops, but TB testimonials on pedal failures kept me away from ever buying any even on the used market. A handful of failures can start to build a reputation for unreliable gear, and without any public response to the issue it can be hard to fix that reputation (similar has happened over the years with Darkglass pedals and their chosen relay footswitches I've noticed, remains to be seen if their customer service under Korg will pick up the slack or fix the underlying issues). I never heard any similar issues with Boss or Aguilar, etc so those octave options have generally reigned supreme on pro pedalboards which keeps new customers coming.

Of course from a taste perspective I also found the different octave flavors from Boss and Aguilar to suit the two sides of octaver spectrum I want to hear better than the EBS.

 

[adipaoli89]

I use the EBS emulation on the HX Stomp

 

[projectapollo]

I used the EBS emulation in my HX One at church yesterday and it was perfect. Very solid attack, tracking is no problem. Sounded powerful. I put my MXR Bass Octave Deluxe up for sale.

 

[deepestend]

I played mine yesterday and really like it. You can get those deep/keyboard-esque octave tones from it.