Freddie75 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Looking for a good bass octave pedal for use with 4 string bass. Any suggestions based on experience? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 What sort of sound do you want? Is it just your bass sound 1 octave down or are you looking for a synth sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie75 Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1390738724' post='2348774'] What sort of sound do you want? Is it just your bass sound 1 octave down or are you looking for a synth sound? [/quote] I guess an Octave down would be sufficient although I guess if there is a pedal that does both then that could be an option. Thanks Freddie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsy Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 If you fancy analog I'm loving my foxrox - octron. I don't know of any better.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 There are a few good octave pedals ... and a few shockers. Amongst the good ones that I know of, the Boss OC-2 gets LOTS of love here, the Boss OC-3 less so, but I really liked mine. The tracking is better (and it has a dirt mode, if you like that kinda of thing). The Aguilar Octamizer, MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, EBS Octabass, and EHX Pog/ Micro Pog are all decent and each has their strong points. The best thing to do is check out youtube demo videos of these to help you understand what each can do and what their limitations are. If you can go to a shop and demo them in person all the better. BTW, there are a couple of EBS Octabass pedals for sale on the forum here at the moment for decent money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie75 Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Many thanks for the suggestions guys. Much appreciated Freddie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefrash Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I really like my oc-3. few different modes to play about with which are are very useable. can get them 2nd hand around £45. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 The OC2 & OC3 generate a synth sound that plays an octave down, some others process the bass sound & just transpose it down an octave. It's best to have a listen to some youtube vids of different ones & see what you like. I went with the OC3 as I wanted a synth sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie75 Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1390747431' post='2348903'] The OC2 & OC3 generate a synth sound that plays an octave down, some others process the bass sound & just transpose it down an octave. It's best to have a listen to some youtube vids of different ones & see what you like. I went with the OC3 as I wanted a synth sound. [/quote] Many thanks. Freddie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimwin Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I have used many octave pedals in the past (including EBS Octabass). The main problem I have found is they lose tracking as soon as a) you speed up and when the note you're playing naturally loses sustain. The Digitech Bass Synth Wah is actually quite a decent octaver (better than it is a synth pedal!) - but only octave down. By far the best I have used (and still do) is the EHX Micro-Pog. Its tracking is excellent and has a wet/dry mix and octave up and down. I use it to fill my sound out during guitar solos and is the one pedal I would really miss. However, its all a matter of taste as there is no substitute for trying/hearing them yourself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I had a Micro POG for a bit. I didn't like the weedy/chimey nature of its digitally-resampled octaves. Of course any digital pedal will do a better job of reproducing your pitch but they're not really 'tracking' anything. They're useful for whammy effects but of course the Micro POG doesn't do that. I much prefer the sound of an analogue octave down, and I'm happy to put up with the tracking foibles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 For Octave down I love my OC-2, it's well documented! Or similar tones, but without the -2 octave (which not many people use), check out the DOD Octoplus. If you want up and down, POG is a decent bet, the Earthquaker Devices Organizer is cool, with some cool quirks. If you can find one, the Pearl Octaver is well loved. So many to choose from, have fun going through them and trying all, then move on what you don't like. It's the ongoing quest Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Incidentally I've never had problems with analogue octavers tracking fast playing. It's usually low notes on the bass and long notes that result in glitchy performance. Especially low, long notes! One tune I recorded with my last band required my OC-2 to track a bar-long D2 and it just didn't work until I tried the bass I have strung with flatwounds, then I reckon I could've got a 2-bar note out of it. Typically though you can get down to A2 for brief notes before you start encountering issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I've never had an issue with analogue octave pedals tracking either, just saying. Perhaps in real harsh, high-scrutiny, bedroom testing, but never onstage . Most glitchy tracking is down to buzzing frets anyway, get a well setup round signal into one, it'll play well. When I did the last basschat FX talk, I had my OC-2 tracking low As and Gs Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamtheelvy Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Love the OC-2. Bought my second within a month or so of buying my first. Saving for my third now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damonjames Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 I recently got a chord oc-50 and I have to say, I quite like it! I had a boss oc-2 and for whatever reason, I didn't get along with it that well. Also if it is your first octave, for £25 used it's a pretty safe bet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) Boss OC2 (or thereabouts). I'm using a home-made OC2 clone at the moment, but have had great results with the Chord OC-50. I've had the EBS OctaBass, EHX Multiplexer, Aguilar OctaMizer etc… and have come back to the classic OC2 sound; yes it's glitchy and doesn't track nearly as well as some of the newer octaves but it just [i]sounds[/i] great, and that's what it's all about. Edited February 8, 2014 by paul_5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 [quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1391897206' post='2362515']So, any advantage in getting the older OC-2 or does the OC-3 do the same and more? [/quote] It may approximate the OC-2 sound but it's a digital effect, it doesn't have the same components as the OC-2, so it won't sound just like it. I'm sure you could emulate one closely enough with a digital pedal now but I doubt that was an important enough factor when they were doing R&D on the OC-3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis12 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Boss OC-2 all the way man.[/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) I did some research on that a couple of years ago myself, looked to me like the most popular were the OC-2, the EBS one and the MXR octave deluxe. I had the EBS octabass and as far as I remember, it performed brilliant. I also used to have a Behringer one. A funny little thing. Flawless tracking, great sound but very noisy. I guess that shouldn't be a problem if you only intend to use it live, but I wouldn't buy it again. I currently own a Danelectro which I've buried deep in a box covered with other boxes and stuff. It's awful but I needed it for a single gig and got it for about £10. Check it out here - to make sure that's the thing you never go near to. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l6kY3GE-Tk[/media] Actually from 3:03 you can hear it better and there it isn't that awful but the rest of the song it just tracks whenever it decides with random length... Edited February 12, 2014 by Steff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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