Octave

[tom1946]

Hi, looking at an octave pedal right now but I know very little about them.

My question is can you get a pedal that will just play an octave down on its own? Or dies it HAVE to have a normal note to track it with? don't really want an 8 string bass.

Sorry if it's a dumb question, but it would be nice sometimes to just switch to a lower octave on its own.

Ta.

[Quatschmacher]

47 minutes ago, tom1946 said:

Hi, looking at an octave pedal right now but I know very little about them.

My question is can you get a pedal that will just play an octave down on its own? Or dies it HAVE to have a normal note to track it with? don't really want an 8 string bass.

Sorry if it's a dumb question, but it would be nice sometimes to just switch to a lower octave on its own.

Ta.

It needs the input signal to track from, but that original signal does not need to be sent to the audio output. In other words, yes, you can simply have the octave down sounding on its own. In fact, many players do this, the classic example being the OC-2 as its octave down sound is quite synthy-sounding.

Having said that, having some of the dry signal mixed can give more definition to the sound. If you dial in a subtle amount, you can get it to sound more like overtone colouration than an actual note. It sounds fat. 

Edited March 2, 2019 by Quatschmacher

[tom1946]

Hiya, thanks for that, so the oc2 could with some adjustments, sound a bit like one on its own.

Ok thanks for that, I'd overlooked adjustments.

 Now to find one...

[NoirBass]

Loads (most) octave pedals allow you to mix each octave separately; MXR BOD, Aguilar Ocamizer, EBS Octabass etc. Not just the OC-2.

[Al Krow]

16 minutes ago, tom1946 said:

Hiya, thanks for that, so the oc2 could with some adjustments, sound a bit like one on its own.

Ok thanks for that, I'd overlooked adjustments.

 Now to find one...

Tom there are lot of options besides the 30 year old (but still classic) OC2, with lots of different sounds and flavours.

If you're after an OC2 then a modern very good and close take on it is the Valeton OC-10 (more compact and half the price new of used OC2s)

Other popular models are the:

Value end

TC Sub'n'up and mini

More expensive

Cog T16, MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, Aguilar Octamizer, 3 Leaf Octabvre and mini

There's a bit of a mega thread running in parallel to this one:

The other issue to get your head around is whether you want to go for an analogue (generally more authentic tone and minimal latency) or digital - typically able to track lower.

Plus what sort of tone you're after from your octaver e.g. classic OC2 or something more modern / different.

Edited March 2, 2019 by Al Krow

[Quatschmacher]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Tom there are lot of options besides the 30 year old (but still classic) OC2, with lots of different sounds and flavours.

If you're after an OC2 then a modern very good and close take on it is the Valeton OC-10 (more compact and half the price new of used OC2s)

Other popular models are the:

Value end

TC Sub'n'up and mini

More expensive

Cog T16, MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, Aguilar Octamizer, 3 Leaf Octabvre and mini

There's a bit of a mega thread running in parallel to this one:

The other issue to get your head around is whether you want to go for an analogue (generally more authentic tone and minimal latency) or digital - typically able to track lower.

Plus what sort of tone you're after from your octaver e.g. classic OC2 or something more modern / different.

Add to that the excellent new MXR Vintage Bass Octave.