Really clean octave pedals for 5-string emulation...

[knicknack]

I've been pondering over life without a 5-string for a little while... it's always been a tool for me and my heart is really in my 4s, despite having a wonderful Sandberg 5 that really is my best bass! 

 

For the rare occasions I need anything lower than a drop D, and with the advances in pedals over the last few years, I was wondering if anyone has tried anything that really can make the B on the A string sound like a low B and track really well? 

My octave pedal research has largely centred around synthy/OC-2 goodness, so I've never really delved into the more utility side of things! Any advice appreciated, compact and easy to power is important!

[SumOne]

I don't think they are there yet. I've tried the OC-5, Sub n Up, MXR BOD, Aguilar Octamizer, Source Audio C4, and the ones in Zoom and Helix and none accurately reproduce the sound of the lower B string notes when you play an octave higher. It's always more like an artificial/synthy 'octaver' tone.

[Gwilym]

I recently bought an EBS Octabass Blue Label (the one with the green label 🤔), and it seems to track well and can be pretty clean sounding (or synthy), depending on the settings. I think definitely worth checking out - I like it a lot.

There's a switch to optimise the tracking for playing in a higher or lower register, which has an effect, but IMO it just gives a different tonal character rather than making a big difference in how it tracks, which is very good whichever way it's set.

[knicknack]

Cheers @Gwilym, that looks like a decent all rounder! I may give it a punt... 

[CliveT]

Something like the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe has the Growl and Girth so you can make the octave note as synth like of phat as you like by mixing these together.  The Aguilar Octamizer has the tilt EQ which can also change the character of the octave note in a similar way.  But both are a synth style recreation of your original note, not a copy one octave down.  Both track well.

I've never tried an EBS Octabass but always sounds good on the demos I've heard.

[Stingray64]

Personally, I found that a digital octave down in the helix with careful eq, compression and slight drive, blended in with some clean signal that has heavy eq gets somewhat close, especially in a mix. Although I haven't tried it much since I use 5 string for 90% of the time.