Which Octaver Pedal???

[Kebabkid]

It seems like I've been on an eternal journey trying to 'find the right octave pedal' and I've had, and tried quite a few (see my list below and comments) and just wondered what people might recommend, or even if I should revisit old ones from my list with different suggested settings.

 

My remit, to achieve the Pino octave sound on 'Tear your playhouse down', or Tony Levin's 'Sledgehammer' and I realise both were done on Fretless bass and the latter had a healthy dose of compression, and possibly chorus,  or Guy Pratt's sound on Pink Floyd's 'Sorrow' and the middle section of 'Like a Prayer'. So, I'm not interested in the sub, synthy sounds, or even having an Octave Up, so pretty straightforward and a nice rounded, smooth, and strong octave down sound that I hear on recordings with an OC-2. On that note, I wonder, could this be the one and should I seek out an MIJ one, but as you can see, the MIT ones didn't get me there and hands up, I have to make an allowance for my own shortcomings and human error. If using a compressor, should it come before or after the Octaver and would adding some boost before it enhance the octave sound??

 

Boss OC-3 and OC-5 - I never felt the octave sound was strong enough and didn't achieve the OC-2 sound I wanted 

Pearl OC-7 - my friend has an old one and this gets close, but it glitchier than most and I found differences between the same pedals

Aguilar Octamiser - I never felt the octave sound was strong enough and didn't like the tone

MXR Octave Deluxe - too gritty and didn't like the tone and my least favourite but I've yet to try the mini Vintage version

Zoom B1xOn & B3 - good units but the octave sounds were never great or a strong point

EBS ones (Octabass and Triple Mode) - the latter was more versatile but once again, it didn't have the right tone

OC-2 - I had a MIJ years ago which sounded very good on guitar (wasn't a bassist then), but MIT I've tried are too glitchy and I'm not really going below a low A in all

examples

Source Audio Spectrum - Fun but not nailing the purer octave sound

HX Stomp - I've just picked one up and the Boctaver sounds promising

 

I heard a really good one that was in-built in an Ashdown Amp (sub-harmonic generator) and I've just seen they do a pedal, which I've not tried

 

Any recommendations outside the list for a standalone pedal that I should look at or decent OC-2 clones without the glitching?

 

Many thanks

Edited 28 minutes ago by Kebabkid

[Higgie]

Broughton Subsonic gets my vote. All the best bits of an OC2 with some upgrades.

[Stub Mandrel]

I find the Joyo XVI excellent, it's polyphonic and very responsive so doesn't have the glitchiness of some of the older pedals... which may be oart oftheir appeal for you.

[AinsleyWalker]

I've never found OC2s to be glitchy, unless your playing isn't very clean... If you're not ending your notes before you hit the next one you won't get clean tracking.
I used to think most synth pedals were bad at tracking when I first got my Future Impact, but I soon realised it wasn't the pedal, it was simply revealing how untidy my playing was back then. Now I never have any issues with octavers/synths etc. 

But to answer your question, I would recommend:

• OC2 if you want a unique synth/sub-like tone. 
• MXR Deluxe for an all-round go-to octaver that can do it all. 
• 3Leaf if you've got a wad of cash in your pocket and crave Instagram likes. 

Edited 2 hours ago by AinsleyWalker

[Linus27]

I've tried a few Octave pedal's as its a must have being a fretless bassist and for me, I found the Boss OC5 was the best for tracking and response. I will however add that I use mine more as a way to thicken my tone rather than playing it in the style of Pino or Tony Levin. In fact, that's got me thinking, I should really try and do that style. I've heard good things about the MXR Vintage Octave but I've not tried one. I did try their Bass Octave Deluxe but I didn't like it. 

[Linus27]

You could try this thread as well.