»

[WoodyRATM]

yo,

I'm considering adding an octave pedal to my setup.

i was thinking of the boss oc-3, it would be for bass.
but the thing is, that i'd much rather have a higher octave, rather than the normal lower.

i dont play that much chords, and i'm tuned to 5 string std.
will the OC-3 manage this? or are there any other fx that you'd suggest?

so far i have a sanamp bass driver and morley wah.
Also which delay would be best? i think all the fx i want is my drive (got), my wah (got), the octave, delay and maybe synth. Possibly a flanger aswell.

any ideas which would be the best to hunt down and try?

Sorry for the insanely high amounts of vaugness.

cheers

Woods
x

[Graham]

the oc-3 won't do a higher octave, it only does one and two octaves below your original sound. i've not tried any pedals that can go an octave higher. think the danelectro octave pedal can but i don't know if its any good or not.

[Old Gold]

I've got a Boss DD6 delay, but my only problem with it is the complexity. Best thing to do with a delay is to keep it simple, so maybe buy a Keeley modified analogue delay or somethihng.

Ps. As for the synth, don't be silly. You're a bassist.

[skuzzlebutt]

an akai head rush is a pretty versatile, easy to use delay... with plenty of extras... such as simulated tape loop delay... multiple outputs for different virtual head positions, not to mention it can sample 16 - 20 odd seconds... which you can then sample overdub etc... if you want to use it in pure delay mode it is a doddle to use, i partularly like the very useable tap delay action....

as for pitch control, boss make a nice, intelligent, but expensive pitch shifter... the ps-5, it can make harmonies in particular keys, or just pitch shift a number of semitones up or down... it can be a pretty basic chorus aswell... pitch shift range is up or down 2 octaves... there are plenty of others...

...does that help any.....?

[WoodyRATM]

Originally Posted by skuzzlebutt

an akai head rush is a pretty versatile, easy to use delay... with plenty of extras... such as simulated tape loop delay... multiple outputs for different virtual head positions, not to mention it can sample 16 - 20 odd seconds... which you can then sample overdub etc... if you want to use it in pure delay mode it is a doddle to use, i partularly like the very useable tap delay action....

as for pitch control, boss make a nice, intelligent, but expensive pitch shifter... the ps-5, it can make harmonies in particular keys, or just pitch shift a number of semitones up or down... it can be a pretty basic chorus aswell... pitch shift range is up or down 2 octaves... there are plenty of others...

...does that help any.....?

yup ta muchly i was thinkin of pitch shifting but wasnt sure.
i was oddly tempted to have a gander at the digitech whammy.

Originally Posted by SpanishArmada

Ps. As for the synth, don't be silly. You're a bassist.

exactly. hehe

also cheers for the advice

[Spoonie]

synth pedals are a hoot! i got a boss syb-5 for £40 second hand and it's fucking ace fun! tracking is a little slow but it's all good!

/x

[Old Gold]

Actually, if you're willing to shell out, the ZVex Johnny Octave goes 1 or 2 octaves higher.

But then again... the wooly mammoth bass fuzz would be the thing to have from that particular catalogue. Even with your guitarist constantly trying to steal it

And here's the Keeley Delay. I've heard good things: Robert Keeley Electronics: AD9 Analog Delay

[WoodyRATM]

Originally Posted by SpanishArmada

Actually, if you're willing to shell out, the ZVex Johnny Octave goes 1 or 2 octaves higher.

But then again... the wooly mammoth bass fuzz would be the thing to have from that particular catalogue. Even with your guitarist constantly trying to steal it

i dunno about fuzz, i'm driven enough

[Old Gold]

Originally Posted by Spoonie

synth pedals are a hoot! i got a boss syb-5 for £40 second hand and it's fucking ace fun! tracking is a little slow but it's all good!

/x

What's it like for the rest of the band Spoonie?

It's important to bear in mind the difference between an analogue octave pedal, a digital pitch shifter and a fuzz octave pedal.

An analogue octave pedal (such as the boss OC-3, EBS octobass and internal Ashdown octaver) will only provide octave down intervals and is monophonic.

A digital pitch shifter (such as the boss PS-5 and whammy) can provide a range of high and low intervals, is polyphonic and may have other effects such as intelligent harmony or bending. It won't sound as fat as analogue for monophonic bass stuff though.

A fuzz octave pedal (such as the johnny octave or Roger Mayer Octavia) generates an upper octave harmonic sound through intermodulation. It is a different beast entirely which cannot provide a clean octave sound and only does so under certain conditions (pickup selection, frettiing position) otherwise it sounds like a ring mod. I could record a clip of me playing bass through an octavia if you want, it'd sound pretty sick, definitely not a recognisable octave sound.