Different Applications of an Octave Pedal

[affectperdals]

I recently got a dead simple -/+ octave pedal and was experimenting with it using other effects. I wanted to see what else could be done with such a simple pedal. I placed it after a reverb and that was kinda cool, gave it a little shimmer effect. I put it in the FX loop of a delay and it ended up sounding like a Count to Five (kinda), each repeat got processed so the octaves kept going up. I mixed it with some super high gain distortion... It made it sound pretty heavy but it wasn't my favorite combo. I was also messing around with it on a drum machine, that had a lot of interesting results, haha. What do you guys and gals think? Got any other ideas for such a simple pedal, something interesting?

[Chankgeez]

Makes for an interesting doorstop.

[codetocontra]

Fuzz into octave down is fun like a faux Blue Box, or vice versa if tracking issues. Or use it in the effects loop of a Super Ego.

[frodog]

I recently got a dead simple -/+ octave pedal

Well, which pedal was it? Tried vocals through an Octave Multiplexer once, it was awesome/terrible.

[affectperdals]

Fuzz into octave down is fun like a faux Blue Box, or vice versa if tracking issues. Or use it in the effects loop of a Super Ego.

I tried it with my triple wreck and it sounded kinda cool with that high gain distortion. The lower octave tracking is kinda wonky when you go full wet though. It's a simple pedal, hard to compete with something like the HOG2, ya know?

[affectperdals]

I recently got a dead simple -/+ octave pedal

Well, which pedal was it? Tried vocals through an Octave Multiplexer once, it was awesome/terrible.

My bad, it's the Monastery by Hungry Robot

[Chankgeez]

I think it makes a difference if the octave pedal is analog or digital.

[affectperdals]

I think it makes a difference if the octave pedal is analog or digital.

You mean in terms of latency?

[Chankgeez]

Well, not necessarily, but that too. I definitely appreciate the glitchiness of analog octave pedals.

I meant that digital pedals can sound harsh in a different way and/or react differently to things than analog. I like sticking an octave pedal farther along the chain than conventional wisdom dictates. Analog pedals can get pretty harsh that way. I wouldn't wanna imagine how nasty a digital octave'd sound in a similar placement.

[crochambeau]

Feedback loops, synths, and other drone sources.

I like sloppy tracking regions as it follows a decaying note, but with a wet/dry so you can tuck lopsided motor boating into the fold of subtle texture.

[Bartimaeus]

The Monastary sounds very much like it uses an FV-1 for the octave shifting (I'd be interested to see gut shots).

Octave pedal before an envelope filter can be really cool.

For something more useful than rainbow-machine noises, try sticking it in a delay effects loop but with the feedback set to zero and the pedal set for an octave up only. Set the delay time to a dotted rhythm and play in straight time. You'll get cool octave up counterpoint on the off-beats between your playing. That's the only way I can make pitch-shifting delays usable tbh.

If you have a little mixer pedal or even a separate amp, you can get great stuff by splitting your signal and putting some much heavier modulation effects on the pitch shifted signal. A reverb's clean guitar paired with a vibrato'd and tremolo'd octave up could be way more interesting than a shimmer verb if you get the settings right.

[JonnyAngle]

Well, not necessarily, but that too. I definitely appreciate the glitchiness of analog octave pedals.

I meant that digital pedals can sound harsh in a different way and/or react differently to things than analog. I like sticking an octave pedal farther along the chain than conventional wisdom dictates. Analog pedals can get pretty harsh that way. I wouldn't wanna imagine how nasty a digital octave'd sound in a similar placement.

Imo digital octave sounds best after gain stages, analog before

But yeah same thing but wwaaaaay different

[JonnyAngle]

Well, not necessarily, but that too. I definitely appreciate the glitchiness of analog octave pedals.

I meant that digital pedals can sound harsh in a different way and/or react differently to things than analog. I like sticking an octave pedal farther along the chain than conventional wisdom dictates. Analog pedals can get pretty harsh that way. I wouldn't wanna imagine how nasty a digital octave'd sound in a similar placement.

Imo digital octave sounds best after gain stages, analog before

But yeah same thing but wwaaaaay different

Octaves sound really good with reverbs, Flanders, and distortions.

I haven’t had great luck with envelope filters>octaves

[Chankgeez]

For something more useful than rainbow-machine noises...

Hey, man, don't be shittin' on Rainbow Machine noises!

Octaves sound really good with reverbs, Flanders, and distortions.

Flanders?

Yes, especially in Bruges.

Although, I've been told they also sound really good in Wallonia.

I like analog octaves both before and after dirt. Actually, sandwiched between dirts is the best. I think it's more difficult to get good sounds with digital octaves without messing around a lot, but maybe that's just me. Seems it takes me more work to get them sounding really nice. I feel like they need to be more processed by other effects or something.

I like both octave > envelope filter & envelope filter > octave. Depends on what I'm wanting to hear. The latter has the potential to get real cray.

[JonnyAngle]

Flanders?