Need Help: Deciding on an Octaver

[Iommic Pope]

VEEERY interesting....

[univalve]

Subdecay OctaSynth (deep and subby electro bass, especially when you play it with your thumb)

And if fuzzy aggressive is wanted: Second Voice V1

[Tristan]

True, forgot to mention that since it's not readily available but it's a great one for sure!

[ryan summit]

iim still usin a ps6 to do this
i dont even notice it unless i want to get wacky
it always seems like the lamer of the options
but it works for me
i tried to use the ps5 to do it
so i could free up the ps6 fior other stuff
never tried again
just dont sound the same
that said octron 2 has been on my wishlist forever

[Ro_S]

I realise it's neither cool or trendy, but would the Behringer US600 (Boss PS5 knockoff) be any good?

[Rob Fossil]

Got an Octron and LOVE it, I use it for bass and guitar. If you are looking for analog it's the way to go. If you need a cleaner sound, I'd use that as an excuse to pick up a Pitch Bay. I've never been disappointed with any EQD pedal I've tried. I also have a Second Voice (V2) and I agree with the others that it will be too unruly for your intentions.

[tjlong]

Trying to start a new project, and I need to fill some space as it's going to be a 2-piece (experimental hard rock I guess...think Indian Handcrafts), with me as the guitarist/bassist and vox, and my buddy Tyler on drums & vox.

I'll mostly be playing guitar, and plan on acting as a bassist through another rig with octave down and other stuff. Some times, it will be the inverse though, where I'm playing bass and will need the octaves up.

Here are the things that pop into my head right from the start...
Micro Pog
Pog
Pog 2
Pitch Bay
Organizer
Bass Octave Deluxe or Octron
Boss PS-?

I have no experience with any of them but the BOD, and while it does sound good, it's kind of a one trick pony...and analog (aka the tracking might be an issue). I don't really need the organ type sounds that the pitchshifters do so well, at least don't need them much. Any ideas?

of those you listed, i've tried the Octron, Pog, and Organizer. I also had a Whammy IV. The Octron doesnt do organ sounds, it just does octaves but of the 3, its the most natural sounding octaver, not synthy or "fake" sounding at all. the Whammy had the "worst" tracking, very glitchy and synth like but that was why i liked it. i wanted a pure octaver and the idea of making organ sounds using a guitar never appealed to me so i stuck with the Octron. how well the Octron tracks depends quite abit on your playing. i use it to play looped basslines using my guitar. straightforward basslines shouldnt be a problem but if i try to play more crowded basslines and as a result my playing gets sloppy, it can get abit glitchy. have not tried the PitchBay but the form factor is definitely a plus over the octron.

[D.o.S.]

Whammy sounds fake in the best way possible.

[Derelict78]

I'm using a pitchfactor and second voice. The PF it great for true to what you are playing pitches up and down and harmony stuff. The SV is used for analog glitchy synthy stuff. I love both.

[goroth]

I have had a Second Voice, a Z.Cat poly-octave, currently have an Octasynth and a Copilot Mantis II on my board, and have a Boss PS-5 at home, and an Electro Faustus EF-1, also at home.

I could never get the second voice to work with my rig. I found that when I dialed in a good octave sound it was only good over a really limited range - I found myself moving the range knob a lot depending on what I was playing. It ended up annoying the shit out of me, and I think for what you're going for it's going to be completely wrong. The Poly-Octave was ok, but it was typical of Spin FV-1 octavers - it had a slight lag and a warble to it which drove me nuts, so that went as well.

The Octasynth as far as monophonic stuff is awesome. It tracks really well - perfectly down to A on the guitar, and serviceably down to C. And it stacks well with dirt. But it does have a strong synthy character to it because of the filter on it. It's one of my all time favourite pedals, but again, dunno if it is right for the job.

Mantis ii is absolutely brutal. It is glitchy and loud and fuzzy. And brutal. Don't put chords anywhere near it.

Electro Faustus is fun, does 1 and 2 octaves down. Tracking is terrible. Glitchy to all hell. One of the most fun and useless pedals I own.

PS-5 is rad. Glitches a bit, very little warble, very good tracking over the whole fretboard. Sounds way more natural than any other octaver I've tried. I think it sounds best with dirt going into it - tracks better too. But it's serviceable with dirt after as well. I'm assuming the PS-6 tracks better and reproduces the "natural" guitar sound even better. Never played one though.

For what you're after I'd only look at the Boss stuff. Never tried a POG (and I dislike EHX) so theoretically that could be a contender too.

[greyscales]

I've got experience with the OC-2, BOD, Whammy IV, and Pog2.

For substituting bass, I would definitely recommend going polyphonic. Pog2 might not be the best option as much as the MicroPog. The dry out could really open up a lot of possibilities (multiple amps/pedalboards). The Pogs track really well and don't lag as much as most Spin-based octaves.

I think the Whammy always tracked the best of the monophonic octaves. The BOD sounds the best, but the tracking isn't quite at the same level. The Whammy V might be ideal.

[01010111]

If I wanted to make myself sound as big as possible I'd go with the pog2. The detuning option makes it MASSIVE.

If you want to have as full a bass sound as possible I'd go with either the MXR deluxe octave, that Aguilar one. If you run it after fuzz you're going to get a really full low-end, if you run it before you're going to lose some of the super lows but it sounds more like a fuzzed out bass.

[ryan summit]

yeah i was hesitant to say it
im not sure why
but ps6 does the down way clean
ive trued the ps5, pog,and oc2 for this
and its the best if your not lookin for glitch
ive used the us600
its the reason i got the ps6
i dont remember exactly how i was using it
but its awesome in its own rite
i know john uses one still (maybe 2?)
ive also heard it has upgrades from the ps5
i think theres some polyphony harmony shit in there
check your pms jero
i just got a multiplexer in trade
i can keep myself octave busy with that and the ps5
let you try before you give your hard earned clamonays to boss-man

[BitchPudding]

Whammy sounds fake in the best way possible.

+1

[Iommic Pope]

Whammy sounds fake in the best way possible.

Fucking oath.
I used to have an Expression Factory, the whammy in that was based on a IV I think, but streamlined, so it was close to nice tracking, but not quite.
Was especially cool to put it on the +2 setting, blast dirt after it and hit power chords. Insta-Dimebag, but with this nice, "Fuck, I'm just a multi FX whammy...I think I just shit myself!" thang going on. Then you hit the Floyd for a dump and yank.
Cool.