ratylird

I'm looking at getting an octave pedal but I'm not sure which would be best for the job.

I was originally looking at getting the Boss OC-3 but I want one that can go an octave higher and an octave lower.

Someone told me to get either a Digitech Whammy or an Electro-Harmonix POG.

Which of the two would be most suited to the job?

If theres any other pedals that can do this, please share it with me.

Bill

I used the OC-3 once at a show a long time ago that the bass player in the band couldn't make at the last minute. I ran his rig along with my rig with my one guitar. I muted my amp to play all the bass parts (bass intros etc.) and unmuted my amp and used it to add a bass line while I played. Worked out amazingly well. The bass sounded great and it tracked really well. I've been kind of wanting one since then but never got around to buying one.

The Whammy is ok. I don't think it tracks that well. The sound of it is very digital to me also. I'd pick the OC-3 over it unless you wanted all the other pitch shift stuff the Whammy has.

Haven't tried the POG yet but it's on my list of pedals to get. From the few clips I've heard of it, it's pretty nice. Expensive but nice. I probably wouldn't get the micro one just because the normal one does so much more.

__________________
Griffin Effects

ratylird

I'm trying to keep my eye out for a POG

darkhorse

First off, you have to get hip to the terms "monophonic" and "polyphonic", most octave units are monophonic or single note tracking, and this includes most lower and upper octave boxes including the Whammy. (There is a new Whammy out now that is supposed to polyphonic but pretty sure it is not on all modes, they are trying to mimic the POG tech).

Tracking glitch is not a musical artifact. Most pedals are ocatvia designed to do a octave (8va) up or an octaver and 8va down and they are monophonic tracking filters.

To do both you are going to have to go with a POG. The POG2 is a great unit and has preset loading, the mini POG does an 8va and dwn but is limited. The POG2 is your choice if you want to set up presets of different tones plus it does this cool organ sound when full up on mix. EH's POGs are new tech and polyphonic tracking which play CHORDS. Glitch effect is min. Morpheus also makes a cool detune polyphonic tracker pedal that tracks all strings in different stepped down tunings (I do not know how they make it work) it also does a great full 8va dwn with supurb tracking.

You will have to go full on Roland Polyphonic Hex pickup if you want to really get into perfect tracking and infinite sound landscape filters.

In general the basic boxes are either made for dwn 8va or up, not both. The POGS will not give you that screaming Hendrix upper octavia sound or that cool low 8va Blue box or octaver tone. Problem is the basic signal of the guitar is complex and loaded with harmonic overtones. The POGs are able to multiply and divide a basic octave of what they take it but it is at best a limited technology, a Roland synth uses a Hex pickup where each string has its own pickup that the unit can work to envelope, multiply or divide the signal on each string separately. Still does not get that crazy beef tone of the octaver or octavia sound.

I do not think it is possible to attain both tones at the same time or some mad scientist would have combined them by now. Just two different animals. Not sure it would really sound all that great because each has a quality and a technique of playing that is different in touch.

Technique of playing is extremely important in using weird pedal sounds and filters. You will always get some player trying to strum chords like an acoustic through a synth string patch and complain about the tracking. There are also those who try and play chords through a monophonic pedal and get tracking glitch all over the place and they think this is a part of the effect. You have to adapt to the envelope and feel of the pedal effect to get the best tones out of it. Playing string patches, play more like a string player not super fast Malmsteen rips.

There are so many octavia(^) and octaver boxes out there which are all probably really close to each other circuit wise. I am not a fan of little Boss because they are not true bypass pedals and have not so great buffers if you run a chain of effects.

I have used their Octaver units and I used to call it the glitchmaster 2000. The old MXR blue box is a cool octaver but it adds a dist that you may not want. I would suggest the ModTone sub Ocatave pedal. I had a Whammy for some time and I liked the 4ths and 5hs it could do verses more its 8va up or dwn. Also does not wail like an octaver or a full on sub octaver. Tons more out there, the effect sort of fell out of popularity for a few years. Very cool tone, listen to Jeff Beck on Wired, just kills.

Octave up was started by Hendrix adding that to his dist tone for leads. Fuller or Fulltone makes a great clone of the original Octavia with true bypass. So many units out there, so many clones. Most are not much bucks. You can pay a lot more and and up with the same circuit and paying for the name on the box and not what is in it. Visual Sound has one which is not bad. Myself I would probably go with Fuller's octavia, he did such a great job on the modern resurrection of the Univibe it has to be pretty damn cool. It is all how you chain them and use them of course and how they morph with your other pedals, guitar and amp. (Hint, usually neck pickup and roll off the vol a little.) FYI, put both those in front of your gains despite a 1001 opinions.


Just trying to help from many years of gigging and playing.

Heitman House

The ROCTRON Reaction Series Octaver is pretty cool!!!
http://shop.heitmanhouseofrock.com
KEEP ROCKIN'!!!

darkhorse

Best standard octave pedal I would say is the EBS it is made for Bass but tracks a guitar really well. Monophonic trigger and only a sub octave. If you like the Octavia upper sound I would say Fulltone's clone of that pedal is better than the original. Lovepedal makes a true tone upper octave pedal that is not an octavia that weirds up the octave note.

Whammy is not polyphonic and contrary to many dufus nonthinking players the glitching and tracking burble is not musical and not a quality to use as a "good" tone. I personally loved the Whammy pedal and most of the time used it for just the harmonizer modes. The upper and lower are pretty good sounding, glitching can be a big issue on this pedal but with some proper technique does really well. What I loved was this pedal can do 4ths and 5ths unlike anything you see that does not require you to set a key or play in tight scale for harmonies. JHS does a mod on the Whammy which improves it and takes away the "tone suck" quality when bypassed. You can also do this cool sweep from lower to upper octave on the other mode which I used to use for a version of Dazed and Confused which turned a few heads. The octave sweeps are more polyphonic but the harmonizer modes, not.

I am using a Micro POG with now and had I known it was this interesting I would have opted for the POG2 that has more octaves and presets. The tone of the octaves is not a true note tone but rather a synthy sounding mimic double. It is different and it is unique which can be a gas to mess with.

Does reasonably well on low octave. Satriani was using one just for low octave on his solo board, he liked the lower oct on this micro over the fullsize POG2 which adds attack resonance and sensitivity he probably did not want for cleaner close tracking.

The upper oct on the Micro POG is not by any means an octavia effect or true upper octave note but it is unique and at higher knob levels does this weird Hammond B3 organ tone (if through some gain). Think DEEP PURPLE tones with that mean B3 undertracking your riffs, can be pretty cool. I was doing a killer version of Perfect Strangers w it. Tracking is pretty good but let's not go too far with the polyphonic tracks chords yada. Does OK and within reason certainly better than the Boss glitchmaster which does not do upper octaves. But all this about a 6 into a 12, no not really, it is a really snythy sounding upper feedback on itself osilator octave which if uses right or occasionally can sound like John Lord playing w Richie Blackmore, rather fun actually. If you like that aspect the POG2 does it much better with presets.