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I was watching a Tim Pierce video yesterday in which he talks about how he really likes his Boss Super Octave OC-3 pedal. Uses it to work out bass lines for tunes he is writing, among other things. (around 8:33)
I thought that sounded a little interesting. I'd like to have a way to get some vaguely bass-like tones to mess around with.
Does anybody here like the OC-3? How about the Electro-Harmonix POG or nanoPOG? Anybody have another octave pedal they really like?
I'm mostly interested in generating tones an octave or two below my guitar lines. Simple and easy-to-use is a big plus.
Any recommendations?
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07-13-2020 12:42 AM
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Have an old OC-3. Does not track well. Have a POG. Tracks better. Still sounds like an octave pedal rather than a bass. Sorry to be negative.. wanted it to work and didn't. Ended up with a Kala U-Bass that sounds better than the pedal.
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No worries, Spook. That kind of straight-up info is extremely valuable to me.
I was first thinking of a MIM jazz bass or something. Then I thought...hmmm, maybe just-a-guitar-player like me might take more easily to a short scale bass, like a Hofner Beatle Bass or the Kala U-Bass.
Then I saw Tim's video and thought I could scratch this itch for $100 bucks. But I have a feeling you're right. Excellent to know you're liking your U-Bass. They look like a lot of fun!
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I got rid of my OC-3. I use a 3Leaf Octavbre now and like it much better.
I also got a short-scale MIM Mustang bass for when I want to play a real bass.
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I have both the POG and the POG2. I don't think you'll find a unit that tracks better. They will even accurately track chords.
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No personal experience, but Gilad Hekselman does neat things with the OC-3:
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I like the OC3.
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Me too!
Originally Posted by morroben
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I am useing a Pitch Fork. It will do a very good one octave down or up. But if you go to Two octaves it starts to sound synth'y and at three octaves it really sounds like a synth. So with this pedal I can get a sound like a Hammond if I run it in both Low and High octaves together and adjust the mix to blend in some clean.
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I know Gilad has a whole lot going on to get that tone--a great guitar, other processing, a world-class touch--but man oh man that split bass-treble stuff sounds heavenly! Originally Posted by Squeezebox
Thanks, Squeezebox!
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I have an OC-2 that tracks very, very well. The POG tracks ok but it's noticeably worse than the OC-2.
Oddly, the best tracking octave pedal I've ever used is a Danelectro chili dog. the build quality was terrible, but wow did it track super well.
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I enjoy playing the bass, so having a bass guitar would be my first choice. I have two and like my Ibanez SDR505 best. Planing on selling my Fender Jazz bass (American made).
That said, I have a tc electronic Subnup pedal, an octave pedal. I never knew tracking was an issue so I guess it tracks really well. I like the sound of the Q tron (an envelope filter pedal) with the octave pedal, which is one of the Jerry Garcia signature sounds.
There's more to consider than I was aware of...
Last edited by fep; 07-15-2020 at 08:26 PM.
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I use a Boss Harmonist pedal for octave effects. Mine is the older HR-2 model but here's the latest iteration...
BOSS - PS-6 | Harmonist
Last edited by Gitfiddler; 07-15-2020 at 02:30 PM.
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I think one of the things that makes that sound good is that the octave down signal is sent to a bass amp. Originally Posted by Flat
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The Boss OC3 is great if you are going to use it like Gilad, in poly mode, so you're fretting chords and bass notes/lines at the same time. I have some stuff recorded, which I could post, too. The ideal thing here is to split the direct and effected outs into different amps and maybe put a bit of compression on the bass signal to stabilize it a tad.
If you just want a straight ahead octave pedal to play separate bass parts there are probably better and cheaper options. Or just get a bass guitar.
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Yeah, thanks for the insights, BigDaddy and Peter, and everybody!
I agree that the way Gilad has it rigged is part of what makes his sound so expansive and deep. I have two amps: a Carr Mercury and a 15" Polytone, which is not bad as a bedroom bass amp. So maybe I'll give that a try. Compression on the bass path. (Thanks, Peter.)
Beats watching Netflix during another Cali lockdown.
And I think eventually I'll get a short-scale bass. I used to have a Carvin LB70, but maybe next time it will be that Hofner or a Mustang. The Gibson LP Jr Tribute DC also sounds interesting -- and affordable.
This guy gives a nice demo of 7 short-scale basses, in case anyone else is ever interested.
Last edited by Flat; 07-16-2020 at 01:23 AM.
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Really enjoy Tim Pierce's playing in the OP. Like that groove.
I used to have an octave pedal----whatever BOSS was selling back in the '80s---but it's long gone.
I like the idea of having one again to write / play bass parts on.
Is a real bass better? Yes. But I don't have one. And when I DID have one, I never got comfortable with it. I'm used to playing guitar. I know some people---fep is one---who are fine on guitar and on bass, but I'm only comfortable on guitar. I can do better on a guitar with an octave pedal than on a bass guitar. I'm limited, I accept that. ;o)
So I'm looking hard at octave pedals nowadays.
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The analog Boss Oc-2 was great. The digital OC-3 i didn't like much. But Boss has progressed a lot, i use the looper on the Rc-300 and its nice, so probably the new Boss OC-5 will be worth checking. Basically i'm buying the old Oc-2 again if i find a cheap one, or a similar analog one for funk soloing..
One problem i have with octave pedals is these days i usually gig with small amps, and i think they kind of stress the speakers, especially when playing funky sounds with 2 octaves down.
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I think some guitarists with octave pedals send the wet signal to a bass amp. Originally Posted by Alter
The analog Boss Oc-2 was great. The digital OC-3 i didn't like much. But Boss has progressed a lot, i use the looper on the Rc-300 and its nice, so probably the new Boss OC-5 will be worth checking. Basically i'm buying the old Oc-2 again if i find a cheap one, or a similar analog one for funk soloing..
One problem i have with octave pedals is these days i usually gig with small amps, and i think they kind of stress the speakers, especially when playing funky sounds with 2 octaves down.
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I have been looking into this for a while, Evan here seems to have a working system in this video.
I wondered if you could achieve the same thing with a HX stomp or similar multi effect pedal with 2 outputs?
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Seems Boss recently updated the OC-3 to OC-5, which also includes a recreation of the OC-2.
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I have a bunch. I like the OC-2 for synthesised pure sine wave and the Mooer Tender Octaver Mk1 for Pog style
Besides these ones I also bought the Digitech Harmony Man last month
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Check out the Electro Harmonix Bass-9 pedal! It has numerous voicing including a standard bass, synth bass, fretless electric and acoustic upright bass, and even bowed bass.
Like the Boss OC-3 and OC-5, it also supports split bass for playing a bass line on lower strings and standard guitar comping on upper strings. It also tracks extremely well.
I use it with a kill switch of sorts so I can toggle it off and on at will running the bass output through a cheap bass preamp and then into a PA while my guitar signal goes to my guitar amp. It’s sounds fantastic!
EHX.com | BASS9 - Bass Machine | Electro-Harmonix
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Bill didn't stay in the split bass mode for very long, so not sure how well it does the "OC3 thing". Anyway, and depending on the price, this pedal is probably a no-brainer. Originally Posted by BillCoplin
Why don't you do a short demo yourself?
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