Something you didn't go over with the Sub'n'up that's super cool - using the (free!) toneprint editor, you can reassign what the knobs do, and even assign multiple things to the same knob. For example, if you never use sub2, you could have the first half of that knob to take it from 'clean' to '+80% drive', and then the second half to sweep through phaser/modulation. What I like to do is set the first "half" of the range of each knob to go from 0% to 100% volume, and then the second half of the range of each knob to add drive to that octave -- but there are so many options that it's ridiculous. I could be typing this comment until next Thursday and still not have time to explain all of the stuff you can do with it. Great video as always. Cheers! -Jeff
I should add that you can only reassign what the knobs do when it's in 'toneprint' mode -- they go back to 'normal' when you flip the switch to poly or classic modes (and then back to however you set them when you go back to your custom toneprint).
IIRC, one of TC's Toneprints has done that too, with sub2 mapped to control the amount of modulation. Just another great feature of the Toneprint technology. :)
I own the oc3 and couldn't be happier, the drive sound on it blended with the octave is just such a great sound. Can't believe it took me this long to get into octave stuff.
GUYS! GUYS! GUYS!!! You didn't go over my favorite part of the OC-3. (sorry... favourite) In the 'POLY' mode, the 3rd knob attenuates which frequencies are fed into the octaver. Turning it left of 10 o'clock or so, you can play a finger picking style and only have the lowest notes octave down. It's like Jon Gromm said in his Roland UK demo... "It's like having the worlds most boring bass player but also the world's most reliable bass player"
That Pedal Show There has to be a spin off special of tunes played on highly inappropriate guitars. Reign in Blood on a ES330, Giant Steps on a BC Rich Mockingbird... Djenting on a Country Gent...
Joseph Quinlan I am going to be spending a weekend imagine what that would be like... a 7 string semi hollow tuned to drop B... with a Bigsby and Filtertrons... I buy it!!
Daniel yelling "AWESOME! I LOVE THIS!" at 28:02 is everyone that's tried the Sub N Up. I loooooove mine, and at the lowest pricepoint of the (polyphonic) bunch.
Best bloody gear channel on RU-vid: great playing, sweet tones, sexy gear, solid video/audio production, pleasant personalities and chemistry between those personalities. Always enjoy Mick's animated facial expressions to Dan's in-the-zone tonal explorations. Comedic gold at 22:49. Fantastic.
It sounded like every one of these altered the clean tone. I would love to see Strymon "perfect" the octave effect with their digital brain/analog heart approach. Also, octave pedals in the effects loop of a delay can be pretty incredible. Thanks for your good work guys!
...Strymon is pretty much all-digital, so far as I know. Chase Bliss is the one that popularized the phrase/philosophy "digital brain, analog heart," I believe
Holy crap! I need one! Isn't it the case, that if a pedal inspires you, it is worth getting, and if doesn't, keep looking until you find one that does...and then make that sweet sweet music!
Guys you missed the real magic of the OC-3, in poly mode the third knob becomes a LP filter and you can choose the point at which it stops triggering the octaves, allowing you to grab a chord and only get an octave on the bottom note. Also, the OC-3 in normal mono mode has 1 octave down and 2 octaves down, not 1 down and 1 up.
The fact that Electro-Harmonix manages to get folks to pay $350 for a box that makes your guitar sound like a seven cat gang bang in a church organ is impressive. Give the head of marketing a raise 👌🏼
Man you guys don’t know how much you’ve helped me learn about pedals. Thanks to you guys and a few other really good RU-vidrs I have an amazing pedalboard and much more knowledge on how everything works. Thank you for doing what you guys do! I need that shirt!
+Tom Poynton well the reason is that they are a compromise. They're extremely versatile and easy to use, but because if that the tone is a compromise, just due to the nature of the technology. A one trick pony will do that one trick better than a super versatile thing does that one thing
+Tom Poynton for someone who wants a lot of sounds easily accessible, they're great, for someone who just wants one sound, a specific pedal will be better. I actually used a tc flashback to figure out what kind of delay I liked and when I decided that tape was my favorite, I bought a roland re-150 space echo
I'm at work and watch this on my breaks throughout the day. I really hope someone plays the solo from "owner of a lonely heart" on the fuzz episode should one ever come! Love the show guys!
“Literally MINUTES of fun!” Thanks Mick 😂 This is really useful for me, I play in a duo and I think I can find some applications to help fill out our sound. Superb!
The great thing about the micro POG is that it has a seperate effect out, so you can send the octave down to a bass amp, or when you play bass the octave up through some effects and a guitar amp.
Hey guys. Just an idea suggestion for a future show. How about an "introductory info" show that focuses on detailing and explaining the basics of pedal technology for those of us who are newer to effects? It's great to pull out individual pedals and hit upon the end result of what that individual pedal will and won't do for your tone and how it'll react with various signal chain configurations and profiles, but how about hitting the broader focus of why and how certain pedal types function in the first place? For example, go into what the difference between silicon and germanium diodes do and why, or what "bucket brigade" means when a particular chorus pedal advertises uses the term. In short, devote a show to clearing up the geeky basics of electrical engineering and explaining how those basics will determine how you can get a basic understanding of what a particular pedal might sound like and be capable of even if you've never heard it in action.
So interesting. I look at comment sections for nuggets of info like that. I wouldn't have actually noticed that other than subconsciously. Nor have I ever considered that organs can produce a perfect 5th overtone, yet now I can't believe I missed that.
That flangy Toneprint sounded GREAT. Relatedly, I've recently started to enjoy the sound of an octave pedal going into some kind of spring-ish reverb - it kind of rounds off the jankiness of the up-octave sounds, and sounds very cool on swells.
The Boss OC2 and OC3 are very different. OC2 has a divider which turns on and off your signal in alternating waveforms to produce a very particular kind of 1 or 2 octave down. The OC3 is like the Pog2, It's a digital re-synthesis of your sound.
+Edward Jones yes, I was just using the OC3 on OC2 mode to demonstrate what the OC2 sounded like. I explained the difference between analog octave triggering and digital recreation as well
I saw that bit, it was a good explaination! Perhaps the only glaring omission I saw to the lineup was the MXR Blue Box with it's 2 octaves down square wave output. I'm sure there's a toneprint for that, though.
Good to see a recent comment Yeah thinking in a Micro Pog Can you get a good clean but fatter tone w mix low Of course w touch of delay and whatnot but looking for ways to change up my clean tone The MP would be easy changing up to different sounds on the fly. Thanks
@@paulcowart3174 I don't know I didn't think of using it clean but I'm more of a rhythm player. In other news, looks like Slash is in drop-D for "Slither".
Whammy 5: try an acoustic guitar with a 3rd or 6th interval plus dry. Use the pedal to tune the harmony to the key as you play different notes. Sounds like an acoustic B-bender :)
Somehow, the POG gets more attention, but the Pitchfork is the best octave/ pitch pedal available, IMO.Expression pedal option puts it ahead of the POG, reliability,sound quality, tracking, and cost put it ahead of the Whammy. Always useful info.
I found that the Pitchfork sucked so my tone away from my guitar, otherwise it was decent as a bass simulator. My digitech multifx rp255 did a better job actually.
@@andyjm7122 I'm currently using the MXR Poly Blue, which is a def improvement on the Pitchfork's bypass issues. I always had the EHX in a true bypass looper, so I could remove it from the chain when not in use.
Nice! At the beginning of the vid Mick said "this is not an octavia episode..." but they end up getting almost the same sounds as an octavia at the end which sounded the best!!!
As a Gretsch/Filtertron player, thank you so much for using said instrument...! Different pick ups react to different pick ups and the filtertron is a niche largely forgotten among the single coil and the humbucker brigade
Look into resistor-based attenuators which do a good job a creating a reactive load, like the Rivera RockCrusher. Personally, I plan to go with a true reactive load via the Weber MASS III. To avoid putting undue stress on your amp, do not use an attenuator to bring a gunned amp down to bedroom volume: use the attenuator to bring the “it is alive” volume down to tolerable levels.
I’ve been looking at octave pedals to create the bass guitar while playing guitar when recording. This is the best video and the first one I actually watch through the whole end.
With the "all on" part, surely the frequency response of the amp and cabs limit the effect. The day someone tries stacking several octave pedals and jams through a full range system with a giant sub will be the day the brown note is discovered and everyone within half a mile sh... You get the idea.
Add Tom Morello , and you have the reason why everyone seems to have one.And maybe, now, Royal Blood. One of those tools you try when nothing else is working.
The TC Electronic has to be the best bang for your buck. With the ability to switch between polyphonic, classic (mono), and toneprint modes, nothing else touches it. To my ears, it also sounds more natural and less synthy than the others. I've owned both of the EHX offerings shown here and while they are great, I got rid of them and went for the Sub'n'Up. No regrets at all.
Not sure whether you read comments on old videos, but I really want to draw your attention to a very versatile harmoniser pedal which does much more than the T-Rex Quint - the Donner Harmonic Square (I'm not being paid or induced to tell you this by the way, I'm genuinely knocked out by it) - 1 & 2 octaves, major 2nd, minor and major 3rd, 4th & 5th - up OR down - and with separate volume knobs for wet and dry you can use it as a capo or detuner. The only limitation is that it only does 1 dry and 1 wet signal maximum. But I really think it's outstanding and incredibly versatile.
I absolutely love this channel... I've no big music stores near my home (which is pretty good, I try to support smaller shops) and you need to hear what sounds can be achieved with what source and I find you guys through Andertons channel and I'm in Love! rock on from stormy South Carolina.
I really hope you do an octave fuzz episode! I love octave fuzz. Please make sure you include a Roger Mayer Octavia though, his pedals don't get much attention these days with all the fancy clones but, as I'm sure you know, he created the original. :) I've spent a lot of time playing different octave fuzzes and his Octavia still "feels" the most alive and it has amazing dynamic range and sensitivity. Also, fun fact... You can hack the EHX Ring Thing to make it into an octave fuzz. It works really well considering it is a digital pedal. I have a demo on my channel if you want to see how it's done (no mods required). Love your channel and all the fun stuff I learn. Keep posting and I'll keep watching. :)
I know this is a silly question... but I was always told not to put a bass guitar through a guitar amp as it would shake the speaker and break it pretty quickly... Wouldn't an octave pedal potentially trash your speakers as it puts notes of the same octave in place as a bass guitar...??
I always thought about that. A lower octave can produce some farty and flabby speaker distortion... My guess would be that permanent physical damage to the speakers would happen only at REALLY loud volumes...
Synth effects have far more fundamental frequency content, generally speaking, thus they pose a greater danger to speakers operating outside of their typical frequency spectrum.
I had an ART DR-X rack multi effects processor back in the early 90's. It did the 5th thing that the T-Rex does. I never used it really, but it was there 25 years ago.
Thanks, the Sub N Up seems like a cool & useful pedal, particularly with the tone print functionality. Dan, since you have an AC30, try running the Boss OC-3 SuperOctave in Poly mode, turning up the direct and effected sound knobs all the way up, setting the range knob at about 1/4 of the way up ... and try that on your AC30. Unlike all the other octave pedals you demo in this video, in Poly mode, the Boss OC-3 only affects some of the lower notes, but not the higher notes - the range knob works as a filter - so you can literally dial in only wanting everything below an A note only being effected or everything below a C note, or F#, etc. So by just setting it to only emphasize your very lowest bass notes on your guitar, it has a really cool effect of beefing up your AC30s low tones in a very usable, seamless, and transparent kind way that can just be left on all the time to help the amp's tonality. Sort of like being able to put the bass range beefiness back into your AC30. I find it works great, but have a go & let us know! Cheers!
Wow - That POG 2. I will bet . . . you could ( probably ) play: Styx "Blue Collar Man" or Yes "Parallels" on guitar with the Pog 2. Two High Powered MASSIVE ORGAN Sounds.
Hahahaha, I love you guys and watch you every week, but the last thing I ever expected to hear was Bach's bouree in E minor! And with a pog and a Gretsch :) Thanks guys! I always look forward to Friday afternoons with you!
Hi guys!... Even if I'm a bass player, I learn so much from your show!.... BUT!... :-) Do you have a mate/bass player as fun as you to join the show?... Thank you so much for your passion!....
that TC Electronic sub pedal looked amazing with the Toneprint thing- I immediately paused the video, went to the Google Play store and there was nothing but people complaining about how exceedingly BAD the Android version was... :0( **sigh**
That Pedal Show Android itself works great, but in porting apps over from iOS(supposing an app was natively designed for iOS), things have to be encoded differently, and sometimes that doesn't always come off so well. The same things unfortunately happen for video games as well, Xbox to pc, etc.
TC also do a PC (and maybe a Mac) program that allows you to push TonePrints via USB. It also has an editor so you can build your own. I have a HoF and a Flashback x4 and there's lots of stuff (like modulation) that's not available from the pedal's front panel.
So many pedals, so little time. I'd like to know how the EHX Pitchfork compares to the Pog. It seems like it does a lot more. I'm also interested in octave fuzzzzzzzzz.
No mention of running an octave through the loop of a delay, like a Memory Man, with the drive off for octave up (or down) repeats. Good video. I need to listen again with better speakers.
I think I need to get the Quint, or the Earthquaker Pitch Bay, and add a Catalinbread Galileo. Not that I can play anything like Brian May. But the Wedding March has to be doable.
Yeah, 5ths sound terrible on guitar. Its not like the 5th/power chord is one of the building blocks of rock or anything! It's like the 'George Washington' on the Mt Rushmore of Rock!
Guys, I feel like the AV quality of your show has increased so much in the past few months! Would you care to share what camera/lens/audio gear you're using?
Have a POG2. Ability to go from subtle to sublime - and to use the presets - makes this a very versatile addition to the pedalboard. Thanks for this video. Really enjoy your work!
That beautiful Gretsch sounds considerably better with it's natural sound. Please feature it again in later shows. You guys have already cost me a fortune in new gear - keep up the good work!
Tom Morello is the obvious choice for examples of the Whammy, for my money though David Gilmour puts this pedal to incredible use. Particularly on the sublime 'Marooned' from The Division Bell.
You guys actually took my suggestion. HOW AWESOME! Seriously, I love you guys :3 (But why put the overdrive before the Octave pedal? I think it'd be better after)
Love all the videos you guys do. I'd love to see you do a video on building a pedalboard from scratch with the essentials for rock players: one of you with a clean only amp, the other with a channel switching clean/dirty amp. It'd be great to hear your opinions on how different gain pedals work overall with different effects in the different amp environments.