PS and Octave pedal users

[Fran]

At the last rehearsal i tried getting a bass sound out of my PS-5 due to the lack of a bassist i thought it may make things interesting here and there using some single note bassy riffs.
On the 'pitch shift' mode i got a brilliant sound especially combining the dropped octaves with the fender blender but i noticed a little fluctuation in pitch when i struck the string. Has anyone else noticed this with PS pedals? If this is common i was wondering if octave pedals suffer the same thing.
Just to clear one thing up this happened on a clean setting as well as with the Blender, so it was'nt anything to do with octave fuzz.

[Hurb]

At the last rehearsal i tried getting a bass sound out of my PS-5 due to the lack of a bassist i thought it may make things interesting here and there using some single note bassy riffs.
On the 'pitch shift' mode i got a brilliant sound especially combining the dropped octaves with the fender blender but i noticed a little fluctuation in pitch when i struck the string. Has anyone else noticed this with PS pedals? If this is common i was wondering if octave pedals suffer the same thing.
Just to clear one thing up this happened on a clean setting as well as with the Blender, so it was'nt anything to do with octave fuzz.

aye t happens, best way to get a less warbley sond is use neck pickup with tone rolled off. i also think that when you have it on the whammy setting it tracks better, although you have to keep your foot on the pedal. but iam convinced it tracks better.
also i think i heard that they track better with dirt going into them. which is the way mine is set up.

[Tweez]

Are you enjoying the Fender Blender Fran ?

[Fran]

Yeah Hurb, its definitely a tracking issue. I could try setting the external expression pedal to low on the whammy setting, that may be the best bet.
I wonder if octave pedals are the same? I've never spent much time with them to be honest.

The Blender is great Tweez, Its one of my favourates already. I find it more usefull on single note stuff unless i want some white noise with chords.

[Hurb]

Yeah Hurb, its definitely a tracking issue. I could try setting the external expression pedal to low on the whammy setting, that may be the best bet.
I wonder if octave pedals are the same? I've never spent much time with them to be honest.

The Blender is great Tweez, Its one of my favourates already. I find it more usefull on single note stuff unless i want some white noise with chords.

i will record some bass sonds on my ps-5 later because i can get it fairly worble free

[Gandalf]

i want a fender blender

[Tweez]

The Blender is great Tweez, Its one of my favourates already. I find it more usefull on single note stuff unless i want some white noise with chords.

I'm glad you like it, it didn't really get enough use for me to justify keeping it but I'm glad it's got a good home

[Doog]

Octave and pitchshifter pedals work best with the neck pickup and the tone rolled off a little, it reduces the extra harmonics and overtones that tend to confuse the processors.

The "pitchshift" mode on the PS-5 is polyphonic (does chords) but always sounds wobbly and weird. If you're doing single string stuff, and nothing to mental, the Harmony mode set an octave down sounds a lot better. It'll glitch sometimes, but sounds more "true". A proper octave pedal sounds a lot more convincing though.

I could do an A/B demo of my EBS Octabass and the PS-5 if that's of any interest, Mr Fran? Both pedals are on my board right now cause I just got back from Casa Bonita practise

Blender + octaver = awesomeness, I use to rock that shit load before I sold Hurb my blender. 3 octaves of terror!

[Hurb]

http://download.yousendit.com/A291DDF25148157F

thats the ps5 on the whammy setting and messing around with clean and different dirt boxes.(first one is blender clone) its not really bass but its not that warbley really. is yours tracking worse than that?

[Doog]

Whammy setting?

[Hurb]

Whammy setting?

i forget the name the one one were you use the pedal like a expression .but just pressed down all the time on one octave down.

[Hurb]

T arm!

[Doog]

Ah right. Use harmony mode set to 100% wet an octave down- you don't need to hold it down or nuthin!

[Hurb]

Ah right. Use harmony mode set to 100% wet an octave down- you don't need to hold it down or nuthin!

true nuff, but with the t-arm you can quickly switch between bass and guitar if thats your bag baby

[Fran]

Thanks Hurbz, mine was probably a little worse than that...so i'll try the 'whammy' setting next time.
If its no trouble Doog a sample would be appreciated, i can pick an Arion Octaver up for peanuts if its gonna work better than a PS.

[Doog]

Will get on it tonight, boss.

The Arion is pretty good, it's pretty much a clone of the Boss OC-2. More synthy sounding than the Octabass, but it has 2 octave down dial too for a bit of extra weight (you "feel" it more than you hear it). I'd demo all 3 for you, but the Arion is being borrowed by a friend at the mo.



The EBS tracks a little better and has 3 range settings which seems to change the EQ more than what actual range the pedal works over.

[a66jagdream]

I use teh Semi octave effect on my toneport and it fluctuates like you said.

[louis]

I personally always find that at least as my tele as an example the neck and bridge gives the best sound when using the whammy for bass. bit of a pain when wanting to change between guitar and bass but I always find its my favorite bass sound.

[Bacchus]

The two and three octave below settings on my Whammy are a bit dodgy (especially the three, doesn't even produce a proper note), but one octave is fine, and can give a very convincing bass sound. I usually use the neck pickup on my tele (which is a P-90 (which helps)) with the tone rolled off a good bit. I tend to also use a fairly overdriven tone, but with the volume on the guitar rolled off. I think this seems gets rid of even more of the higher, unnecessary frequencies (like doog mentioned) and tends not to confuse the thing. Useful for breaking out the Tap: BIG BOTTOMS!!!

Sorry for all the brackets (in this post), but the way.

[Doog]

Octave Fun mp3

Strat (neck pup) > PS-5 (Harmony mode, 1 oct down, 100% wet) > EBS Octabass (Octave full, Normal off) > RAT2 > Boss BR8 "Jazz Chorus" sim..

1) Normal, Octabass, PS-5
2) w/Rat, Octabass w/RAT, PS-5 w/RAT

3) Normal, Octabass mode High, mode Med, mode Low
4) Mixing normal with octave in High mode

5) Neck pup tone rolled down, w/RAT, w/Octabass 100% wet, High mode.

The EBS definately work better with some dirt and/or mixed with the dry signal, it's just a little too bassy and flat without it. The 3 modes are a LOT more noticably different when using an amp, it barely made a difference on this demo..