Re: Octave Effect Pedal question

[Pat Missin <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

G wrote:

>I've tried the BOSS OC-2 as intended, the biggest flaw is that it simply
>doesn't handle chords - if you try to vamp or use any intervals the sound
>goes to utter shit.

That's mostly true. The OC-2 is not intended for polyphonic use.
That's not a defect of this particular pedal, it's just that this the
way that this type of octaver works. 

However, it is sort of possible to use it with chords and double
stops. If you have a well tuned harp in Just Intonation, with a bit of
luck the OC-2 will track the "one identity" of the chord. That is, if
you play a Just major chord, the OC-2 will reinforce the root of it;
if you play a 5-limit JI minor triad, it will reinforce the note a
major third under the root of the chord; etc. Still, this is kind of
touch and go, depending on the quality of your tuning and your playing
technique.

>Playing single note was underwhelming. If you're interested in octave
>effects there was a good thread on this group recently.
>There are definitely better brands out there than BOSS.
>You might look into an emulator or digital effects unit like Behringer or
>Digitech which use 24 bit technology for instance.

That's not really a case of better or worse brands, but of completely
different technologies. 

Out of all the different analog octavers I have tried, the Boss OC-2
was the most reliable. However, digital pitch shifters are a different
thing altogether. I use the analog octavers AND digital pitch shifting
devices because they produce different sounds. I like the round synthy
tone that the OC-2 produces, but I also like have clean "natural
sounding" pitch shifting available for polyphonic stuff. 

 -- Pat.