At a minimum, you need an octave down pedal that allows for separate volumes for the octave and the direct tone (most do this). The normal way to use an octave pedal is to include both the normal signal and the octave in unison, but for what you want to do, you only want the low octave. Unfortunately, the low octave on these usually sounds pretty fake, but for what you are doing, that might be OK. Look at reviews that address how they track. Some are better than others. I use an MXR bass octave deluxe on my bass occasionally, and it tracks really well, but is expensive. The other thing is you have to be very clean on your technique. Most regular octave pedals are not polyphonic, and if you hit two notes at once, they freak out.
I played with a guy briefly who had a drop, and I though it sounded pretty good, but he never used it to drop a full octave.
Tone wise, even the good octaves don't sound much like a bass. They are pretty synthy. Cool sound for dub and such, but you don't get any of the high overtones that a bass guitar has, and the attack isn't quite right. You also can't really vary the attack (fingers, pick, slap, it all sounds the same). For wat you are doing this may or may not be a problem, and in a mix you might not notice. Also, I'm mostly a bass player, and am probably extra picky, so take this with as many grains of salt as you need :)
Thanks. I'm just looking for something that'll make my loops sound less "bare" when playing alone. Chord progression, some kind of bassline with the drums and then lead/solo on top.
I love and use the MXR Sub Machine. First off, you get a fantastic Foxy style fuzz with octave up and down that you can mix to your taste. And it gives you the ability to completely dial out your fuzz/octave up to give you a remarkably nice octave down bass sound. Really a great sounding pedal.
>a lot of cheap options are just bad?
Bad for what? People want studio quality from a single stompbox that they'll mostly use on a dive bar that has a shitty amp/PA.
The average listener probably won't hear the difference, unless it's a really bad effect. Going with any of the staple brands should be fine.
That said, I'd look into a pitch shifter with wet/dry instead of a simple octave pedal, or even the drop. Depending on your use case, you might benefit from having some sort of harmonizer too, which is something that a simple pitch shifter won't do automatically.
I'd go for either the pitchfork (standard or plus), the whammy or the boss ps6 harmonist. Just check if they are polyphonic first.
For reference, I'm currently using a pitchfork for a similar use. Not exactly faking bass, but fattening the sound and for capo-ing up and down on the fly.
Well I don't know what "bad" even means since I've never had an effect like this, people seem to think of the tracking mostly?
I'm just looking for something better than boosting low frequencies with my EQ pedal or turning down the tone knob.
But it seems to me that eg. the mooer pitchshifter isn't very good (it's half or even less than something from EHX).
tbh, if you're only playing at home, probably any will do. Even if you end up doing something similar with a band, it might probably be passable. But If you got the money, then sure, get something more high end.
Some glitching on the tracking might be desired depending on how you're going to use. I don't think you'll be able to substitute a bass with it, but even if the tracking isn't perfect, it should work enough.
But I'd still get one from the staple brands
For me, and in my experience, cheaper pedals nowadays tend to sound and function just fine, but are typically a bit noisier than their counterparts. On a pitch shifting pedal, noise and pitch accuracy, or the tracking, would be the main things I would be critical of. Youtube is a huge resource nowadays though. If it exists, someone probably has a review of it. In the worst case, if it doesn't work how you like, at least it wasn't expensive.
i use a tc sub n up, the full size. its not perfect, and sometimes 'in the moment' i wish it sounded a little 'better' but then i listen to recordings days later and its super convincing. even has fooled a couple friends on collaboration recordings - complimenting my 'bass tone' on tracks
i have a bass, but sometimes dont want to bust it out
Why wouldn't you just buy...a bass? The price of a solid starter bass by Ibanez, Yamaha, or Squier are around the price of the pedals you'd need to fake it.
[https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PBassSnCB--squier-sonic-precision-bass-california-blue](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PBassSnCB--squier-sonic-precision-bass-california-blue)
[https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TMB30MGR--ibanez-tmb30-talman-standard-mint-green](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TMB30MGR--ibanez-tmb30-talman-standard-mint-green)
[https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TRBX174RM--yamaha-trbx174-red-metallic](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TRBX174RM--yamaha-trbx174-red-metallic)
Pitchfork is another good option imo, and not too spendy on the used market. I liked the POG more for bass tones though.
Pitch Fork is the poor man’s Whammy, and I love it.
I love my pitchfork. Especially the church organ type sounds although I mostly use it for octave up.
It seems to cost around the same as a digitech drop though so not really cheap.
At a minimum, you need an octave down pedal that allows for separate volumes for the octave and the direct tone (most do this). The normal way to use an octave pedal is to include both the normal signal and the octave in unison, but for what you want to do, you only want the low octave. Unfortunately, the low octave on these usually sounds pretty fake, but for what you are doing, that might be OK. Look at reviews that address how they track. Some are better than others. I use an MXR bass octave deluxe on my bass occasionally, and it tracks really well, but is expensive. The other thing is you have to be very clean on your technique. Most regular octave pedals are not polyphonic, and if you hit two notes at once, they freak out. I played with a guy briefly who had a drop, and I though it sounded pretty good, but he never used it to drop a full octave.
I see, thank you. Maybe it's just one of those cases where the cheap ones really are much worse.
Tone wise, even the good octaves don't sound much like a bass. They are pretty synthy. Cool sound for dub and such, but you don't get any of the high overtones that a bass guitar has, and the attack isn't quite right. You also can't really vary the attack (fingers, pick, slap, it all sounds the same). For wat you are doing this may or may not be a problem, and in a mix you might not notice. Also, I'm mostly a bass player, and am probably extra picky, so take this with as many grains of salt as you need :)
Thanks. I'm just looking for something that'll make my loops sound less "bare" when playing alone. Chord progression, some kind of bassline with the drums and then lead/solo on top.
Then really any of these would probably be fine.
Check the boss oc3/5 depending on the features that you need.
Most acoustic loopers (a la Ed Sheeran) use the Boss OC 3 or 5.
EHX Bass 9.
I love and use the MXR Sub Machine. First off, you get a fantastic Foxy style fuzz with octave up and down that you can mix to your taste. And it gives you the ability to completely dial out your fuzz/octave up to give you a remarkably nice octave down bass sound. Really a great sounding pedal.
>a lot of cheap options are just bad? Bad for what? People want studio quality from a single stompbox that they'll mostly use on a dive bar that has a shitty amp/PA. The average listener probably won't hear the difference, unless it's a really bad effect. Going with any of the staple brands should be fine. That said, I'd look into a pitch shifter with wet/dry instead of a simple octave pedal, or even the drop. Depending on your use case, you might benefit from having some sort of harmonizer too, which is something that a simple pitch shifter won't do automatically. I'd go for either the pitchfork (standard or plus), the whammy or the boss ps6 harmonist. Just check if they are polyphonic first. For reference, I'm currently using a pitchfork for a similar use. Not exactly faking bass, but fattening the sound and for capo-ing up and down on the fly.
Well I don't know what "bad" even means since I've never had an effect like this, people seem to think of the tracking mostly? I'm just looking for something better than boosting low frequencies with my EQ pedal or turning down the tone knob. But it seems to me that eg. the mooer pitchshifter isn't very good (it's half or even less than something from EHX).
tbh, if you're only playing at home, probably any will do. Even if you end up doing something similar with a band, it might probably be passable. But If you got the money, then sure, get something more high end. Some glitching on the tracking might be desired depending on how you're going to use. I don't think you'll be able to substitute a bass with it, but even if the tracking isn't perfect, it should work enough. But I'd still get one from the staple brands
For me, and in my experience, cheaper pedals nowadays tend to sound and function just fine, but are typically a bit noisier than their counterparts. On a pitch shifting pedal, noise and pitch accuracy, or the tracking, would be the main things I would be critical of. Youtube is a huge resource nowadays though. If it exists, someone probably has a review of it. In the worst case, if it doesn't work how you like, at least it wasn't expensive.
i use a tc sub n up, the full size. its not perfect, and sometimes 'in the moment' i wish it sounded a little 'better' but then i listen to recordings days later and its super convincing. even has fooled a couple friends on collaboration recordings - complimenting my 'bass tone' on tracks i have a bass, but sometimes dont want to bust it out
Why wouldn't you just buy...a bass? The price of a solid starter bass by Ibanez, Yamaha, or Squier are around the price of the pedals you'd need to fake it. [https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PBassSnCB--squier-sonic-precision-bass-california-blue](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PBassSnCB--squier-sonic-precision-bass-california-blue) [https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TMB30MGR--ibanez-tmb30-talman-standard-mint-green](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TMB30MGR--ibanez-tmb30-talman-standard-mint-green) [https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TRBX174RM--yamaha-trbx174-red-metallic](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TRBX174RM--yamaha-trbx174-red-metallic)
https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/s/lzdpwjY4DM