Here to talk about whats probably the least popular or little known effect on most players pedal boards, the octave up effect.
A very unique (to this day even) effect designed by a little known engineer named Roger Mayer for an obscure guitarist named James Marshall Hendrix.
Basically what it does is double the input signal one octave higher as well as generate some fuzz. Its honestly a bit crude but rather musical and effective. It can be a harsh ring mod or a nice blooming "ghost" octave effect
Look to the outro solo of Purple Haze or Who Knows and all will be clear
Anyways, theres a ton of options out there for this effect. Odd when you think of it given how uncommon it is....
I've been through a few and for the sake of anyone else who cares (or who will care in the future with the search feature) heres one mans subjective thoughts
Voodoo Lab Proctavia - (reminds me of a certain MD lol) the affordable option of the bunch at $129 (if you don't mind that type of money for an effect you won't use that much)
True bypass, hand made analog pedal that claims to be a copy of the original circuit. Well sad to say it ain't kids. Thanks for showing up but this just doesn't compare.
Its got a hint of the real effect but this one is way too gainy, to thin and just doesn't have the octave up effet very strong. Its more of a bad sounding fuzz. Dont waste your money
Next, Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Octavio - Okay, first and foremost I honestly felt bad buying this but I was curious.
Dunlop curiousily doesn't mention the designer Roger Mayer anywhere in their marketing or literature for this device. Thats sort of lame to not give the man his due.
Second, they make a claim that this unit they copied was used on Purple Haze and Fire. It wasn't because Roger didn't design the version they copied until later in Jimi's career.
Sorry but if your going to brag about going to the Experience exhibit and making a carbon copy, get your facts straight.
That big F.U. to Dunlop out of the way, hows it sound ?
Not bad. Its honestly not a bad pedal, they did pretty well I hate to say
It looks intresting with the white cheese wedge shape to boot. Points for that
Like most any octave up its a postive ground so you need a seperate power supply and this one doesn't even have an input jack so its a battery adapter if you want to play that way. I hate 9 volts myself just because I don't want to unplug jacks or have to worry.
No LED either, which while authentic is a pain on stage.
Back to the sound though, this comes pretty close, although its rather thin. Not a bad thin and its a nice cutting fuzz I actually like but its still probably too treblily for most.
The output level is very weak as well. I've always got to crank it to get any level where other effects I could leave on 3 or 4.
Tracks pretty well, gets the effect best around the 12th fret, neck pu all that typical stuff.
At $170 its not outrageous but its not cheap either. I suppose its worth the money but I'd hate to support Dunlop over it, not to mention I don't know how Jimi would feel about the "authentic" Hendrix line they've got out. Your call on that one.
Next, Chicago Iron Octavian - This one knocks the ball out of the park folks. Its an exact copy of the Tycobrahe unit from 1971 (which also is rumored to have been a copy of a Mayer model someone brought in for repair)
Still at least this one gives credit where credits due.
Mines got one extra feature the original didnt, a status LED which is a bright blue, looks nice and is helpful. Also has a dc in jack though like most, its positive ground so it needs it own ac adatper.
Sound will blow you away though, its how the effect is supposed to sound. Its full and rich. Very thick fuzz with lots of low end. The octave effect really blooms into a screaming upper octave sound and its very volume and tone responsive.
Its got massive output, similar to a Zvek pedal, you don't need to put the level past 2 or 3 through cranking it higher into a distortion or fuzz can sound pretty awesome. Love live analog clipping right LOL
If your going to get this effect, this one is by far the best choice out there if you ask me. Its not cheap though at nearly $300 but you get what you pay for.
(onto part II)
A very unique (to this day even) effect designed by a little known engineer named Roger Mayer for an obscure guitarist named James Marshall Hendrix.
Basically what it does is double the input signal one octave higher as well as generate some fuzz. Its honestly a bit crude but rather musical and effective. It can be a harsh ring mod or a nice blooming "ghost" octave effect
Look to the outro solo of Purple Haze or Who Knows and all will be clear
Anyways, theres a ton of options out there for this effect. Odd when you think of it given how uncommon it is....
I've been through a few and for the sake of anyone else who cares (or who will care in the future with the search feature) heres one mans subjective thoughts
Voodoo Lab Proctavia - (reminds me of a certain MD lol) the affordable option of the bunch at $129 (if you don't mind that type of money for an effect you won't use that much)
True bypass, hand made analog pedal that claims to be a copy of the original circuit. Well sad to say it ain't kids. Thanks for showing up but this just doesn't compare.
Its got a hint of the real effect but this one is way too gainy, to thin and just doesn't have the octave up effet very strong. Its more of a bad sounding fuzz. Dont waste your money
Next, Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Octavio - Okay, first and foremost I honestly felt bad buying this but I was curious.
Dunlop curiousily doesn't mention the designer Roger Mayer anywhere in their marketing or literature for this device. Thats sort of lame to not give the man his due.
Second, they make a claim that this unit they copied was used on Purple Haze and Fire. It wasn't because Roger didn't design the version they copied until later in Jimi's career.
Sorry but if your going to brag about going to the Experience exhibit and making a carbon copy, get your facts straight.
That big F.U. to Dunlop out of the way, hows it sound ?
Not bad. Its honestly not a bad pedal, they did pretty well I hate to say
It looks intresting with the white cheese wedge shape to boot. Points for that
Like most any octave up its a postive ground so you need a seperate power supply and this one doesn't even have an input jack so its a battery adapter if you want to play that way. I hate 9 volts myself just because I don't want to unplug jacks or have to worry.
No LED either, which while authentic is a pain on stage.
Back to the sound though, this comes pretty close, although its rather thin. Not a bad thin and its a nice cutting fuzz I actually like but its still probably too treblily for most.
The output level is very weak as well. I've always got to crank it to get any level where other effects I could leave on 3 or 4.
Tracks pretty well, gets the effect best around the 12th fret, neck pu all that typical stuff.
At $170 its not outrageous but its not cheap either. I suppose its worth the money but I'd hate to support Dunlop over it, not to mention I don't know how Jimi would feel about the "authentic" Hendrix line they've got out. Your call on that one.
Next, Chicago Iron Octavian - This one knocks the ball out of the park folks. Its an exact copy of the Tycobrahe unit from 1971 (which also is rumored to have been a copy of a Mayer model someone brought in for repair)
Still at least this one gives credit where credits due.
Mines got one extra feature the original didnt, a status LED which is a bright blue, looks nice and is helpful. Also has a dc in jack though like most, its positive ground so it needs it own ac adatper.
Sound will blow you away though, its how the effect is supposed to sound. Its full and rich. Very thick fuzz with lots of low end. The octave effect really blooms into a screaming upper octave sound and its very volume and tone responsive.
Its got massive output, similar to a Zvek pedal, you don't need to put the level past 2 or 3 through cranking it higher into a distortion or fuzz can sound pretty awesome. Love live analog clipping right LOL
If your going to get this effect, this one is by far the best choice out there if you ask me. Its not cheap though at nearly $300 but you get what you pay for.
(onto part II)
