i have an idea...(i'm sure i'm not the first)

[foxfire]

and it is to put an octave pedal with a blender in a wah enclosure. my goal is to be able to be able to swell the octave's volume up and down i.e. in and out of my normal signal. i'd use it like you might use a wah to accentuate a part.

while at practice last night i heard a few parts that need a little something extra, and not being the type to "just come up with a better part" i figured a new pedal could fix it. i'm planning to use Tim E's octup (http://www.geocities.com/tpe123/folkurban/fuzz/snippets.html) mainly because i have all the parts i need and it looks simple enough and this http://www.geocities.com/jrtookmyfalseteeth/buffblnd.gif for the blender.

i don't have any experience with octave pedals. my main reason for this post is to ask if you think this is a good idea? do you think i'll be able to smoothly swell the octave effect in and out with this setup? i've read that octave pedals tend to work better on the higher frets than they do on the lower? many thanks will be given for any advice or input.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Well, just looking at the circuits, it looks OK to me.
First thing I'd do, is make the octupp, to be sure that is the sound you want.

[nordine]

the octup, i've heard, is a hard-to-get-right pedal

seems pretty simple to build, but i think you have to match the transistors.. and maybe something more

i'd say, go safe and build a green ringer (if you want simplicity and octave)

i remember some time ago someone did almost the same experiment you mention, but with an ampg Scrambler... the result was stunning... properly played (and it was in the sample) the thing screamed really nice ..try to find that post, it will enlightnen you

[Marcos - Munky]

Try Tim's Pushme Pullyou. It's a great and simple octave.

[Jaicen_solo]

Nah, forget all that! Build the Rambler. Super simple, and super effective, particularly with the correct schottky or Ge diodes, plus it has a relatively low impedance, so it loads down the pickups to really accentuate the fundamental. Definitely one of the more satisfying octave builds i've done in a long while, even if it's not quite an RM Octavia

[foxfire]

i guess i should have said that i'm thinking i want a clean octave up pedal to mix with my distorted signal. 99% of what i play is heavily distorted guitar tuned down to C. i think adding a fuzzed octave would send me into the land of feedback?

[foxfire]

let me ask you this, will i even get a good octave sound if i'm playing barre chords down around the 5th fret of a guitar tuned to C?

[Jaicen_solo]

I think I can safely say the answer to that would be a resounding NO!

None of these analogue pedals are able to deal with more than one note at a time. If you want polyphonic pitching, you're probably going to have to look at the Boss OC-20G or VG series (and get a GK too..). I'm looking for an OC-20G myself, can't remember seeing one in years!

[foxfire]

well what about a treble booster like the eh screaming bird with a blender in a rocker pedal? it would be a lot easier if i was the "wah" type of guy.

[Jaicen_solo]

I'm sure that would work to an extent, but then you may be just as well using a swept resonant lowpass filter.

[SonicVI]

Electro-Harmonix did octave down in a rocker pedal long ago, but no up.

[foxfire]

I'm sure that would work to an extent, but then you may be just as well using a swept resonant lowpass filter.

where might i find a layout/schematic for one of those?

[Jaicen_solo]

http://www.geocities.com/tpe123/folkurban/fuzz/snippets.html

[foxfire]

thank you for the link. i have scrolled right past that many times never stopping to see what it does.

[RaceDriver205]

I think what you are looking for is an Octave Expression pedal. I believe satriani uses one in his 'cool 09' song.
What you could do is buy a boss fx100 pedal (which costs $50) and has a pitch shifter in it, take out the electronics and hardwire them to octave-up, and connect the expression pedals pot in place of the blend pot.
But if your willing to sacrifice the ability to shift chords, any of the DIY octave up circuits with a DIY panning/blending circuit would work well.