Problems with K&K and octave pedals

[joeguam]

Originally Posted by SimplyLuo

The D string on the bass is the same as the low E on a guitar tuned down to a D, it's not an octave lower

I wonder if the Peterson istrobosoft tuner app I was using just wasn't reading it correctly. I doubt that I had my bass guitar tuned up an entire octave?

Anyways, the T-Rex Octavius is in the mail and when it comes in I'll give it a test with the K&K. At this point, testing would be the only way to really figure it out.

[SimplyLuo]

Originally Posted by joeguam

I wonder if the Peterson istrobosoft tuner app I was using just wasn't reading it correctly. I doubt that I had my bass guitar tuned up an entire octave?

Anyways, the T-Rex Octavius is in the mail and when it comes in I'll give it a test with the K&K. At this point, testing would be the only way to really figure it out.

I misread your post - I thought you were playing the D# on the bass' D string

[joeguam]

This video is further supporting that octave pedals work best with magnetic soundhole pickups:



EDIT: Here's an article where Jon Gomm describes his rig: http://www.guitarsite.com/news/artists/jon-gomm-rig/

Jon Gomm describes how he has 3 pickups sent via 3 different cables out of his guitar into 3 different EQ pedals. The most interesting point is that the magnetic soundhole pickup is the only thing he runs into the Boss OC-3 octave pedal in polyphonic mode.

BTW: The T-Rex Octavius is delivering today, I'll know by lunch whether it solves the issue with the K&K pure mini.

[joeguam]

Just wanted to report back that with a quick test, the T-Rex Octavius worked really well with the K&K pure mini pickup. Whew.

It's nice not to have to add another soundhole pickup and go dual source because that would just complicate things. Plugged it in by itself then into my subwoofer, was able to use the level to dial-in the bass sound pretty nicely. I plan to add it into my pedalboard tonight and test it with my entire rig.

Thanks for all the replies.

[joeguam]

Used the T-Rex Octavius for about 5 gigs now and it works well. The boost is a nicely added feature and covers two pedals in one if you're looking for both.

There are some challenges with the PA handling the lower bass notes and anything less than a lower G# (51.91Hz). A Peterson tuner helped to check frequencies and it seems that the K&K pure mini + Octavius drops the note below what most PA's can handle - which is 45Hz-150Hz. Here are the normal frequencies of a guitar:
77.78Hz: D#
82.40Hz: E
87.30Hz: F
92.50Hz: F#
98.00Hz: G
103.8Hz: G#
110.0Hz: A

The Octavius pedal cuts each of these frequencies in half:
38.89Hz: D#
41.20Hz: E
43.65Hz: F
46.25Hz: F#
49.00Hz: G
51.91Hz: G#
55.00Hz: A

The frequencies in bold are the ones that do not ring through the sub so well, just not full-sounding like anything above a lower A note. These sounds were tested with 3 different pickups:
1. K&K Pure Mini
2. LR Baggs M1 (Passive)
3. Fender American Tele
In each of the cases, the sub had trouble voicing out anything lower than a lower G#. What's really interesting is when I tested my Ibanez electric bass guitar direct into the PA, the Peterson tuner recorded the frequencies of a regular guitar and not the lower octave. Of course the strings and pickups of the bass guitar rung the sub a lot more than the pure mini, but not at a lower octave.

So to try and solve this, the Octavius has a blender between the dry signal and the octave below. A little bit of the dry signal is dialed in to cover the notes lower than the G#. It works. I wish I could have the good bass tone like my elec. bass guitar, but it's the best I can get.

Best part is, I don't have to shell out the money for the M1 and can return it. If you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.