Octave effect boxes are a type of special effects unit which mix the input signal with a synthesised signal whose musical tone is an octave lower or higher than the original. The synthesised octave signal is derived from the original input signal by halving (octave-down) or doubling (octave-up) the frequency. This is possible due to the simple two-to-one relationship between the frequencies of musical notes which are separated by an octave. One of the first popular musicians to employ the octave effect was Jimi Hendrix, who also used a variety of other effects in his recordings and public performances. Hendrix used an octave-fuzz pedal known as the octavia.
Octave-up effects usually use full wave rectification using diodes to "fold up" the negative part of the waveform to make a new waveform an octave higher in pitch.
Octave downEdit
Mark Bass Octaver pedal demo on bass. (Octave down).
Octave-down effects are typically produced by converting the signal to a square wave, and then using flip-flop circuits to divide the frequency by two. This creates a buzzy synthesizer like tone. The MXR Blue Box used this method to create a two octave drop (expanded to include one octave down in later re-issues). Jimmy Page used a Blue Box to record the solo on Led Zeppelin's Fool in the Rain.
MXR Bluebox (reissue model), an octafuzz producing octave down tones.
The Boss OC-2 unit generates tones at one and two octaves down from the input signal. This effect also uses flip-flops to generate square waves at 1/2 and 1/4 of the input signal frequency, but rather than simply mixing in these signals, it uses them to invert the polarity of the input signal on every other cycle (every two out of four cycles for the second octave). This effectively amplitude modulates the input signal with a carrier at half the input signal, creating new frequency components at 1/2 and 3/2 the input signal. The 3/2 component is low-pass filtered out. This more complex approach lessens the synthetic sound of the octave tones by making them more closely associated with the original signal, and also makes the effect volume-sensitive.
The Boss OC-3 (2006) has an additional mode called "Poly" where only a low note is added with the idea to add a bass line to chords. In 2020, Boss released the OC-5 which included features from both of the previous versions, as well as some new ones including octave up, poly/vintage mode, source switch and superior tracking engine.
The Mu-tron Octave Divider (about 1972) had a unique generator that tuned into the low octave as long as the input signal was strong and then continued generating the same frequency while that input signal faded.
Use of octave effectsEdit
Octave pedals can be used in conjunction with fuzz (see octafuzz) and/or distortion. It can be used on guitar to make it sound more aggressive (such as the lead-in solo by Prince on When Doves Cry) or sound like a bass. The song Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes features an octave pedal on electric guitar, simulating the sound of a bass.[1]
ReferencesEdit
^Dowsett, Peter (2015). Audio Production Tips: Getting the Sound Right at the Source. CRC Press. ISBN9781317614203.
October 18, 2023
octave, effect, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding,. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Octave effect news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed July 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Octave effect boxes are a type of special effects unit which mix the input signal with a synthesised signal whose musical tone is an octave lower or higher than the original The synthesised octave signal is derived from the original input signal by halving octave down or doubling octave up the frequency This is possible due to the simple two to one relationship between the frequencies of musical notes which are separated by an octave One of the first popular musicians to employ the octave effect was Jimi Hendrix who also used a variety of other effects in his recordings and public performances Hendrix used an octave fuzz pedal known as the octavia C Major scale with octave down effect source source Fuzz distortion and octaver electric guitar source source Problems playing these files See media help Analog octave effects differ from harmonizers and pitch shifters which digitally sample the sound and process it to change its pitch Contents 1 Creation of the octave 1 1 Octave up 1 2 Octave down 2 Use of octave effects 3 ReferencesCreation of the octave EditOctave up Edit nbsp Octave up by rectificationOctave up effects usually use full wave rectification using diodes to fold up the negative part of the waveform to make a new waveform an octave higher in pitch Octave down Edit source source source source source source Mark Bass Octaver pedal demo on bass Octave down Octave down effects are typically produced by converting the signal to a square wave and then using flip flop circuits to divide the frequency by two This creates a buzzy synthesizer like tone The MXR Blue Box used this method to create a two octave drop expanded to include one octave down in later re issues Jimmy Page used a Blue Box to record the solo on Led Zeppelin s Fool in the Rain nbsp MXR Bluebox reissue model an octafuzz producing octave down tones The Boss OC 2 unit generates tones at one and two octaves down from the input signal This effect also uses flip flops to generate square waves at 1 2 and 1 4 of the input signal frequency but rather than simply mixing in these signals it uses them to invert the polarity of the input signal on every other cycle every two out of four cycles for the second octave This effectively amplitude modulates the input signal with a carrier at half the input signal creating new frequency components at 1 2 and 3 2 the input signal The 3 2 component is low pass filtered out This more complex approach lessens the synthetic sound of the octave tones by making them more closely associated with the original signal and also makes the effect volume sensitive The Boss OC 3 2006 has an additional mode called Poly where only a low note is added with the idea to add a bass line to chords In 2020 Boss released the OC 5 which included features from both of the previous versions as well as some new ones including octave up poly vintage mode source switch and superior tracking engine The Mu tron Octave Divider about 1972 had a unique generator that tuned into the low octave as long as the input signal was strong and then continued generating the same frequency while that input signal faded Use of octave effects EditOctave pedals can be used in conjunction with fuzz see octafuzz and or distortion It can be used on guitar to make it sound more aggressive such as the lead in solo by Prince on When Doves Cry or sound like a bass The song Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes features an octave pedal on electric guitar simulating the sound of a bass 1 References Edit Dowsett Peter 2015 Audio Production Tips Getting the Sound Right at the Source CRC Press ISBN 9781317614203 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Octave effect amp oldid 1136399394, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
