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Vintage threads from the first ten years

Re: Opinions on MXR BlueBox pedal?

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1/5/2000 4:30 AM
Rick	Re: Opinions on MXR BlueBox pedal? I'd like a copy please. Might be easier to just post it here than send out multiple copies. thanx, Rick.

1/10/2000 10:31 PM
Matt	Hi Rick, went to send you a copy of it and your Email adress didnt work. Matt

1/11/2000 8:41 PM
Rick	I'll try e-mailing you and you can just "reply". Thanks for the effort even if I don't get it.

1/6/2000 6:00 PM

Hmm, I always thought that was supposed to be an EH Microsynth, but I may be wrong.

Octave dividers are, by nature, not especially cooperative, largely because they attempt to accomplish a complex task (pitch detection) in the simplest possible way, and because the task they attempt to accomplish conflicts with the very instrument it is being used with.

During the Mothers of Invention period, Frank Zappa's bandmates would frequently use octave dividers (generally made by Conn), but these were HORN PLAYERS, so here was never going to be more than one note at a time. Getting a guitar player to stick to one note at a time is a problem.

For truly successful use of an octave divider, I would recommend the following:

1) Avoid use of non-humrejecting pickups or hum-acquiring pickup combinations.

2) Use your neck pickup.

3) Turn your tone down.

4) Compress the bejeezus out of the signal before it hits the divider. (They often only divide things above a certain threshold.)

5) Play/pick VERY clean.

6) Do not stick any other effects BEFORE the divider (other than a compressor or perhaps an EQ to preshape for better performance).

7) If you have access to the right information, try and tweak the unit to crop a bit more high end off the octave. They can get nasty.

I use the PAiA Roctave, which is a nice design. It uses a form of companding to produce better tracking and low noise. I'm generally pleased with it. That being said, the "uncooperativeness" of the Bluebox may be what you want to throw a little unpredictability into your playing!

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