Category: Gear / Advice

If you want to be able to keep up with synths without having to go anywhere near a keyboard, or you want to access lower notes without switching to a…

If you want to be able to keep up with synths without having to go anywhere near a keyboard, or you want to access lower notes without switching to a 5-string, then an octave pedal is the way to go.

Introduced in the early 1980s, the Boss OC-2 is widely touted to be the best brown note-provider out there; famous players like Pino Palladino, Tim Lefebvre, Juan Alderete and Janek Gwizdala have all helped to maintain the popularity of this pedal long after it was discontinued and replaced by the more refined and much less enjoyable OC-3.

This video gives an overview of 5 different analogue octave pedals to see if anything comes close to the classic synth sound of the OC-2:

Boss OC-2
MXR Bass Octave Deluxe
EBS Octabass
3 Leaf Audio Octabvre
Iron Ether Subterranea

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Gear / Advice

“No Need for 5-Strings if You’re Good Enough.”

Tom Kenrick

December 28, 2018 9:36 pm December 28, 2018

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Occasionally, I see things on the Internet that are so insanely idiotic that I feel compelled to set the record straight. Here’s a Facebook comment on a fellow bassist’s page…

Occasionally, I see things on the Internet that are so insanely idiotic that I feel compelled to set the record straight. Here’s a Facebook comment on a fellow bassist’s page that made me despair for the future of humanity:

The reason that this incensed me so much – aside from the lack of grammatical awareness displayed by the author – is that it represents a narrow-minded point of view and attempts to draw a correlation between the type of instrument being played and the ability level of the person playing it, which is completely misguided.

Should I Switch to a 5-String Bass?

Here’s how to work out how many strings are right for you:

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Gear / Advice

DOD FX25 Envelope Filter

Tom Kenrick

August 13, 2018 5:02 pm August 13, 2018

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The DOD FX25 is now sadly discontinued, but there are plenty floating about on eBay and other second hand gear sites. Here’s an overview of the pedal’s features and a…

The DOD FX25 is now sadly discontinued, but there are plenty floating about on eBay and other second hand gear sites. Here’s an overview of the pedal’s features and a demo of some of the sounds that it’s capable of producing:

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Gear / Advice

EHX Bass Micro Synth

Tom Kenrick

May 29, 2018 9:55 pm May 29, 2018

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Looking to dive into the murky waters of synth bass but don’t want to go near a keyboard? Fear not, help is at hand – the Electro Harmonix Bass Micro…

Looking to dive into the murky waters of synth bass but don’t want to go near a keyboard? Fear not, help is at hand – the Electro Harmonix Bass Micro Synth delivers a range of classic synth sounds on a budget and with minimal programming requirements:

EHX also publish a pdf of sample settings that lets you get straight to the good stuff without hours of unnecessary knob-twiddling. I went through all their tone templates to see what the pedal is capable of:

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Category: Gear / Advice

The Quest for the Brown Note

“No Need for 5-Strings if You’re Good Enough.”

Should I Switch to a 5-String Bass?

DOD FX25 Envelope Filter

EHX Bass Micro Synth