I didn’t know there was a 4! Oh man, I need it! I was surprised that you did the thing at the end about tracking. I’ve never heard any of my Octrons miss a note, ever. I’m a bassist, and I tend to stick with the neck pickup, but I switch everything up a bit. Octron tracks better than any octave I’ve ever tried! And I’ve tried a LOT of them since I started playing in 87. Nothing beats an Octron, NOTHING! I’ve tried all the digital crap too. Those just sound like organs, which is fine if you want to sound like an organ. 😄 Keep on truckin, Dave! I’m looking forward to getting that number 4!
Thanks for watching! Once in a while I hear from someone with an Octron and they think the low octave is broken. Now I can send them to that part of the video to explain it. I can see people who are used to digital having a problem because it behaves differently.
Dave! Foxrox Electronics! I just received my Octron4 today- you nailed it and knocked it outta the park!! I've had and LOVED an original Octron for a VERY long time, and the Octron4 exceeded my expectations in every way! This fourth generation Octron has a PERFECT set of features! Not a single disappointment, not in the least. I can use the bridge pickup, play chords, roll-back my guitar's volume-knobs, stuff you're not supposed to be able to do with an octave-fuzz and it still delivers fantastically! (It probably helps that I don't use a pick and have developed my fingerstyle and fretting "touch" to finesse the response... ) It makes a great pairing stacked into either my Radial Tonebone Plexitube (Octron KILLS into heavy distortion!) or my Origin Effects Halcyon Green Overdrive. Send it through a Leslie-sim and MAN, that Sub-Octave with the Octave-Up... Wow! Captain Nemo and the Phantom of the Opera jamming! I love this pedal! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
My Octron journey began with some RUclips surfing in 2015 or 16. It was actually Pete Thorn’s demo of the Octron2 that sold me. I had never spent that much on a pedal before. Worth every penny. The Octron2 is literally the heart of my guitar board. Something that went unmarked in the video, but is integral to the layout of my pedalboard, is the Octron2’s internal FX loop. All my fuzzes and mods are inside the Octron2 loop, so at any time I can use the bypass switch to cut out all my dirt and mods, leaving only the compressor and one OD in the chain. Also, with the FX loop engaged but all three stomp switches set to off, the Octron2 acts as a mute. I got the Octron4 immediately, as the ÷3 setting would be immediately useful on guitar. Alas, the Octron4 does not have the internal fx loop; therefore the Octron4 resides on my bass board for my gigging cover band, and the ÷3 setting never gets used. :/ if the Octron4 had the fx loop, it would be the perfect pedal. So now I use the bypass switch on the Octron4 to basically keep two settings on hand. Useful for songs like “Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand, where in my one-guitar band, my bass serves as both bass and rhythm guitar in unison (but in the bridge, the bass does its own thing and needs to be free.) There is no other octave pedal for me. Thank you Dave. - Dave
That's cool! I think you are one of the very few people who took advantage of the fx loop and used the pedal as a mute. Those are things I I had in mind when designing the pedal. However, most of the people I spoke to said they didn't use the loop jacks. In fact, it was a source of problems for some people. BTW, I spent over a minute going over the Oct2 fx loop but I cut it because it got confusing. I'll go through it in a future video. Thanks for commenting! And thank you for re-posting your comment from the glitchy video.
Love, love, love this video!! It would be great if you could make a similar video about the genesis of the TZF and then the TZF2. Nice blooper at the end.
The Octron is simply the best analog octave divider I've ever used. Tracking is excellent, and you can play with the levels to get any combination you want. There will always be an Octron on my pedalboard! 😀
I got an Octron 1 last week, and I can't tell enough how much I love it. It gives the best octave sound I ever heard from an octave pedal. Thanks for sharing the story here!
i was also floating around harmony central forums and pedal reviews. I remember the old days drooling about the captain coconut . Seeing it again gave me good memories. Good design on your octave divider. I was a PAIA enthusiast as well and remember seeing that article about dividing the fundamental by 3 and others at GeoFX website back in the day. I like the violin sustain like harmonic content of the upper octave of the octron
Thanks for this video, Dave. I had been playing my trusty old Boss OC-2 for a long time, but I always had a bit of trouble tracking lower notes. Along came the Octron and kicked it to the curb. I have three Octrons and love them all. Thanks for all your hard work. These are awesome!
I love my Octron2. You forgot to mention that it's not just an Octron 1 with the extra footswitches - there's an effects loop, too! And, as you can switch the individual octaves off if needed, it's a really useful addition. Genius. Keep up the good work, fella.
I bought that "Electronic Projects for Musicians" way back when and built a few things from it. I still have it in my bookshelf. I love the Octron! I have the large box v1. That one box can produce so many different great sounds. I often run it into a phaser for added sonic goodness.
Excellent video. As a pedal enthusiast, I really enjoyed hearing about your journey, the electronics insights, and how to get best results. Octron sets the bar for octave pedals IMHO. Looking forward to the next one, cheers!
Some of my favorite pedals are your CC2 and TZF2. Always thinking about getting Octron but haven’t got one yet. This video motivates me to get one now…
Although I have no electronics skills (+ I’m french haha), I found the video fascinating, and really do hope you will make more of them in the future about your other creations ! Your audio samples are awesome, very informative and illustrative I find. Also, I own one of your stunning Silicon 2, and am fascinated with its Grit knob and its Input Pad toggle, and would love to learn how you came with these ideas and tweakings !!! I absolutely adore your work, All the best
Loved seeing this! Can anyone share how Octron 4 works with a line level signal? I'd love to use this with my flute, voice, and synths after a little mixer.
I really really like this video!! And I second the request for a similar video on the TZF pedals. If you have a couple of minutes, listen to the song “Pretty” on the Cranberries first album (“Everybody else is doing it…”). It’s a very clean guitar using a subtle flanging effect that I’ve only been able to reproduce with the TZF. The effect is especially prominent at the very end of the song. How did you make a pedal that can do that?? Other “through zero” flangers can’t nail it like yours can. Thank you for sharing this stuff with us!!
Thanks for watching! There will definitely be a TZF video coming in the near future. My guess is that the flange in Pretty was done in the studio during mixdown. Probably with tape or outboard gear, and fingers on the knobs. It's great that you were able to dial it in with your TZF!
Hey Dave, why does it look like you have cds below all your pedals on your pedal board? Also, appreciate this video and hope you can do a deep dive into FLANGE as yours is almost an instrument in itself. I am lucky to own both tzf and tzf2. Always loved the Van Halen flange sounds as well any chance you will ever do one of those? I’m not sure I can find it in either of those 2. Not a shot btw, could be my lack of patience. They are phenomenal pedals. You are MOST appreciated and a treasure!
They look like chips, but they're 5V mechanical relays. I tried analog relays and they weren't good. It's too expensive to reject the ones that pop when you switch them.
@@FoxroxElectronics I’m genuinely surprised there isn’t, as 3:2 is the simplest of ratios. I have no idea how this works so forgive me if this is a silly question, but is there any way to get around this by inverting the function of the “divide by three” chip you already have (to multiply the signal by three) and then halve that product with the octave down?
@@deviationblue The analog circuit uses a chip that divides by any number between 2 and 10. Turns out the only useful ones are 2, 3, and 4. One octave down, one and a half octaves, and two octaves. Divide by 3 just happens to produce the 4th note up in the scale, but an octave and a half down from the note you play. Divide by 5 and higher are fun to toy with on the bench, but pretty useless otherwise. I have messed around with running the divide by 3 into an octave up circuit to see how it sounds. It’s pretty cool but the note range is very narrow. The doubled note isn’t prominent outside of a narrow range. If I can get a decent sound that way, then it will probably be part of Octron5, if there ever is an Octron5. Meanwhile you can patch 2 Octron4's in series for some wild sounds!
Octron 2 is one of my favourite pedals and it's not going anywhere. I would love to see more Foxrox videos. What about a 2 boost demo? I know it's a simple device but still....
I didn’t know there was a 4! Oh man, I need it!
I was surprised that you did the thing at the end about tracking. I’ve never heard any of my Octrons miss a note, ever. I’m a bassist, and I tend to stick with the neck pickup, but I switch everything up a bit. Octron tracks better than any octave I’ve ever tried! And I’ve tried a LOT of them since I started playing in 87.
Nothing beats an Octron, NOTHING! I’ve tried all the digital crap too. Those just sound like organs, which is fine if you want to sound like an organ. 😄
Keep on truckin, Dave! I’m looking forward to getting that number 4!
Thanks for watching! Once in a while I hear from someone with an Octron and they think the low octave is broken. Now I can send them to that part of the video to explain it. I can see people who are used to digital having a problem because it behaves differently.
This video should be more popular. Great pedals, awesome brand, unique sound. Good job, Sir.
Dave! Foxrox Electronics! I just received my Octron4 today- you nailed it and knocked it outta the park!! I've had and LOVED an original Octron for a VERY long time, and the Octron4 exceeded my expectations in every way! This fourth generation Octron has a PERFECT set of features! Not a single disappointment, not in the least. I can use the bridge pickup, play chords, roll-back my guitar's volume-knobs, stuff you're not supposed to be able to do with an octave-fuzz and it still delivers fantastically! (It probably helps that I don't use a pick and have developed my fingerstyle and fretting "touch" to finesse the response... ) It makes a great pairing stacked into either my Radial Tonebone Plexitube (Octron KILLS into heavy distortion!) or my Origin Effects Halcyon Green Overdrive. Send it through a Leslie-sim and MAN, that Sub-Octave with the Octave-Up... Wow! Captain Nemo and the Phantom of the Opera jamming! I love this pedal! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
My Octron journey began with some RUclips surfing in 2015 or 16. It was actually Pete Thorn’s demo of the Octron2 that sold me. I had never spent that much on a pedal before. Worth every penny.
The Octron2 is literally the heart of my guitar board. Something that went unmarked in the video, but is integral to the layout of my pedalboard, is the Octron2’s internal FX loop. All my fuzzes and mods are inside the Octron2 loop, so at any time I can use the bypass switch to cut out all my dirt and mods, leaving only the compressor and one OD in the chain. Also, with the FX loop engaged but all three stomp switches set to off, the Octron2 acts as a mute.
I got the Octron4 immediately, as the ÷3 setting would be immediately useful on guitar. Alas, the Octron4 does not have the internal fx loop; therefore the Octron4 resides on my bass board for my gigging cover band, and the ÷3 setting never gets used. :/ if the Octron4 had the fx loop, it would be the perfect pedal.
So now I use the bypass switch on the Octron4 to basically keep two settings on hand. Useful for songs like “Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand, where in my one-guitar band, my bass serves as both bass and rhythm guitar in unison (but in the bridge, the bass does its own thing and needs to be free.)
There is no other octave pedal for me.
Thank you Dave.
- Dave
That's cool! I think you are one of the very few people who took advantage of the fx loop and used the pedal as a mute. Those are things I I had in mind when designing the pedal. However, most of the people I spoke to said they didn't use the loop jacks. In fact, it was a source of problems for some people.
BTW, I spent over a minute going over the Oct2 fx loop but I cut it because it got confusing. I'll go through it in a future video. Thanks for commenting! And thank you for re-posting your comment from the glitchy video.
Love, love, love this video!! It would be great if you could make a similar video about the genesis of the TZF and then the TZF2. Nice blooper at the end.
Thanks for watching! I intend to make a video like this for every product. The TZF/TZF2 video will be a lot of fun. Thanks for staying until the end!
@@FoxroxElectronics 🍻
The Octron is simply the best analog octave divider I've ever used. Tracking is excellent, and you can play with the levels to get any combination you want. There will always be an Octron on my pedalboard! 😀
Frank was the reason I started becoming interested in FoxRox ! He’s a incredible player. I hope whatever is ailing him can be cured and he tour again.
Thanks for watching. Frank is great. I was really looking forward to seeing him back in March 2020.
I got an Octron 1 last week, and I can't tell enough how much I love it. It gives the best octave sound I ever heard from an octave pedal. Thanks for sharing the story here!
I've had my Octron 2 for 10 years in March 2023 !
A must on my pedal board !
Thanks Dave !
i was also floating around harmony central forums and pedal reviews. I remember the old days drooling about the captain coconut . Seeing it again gave me good memories. Good design on your octave divider. I was a PAIA enthusiast as well and remember seeing that article about dividing the fundamental by 3 and others at GeoFX website back in the day. I like the violin sustain like harmonic content of the upper octave of the octron
Thanks for this video, Dave. I had been playing my trusty old Boss OC-2 for a long time, but I always had a bit of trouble tracking lower notes. Along came the Octron and kicked it to the curb. I have three Octrons and love them all. Thanks for all your hard work. These are awesome!
The OC-2 was my goto for a long time as well.
Great --> Yes, Make More Videos!
I discovered the Octron from seeing Dustin Wong play and realizing he uses one in his rig. Such a fantastic pedal.
Love my cc hybrid….thanks for making great pedals
I love my Octron2. You forgot to mention that it's not just an Octron 1 with the extra footswitches - there's an effects loop, too! And, as you can switch the individual octaves off if needed, it's a really useful addition. Genius. Keep up the good work, fella.
I bought that "Electronic Projects for Musicians" way back when and built a few things from it. I still have it in my bookshelf. I love the Octron! I have the large box v1. That one box can produce so many different great sounds. I often run it into a phaser for added sonic goodness.
I purchased one this year! Amazing and I use it all the time. Thank you!
Excellent video. As a pedal enthusiast, I really enjoyed hearing about your journey, the electronics insights, and how to get best results. Octron sets the bar for octave pedals IMHO. Looking forward to the next one, cheers!
Thanks. It was fun to make a video where I talk instead of just playing. Not easy, but fun. Hope to do a bunch more.
Really great video
Never knew just how much I need an octron!
Thank you Dave. I love my Octron. Don't stop... you're creating an amazing stuff for us :)
Thank you!
Made my day when I found this in my mail ... thank you Maestro Rox
I saw Chris Poland had an Octron on his board so I bought one and it sounds amazing. Lots of great textures can be found in this thing. Great pedal!!
Wow, incredible timing! I've been looking at picking up an Octron, very valuable info from the best source possible. Thanks!
this is great! i have the first octron but clearly need to scoop the latest version.
This is awesome! Love my TZF2
Thanks!
Great video, Dave!
Hey Dave, love your videos! I love the sounds you get out of the Octron!
Loved the video! Can you get someone to make a bass demo? I’ll do it!
Some of my favorite pedals are your CC2 and TZF2. Always thinking about getting Octron but haven’t got one yet. This video motivates me to get one now…
Although I have no electronics skills (+ I’m french haha), I found the video fascinating, and really do hope you will make more of them in the future about your other creations ! Your audio samples are awesome, very informative and illustrative I find. Also, I own one of your stunning Silicon 2, and am fascinated with its Grit knob and its Input Pad toggle, and would love to learn how you came with these ideas and tweakings !!! I absolutely adore your work, All the best
Loved seeing this! Can anyone share how Octron 4 works with a line level signal? I'd love to use this with my flute, voice, and synths after a little mixer.
I still have my original Octron I bought when you first released them - always sounds great! Now I need to save up some $$ for the new version...
I really really like this video!! And I second the request for a similar video on the TZF pedals. If you have a couple of minutes, listen to the song “Pretty” on the Cranberries first album (“Everybody else is doing it…”). It’s a very clean guitar using a subtle flanging effect that I’ve only been able to reproduce with the TZF. The effect is especially prominent at the very end of the song. How did you make a pedal that can do that?? Other “through zero” flangers can’t nail it like yours can. Thank you for sharing this stuff with us!!
Thanks for watching! There will definitely be a TZF video coming in the near future. My guess is that the flange in Pretty was done in the studio during mixdown. Probably with tape or outboard gear, and fingers on the knobs. It's great that you were able to dial it in with your TZF!
I love my Octron 2 - never coming off my board!
Hey Dave, why does it look like you have cds below all your pedals on your pedal board? Also, appreciate this video and hope you can do a deep dive into FLANGE as yours is almost an instrument in itself. I am lucky to own both tzf and tzf2. Always loved the Van Halen flange sounds as well any chance you will ever do one of those? I’m not sure I can find it in either of those 2. Not a shot btw, could be my lack of patience. They are phenomenal pedals. You are MOST appreciated and a treasure!
Octron 5 - 2 Octaves up... 😊
Are we ever going to see a new aqua vibe??
I think it will happen. Don't know when, but it's likely.
А я так и не нашел применение к второй версии октрона. )
I can't read your comment, but I see "октрона". Would that be "Octron" in another language?
@@FoxroxElectronics This is Russian. I think it says that he never found a use for the second version of октрона, which is, yes, Octron.
What analog relays IC chips are you using? instead of using relays you're using IC chips analog relays?
They look like chips, but they're 5V mechanical relays. I tried analog relays and they weren't good. It's too expensive to reject the ones that pop when you switch them.
Next Octron 5…. With a interval of a 5th…
I wish there was an analog chip that did it! Prefect name.
@@FoxroxElectronics I’m genuinely surprised there isn’t, as 3:2 is the simplest of ratios. I have no idea how this works so forgive me if this is a silly question, but is there any way to get around this by inverting the function of the “divide by three” chip you already have (to multiply the signal by three) and then halve that product with the octave down?
@@deviationblue The analog circuit uses a chip that divides by any number between 2 and 10. Turns out the only useful ones are 2, 3, and 4. One octave down, one and a half octaves, and two octaves. Divide by 3 just happens to produce the 4th note up in the scale, but an octave and a half down from the note you play. Divide by 5 and higher are fun to toy with on the bench, but pretty useless otherwise.
I have messed around with running the divide by 3 into an octave up circuit to see how it sounds. It’s pretty cool but the note range is very narrow. The doubled note isn’t prominent outside of a narrow range. If I can get a decent sound that way, then it will probably be part of Octron5, if there ever is an Octron5. Meanwhile you can patch 2 Octron4's in series for some wild sounds!
Octron 2 is one of my favourite pedals and it's not going anywhere. I would love to see more Foxrox videos. What about a 2 boost demo? I know it's a simple device but still....