![]() ![]() Replacing the excellent, analog OC-2, the OC-3 wisely kept the functionality of its predecessor with a dedicated OC-2 Mode, while adding polyphonic capabilities, separate guitar and bass inputs, and even built-in overdrive. Released in 2003, the OC-3 was the world's first compact polyphonic octave pedal, and it changed everything. Here is a proper grip of our favorite polyphonic octave pedals. The opportunities for creative application of polyphonic octave effects are nearly endless, and as the technology has become more commonplace, it has also become much more affordable, putting these effects within reach of most everyone. ![]() In addition, they offer tremendous potential for new, unexplored sounds, especially when combined with other effects like modulation, delay, and varying shades of dirt. The beauty of these boxes is that they can expand the voice of a regular old guitar or bass in dramatic ways, letting a six-string guitarist mimic a twelve-string guitar, a bass, or even keyboard instruments like organs and synthesizers. Today, we have seen a veritable explosion of digital polyphonic octave effects that track quickly and reliably. Early digital octave and pitch-shifting effects had their own problems, including stability and latency issues, but as the technology grew and matured many of these problems were sorted out. And of course, getting musical results from chords or arpeggios is not possible.Īll of this changed when digital processing came on the scene. If you aren't careful, things turn into a garbled mess very quickly, thus limiting the usefulness of these effects to only a very narrow set of musical circumstances. The tracking is sluggish and unstable, and sometimes unusable, depending on where on the neck one plays and what pickup is being used. However, while often sounding awesome in the right context, the monophonic analog octave effects of days gone by are also notoriously glitchy and temperamental. Everyone loves a good octave, whether to add some meat and complexity to a solo, or to make a big riff sound even bigger. Of all the wonderful developments in guitar gear brought forth by the rapid advance of digital technology, the proliferation of polyphonic octave effects is one of the most exciting.
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