Jimi Hendrix Octave Fuzz Pedal

Simply put, it sounds like what I want it to. How does it sound, like a distorted rhodes piano kind of sound.  Its called a octave fuzz for jimi hendrix.  Can you get his ring modulator type sounds found on his recordings, similar, I would say.  But thats not what I use it for.  I'm sure most people will find it abrasive as its not a pleasing sound, but I love the sound when it works or fits my mood, not a leave it on all the time. Some hints - chords will not come out defined, but it will make some interesting textures and sounds there Higher notes on the neck pickup will come out ring modulator like (i have a ring modulator) sounding like fuzzed octave notes (which could be kind of jimi hendrixish) I will admit I have listened to alot of noise bands and weird sound bands, but I am not trying to create anyones tones as much as create weird noises to add to my own music and sounds. Setup - Memphis 2 humbucker guitar (Ibanez artist carved top body with a flying V type neck, don't ask I found it and it has spoken to me since) > Octave Fuzz > Ibanez tube screamer > Dunlop wah > line 6 mod modeler > Line 6 Delay Molder > Ernie Ball Volume pedal > Fender Champ 25. I will say this pedal will not seem to fit in the music I am playing right now, mostly straight ahead rock, but I will work it in to either piss off the band mates or create new textures.

had it for 10 years, used alot at the beginning for a year, sat on a shelf till a few days ago.  Breaking out for the new project.  Seems reliable.  But we will see what real abuse will do to it.

Good sound, easy, 2 knobs, volume makes it louder, and it gets too loud. tone, for me, find the sound it doesn't sound too bright or too muddy and keep it there.  All in all if you know what its suppose to sound like, it should be easy to find a sound you can use.

Never dealt with Dunlop.  And don't plan to.

I am now playing in a straight ahead rock band (elements of blues/punk/rock/reggae think acoustic rock like john mayer/jack johnson with more harder music).  this pedal is not meant for this band, but I will try to work it in.  I bought this pedal when I started playing guitar over 10 years ago.  Now I play music and I'm an audio engineer, been thru 20 bands and work with local bands all the time.  It was on sale and a random buy, out of those 4 pedals I bought, this is the only one I still use or even consider using (forget the DOD grunge pedal or the Rockman Acoustic Simulator or the Ibanez auto wah). I would miss this pedal if it disappeared.  Its a sound that doesn't happen with other pedals I have, but replace it, Not so sure, maybe look for a similar pedal.  To me its a mess around pedal not as important as the others. Other gear - 4 other amps, 4 other pedals, another guitar, an acoustic guitar, and bass. I did not compare it to anything but the ring modulator on the filter modeler (that thing can get crazy). I love its a weird sound, it gets too loud, and the tone has a good range, wish there was a way to get seperate octave fx and fuzz, but hey I was young and dumb.  I'm sure it will help me create weird noise when mixed with other pedals, which I have been doing, it straight, we will see.

This is as good an octave fuzz as any. On it's own it can be incredibly brutal, inclined to break up and stutter, go berserk when playing high on the neck and have all the charm of a broken ring modulator. Don't expect this pedal to give you a volume boost - that isn't what octave fuzzes are for. Instead, switch to neck pickup and roll down the guitar tone. Set the pedal's volume so the sound doesn't break up (this is probably lower than you expect - you may even get a volume drop) then adjust the tone as required. Keep fiddling with it and the guitar's tone and volume till it stops breaking up and with a strong octave signal present. Then run it into another distortion/fuzz. The nastiness goes away and everything smooths out and blends. Your low notes and volume come back, the octave is smoothed and all of a sudden things sound right. You can even play chords if you're careful, which is more than most of the digital pitch-shift/harmonising stuff can handle. Used right the Dunlop Octave Fuzz sounds better than every digital octaver I've ever heard (and that's lots of them). It doesn't sound like the "octavia" effect built into the multi-fx - but they (1) don't really sound like an octavia, and (2) usually don't let you place a fuzz after the fake Octavia (which is essential). Run it into a fuzz face or similar "soft" toned fuzz and you can get Hendrix-like tones. Run into a Rat with the distortion and filter at 2 o-clock (my personal preference) and you enter Neil Young territory with plenty of note definition and a sound that cuts through anything. BTW - I use valve amps and have no experience of using this effect with solid state stuff. No noticable tone impact when it's bypassed either.

Heavy, decent switch, decent sockets. Small case so it fits on pedal boards easily. Doesn't eat batteries and has standard power socket for 9V.

Only two controls but far from easy to get set up right - like any other octave fuzz. Expect to spend some time tweaking the settings. The volume control will result in break-up and weirdness if set too high (and is very sensitive). I use Fenders and find volume at 3 o-clock and tone at 12 works pretty well as a starting point.

Been playing a long time, professionally nearly as long. My style of music or the rest of my gear is irrelevant. This pedal does what the digital modellers claim to do but - to my ears and fingers - never get right. If you want the octave fuzz sound you'll already know whether it fits with whatever you play (though I'd be surprised if any country players find much need for one). If you do then this is as good (and as weird) as any.