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By Jonathan Horsley published 2 August 22
The British effects company suggests that the vintage octave fuzziness and “clean and clear” octaves will give Strat owners heavy Jimi and Stevie vibes
Pedal Pawn has launched a new octave fuzz pedal that can maintain a “clean and clear” octave effect no matter where you find yourself on your guitar’s fretboard, and yet is capable of summoning the sort of pants-ripping fuzz mojo that you might associate with the works of Jimi Hendrix.
The Octone, says Pedal Pawn, was inspired by a vintage Octavia unit that it describes as “the gold standard” for octave fuzz effects. Having scoured for components, including NOS germanium diodes, Pedal Pawn replicated the circuit – complete with transformer – and set about boosting it so that the octaves would be as clean as a whistle.
Souping up a classic effects pedal circuit sounds quite complicated, a game of cat and mouse with components, trial and error, but from a player’s POV, the Octone could not be much simpler. There are two controls for Level and Boost. Turn it up and go. Diming the Boost yields some helter-skelter tones from the Octone, but backing it off can give you an all-but-clean octave effect.
Our relationship with the electric guitar is often one that’s chaptered by increasingly intense gear procurement rituals. It could be a tube amp or a fuzz, a new guitar or even just a pedalboard power supply, but you know the drill – the search is all consuming.
Well, it’s always reassuring when the gear manufacturers report similar experiences. For Pedal Pawn, that search is typically spent designing circuits inspired by the electric guitar tones of Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, giving us gnarly pedals such as the Gypsy Vibe and the Texan Twang, with the Octone very much made in similar spirit.
Where the Octone differs from the original Roger Mayer Tychobrae Octavia is in having that extra clean treatment of the octave; there is more range in that Boost control.
Pedal Pawn promises a loud performance from the Octone, and it’s the sort of thing that might pair nicely with a wah pedal, and definitely a Fender Stratocaster.
The Octone is available now, priced £197 and shipping worldwide for a flat rate of £15 (all in that’s around $259). It is true bypass and takes a 9V DC power supply. See Pedal Pawn (opens in new tab) for more details.
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Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.
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