Home Forums Tips, Tricks, Clips, and Pics 8-Step Program Unconventional Uses and Tricks

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  • #83320
    envy-me
    Member

    I wanted to start a thread to list some of the “undocumented” capabilities of the 8-Step Program. After fiddling around with it now for a few months, i found a few uses that are beyond what might be considered normal. I am curious what others have found out about it, and how others are incorporating it into their setups.

    Here’s something i learned tonight:

    If you select the fastest time division, choose a sequence length of “2” and tap the tap tempo really fast, you can get the rate very high, like a few hundred hertz. This is much higher than sliding the rate slider all the way up. With this fast rate setting, i was able to do two things:

    1. Plug the 8-step it into the expression port of my Stereo Polyphase and get ring modulation. I could tune the frequency with the expression pedal input to the 8-Step, and the expression pedal mode set to “rate”. Use the slider depth, glide and feedback controls on the polyphase to adjust the wave shape.

    2. Since this rate is in the audio range, so you can use it as a tone generator. Again, you can tune the frequency with the expression pedal input set to “rate”. I ran the signal into the HOG, and filtered it, added octaves, etc. I am sure some madness will develop with a delay pedal or modulation of this signal.

    So, there is a few ideas. Lets hear some other odd ways everyone else has been using this awesome pedal!

    #119638
    envy-me
    Member

    Ok, one more from me:

    I hooked the CV output of the 8-step to an Ernie ball passive volume pedal (EP Jr). This has 2 benefits:

    1. This acts as a depth control on the CV signal, so now you can use 1 expression pedal for rate, glide, seq length and then use this volume pedal to control depth. Pretty cool stuff happening with both feet working!

    2. The Volume pedal (EP Jr) has a passive tuner out. This works as a splitter for the 8 step! Now you can control 2 pedals at one time, with some sort of individual depth control. I ran the volume pedal’s tuner output to the HOG’s expression port, and the volume pedal output to the qballs expression pedal port. I was able to build a HOG sequence which synced with the qballs, and i could vary the depth of the filter using the volume pedal.

    –Disclaimer – i am not responsible if you let the smoke out of your pedals…. Make sure you use a passive volume pedal (Ie no battery)

    #119679
    envy-me
    Member

    Here’s another that i just discovered: Tap Tempo Tremolo from the Ring Thing

    Plug the 8-Step into the MOD input of the Ring Thing using a 1/4″ TS cable (mono instrument cable). Set the 8-Step to output a square wave with 2 steps (high / low). Set the Ring Thing to ring mod mode, and to use the MOD jack for the carrier frequency. Adjust blend and filter for sound/intensity.

    #120028
    Alexfavilla
    Participant

    Great tips man! I’m buying one and gonna try to add something like this.

    #120322
    Anabia521
    Participant

    Yes not a bad idea to put it near the end of the chain as you might not necessarily want it going through your overdrive/ distortion pedals- but on the other hand though… Haven’t tried it with a looper pedal so I’m not much help I’m afraid. Obviously one of those pedals that encourages experimentation.

    #120347
    MotorBongo
    Member

    Nice thread, great idea to start this!

    Some ideas here as well (SOS-review):

    http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb14/articles/electro-harmonix-8-step-program.htm

    Bye!

    #120626
    billhood
    Participant

    2. Since this rate is in the audio range, so you can use it as a tone generator. Again, you can tune the frequency with the expression pedal input set to “rate”. I ran the signal into the HOG, and filtered it, added octaves, etc. I am sure some madness will develop with a delay pedal or modulation of this signal.

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