People will tell you that it isn’t a ring mod because it uses an IC instead of an old school diode ring to do the adding and subtracting of frequencies.

It’s still analog and it has the same function. The sound might not be as dirty, but personally I prefer the crystal clearness of the FA.

Could you guys please at least think about a simpler bass synth? I mean about five dials at the most would be sweet. You know to get that chris wolstenholme tone where the notes kinda flow into each other? Thanks!

I have two vintage Deluxe Octave Multiplexers with the yellow offset design, each having fuzz incorporated. With a Fender Jazz Bass, or Gibson Les Paul guitar I have never encountered tracking problems once the pedal and instrument are set up right, and the fuzz unit can sound seriously interesting on heavy sub-octave bass lines…and a new XO DOM would be great!!!

don’t really know why my words are in the quote box up there…

Well, Matt, for a starter, the EHX OM/DOM is mono and analog. This basically means it can handle one note at a time, thus enhancing single-note riffs and bass lines etc. (For polyphonic octaving we have to look to the POG family.)
This does NOT mean, however, that one cannot play chords on a guitar while using the DOM.

It is all a matter of set-up:-

Amp is ON with usual settings. EHX DOM/OM is OFF.

Now the best thing to do is to set up the Les Paul first using the neck PU only, with the volume control at about two-thirds and the tone control at about one half. This being done, WITHOUT the DOM on, check amp settings again to ensure a decent sound is being produced, i.e., presence, clarity and warm medium/bass tones.

Then, the DOM/OM is turned ON, and is set up to optimum response while playing an open A (5th string) striking the string half-way down the bridge PU position, but letting the A note resonate without dampening. Optimum response naturally means true octave and virtually zero or very little wobble. (Slinky light strings to be avoided!) Now completed, the DOM/OM set-up should not be changed.

The DOM/OM set-up done, one uses the guitar neck PU volume settings to compress the attack or lighten the attack, and the guitar neck PU tone settings to accentuate treble or accentuate deep bass, depending on the sound desired at any one time.

Also, the position at which the guitar string is struck (anywhere between bridge and string nut, in fact!) changes the parameters once more, giving a whole new palette of sounds. Position changes for this are principally between the bridge and mid-fingerboard.

Further to this, dampening the string played with the flat of the hand at the bridge while playing a line on the guitar changes the parameters again.

And, using the flat of the thumb on the string played to increase, decrease or select harmonics also adds new parameters to the DOM sound.

During all this playing and experimenting the original DOM set up, completed at the start, should not be changed, remember.

Once one feels all possible variations have been explored for the present, and the amp, still with its original set-up, is sounding good, then one flicks the selector switch on the Les Paul to Treble, the bridge PU volume is put to two-thirds, and the bridge PU tone control is set to two-thirds.

One starts out with a basic barré chord, mid-neck, let us say, a straight A minor. And let us start simple with a reggae-type groove, meaning striking the 6th string on the first beat of the 4/4 and, yes!, a chord on the top 4 strings of the guitar on the 2nd and 4th beat of the 4/4.

(All very basic for which I apologise, but we are setting the DOM plus Les Paul up at the moment and the real playing comes later)

One strikes the bass note firmly with a slight dampening of the string with the palm of the right hand at the same time, if you are a right-handed guitar player, and play a medium down-stroke or a light up-stroke on the 2nd and 4th beat chord.

After a certain amount of messing around, re-positioning of hand and fingers/plectrum, and adjusting of the Les Paul bridge PU volume and tone controls, one is amazed to discover that a bass line can be developed, while the three-note/four-note chords are clear and trail a beautifully light medium octave effect, in contrast to the round heavy bass tone from the bottom string.

Add the #1 Echo to the DOM/OM output and life gets even more interesting.

Insert the Metal Muff between the DOM/OM and #1 Echo, and using the same technique one finds that the DOM allows one to play monstrous bass lines, both simple and crazy ones as well as fast or slow, while at the same time letting one pump out screaming distortion and fuzz chords.

One number I have played a lot live features a clean guitar sound with delay, playing a classic-like theme with a deep bass counterpart on the bass strings of the guitar but none on the top three strings of the guitar, all done with the vintage Octave Multiplexer, no problem, and then later with the DOM, also no problem. I control which string(s) trigger(s) the DOM through the guitar set-up and the dynamics of my playing.

Believe me, Matt, once you get into it, the DOM/OM can produce amazingly powerful sounds.

And the set-up procedure described above can be applied to all the EHX octave multiplexers. And remember, it is not a description of how or what to play with the DOM/OM, just how to set everything up and a glance at the dynamics at one’s fingertips once the set-up is done.

One last point I mentioned before. If one uses an EHX OM/DOM adding a bass enclosure to your sound gear is extremely worthwhile.

I trust this post, if long, will be of some help to you…and long live the Deluxe Octave Multiplexer!

PS. I have added a picture of the basic FX pedals set-up I have just been using in the studio. (All EHX except for the Ampeg Scrambler).The DOM is featured in the chain.

that’s just not possible with an analogue monophonic octave pedal….believe me I’ve tried, big full chords just ain’t gonna happen.

My thoughts exactly. There are a few true crushers out there, but they are all hard to come by, or have to be made specially, or cost a ton for something that simple. The best I’ve seen is the HEXE BitCrusher (HEXE Guitar Electronics… check it out… definitely a legit crusher).

I guess we can hope, can’t we?

I’m loving these ideas about a Big Muff with presets. But in addition, i would like to see a Nano sized Big Muff. The new Memory Toy has 3 knobs, so i think i would be cool to see them put out a Nano Big Muff with the classic red and black paint scheme. To me it just makes sense. Much like the XO Little Big Muff, but in a more pedalboard friendly enclosure. Is this just me, or would anyone else like to see this happen?