So, here’s the deal with the Octavix. Of course it’s an Octavia clone, but according to Roger Mayer, the creator of the original Octavia, it should really be thought of as a copy of a [em]Tycobrahe [/em]. He says:
Quote:
The modern clones today often copy the Tycobrahe unit that in fact was a rip off of my earlier 24 volt versions. These units were not designed to work optimally with 9 volts and in fact you would be buying a clone of a copy so it makes sense to buy a unit from the man who invented it.
But, not so fast. Yes, the EHX can also run at 24 volts, [strong]BUT [/strong]it is also switchable to “work optimally with 9 volts.” I think the original reason for running at 24 volts was the use of transformers in the circuit. Roger Mayer had begun to move away from Transformers by the time Tycobrahe had begun selling Octavias running at 9 volts. 9 volt circuits are going to respond differently to dynamics and gain than 24 volt circuits, so even early Tycobrahe clones will not behave the same as the original Roger Mayer circuits.
So what about the Octavix. The “problems” with moding it, and the main reason you don’t see mods out there, are twofold. First, it’s already “modded” in just about any way anyone would want to tweak it. It’s already more flexible than the original circuit and about as tweakable and Roger Mayer’s current offering. The ONE tweak that might make sense is actually expensive and difficult to do. That is replacing the silicon transistors in the EHX Octavix with germanium.
The very first, never sold, Octavia circuit didn’t have a drive in it. Hendrix would use it AFTER a germanium overdrive. When Roger Mayer first put a drive and octave in a single unit, he used germanium transistors. I don’t know what he uses now, but my guess is germanium transistors for a more traditional sound. EHX uses silicon.
For a while, a pedal mod company called “Pedal Morpheus” was offering a Morpheus mod for the Octavix. Gearmandude, a.k.a. Jack Black, does a demo comparison of the mod here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul8KcvBqFVU&ab_channel=gearmanndude
One member of the Pedal Morpheus group who did the mod had this to say about modding the Octavix:
Quote:
Lol… I still get email requests for this one even though we dumped the whole Pedal Morpheus / Pedaltronics project a couple years ago …. the EHX stuff didnt hold up well to alot of modding and wasnt worth the trouble in the end – BUT this one was really simple, mostly swapping out the silicon trannies for germaniums and I liked the differenence – more musical…. something I relearned when reworking the Candiru octave and the Razzberry fuzz for the + models, is that the best/ most authentic Hendrixy tones come from stacking the octave sound into another fuzz facish fuzz – Candiru octave> Razzberry fuzz – the second fuzz sculpts it into the recorded sound on the Hendrix records and I have wondered if Jimi did this, as it sounds dead on and better than using either alone … so try running the Octavix into your favorite FF/BB fuzz.
So, there are a few things to learn out of that post by a professional modder. First, he said, “EHX stuff didn’t hold up well to alot of modding.” That’s for a couple of reasons. One might be the use of surface mount technology and the fact that there’s not a lot of extra space in there for wires and extra components in the nano enclosures.
Second, most EHX pedals already have either external or internal switches or internal trimpots for anything that’s worth tweaking. EHX mods usually turn into adding a jack for a remote trigger or adding a toggle switch for something. What useful change would you make to the Octavix?
Third, he learned that the most “Hendrixy” sounds came from using germanium distortions. This just corresponds with what Roger Mayer said about his own invention. The modder says, “I have wondered if Jimi did this,” and Roger Mayer tells us that’s EXACTLY what he did.
Fourth, the mod he did that actually worked is to swap out the silicon transistors for germanium. I imagine that finding and matching the parts could be tricky. Then mounting the germanium transistors on the surface mount board will be tricky. Tricky = Expensive.
Finally he says, “try running the Octavix into your favorite FF/BB fuzz.” I would agree, but with a “correction.” Roger Mayer specifically said that Hendrix would run the Octavia AFTER his germanium fuzz and that the additional harmonix created by the fuzz would light up the Octavia.
You should try running it both before and after your fuzzes to see what you like best, but I think you will get the most authentic results by running the Octavix AFTER a germanium fuzz. I don’t have the Octavix (yet!), but I suspect you’ll get the most “Hendrixy” results like this:
1. Strat
2. Wah
3. EXH Germanium OD or EHX Germanium4 Big Muff with VOLTS low for sagging
4. EHX Octavix 24V with low boost
5. Amp
Set the Octavix
9-24 Volt switch to 24V. If you’re using the Octavix boost for your distortion set it to 9 volts to get the sag, but if you’re using it after a germanium distortion, set the Octavix at 24V and clean for the headroom. Get your OD and sag from the distortion instead.
OCTAVE to Maximum. Don’t forget that all of thes analog octave pedals have sweet spots where you should play.
BOOST – Minimum. Get your incoming gain, harmonics, and sag from your germanium OD.
Volume – to taste. This will determine how much this pedal drives those after it.
Finally. Don’t mess with the mods. They’re difficult, not worth it, and they void your warranty.
