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gvelascoMember
What kind of amplifier are you using? Are you actually using the Distortion of the app? Or, are you usually playing clean.
gvelascoMemberQuote:…Do I need a distortion pedal too to boost the distorted sound, or can I use the LPB1 alone to gain volume with distorted solos?You might want to think of it backwards! I know it’s counterintuitive, buy you might actually want to use an attenuator to CUT the volume and then turn OFF the attenuation when you want more volume. That way you’re not introducing more gain into an already high gain sound. That is one of the use cases for the EHX Signal Pad:
https://www.ehx.com/products/signal-pad
They demonstrate it being used that way. So, you would first set your high volume for your solos, then you would engage the signal pad and cut the volume down to where you want it for rhythm. You would leave it engaged normally and disengage it to go full volume for your solos.
You could experiment with placing it at different points on your effects chain including your effects loop since your amp just sees the attenuator as an effect.
If you put it in front of your distortion then engaging the Signal Pad will decrease the gain going into the distortion. If you put it after your distortion, then it will only affect the volume of the distortion, not the gain.
gvelascoMemberQuote:The reason I would do it is that I like the pure fuzz sound, it’s spongy and vintage-y and… right. For my tastes, obv.
Doing some research I found out that the sound I was figuring in my mind is the one that come from an octavia without the octave up, so to me it would be two bird with a stone
Anyway I’ll watch out for a used one and I’ll see what can be done on itInteresting. Let us know here if it works. The Octavix will probably be my next fuzz purchase. I still need to get the Crayon, the Lumberjack, and the Octavix to round out my collection, and of those I think the Octavix adds the most to what I already have. In particular, I’m really eager to stack it with my Germanium⁴ Big Muff π.
gvelascoMemberQuote:…I also was thinking about making the octave section footswitchable via esternal controller, like post-potentiometer…
Not possible, you think?Hm. Sounds possible, and interesting, but I don’t have the pedal to look at it, and like you I haven’t seen the schematics for it online anywhere. If the pot is just a volume or mix pot, then it seems doable. You should just be able to jump it, but if the pot is instead a voltage controller for the octave section, then it might not work the way you imagine. I know that these analog octave circuits are a bit unique because the first ones used transformers and the Octavix uses lots of caps which have to charge up when you switch from 9V to 24V. The instructions say that there will be a slight temporary drop in volume when you first switch to 24V because the caps have to charge.
The bottom line is that there is a chance that a remote switch for this might not be as easy to set up as say a tone bypass switch for a simple distortion. I just don’t know.
However, if you take my advice (and the advice of the guy from Pedal Morpheus), and try stacking the Octavix on top of some other distortion, then you’ll essentially be using the footswitch just to kick in the second octave. In other words, don’t think of it as an octave PLUS distortion box. Instead, try to set it up as just an analog octave up effect that adds an octave to any distortion you have in front of it. If you use it that way, then you wouldn’t need a remote to turn on the octave circuit.
gvelascoMemberSo, 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. AmpSet 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.
gvelascoMemberOrange Crush <- Grand Canyon <- (Output) Silencer (Input) <- (Y) Switchblade (A,
<- LP & V Guitars
Your Silencer Effects Loop:
Silencer (Return) <- EHX Volume Expression <- Neo Clone <- Big Muff Pi <- Cock Fight Plus Wah <- Silencer (Send) This configureation will allow you to switch between your two gutars without having to unplug/plug them with the Switchblade. It’s best to put your time based effects (delay, reverb, loopers) outside of your gated stuff, like noise gates, and after your expression pedals. It’s good to put everything that might make noise in the gated effects loop of your Silencer. Basically put everything but your time based effects in the gated effects loop. Play with the RELEASE and REDUCTION knobs to make the gating sound as natural as possible. Some people like the sound of a wah after the Big Muff and some like it before. Most blues/rock/grunge types like it before, but you should try it both ways and experiment. Likewise with the Neo Clone chorus, but that’s a pretty subtle effect that can essentially disappear with lots of dirt. That’s why you’ll see it AFTER the fuzz on most Metal, Shoegaze, super high gain setups. Most people prefer their volume pedal after all the modulation, and especially after the fuzz. If you use it before your fuzz, then you’ll be swelling in the gain as well as the volume. If you put it after the fuzz, you’ll be swelling in just the volume of a high gain signal. It could work either way, but I think most people kind of have in mind a volume AFTER the fuzz sound when they’re imagining their setup. The is actually a good argument to be made for TWO volume pedals – one before your dirt and one after. Likewise, you can put your volume after your delay, but then you’re not repeating the swells. You’re just controling the volume of the delay which is a bit weird. I think my diagram is a good starting place. Remember, you’re plugging in stuff from right to left. Anything you don’t have yet, just leave it out of the diagram, but keep the other things in this order.gvelascoMemberQuote:Quote:…Fairly committed to the chain order and instead of testing out each and every configuration, wondering if I can set it up so and forget!There’s no disadvantage at all in this scenario. It is pretty common for someone to put their entire pedal board into the Silencer’s effects loop except maybe any delay or reverb effects.
That’s exactly what I’ve settled on for my Silencer. The effects loop, RELEASE, and REDUCTION controls make this one of the most useful, most practical, noise gates available.
Even then, an EHX Hum Debugger in front of everything would still be useful.
gvelascoMemberI think all of their “Memory” series have trim pots in them to control gain, mix, etc. *BUT*, and this is a BIG BUT, I’ve also read that the trim pots are EXTREMELY sensitive and that it’s really easy to jack things up, not like break the pedal, but to make it essentially unusable because some trim pot values are extremely interactive with others. For example, some of these delays have a separate trim for the bias of each bucket brigade device.
I thought my Memory Toy might need some internal tweaking because it was working well, but I couldn’t get it to self-oscillate even when the FEEDBACK was turned up all the way, but it turned out that the battery was dying. When I used a fresh battery or plugged it into a power supply, then everything was back to normal.
The Deluxe Memory Boy doesn’t use batteries, but if you have all of them plugged into a daisy chained power supply, then it could be that they are not receiving full voltage or milliamperage.
So, first try plugging the “weak” delays into the power supply that you are currently using for your good delay. If possible, try them by themselves off of a power supply chain – using individual power supplies. See if that helps. If it does, then that’s the problem. You need a more powerful power supply, or to have them on their own power circuit.
If this doesn’t help, then take EHX STAFF’s advice and send a note to info@ehx.com before you try tweaking the trim pots yourself. If you get no joy from them, then you can try tweaking the pots, but do it VERY SLOWLY and carefully and make sure you can return them to their original positions, but this really should be your last option.
October 25, 2018 at 3:41 pm in reply to: The strangest glitch renders the Oceans 11 broken on arrival. Pls help #124440gvelascoMemberFirst, go here and register your product online:
You don’t need the receipt to register the product. You just need the serial number which is on the box or inside the pedal, the date when you bought it, and the store where you bought it. EHX keeps track of the serial numbers that they sent to authorized distributors and they will be able to see that you are the original purchaser from an authorized distributor even if you don’t have the receipt. But, you need to register your pedal. If someone does ask you for a receipt, you can use your credit card statement.
Next, you should always do your initial testing with the supplied adapter. I’ve noticed that lots of the newer digital pedals can be sensitive to exact voltage, amperage, and even ramp up time. They have little computers in there that have to boot up and they need to get to the right power levels in the right amount of time. If you notice that your pedal works with the included power supply but it doesn’t when you plug it into your power supply chain, then it might be because you have too much draw on your power supply chain or some other problem with the chain. In any case, always do your first testing with the supplied adapter. Any time a company provided an adapter and doesn’t provide for internal battery power, that’s a clue that the exact values of the power supply might be important.
Next, try resetting everything to factory defaults. This is from the manual:
To erase the secondary knob settings of every reverb and reset both the tap tempo and infinite reverb functionalities of the internal footswitch to the factory default, first unplug the OCEANS 11 from power. Press and hold both the MODE button and the footswitch. Then, while holding both, plug power back in to the OCEANS 11. The LED will cycle through red, orange and green to indicate that the OCEANS 11 has been restored to factory default secondary knob settings, infinite reverb settings, and tap tempo settings.
If this works, let us know here in the forum so that it will help someone else in the future.
If none of this works, and Sam Ash won’t help you out (shame on them), then AFTER YOU HAVE REGISTERED YOUR PRODUCT, send a note to info@ehx.com and tell them what’s wrong.
gvelascoMemberQuote:What is the proper way to connect the MIG 50 head to the EHX 2×12?…I apologize for my ignorance, but the 2×12 has two jacks and I am coming from the convenience of exclusively using combos in my short time of playing.No need to apologize. Most guitar players never have to deal with matching amp heads to speaker cabinets and the math (!) involved.
First, I’ll give you the quick answer. Then, I’ll explain it. Use a speaker cable, not an instrument cable although that will work without any danger. Plug one end of the speaker cable into the jack on the back of the EHX MIG-50 labeled 16Ω. There are three jacks on the back of the MIG-50: one labeled 4Ω (4 ohm), one labeled 8Ω (8 ohm), and one labeled 16Ω (16 ohm). Make sure you use the one labeled 16Ω. Plug the other end of the speaker cable into either jack on the back of the EHX 2×12 cabinet. The EHX 2×12 is a 16Ω cabinet and you want to plug it into a 16Ω output on an amp head.
Now, for a bit of math and a couple of rules. First for the speaker math.
If you connect speakers IN SERIES, you just add up the impedance of all the speakers.
4Ω + 4Ω in series = 8Ω
4Ω + 8Ω in series = 12Ω
8Ω + 8Ω in series = 16Ω
8Ω + 16Ω in series = 24Ω, etc.Series is easy. In fact, the EHX 2×12 cabinet is almost certainly a 16Ω cabinet because it has 2 8Ω speakers wired internally in series.
Now, a bit tricker, but stick with me. You might need it later. You’ll see why.
If you connect two speakers OF THE SAME IMPEDANCE in parallel. You simply divide the impedance by the number of speakers you have connected.
Two 4Ω in parallel = 4Ω/2 = 2Ω
Two 8Ω in parallel = 8Ω/2 = 4Ω
Two 16Ω in parallel = 16Ω/2 = 8Ω
Four 16Ω in parallel = 16Ω/4 = 4Ω, etc.The calculation for parallel connected speakers of DIFFERENT IMPEDANCES is a bit mor complicated, and you can easily find speaker impedance calculators online. Most people never have to deal with hooking up speakers of different impedances in parallel, so let’s just ignore that for now.
So, why do you care? The two jacks in the back of your 2×12 are connected in parallel. If you are only plugging a single cabinet into the back of your MIG-50, you can use either jack. However, if you decide to plug another cabinet, like a subwoofer, or a horn, or a Marshall cabinet, or a Fender speaker cabinet, or another EHX 2×12, or whatever, into your MIG-50, you would actually do it by plugging it into the second jack on your 2×12 cabinet. Then, you would be running them IN PARALLEL, not in series even though it might seem like it since you’re plugging one into the other. The jacks are wired IN PARALLEL and you would have to use the “speakers in parallel” calculation to figure out the total impedance.
Let’s say you plug another EHX 2×12 into the other jack of your first EHX 2×12. You would now be running two 16Ω cabinets IN PARALLEL, so the total load would be 8Ω. That means that you would now plug into the 8Ω jack on the back of your MIG-50.
Now, for some important rules.
1. You should always try to match the output impedance to the impedance of the speaker. If the speaker is 16Ω, like the EHX 2×12, use the 16Ω output jack on the head. If the speaker is 8Ω like the majority of other speaker cabinets out there, use the 8Ω jack on your MIG-50.
2. You can safely plug a lower output impedance into a higher speaker impedance. If you can’t exactly match the impedance of a speaker or set of speakers, you can go from lower to higher. Like if you find a weird OLD 32Ω P.A. speaker that you want to try with your MIG-50, you can plug it into any of the output jacks on your MIG. 16Ω would be best because it’s closer, but any are “safe” because you CAN go from low to high. There will be a sacrifice of volume and tone, but it will work without frying your amp. Of course, you can still blow your speaker if it isn’t rated for the right amount of power and you turn it up too loud.
3. You cannot safely plug a HIGHER output impedance into a lower speaker impedance. Do not plug an 8Ω Marshall cabinet into the 16Ω jack on your MIG. Plugging into a lower speaker impedance can overheat your amp and fry some circuits depending on the difference in the impedances, the volume, and how long you play. You won’t INSTANTLY fry your system, but it puts a big stress on your system, so just don’t do it.
4. Don’t use more than one output jack on your amp at the same time. It might be tempting to plug a 16Ω cabinet, like the EHX 2×12, into the 16Ω output jack AND an 8Ω cabinet into the 8Ω jack AT THE SAME TIME. This MIGHT work, but generally that’s NOT how it works. I don’t have the MIG and I haven’t looked at the wiring, but those jacks are not usually intended to be used simultaneously. Don’t do it unless the manual or a tech says specifically that you can. Usually those output jacks are wired in such a way that if you were to use them simultaneously, you’d have to do some tricky calculation to figure out what kind of load they are actually expecting to see, and it would be different for each input. You’re better off “chaining” your speakers together and doing the calculation to see which SINGLE jack you should plug into.
5. Don’t assume a cabinet is 8Ω. Most are, but many aren’t. If you don’t see a value somewhere, don’t assume.
6. Don’t assume two speaker jacks are parallel. In some speakers, two jacks are wired in series. Don’t assume.
October 10, 2018 at 5:10 pm in reply to: Electro-Harmonix Unveils the Grand Canyon Delay & Looper #124381gvelascoMemberWow! They took my favorite delay and made it EVEN BETTER! I have to start saving my pennies.
gvelascoMemberThank you. I don’t see it yet, but I’ll keep an eye out for it.
October 3, 2018 at 6:15 pm in reply to: EHX Big Muff Pi Deluxe Guitar Pedal (with mid boost) or EHX Big Muff Guitar Green Russian Reissue #124367gvelascoMemberQuote:…Can I use the Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi Deluxe guitar pedal to get the sounds of the Electro Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff Pi fuzz reissue ???…does it also achieve the same sound of the Green Russian Reissue ?? Does the Big Muff Deluxe Guitar Pi have “exact the same sound” or “similar” as the green russian reissue?I don’t have either of these and I have not compared them side-by-side, so I hope someone who has will respond.
Bill Rupert has said that his favorite distortion is the Deluxe Big Muff Pi, and of all the Big Muffs it is the most flexible in terms of adjusting the tone and feel, that is how it responds to your picking, volume control, and other effects on the chain. In his demo video, Bill Rupert says that he can dial in the sound of just about ever other Big Muff ever made, but clearly there are some that are probably not possible because they are based on very different circuits – Germanium Big Muffs and OpAmp Big Muffs for instance.
The Green Russian, and the reissue, are based on the standard Big Muff circuit. The main thing that the Russian Big Muff was known for was its persistent low-end response. The Deluxe Big Muff Pi has a bass boost switch, a tone control, and a parametric mid frequency EQ. I would be surprised if you couldn’t dial in a sound that is VERY close to the Green Russian. Would it sound EXACTLY like the Green Russian? Maybe someone with really good ears could tell the difference in a blindfold test. But, I think you can get VERY close. In a mix I think it would be very difficult to tell the difference. Another thing to consider is that many early EHX boxes had lots of variation among themselves because of different sources for the components, etc. So, what EXACTLY does a Green Russian sound like? One might sound different from another. Of course, the reissues are more consistent because of better quality control.
In terms of feel, the Deluxe Big Muff also gives you control over the ATTACK and has a SUSTAIN control that covers the range of gain of probably every Big Muff ever made.
September 25, 2018 at 3:24 pm in reply to: How about a chart of *Maximum* DC voltage allowed for each EHX pedal? #124346gvelascoMemberI think (I SUSPECT) that most of EHX’ modern circuits have some sort of protection against excessive voltage since multi-tap power supplies have become so popular and it’s an easy mistake to make, but protection against excessive voltage is easier to design than operation at higher voltage.
The Soul Food is EHX’ Klon Klone. The Klon famously has boosted rails running at 18V internally, so does the Soul Food, but you cannot use an 18V adapter with it. It takes a 9V power supply or battery and boosts it internally to 18V.
The OD Glove is EHX’ answer to the Fulltone OCD. The Fulltone OCD can run at 9V with a battery or 9V power supply, but it can operate at 18V if you plug it into an 18V power supply for extra headroom. The OD Glove is internally switchable to 18V, but is not designed for an 18V power supply. If you want to run the OD Glove at 18V, you still use a 9V battery or 9V power supply.
In summary, I think it’s best to stick with the recommended voltage and polarity which are usually printed on the unit right above the jack rather than to press your luck
September 25, 2018 at 3:12 pm in reply to: How about a chart of *Maximum* DC voltage allowed for each EHX pedal? #124345gvelascoMemberHoly Grail Max:
“WARNING: Your Holy Grail Max comes equipped with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC-200BI power supply (same as used by Boss® & Ibanez®: 9.6 Volts DC 200mA). The Holy Grail Max requires 80mA at 9VDC with a center negative plug. Using the wrong adapter or a plug with the wrong polarity may damage your Holy Grail Max and void the warranty.”
and
“9V Power Jack – Plug the output of the AC Adapter supplied with the Holy Grail Max into this jack located at the top of the enclosure. The HG Max draws 80mA at 9VDC with a center negative plug and accepts Boss® and Ibanez® style AC Adapters. Please do not allow the power supply voltage to exceed 10VDC. The Holy Grail Max does not take batteries.”
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