Rocket Music Notes

We generally don't carry pedals that the big warehouse guys offer, just 'cause that's a no-win situation for us. But if a pedal goes on my board, I like to have it available for sale. The bass teacher here at Rocket Music (Cameron McLaughlin) got the hots for one of these pedals, so I had the chance to hear it. It was love at first listen for me, so it's on my board now, too.

Sound Clip

Here's a quick sound clip of the pedal. I used my Roscoe and this pedal to knock out a Zeppelin riff several times with different pedal settings, and then I ended the clip with some improv that shows what my ears want to hear when I turn this pedal on. The clip goes like this:

• Riff w/ pedal OFF
• Riff w/ pedal ON and mid boost OFF
• Riff w/ pedal ON and mid boost ON
• Me channeling my inner Bootsy

Description

The MXR M288 Bass Octave Deluxe is a dual-voice octave pedal from MXR Bass Innovations offering organic analog tone, true bypass, and a wide variety of tone-shaping options. Powered by a single 9-volt battery, MXR's 18-volt Constant Headroom Technology (CHT) provides studio-performance headroom and superior tracking. Use the Dry knob to mix your direct bass signal with the octave effect, or hit the Mid+ switch to add up to +14dB of internally adjustable low-mid punch (400Hz) or midrange pop (850Hz). Bass players love the 2 separately processed and individually voiced octave controls—Growl (for throaty, midrange octave-below tone) and Girth (for deep and smooth octave below). The Bass Octave Deluxe boasts a durable, lightweight aluminum casting and has the same high-quality jacks and switches that make MXR pedals the road-ready standard on pedal-boards around the world.

The MXR CHT (Constant Headroom Technology) circuit produces 18-volts of headroom from a single 9-volt battery or external power source. CHT utilizes voltage step-up techniques, which supplies constant 18-volt headroom regardless of source voltage. For example, CHT will produce 18-volt headroom from a used battery down to 4.5-volts and voltages up to 30-volts. CHT also protects against incorrect reverse polarity and AC voltages.

Features

• Constant headroom Technology (CHT) for exceptional headroom and tracking
• True bypass
• Organic analog tone
• Two independent octave voices
• Mid+ switch adds a midrange boost at user selected frequency
• Lightweight and durable aluminum housing
• Small footprint