General Music Chat

I don't have any opinion on specific pedals either way, having never used an octaver.

But...if you need it, get it. Chances are before long you'll add more songs that use it or add it to songs it might work well with on improvised solos. I want one myself, just haven't had the cash available to get one, so it's still on my wish list...

Couple of ZZ Top songs would use it, only ones I can think of off the top of my head...

Glen

I feel the same way about cover bands BUT - since my last go round the quality of the players doing that has gone way up and they are doing it well. Even better - many of 'em are getting paid.

I just don't want to do it. I'm humble enough to realize that the only tunes I'm going to really shine on are my own. Mustaine and Hendrix et al already own their niches.

Talbot

Well I can't be sure, because this Glen character is on my "ignore" list, but I assume he was chirping off about my band project with absolutely no knowledge of the bar scene in my area...I will just have to take solace in the fact that even if he is a player, which I doubt, I would be able to cut him a new one in any live playing situation.

Dajax I use a Whammy II Pedal, its great for all sorts of stuff, lower octaves, higher octaves, I use it a lot for 5th harmonys on my lead lines, Cant Get Enough is one that it sounds great on

I have an old Arion Octave Pedal, it will do one or two octaves down, its an old plastic pedal but it does the job

But my vote is a Whammy cause it can do so many things.

Please elaborate on 5th harmonies.

Fifth harmonies work like this - when you playa "C," the pedal adds in the fifth note of the scale to that note, which would be a "G", whether you're in major or minor.

The problem with it is that fifths don't work for every note with a given scale, because the fifth of a 'G" is a "D", which won't fit in a C chord, for example, when you're doing that melodic riff. All of those 5th harmonies sound weird to my ear when they're played...but I guess they're supposed to. My bud The Tone King would use that one at least twice a night. It's a very spacey sound, & sorta discordant, in context...but not my fave by a long shot.

AH ... Concept understood.

Thanks.

George i think that Phil covered it but a 5th is the 5th step of a scale.

Take a G Bar Chord, your first finger is on the low G, your ring finger would probably fall on the D on the A string this is a 5th.

Some scale sit doesnt work as Phil said, but for a slow lead where you hold a note it works great.

Listen to Thin Lizzy The Boys Are Back In Town, they are using 5ths for the lead break, in this case its two different guitarist doing it, with the Whammy Pedal I can do this by myself. You could listen to the verse lines of The Allmans Whipping Post, they did a lot fo harmony leads like this.

In your recording situation. You can overdub this.

Take a song that you are playing in the key of A, my starting spot would be the 5th fret area, play a simple line. Then move up to D position on the neck the 10th fret and play the same pattern. If you have the means to record a simple solo try this. Play your original line in the A box then play over the top of that in the same pattern in the D box and maybe you will get a feel for doing this.

Basically a fifth is a small bar chord. If you do this starting on the low E string and then do the 5th on the A string you just have a chord of such, leaning out the third note which in most cases would be the octave note of the root note.

Hope this explains it, it does give a wierd effect when you do it manually by recording twice cause you tend to bend notes slightly different in the different positions.

The whammy just allows me to kick it in and do this by myself. I punch this effect in 2-4 times a night, for brief periods.

The OC-3 is a good pedal and tracks nicely. But, as JW pointed out, the Whammy will do that trick and a whole lot more. Of course it will also set you back quite a bit more.

Cheers.......Cristofe