10 Stupidly Fun Toys Every Musician Needs

10. Octave Pedal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz4EbzXiIEY The humble octave pedal. So innocent looking, so innocuous, so destructive. How such a simple idea could be as amazing as it is consistently baffles even the most brilliant of modern minds (maybe). The octave pedal is one of the most popular modulation pedals you can get. Simply enough, it takes the incoming sound, copies it, pitches it down a full octave and outputs it mixed in with the main signal. Primarily a digital effect, you can create some wonderfully dirty, distorted sounds out of it and if you lower your tuning it can even compete with a bass guitar for sheer low-end wallop. Octave pedals have become popular in a few different genres from rock, through metal to indie. Elbow famously use an octave pedal (among some other production nonsense) for the monster riff in the middle of 'Grounds For Divorce', Queens Of The Stone Age use one throughout 'Little Sister' and screwing with octaves has been a staple of doom metal bands for years. If you want a dirty, horrible sound that exudes swagger and filth, an octave pedal is what you need. Try one on a bass and feel your bowels collapse...