EarthQuaker Devices Bit Commander V2 Analog Octave Synth Pedal
EarthQuaker Devices Bit Commander V2 Analog Octave Synth Pedal Reviews
Relive the glory days of primitive mono synths and nostalgic chiptune-y leads! The Bit Commander V2 pedal blends your guitar or bass signal with sub-octave rumble and octave-up shriek for some pronounced effects. Flip to your neck pickup to play single notes. Above the seventh fret, the Bit Commander V2 yields tight and predictable results. Below that, tracking gets a bit volatile, resulting in all kinds of glitching, stuttering fun. At Sweetwater, we've found this pedal pairs great with fuzz for splatty Jack White textures and deep, earth-moving bass. And the Bit Commander V2 pedal monophonic analog guitar synthesizer pedal features soft-touch relay-based switching for silent operation.
Awesome synth pedal
So I"m just gonna say I love this thing. Got it last weekend at gearfest, knew I had to have one after hearing it demoed. Haven"t been able to remove it from my signal chain yet. It"s a mono synth with some lovely dirtiness to it. Makes me think of dead weather a little bit, that gnarly fuzzy noise is just beautiful. Handles single coils, lipstick pups and buckers equally well - have really enjoyed a tele through it most on the neck pup through a cheapo fender vaporizer amp. I"m sure the neighbors appreciate the amount of time I spend tweaking this thing - it is loud and low!
Love it
This pedal is quirky as hell and I love it. Don't buy it expecting something super clean and perfectly tracking - expect a gnarly weird analog experience and enjoy!
The tracking on bass on the "Down" signal (1 octave down) is a little funky once you get down to a low D or so, but I find if I pluck over the fingerboard or otherwise reduce incoming high end, it cleans up a lot. I actually really like the occasional tracking glitches, it doesn't sound bad, you just get unexpected octave changes.
Crazy pedal
This pedal is not for the traditionally minded musician. It has a mind of it's own as it does what it wants. All of the bottom knobs create a pretty unique sound which makes for a ton of tonal options and the filter knob basically brightens and darkens the tone to my ear. I wouldn't call this a bit crusher as the name may imply, and it's not an octave pedal, it's a goofy synth pedal that doesn't set itself up like a synth. It's an EQD pedal so it's hard to describe what it does, but you know it's gonna be awesome. If you're ok with the notes holding a little bit after you anticipate, then I say give this a go. It's a fun piece of equipment.
Nice textures -- need something to boost your volume though
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