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In this article we’re going to be discussing the best vocal octave pedals in 2020.
However, before we dive into talking about each individual processing unit, we’re going to briefly touch on what the purpose of an octave unit is, and why you would want to have one in your vocal rig!
So let’s get to it!
What are Vocal Octave Pedals
A Vocal Octave Pedal is a vocal effects processor with the specific individual use to take the main inputted signal and replicate the signal one octave (in frequency) above or below.
This additional frequency is outputted simultaneously to the main frequency, letting them be heard in unison.
Who would use a vocal octave pedal
A vocal octave processor would be suited towards an individual singer who requires the vocal octave effect to be heard within a live performance;
The particular advantage of this pedal is that a singer will not require any backing singer and will be able to operate the footswitch of the pedal whenever he/she pleases… leaving the effect in 100% control of the singer.
This pedal would, therefore, be ideal for an individual singer/songwriter, or a vocalist in a band who doesn’t want to have to rely on backing singers.
Ok, so without further ado, what are the top 3 vocal octave pedals of 2020?
Best Vocal Octave Pedals
TC Helicon Critical Mass Pedal (Editor’s Recommendation)
Features
- Rugged metal chassis for device protection
- Simple to use vocal stompbox pedal, allows you to create great sounding ground-sound vocals.
- Three Knob controls for easy functionality
- 8 doubling effect styles
- (Melodic) Unison, Octave-up, Octave-down, Octave up & down
- (Gang/Choir) Unison, Octave-up, Octave-down, Octave up & down
- ‘Adaptive Tone’ which is a personalised EQ, adapting to your vocal tone, making your tone clean, crisp and full sounding
- Integration with few microphones for external control – TC Helicon MP-75 (former) and TC Helicon MP-76 (newer)
Technical Specs
- Can run off phantom power, or 2 AA batteries
- Inbuilt microphone preamp built for low noise functioning
- 3-Year Purchase Warranty
- Designed and Built in Canada
This is definitely the pedal for someone looking for a pedal which can provide single line and group-vocal (choir) accompaniment; The demonstration below really gives a great impression to what this processor can do, and to be perfectly honest, it sounds incredible:
TC Helicon VoiceTone D1
Features
- Strong, durable metal chassis for ultimate protection
- Single-button stomp-box pedal is ideal for thickening up your vocal line, with a variety of doubling and octave effects
- 8 doubling effect styles
- Tight, Loose, Group, Detune, Thick, Octave Up, Octave Down and Shout.
- Simple to use – 2 knob controls makes for quick use
- High Quality – uses low-noise mic preamp for excellent sound quality
- On/Off footswitch – Especially useful for live performances
- Compatible with remote microphone control, using the TC Helicon MP-75 (Former Model) and MP-76 (Newer Model)
- Ability to chain the VoiceTone D1 to other VoiceTone pedals in the series
Technical Specs
- Power supply is included
- 3-Year Purchase Warranty
- Designed and Built in Canada
Summary
The TC Helicon D1 has a range of doubling and octave effects for the user to be able to add to their vocal line, not only this, but they are able to choose an effect and control the amount of this effect that can be heard in the outputted signal; For example you may want a octave down effect to be heard at 20% in the mix, alongside the dry vocal signal at 80%. The choices are endless… well, almost!
TC Helicon Duplicator
Features
- Simple to use, TC Helicon stompbox for doubling & octave, vocal reverb and pitch correction
- Three knobs to control effect parameters
- Adaptive Tone button to automatically adapt EQ, Compression, De-essing, Gating and Limiting to vocal line
- Three doubling effects
- Tight, Loose and Octave Up/Down
- Auto Chromatic pitch correction
- Integration for remote microphone control with TC Helicon MP-75 (Original Model) and MP-75 (Newer Model)
Technical Specs
- 3-Year Purchase Warranty
- Designed and Built in Canada
Summary
The TC Helicon Duplicator serves as a compact, combination-use pedal, with it enabling the singer to control signal doubling, octave, reverb and pitch correction settings, all within a strong aluminium metal cased pedal which is small enough to fit inside any musician’s bag, or in any pedal board.
As mentioned with the other TC Helicon units, they can also be remotely controlled (engaged/disengaged) via the TC helicon MP-Series microphones, which means that you can turn the effects on/off directly from the microphone, regardless of your location on-stage.
[For more information on this pedal, take a read of our TC Helicon Duplicator Review]
Available on Amazon – Check Price on Amazon
In Conclusion
We really hope that this article on the best vocal octave pedals has been informative to read, and has provided enough information for you to know which octave unit is ideal for your usage requirements.
