Electro-Harmonix POG Polyphonic Octave Generator

I must say: It's just so easy to get good results with this piece of art! Just knowing what upper and lower octaves are, and just start by adjusting the knobs. In a -very short- manual there are 3 settings to get you started, but this pedal offers such variety of sounds that you just have to take your time to experiment with it. Every setting will soothe you. You're just limited by your imagination!

My signal runs through: guitar (Jackson Rhoads with DiMarzio Air Norton and a ESP/LTD F-400 with EMG's) -> Boss TU-2 -> Line 6 Modulation Modeler -> EHX POG -> Boss DD-6 -> Boss NS-2 -> Marshall TSL
So as you see, one straight signal from guitar to amp, with no fx-loops. So this setup is the most demanding to get a good signal.
Well, I can guarantee: there is no signal loss, there are noises, it's all about a good earthing...
But to me it's very important when you begin tweaking the POG, to get your input signal & dry output in good balance with your signal when de POG is de-activated.
When using clean settings on your amp, you can go from light settings to extreme settings... every little change in settings will result in a great effect.
When using distortion settings on you amp, you don't have to push up the sliders all the way: a little bit of octaving will result in great tone!
The best thing about this pedal is: it sure can handle chords! That was one of the reasons I've bought this pedal. None of the other octaving pedals I've had could do that: Boss Octaver, Boss Harmonist & Boss Pitch Shifter.

So far so good.

I haven't dealt with the company yet.

I play metal & hardcore. I love the gothenburg sound, and with this pedal I can add lost of dimension. To me, it's the right match!
It's a pedal I will keep 'till the end of my days!

I don't think the POG could be a great deal easier to use. It's just a simple case of plug in, change the setting as required on the front of the unit and that's it. That said, it's just as well because as usual the EHX 'manual' is pretty brief. Some better manuals from these guys (suggestions from where an effect may work well in your chain for example) would be great even if there isn't much to say on the use of the unit itself.

I have to say the sound quality is really exceptional. I took the advice of one the guys who already reviewed this product and ran it through the fx send and return on my Fender Twin. Amazing - I can't believe I've never done this before. Sure enough the only noise I get through my amp when I have this FX plugged in is the hum from the tubes.

In truth I have only just got this unit, so I don't feel I can respond on this.

Never spoken to EHX. That said I need to at some point because something pretty funky is going on with my Holiest Grail at the moment. But that's just a fact of life - if it's machinery or computer equipment you can be sure of one thing; at some point it will fail. All my other EHX pedals are fine and have never had any issue.

I play loop based guitar electronic music with vocals (http://www.myspace.com/silverpulsars) and ambient instrumental music. Iv'e been playing maybe 14 years on and off. I own a load of pedals including a dd20, dl4, re20, 2880, boss overdrive and a nice tremolo. This sounds amazing in that chain. This is my chain:

re20 > volume pedal > dl4 > dd20 > POG > Boss overdrive > Tremolo > 2880 looper (with the foot pedal). Again, remember to use the FX send and return for your pedals and plug your guitar direct into the amp. This is the best setup for your pedals, no doubt.

Finally, as a hint, try putting it before the overdrive/distortion, whack a reverse on it, loop over it and it's gonna sound great.

Don't just think of a pedal like this as a rock pedal - it's way more flexible than that. It just so happens most if not all movies online are rock demos. It's fantastic. If there was one thing I wish it had then that would be a second input so I could put vocals through it as well.

easy peasy

sounds great

this is the thing,its all good but in my case the pog turns on and alls well and good untill it starts humming and increases in volume untill the bloody thing cus out and i have to unplug it and start again it does this every time i use it!!!!.this makes it unsuitable for gigging (in my case)

id appreciate if anyone could shed some light on why this is happening?

nope

Pretty simple business. You move the sliders, find something you like and roll with it. Understanding how octaves work in conjunction with another and taking advantage of them is another story however.

When you find the honey, it sounds sick, absolutely wonderful. The tracking is spot on, chords run smooth, however, when you place you input and/or your dry output too high you run into some overdrive issues. Not the kind you enjoy either, just wrong and off.
I haven't been able to find any threads concerning this issue so perhaps it's just mine, or everyone putting up with it and not expecting miracles when dropping to so low and octave without any problems.

When this thing goes Church organ, it goes CHURCH ORGAN. I play in-a-gada-da-vida on it and sweet jeebus. Very nice, very full.. hilarious.

I got mine used, $245cdn. It had aesthetic scratches and it's made of tin, but it should last if I don't throw it around. Like anything else right?

I've heard stories of it crapping out here and there.. but what pedal hasn't at least once done that to you? No pedal is perfect.

Haven't used it yet, hoping not too.

I'd say it's one of my favorite pedals.. just too much fun. Throws you into another direction all together. Experiment with this thing. Ignore idiots like the EH POG youtube video guy. He's playing rock with this?!?!!? EH makes pedals to test your creative boundaries.. use it for that.
Play rock if you want, but come on.. you've got an organ at your fingertips. Run with that! Try something different.

If you have a brain that works and any guitar skill whatsoever, you'll be getting an abundance of amazing, unique, useable sounds out of this within 5 minutes.

Listen up, all numbskulls (most of the people who have posted reviews for this thus far). The big problem I see here is that most of you are getting your overdrive/distortion/fuzz from a pedal rather than a decent amp with something handy called an "effects loop." If you DO have a decent amp with an effects loop and you're not using your POG through it, unplug your mess, and run all your effects through it. You will find that, suddenly, there is ZERO noise. The guys at Guitar Center didn't even know. I said I wanted to check out the POG. They were like, "Cool, bro, we'll set it up for you!" I went over there and, sure enough, they had a guitar running straight into the POG, then from the POG to the input of the amp. I sighed... Here we go... I stomped it on, and what did I get? Heavy, low frequeny hiss/hum. So, I told them to get me another cable because you need one from your guitar to input of amp, one from effects loop send to input of effect, one from output of effect to return of effects loop. They were reluctant, but did as I asked. I kicked it back on, and it sounded like a dream.

This thing is so tight. Put the input 25% of the way up, dry signal @ 75%, Sub @ 60%, octave 1 @ 50%, octave 2 @ 35%, Zero out the detunes and crank the filter to the top. Crank your amp's gain, or kick on whatever little, crappy stompbox distortion gadget you have. Then do some sweet, funky lead runs and it sounds like a bass and two guitars rockin together.

Sorry if I sounded like a jerk above. It just irks me when people spend $$$$$$ on cool stuff and don't even know the basics.

I don't own one. I just play it all the time @ Guitar Center. I'm going to buy one with my tax return. Today, it was strange, it wasn't working, so we unplugged the power, plugged it back in and it started back up. It was like it needed reset. I'm not worried about it, I have other EHX stuff and they're build like tanks.

Never needed it before.

I play really edgy, riff driven, rock. This is the kinda effect that sets people apart. Put it in your arsenal and it'll further define your sount. If you just want to sound like everyone else, don't get it. It's expensive, but worth it.

The manual for this product was ok, I watched the video on a certain video site with Peter Stroud and that inspired me to buy it, so I paused at the correct time and used the settings I could see there for the 12 string, took me a minute to memorize the different sliders and then I was away, my unit is stock, No Mods or upgrades.

Heard Super Colossal? 10 minutes playing with this thing and you'll have that sound, the tracking is very fast, I play either heavy chording or lots of notes in a solo, and I found it tracked them very fast, the Low Pass Filter is great for tuning in to the sound you want. The "Input" Slider is helpful, but the higher you go, the muddier and more distorted the sound gets, but that's no problem, Just turn up the amp instead. My flow at the moment is: Guitar ~> POG ~> PodxtLive ~> Loop Station ~> Spider II. The POG worked ok in between effects, but for crystal clarity put it either first in your signal, or second (after tuner)

Sturdy metal casing and very firm input jacks, Your leads won't slip out as with some poss pedals, the plastic sliders could break, but I've had mine for a month, and as long as I don't stamp on the, they'll hold up fine. Nice rubber feet as well, for grip on carpet.

I cannot comment, Thing's so damn good I didn't need them.

I play classic rock, shred, progressive metal/rock, acoustic and so much more, this matches those styles well, I find it works best with clean tones, it's great for simulating acoustic 12's and similar, really great with clean sounds, With distortion It can be a little screechy, but only if you're using serious gain and distortion. I've been playing for 4 years, I'm grade 8 standard. If it were stolen I'd buy it again because I think it's a great effect, although hopefully by then the price will have dropped a little bit, because I'm a tad short on cash! I comapred it with the Digitech Whammy, but had to get the POG in the end because the tracking is just so much faster, although I wish the POG had an expression pedal like the whammy, but that would bump the cost up a fair bit. A Great pedal, not a necessity, but really fantastic sounding, definitely worth the cash and will last forever.

Very easy to use, but the manual should be read closely, first & foremost.

Here's why I'm writing this: this pedal works it's best magick going directly INTO a distortion or fuzz/OD pedal! I can't stress that enough! I'm using HBE Germania & Germacide, and I LOVE the results. When used sparingly it really does a great "Nine Inch Nails" type of guitar effect, very spatial, much like an octave/chorus effect. That where this thing shines. I can't wait to use it on some vocal remixes I'll be doing next week, but SPARINGLY. That's the trick. you wanna 12 string effect? BUY a 12 string gtr. You want to add depth & space to an OD?Fuzzed out gtr? This is yer $300 answer.

Had it 4 weeks, nothing failed yet.

No opinion here, either.

Overall, if yer into the whole Ministry/Nine Inch Nails gtr/synth vibe, get one of these NOW. Be forewarned; ya gotta put it thru a decent Dist/OD/Fuzz pedal (Zvex/HBE/etc), NOT some cruddy DOD/$39 special. Putting it thru a Dist/Fuzz first seems to take the best this pedal has to offer & reduce it to just an octave pedal, and not a very good one at that. Dist/OD set up after the POG, then slowly add the octave effects of the POG to induce that 3D gtr effect heard all over the first 4 NIN CDs and the "Land of Rape and Honey & Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" Ministry CDs. I thought I might only keep this for 30 days & then get my money back, but the depth this is capable of adding to simple gtr/synth lines makes this thing a keeper in my floor pedal collection. However, it's $330 price tag makes this just a "7" when it comes to value. These should be priced closer to $200 to be a REAL value. Cheers!

Once you understand what each slider does, it's very easy to use. A little understanding of music theory helps, though it is not essential to using this pedal. The manual is minimal. A few examples of settings and the sound it will produce. You can spend a lot of time messing with the POG, but that's ok. It's fun!

The octave effect was the main reason I bought the POG. I don't use it for guitar, I play harmonica through it! My rig consist of a ElecroVoice RE 8 or 10 mic, a inline compressor/volumn control into a Boss DM-2, Boss OC-2 with the octaves all the way off and the tone at about 3, a Boss DD-3 set at 800 ms., the POG, Hughes and Kettner MKI rotosphere into a 59 Bandmaster. I set the POG with the dry at 50%, the sub at about 80%, the 1 and 2 octaves at around 30% and the detuned octaves at about 25%. I set the LPF in the middle position. Depending on where I'm playing - outside, large room, small room, etc., I'll make slight adjustments to fit the space. Incredible sound! I'm a professional blues musician and have been playing the harp for over 40 years. This is the best sound I've ever gotten for amped harp. It sounds as if I'm playing a B3. The POG gives me hugh sounding notes and tracks perfectly. When I'm tongue blocking chords it really has a organ like vibe. The rotosphere and POG together sound like no harmonica you've ever heard. I can play the classic style harp of LW, Sonny Boy, etc., but I've chosen to take the harp into new territory and the POG is a big part of the sound I get now. When other harp players discover the POG, they are going to flip!!
GREAT SOUND!!!!!

So far so good. Never use a Electro-Harmonix product before. We'll see, I play over 225 shows a year.

No contact yet.

I love this pedal. I'm trying to cut new ground with the harmonica and so far the POG has really given me the sound I'm after.

This is the category that I most wanted to make a comment about. I keep my POG in a pedal board/flight case. So, yea, it gets knocked around a little, but not any more than my other gear. Within 4 months of buying this thing, EVERY screw that holds the circuit board in place had rattled out, AND the switch in the back had basically lost its mounting screws too.

OK, granted, I am fully capable of tightening screws on my own. But let's be honest. How many of us pack up from a show and think, "Oh, I had better check all the screws on all my gear, just in case"?

In addition, while the sliders are a great visual representation of the sound, THEY BREAK VERY EASILY. And then, your sound is set wherever it wound up last.

When I bought this pedal I had such high hopes. And I used it all the time. But after the screws fell out and the sliders broke, I stuffed it in the closet of misspent $$ (READ ALSO: The Danelectro Closet).

The pedal sounds great, but you gotta treat it like GOLD.

GUITARS:
FENDER STRATS (HIGHWAY 1, American Std, MIM)
LES PAULS (Epiphone Black Beauty, Gibson LP Standard)
VARIOUS OTHERS

AMPS:
VOX Valvetronix 2x12
VOX AC30CC2

EFFECTS:
TS-9
TS-808
PEDAL POWER 2
VISUAL SOUND HIGHWAY 1
POG (ehem)
DIGITECH DIGIDELAY
MISC

The POG is very easy to use, once you know what everything does. There are no presets, so you have to manually change between patches. The little manual is of modest use- it tells you what the sliders do and offers a few sample patches, and that's it.

I think this box is useful, but you have to work to get good tone out of it. The various octives have a great deal of digital aliasing and distortion. We're not talking warm distortion here- we're talking bizarre irritating noise. So, you have to pull the tone control way down when using it. This limits the usefullness of it considerably.

It injects a noticeable amount of noise into the signal. Also, it sucks tone from the original guitar signal when used. If you do an a/b comparison between the bypassed tone and the dry output when used, you will notice a distinct difference.

You can get about 4 very good sounds. It produces a great bass sound, an acceptable 12 string sound (if blended with other instruments), good organ tones, and can add subtle shimmer to regular guitar similar to a chorus.

Very well built.

I play multiple styles of music. The coolest use of this box is running my Rickenbacker 330-12 string through it. Since it is already a 12 string, when all those octives fire off you get a shimmering wall of sound. I also like it for thickening a regular guitar similar to a chorus, and the organ tones are pretty cool.

It is noisy, though, both digital distortion and hiss. Because of these problems, it is not a regular in my effects loop. Instead, I use it for special purposes. If it were lost, I'm not sure if I would replace it or not.

It's like a mini mixing desk. Each slider does exactly what it says it does. There's no interchangable patches so what you see is what you get. The manual provides some good starting points. It would've been nice if when the input gain and dry output sliders are at their middle settings, the signal has unity gain (same output as input) as this would make it easy to build sounds around, but this isn't the case. Doesn't take too long to set up sounds though.

I basically bought this for use as a sub-octave pedal, so that's what I'll talk about. Every octave I've ever tried never tracks perfectly, even if you play perfectly, which makes them almost useless as far as I'm concerned. This thing, however, is awesome. I've tried every way I know of confusing it but it just won't do it. It even does chords! I get the impression that in stead of calculating what note you're playing then reproducing one an octave below, it simply has an algorhythm that halves the frequency of whatever's going through it. With the low pass filter set at full (no effect) it seems to be letting through a small amount of all the other octaves, making it sound a little metallic. All you need to do is move the LP filter down and you can get a perfect bass sound. I've A-B-ed this with a Boss OC-3 and there really is no comparison. Then, of course, there's the upper octaves which I didn't think I'd be interested in until I bought it........... This thing is seriously good fun. I'd give it a 10 but for the noise, which is a little much, though it does have true bypass.

It seems pretty well built. It uses the standard Electro-Harmonix footswitch although it's electronically connected rather than providing the bypass in the switch itself. It's mounted on the corner of the unit so blind stomping shouldn't be too much of a problem. The power supply seems a little on the flimsy side; the Boss GT series pedals have set a very high standard in power cables. As both the back and the front don't have flat sides (they come to a point) the jack cables end up pointing into the air as opposed to coming straight out, which isn't too hot.

Shouldn't think I'll be contacting EHX any time soon. Their website is really helpful for listening to what their pedals sound like with multiple sound samples from the big names who are using them, I wish all the manufacturers did it like them. www.EHX.com For that reason alone they deserve a 10.

This is a great, yet another awesome innovation from EHX. On the sub-octave front, nothing else comes near. Of course, ?230 is alot of money for just an octave pedal but it's well worth it considering it's the only octave pedal that actually works properly! The organ and 12-string sounds you can get out of it put this thing in a league of it's own, I'm getting stick from my band mates as I'm trying to put it in every song! Self restraint is reccommended.

Sliders aren't that precise, but easy enough to "dial in" the sound you want using the one page manual. Better than a step through menu like so many pedals out there.

Using it with a Ric 370/6 with vintage toaster pups, DOD FX65 chorus pedal, and silver face Fender Deluxe Reverb amp. Primarily using it for 12 string simulation, which is very good. Adds a little noise and volume boost, but this can be compensated for with the guitar volume and tone controls.

Haven't used in a live gig setting yet, but it seems pretty sturdy. I plan to set it and leave it alone during our sets.

Have not dealt with the company direct, but the website is pretty good, and I was able to download the owner's manual, which was not included with the pedal, as I bought it used.

I just had to share my experience with the POG I just purchased. I am the original owner of a Ric 370/12 Roger McGuinn that I purchased in 1989. I have been gigging with it in a classic rock band since 1995, in addition to my various strats and teles. I love the Ric, but have become increasingly nervous about taking it to our various gigs, mostly in bars, due to it's ever increasing value. I was lucky enough to purchase an almost new Ric 370/6 with vintage toasters for $1200.00. It's a great looking and playing guitar, but I knew I was going to miss that 12 string jangle. After some input from people on the Rickenbacker forum at Ric's website, I read the reviews for the POG here at Harmony Central. I took the plunge and all I can say is I'm glad I did! In the 12 string setting, it tracks so fast, that chords have that ringing sound that just sings out vintage Ric! My Digitech Whammy can't do this and neither can the RP100. The POG was pricey, but worth every penny since I can now retire my 370/12 and just play it at home in the studio.
If the POG were lost or stolen, I would definitely buy another.

The Electro-Harmonix POG has a number of sliding controls for input gain, output, sub-octave (one below source), +1 octave (one above source) +1 detuned, +2 octave and +2 octave detuned. There is also control for the low pass frequency and and LPF selection over what it actually controls. All up, the POG is easy to use in so far that it make a great sound whatever you do with it. It's less easy to use when aiming for a specific sound, but this is by virtue of the simply jaw-dropping array of sounds one finds getting there. Hours can be lost with this thing, and, with the sheer quality of the sound, that's A Very Good Thing.
The manual is well-written and offers good explanation for the controls, but it does take some musical knowledge to best understand its content. No bad thing.
The only slight disadvantage with the POG is repeating settings you've found. The sliders are only graduated with 25, 50 and 75% marks and can't be set that accurately. Again, no biggie when the sounds are so great. I'd rather the sliders than LCDs and menus!

Signal chain Gibson SG>TU2>POG>WD-7 wah>DD3 delay>UF-01 Fuzz>Digitech Grunge>BB-2 leads>RG-1 modulation into Laney TF-300. At extremes of settings, the POG can induce just a little noise but you wouldn't normally use such settings at band volumes. In any case, it is by no means excessive and isn't a problem to me.
The effect simply always sounds great. I find it an absolute inspiration - there's is simply nothing quite like it. It does have a tendency to be a little shrill when using a lot of +2 octave, but a tweak on your guitar's tone pot soon changes that. I love this pedal.

This is a complicated, expensive, 18 volt digital pedal. The construction could be said to be a little on the weak side, but treat it with the respect it deserves and I don't think you'll have a problem. A spilt drink on it would make me cry though: I don't think it'd survive that.

Had no cause to contact E-H, so no opinion offered.

I play a style of music you might call experimental punk (ish). Maybe, not sure - I don't personally care much for the labels. Notwithstanding this, the POG is hands-down THE most expressive, inspirational pedal I have ever tried. It takes me to new areas I haven't tried before and has livened up old work no end. It is near peerless in the sound it makes, though to date most of the favourite sounds I've found approximate an organ. By accident. There ARE other sounds (a bass for example) and uses, and I can't wait to find them. The POG definately helps me make music, probably most by the inspiration it gives me. The only constructive criticism I could level at it is the expense, and, if I were being harsh, the assertion that it couldn't be used a huge amount in any one gig without sounding a little repetitive. I will try though.

The POG can be considered an esoteric piece of sonic loveliness for the audiophile, but perhaps not too well suited to the masses. Personally I love it, but it took a long time to justify the expense!

It is pretty easy to use. The sliders control everything so it just takes time. I actually think there should be a few more sliders, for other parameters instead of so many octaves. The most important controls are the frequency/cutoff. The expression button on the unit was a nice touch if you don't have an additional expression pedal.

I used a chapman stick to test this, and it worked great. At first I could not dial in a good tone, but then I got some organs and simple synth tones. It is a polyphonic pedal so it should handle all the chords and nuances with no tracking errors. Hmmm, this is partially true. I was hearing some very minor garbles occasionally, not errors though. No big deal, and it really is the best polyphonic pedal available. The sound is digital and a tad bright, unless you adjust the frequency. It sounds pretty nuts, and the possibilitys and combonation of sliders is great.
It is pretty cool and should work for more experimental genres. I like crazy out there spacy stuff, and this would fit the bill. Its still not a 100% guitar synth though, its a harmonic octave generator. I just wish there would a couple more sound sculpting sliders on here, then maybe it would be worth the 500$. A damn cool pedal for what it is!

Not totally sure

not sure

It is neat and strange. The polyphonic aspect is its golden feature. Lots of munckin synthy tones, and organs. It doesn't sound like an analog synth or anything though, look at the micro-synth for better guitar synth sounds. Its a multiplex-hyperspace octave pedal! Now lets bring the crazy price down a little.

The Manual Gives You A Some Good Places To Start. Its Stimple Once You Mess Around With It.

Fender Stratocaster With Gibson 57 Humbuckers Out Of A Marshall. I Play Several Boss Pedals And Everywhere I Put This In My Effects Chain It Seemed To Have The Same Result. It Rules. The Only Reason I Give It An 8 Is Cause You Can Get Amazing Organ Sound With Basically Any Chord But If You Play A Fast Line Of Single Notes Before Going To The Next Chord They Sound Like Real Cheesy. I Dont Know Maybe Its Just Me. There Are Plenty Of Settings That Work Phenomenal For Both, Just Mentioning. That Has Nothing To Do With Sound Quality, Im An Idiot.

Id Walk Through Hell With This Thing.

I Emailed Them Once About Where This Thing Is Best In My Effects Chain And They Got Back To Me The Next Morning With Some Tips.

The Reason I Decided To Write This Review Was Because While I Was Still Saving Up To Buy This Sucker I Must Have Read Every Review On It And Didn Get Anything On How It Is With Other Pedals. Especially Distorion Pedals. I Use It With The Boss Metal Zone. Which Is Pretty Much On The End Of The Distorion Spectrum As Far As Heavy Goes. Its Extremely Hard To Get This Thing To Sound As Amazing As It Does Alone (No Kidding) With The Metal Zone. Ive Come Pretty Close, And I Must Say For Any Heavy Metal Player, This Will Open Up A Whole New World. And IT Gets Heads Turning Thats For Sure. Basically It Sounds Like The Phantom Of The Opera Pissed Off In A Cave. My Brothers Band Practices In The Basement And The Guitar Players Are Pretty Much To Cool For Pedals (Sarcasm) And When I Turn This Sucker On They Even Come Praising This Thing. Its Worth Every Single Cent I Saved.

Slide the faders as though you are caressing a beautiful lover, my friend - this thing deserves a Casanova's touch for what IT provides.... there's just so, so, SO many options of sounds to remember, IT may drive you bonkers with ecstasy!

i haven't used the POG with my full rig yet (Fender Deluxe, a bunch of Boss and E-H FX, and 1978 Ibanez Musician, nicknamed BBW, for either Big-Boned Woman or Best of Both Worlds, pick yer fave), soooo i have yet to find out the full "regular" sound quality, but for the moment i must say there's quite a bit of grindy fuzz when notes are hit with strong attack, even with the "input" (gain) fader close to fully down....

HOWEVER i must say furthur that i give the sound quality a "9" rating because I'VE NEVER HEARD BLOODY SOUNDS LIKE THIS OUT OF AN FX PEDAL BEFORE!!! GHAAA!!! i've been waiting years....

Crikey, i sure hope so.... this mofo is too SWEET to crap out on me.... i'll take pains to treat IT like a thin crystal bauble wrapped in tissue paper of gossamer filament....

Haven't had to call 'em yet....

Hells Bells, this POG is like the freakin' Holy Grail of guitar FX!!! let's see, where to begin? if you just push up nothing but the input fader, you've got a fuzzbox; if you just push up the sub-octave and fiddle with the lowpass, you've got a bass; if you bring in the dry signal with the first octave detuned, you've got a 12-string; if you put them all together, you get a really fat tone for lead-playing; and then if you just start movin' things around, you start finding realistic organ sounds comin' out the proverbial wazoo! i'm not one for church, but i'm all for churchy - and Jiminy Christmas, does this thing get CHURCHY! i'm talkin' anything from ringing cathedral tones, to intimate gospel settings (find 'em by bringing the lowpass down to a subtle hum), to grinding Hammond gain and lots of stuff in between.... i can't WAIT to try IT out with my Destination Rotation and the Pulsar....
so if this isn't enough yet, yes there's more, you can get a sweet steel drum tone, accordion, bagpipes (more or less), and lilting 2nd-octave tones by themselves approximating either a VERY melodically-tweeting bird or John Popper going nuts on the harp.... i'm still looking for the sitar tone which some other dude wrote was in there somewhere....

So let's recap, shall we?

Fuzzbox + bass + 12-string + fat lead tones + cathedral organ + gospel organ + Hammond organ + steel drum + accordion + bagpipes + harmonica + potential sitar.... = uhhh, maybe THE BEST GUITAR FX PEDAL EVER? Just maybe? Maybe?
dude, sorry to go on and on like this, but.... you gotta check this thing out if you consider your FX pedals to be just as much instruments as the axe you play.... the POG is hands down the instant classic i always knew was out there.... now all i need to do is learn how to play the guitar.... nyuck nyuck nyuck

Super simple to learn to use. Anyone who says that this is hard has to be an idiot. It's pretty self-explanatory. It's just faders that control the volume of each individual octave. The manula will provide any know ledge needed to get great tones from this thing. I will say that anyone buying this for just a regular octave tone is silly. If you don't want to make "weird" tones don't buy it.

Pristine tones. Not every single tone that you dial in is great for everything, but that's the way it goes for octave pedals. I am currently using it with bass. I play a 61 Fender P-bass, a 62 Fender J-bass and a 70 Rick 4001. The more sublte the instrument the more subtle the tone variance. The Rick sound best because it has a bit of a wider frequency range anyway. So it gets a chance to exploit some of the higher frequencies that just don't come out of a P-bass. I have several effect pedals (more than 50). I currently am running thru the POG - then the EH Bass Micro-Synth - then the EH Graphic Fuzz - then a EH Deluxe Memory Man - then the EH 16 Second Delay. It does not color the sound at all. Having all true bypass pedals helps that though. It gets complete dub tones thru the most insane organ tones. It's really cool at getting the Hammond organ tones. Keeps you from having to bring one to gigs if you don't use it that much. The music that I play right now is sort of an instrumental prog/pysch band. So weird tones are what I need.

I have never had a problem with it. I have only had it for about 10 months or so. I use it about 10 hours a week. Most EH pedals never have too many problems.

EH is pretty easy to deal with. I have never really had any problems with them before.

I have been playing for about 10 years and this is by far the coolest octave pedal I have ever heard. Don't buy anything else. All the tones are great, it's really easy to use and doesn't color the tone when not in use.

Fairly easy once you spend some time with it. There are a few settings as mentioned below where the noise is overbearing, mostly if you turn the low pass fliter all the way up. Its nice that there are sliders and no digital editing for easy change of settings. It would be great if there were presets so you can save a few sounds but otherwise it is functional.

Wow, this is truly a unique effect! I went to the music store to buy a tremolo pedal and I ended up getting this instead! I have always loved octave effects and have used a HBE UFO for octave up sounds and a Boss PS-5 for octave down effects with poor results. The Boss just sounds fake and very digital and doesn't track cleanly. This thing does the octave down so much fuller and cleaner AND it tracks chords, which is really the stand out feature of this.

I always wanted a pedal that could cop good organ sounds and this is the one! I get a nice church organ sound and all the notes are heard clearly when chords are tracked. It seems impossible to overload the signal and get jumbled tracking. I still haven't figured out what the real difference is in the low pass stich positions as it seems to be subtle. I can't explain how cool this thing sounds!

I have had best results using it in front of the amp and not in the loop. This is my chain as of today:
Les Paul>Keely mod Vox wah>EB Volume>Dano 7 band EQ> HBE UFO octavia/fuzz> POG > Line6 FM4 Filter modeler> Splawn Pro Mod (analog+digital delay in loop)> Bogner 4x12.

The review below says this is digital and I don't know if it is but it sounds analog. It adds a certain fatness to the sound that is makes it warmer. The fatter the better when it comes to tone IMO.

It seems ok but I have had bad luck with EH so far. I wish they would use real metal instead of that crap thin aluminum. You can feel the casing give way when you stomp on them. Also the sliders can get dirty easily and it's not easy to get the dirt out. Mine have already become a little sticky at points after owning it for 3 months.It certainly feels better than their other pedals I have played though. I also bought the floor model at a discounted price becuase it was the only one they had.

Never dealt with them.

I play in an original progressive/hard rock band (www.cheapsedatedhams.com)similar to Primus/Zappa/Mr. Bungle and it this pedal certainly fits with our strange music at points. i have been playing for about 12 years and have been an effects junkie for the past 5 or so. There is nothing like this pedal, as of now so I would say it is almost worth the hefty price tag, but i still can't justify a specialty effect being $300 when you won't be using it all the time. I do wish the pedal was a bit smaller as well because I need a new pedal board now to fit all of my favorite pedals! I am very critical, as if you couldn't tell, but seriously this pedal sounds really good and is so unique. Its worth checking out.

May seem complex at first, but really easy to get a good sound out of it, once you know what all the sliders do. The Manual was straight forward one page two sides, as with almost any EHX Manual it just goes straight to the point. You may spend more time hunched over this things making new sounds then actaully playing it...I haven't fully decided where it should go in my effects chain. As with anything there are no set rules just some basic guidlines, its all a matter of finding what suits you the best and gives you your sound.

Currently I run a Les Paul with EMG 85 and 81, Boss SD-1, Big Muff, POG, Holy Grail Reverb. Hope to get my new Wah-wah soon. The POG at extreme settings can get a bit noisy. It has a digital hiss noise (yes it is Digital NOT Analog!), which I dont mind. If you dont like that, buy a noise gate pedal. Overall the sound it pretty good, it does sound a bit synthetic and not very natural but a bit of playing around and you can get it to sound fairly organic and realistic. From what i hear with my set up it tracks awesome, no flaws.

I know Jack White from The White Stripes used one in their album: "Get Behind me Satan" most noticable on the song "Blue Orchid" but its on a couple other songs too.

We all know that EHX has some issues with reliability that is no mystery. Considering the price i paid for it I baby my POG as though it were a new born infant. I wouldn't stage dive on it or slam my foot on it or anything. If you have some common sense and take care of your stuff there is no reason why it should crap out on you. Enough said.

Never had to deal with EHX as all my stuff works great. No Opinion here.

I have been waiting for something like this for a while. I have always liked octave effects and wanted one that would do chords and track them well. Boss was close with their octave pedals but i never really liked them. I find that this pedal is a great addition and gives me new creative ideas for my music. The only thing I would like to see on this pedal is a lower price tag! It is one expensive effects pedal. I would try one out before you shell out a huge amount of cash for one. Other then that I think it was a great investment and its an effect that is so much more then anything else I have seen out there so far...I can only imagine what they will think of next...

It's easy to get a usable sound out of this thing at nearly any setting. I use it live mostly. It's a layering issue. If I only wanted a 12-string Rick tone, I'd leave it at that. But setting it up as an organ is more versatile for my needs. I wish I had four like Jack White so I could expand my possibilities in the live setting. The manual, like any decent instructor, tells you the basics and teaches you how to learn on your own. The rest is up to your imagination

My set-up is as follows: Strat w/ hot rails bridge p'up->Seymour P'up Booster->EHX POG->Boss EQ->BBE Sonic Maximizer->Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. (EFX Loop: ISP Decimator->EHX Small Clone->BF-3->EHX Deluxe Memory Man) I play with the booster on full time. With the guitar volume up full, there can be some serious hiss from the POG. That's where the Decimator is essential. My band plays short songs with lots of fast changes, so pedal punching and tweaking through the song isn't an option for me. I pop it in for sustained chords under versus and occasionally on lead lines. Used sparingly in our three piece, this adds the fourth dimension we've sought on many of our songs. A shoe gazer would cream over the variations you could construct with this baby. I LOVE cranking the gain up full on my guitar with this and blasting out a mean polyoctive solo. Check out White Stripes' "Elephant". The POG is all over the album. I also like to turn the Small Clone speed up full and run it at high gain for some crunchy Jimmy Smith-eque improvs. It's a little hissy, but that's only a concern on high-gain settings with my rig. It's a cheap price to pay for the lush EHX analogue polyphonic orgy you get in return. I just turn off the gate to keep the sustain when i play with the gain low.

I will baby this thing in my pedal case. It's as tough as my Deluxe Memory Man and Small Clone; and they've lasted a year of gigging in NYC every two weeks for a year. I'd love a back-up. I'd like to have four. I wouldn't let my dog pee on it or leave it outside, but I'm sure it would survive such circumstances. I'd give a boss pedal a 10 cause you could prop your truck up with a boss and not hurt it. The EHX stuff is a finer instrument and should be treated as such.

They're in my home town. Never seen 'em or heard from them cause I never had a problem with their gear. The place I bought it is excellent. I give them 99% of my business: Main Drag Music. With retailers as dedicated to their customers as these guys are, EHX has nothing to worry about.

Check out www.republickins.com. It's lyrically edgy power pop. My style is a mix of Stevie Ray blues attack, Andy Summers/Andy Gill sparsness, and hill billy flatpicking. I own a few overdrive pedals, but prefer a hot humbucker, clean boost and some overdriven power tubes. That's the best recipe for full harmonic bark that rolls back into a smooth purr. I run a Weber attenuator before the speaker for small clubs and rehearsals. To fully exploit the POG's potential, I avoid alot of distortion. The POG will be a staple of my live rig for a many moons. I never want for a 'fuller' sound since POG came into my life. Our 3-piece gets to stay a 3-piece. If someone stole it they'd be very lucky because they'll have one of the best pedals ever. Karma will take care of the rest. The low-pass filter is handy. The other octave pedals can't touch it. It's a value because I could never make something this beautiful out of circuits and solder. Don't even look at the others octave pedals. Just save a few extra months and get the POG. It will be worth the wait.

It was pretty simple to use ... the hardest thing about it was finding the right place where to place it in the effects chain.

There is a real simple manual (1 sheet, front and back).

For this test I used a Fender American Standard Telecaster through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Amp. I mainly bought this pedal for the "organ" sound so I first set the pedal up for that sound to give it a test. The results were as close to an organ sound that I've ever heard through a guitar pedal and amp.

To make my organ experiment a little more interesting I hooked my Rotovibe up after the POG (to get a swirly speaker sound) and it did add alot to the sound so for those who have the Rotovibe (or another similar pedal) try it out with the POG.

I just got the pedal today so I haven't tried it out with other pedals to see where I should place it in the effects chain (but it works best with the Rotovibe after the POG).

Another intersting thing about this pedal is it works great as another overdrive pedal. Just use the Input, Dry Output and LPF. Turn the Output down low and turn the Input all the way up and play with the LPF to adjust the EQ.

I've got an Electro-Harmionix Big Muff (USA Reissue) pedal and I've had it for about 2-3 years and it still has the same battery in it and it still works great.

I also had a Holy Grail Reverb pedal that I used with an old amp (that I sold to buy the Fender HRD) and the Holy Grail Reverb pedal was great as well.

I've never had any problems out of either of those pedals so I would say this would most likely be the same.

I sent in the warrenty card for one of the other EH pedals I had and they sent a reply via email commenting about a question I had on my comment section on the vard I sent it. I was impressed that they actually read the card!!!

I bought this pedal mostly for the organ sound and it does it great. I will more than likely try it out and experiment later with it somemore to see what else I can get out of it.

The only thing I didn't like about the pedal is the cost ... the pedal is really expensive. I bought mine used off of Ebay (with the warranty card, AC adapter and box) and the pedal was still $300+.

I went to a store to check this pedal out, after hearing great things about it from Omar (Mars Volta) and having seen Nels Cline use it with Wilco.

I played for 2 minutes with the thing.

I bought it.

This is the first pedal I have heard in 5 years that is truly different and unique. And it takes 2 seconds to get sounds out of it which will make you think you have died and gone to heaven

I use 2 amplifiers (Marshall bluesbreaker + Fender Bassman 59) and a variety of guitars and pedals (15 and counting... : )

This pedal adds a little bit of excess noise, which is to be expected with analogue gear. But the sounds of the things...OH OH OH the sound. This pedal may be that holy grail you have been looking for. If you like Eno soundscapes, radiohead, sigur ros. Fuck if you just love music. BUY THIS

Not had it long enough to say. But EHX stuff is normall pretty reliable.

Only had to deal with EHX once, and they fixed a faulty pedal straight away

This pedal is great for Rock atmosherics, jazz, funk dance. You name it, it has a usable sound for whatever genre.

People who hear this thing literally fall over themselves to get one.

The most original guitar effect for a very very very long time.

Do yourself a favour and buy one

what impressed me most about this pedal is that right out of the box i dialed in a nice funky bass sound, looped the bass line to herbie hancock's chameleon, and then tweaked the sliders a little bit to get that upper range synth/keyboard sound for the melody. this pedal grabbed the right tones pretty quickly and it sounded great. it is somewhat impossible to get the "exact" same settings that you had before though.

i play a guild s-100 into a tweed fender blues deville 212. this pedal definitely produces some weird noises, which is totally due to the low pass filter slider which controls the q or the tone. i had to get this pedal for the promised organ sounds, and i'd say it delivered, but not right away and not exactly what i expected. however, i don't regret spending the money because this pedal has so many good sounds. my band is myself and my brother the drummer, so basically this pedal fattens up my sound on both ends. it suits my style because the tracking is on point and i can play muted bass lines and guitar chords at the same time.

you can tweak the settings a bit with your toes but for a major change you'll have to get down on the floor. i almost freaked out once when it wouldn't turn on but it worked once i unplugged the power and plugged it back in. take care of expensive equipment and it will last a long time. that's my advice. i bought this pedal with my tax return and although it ain't cheap, and i don't think it's "worth it" in a purely objective sense, in my subjective musician's sense of wanting a good sound to make good music no matter what the cost, it's worth it.

i think that we customers support electro harmonix more than they support us, but hey, they make nice effects, so what else do you want? if anybody want to trade up patches or settings or thoughts on this pedal then send me an e-mail.

This is the coolest pedal ever. To sound most like an organ, you need to let the chords ring out. I've found good pipe organ, reed organ, church organ, accordion maybe, steel drums for sure, but the hammond b3 and the fender rhodes are tougher to pin down. A wide variety of synth and bass sounds are readily available, and it's all up to you: you pick what you want and how much of it. the gain is somewhat useful but most won't want to crank it up too much. i haven't really been able to tell too much difference in the lpf 1, 2, or 3, but the lpf slider is great as a final tweak of how bassy or trebley you want to sound at the particular moment. after i heard this pedal i instantly got rid of my eh octave multiplexor because this does much better. i don't have any leslie simulators but one day that might be a good addition. too many cooks spoil the broth, so i'm trying to keep the pedals to a minimum, but i have the line6 loop station/delay and i'm getting a visual sounds route 66 overdrive/compressor in a few days. check out gearclosetaudio.com - i sent them a couple of old pedals as a trade in on a new one- they're even sending me a check for the difference. or they'll just buy your pedals from you. pretty cool. the only other pedal i feel like i have to have right now is the emma effects discumBOBulator envelope filter.

Hopefully someone else will get some use out of this review!!! :) Ok this is just a suggestion for those who have and/or are going to have the POG. I love organ sounds!!! It's my thing, although I play guitar!!!! Go figure. But I have been experimenting ever since I got this thing trying to get the best organ sound out of it. I don't use the EH setting much it seems a bit muddy to me. Instead I use alot of the lower octave a bir of the dry output a little of the second(higher octave) and the detuned 2nd octave all the way!!! I really like that. But also, two things you need for sure for the best organ effect. 1st and most importantly, a leslie simulator, preferably Hughes and Kettner Rotosphere, because it has a good ramp simulation and, I think, a great feature in the break!!! That's up to you but it really needs the leslie sound. Secondly, unlike guitar, organ notes don't fade away, so get a compressor/sustainer (I use Guyatone's ST-2, but there are many to choose from) and crank the sustain all the way, or most. This will lend 2 things to the sound: notes that last forever( this is why i like the ramp feature as you can use it on single notes like real B3 players tend to do) and the compression when sustain is really high, will kinda simulate a little key click. It's not at all perfect but I like it. I hope this is useful to you organ freaks out there cus I promise it works!!!! EH rocks!!!!

ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! JUST DROP ME A LINE!!!

JARRETTBAILEY@HOTMAIL.COM

It's got alot of options and tons of sounds. It will take me a little fooling with to figure it out completely, but the sounds are so great that it makes "ease of use" fun even if it is a little involving!!!

WOW!!! It's like having a rack full of instruments in one little box. I have only had it a few days, but so far I have made organ sounds, 12-string, bass, mandolin, Sitar, and I am sure there are tons more!!! The octaves track so well that you can't tell where the dry signal stops and the octave effect begins!!! I am a B-3 freak!!! I love the sound of a hammond organ. But being a guitarist, it has been impossible to replicate it. But this pedal does the job great!! I am working on getting a leslie simulator now, b/c that is all that is needed to have a great organ sound!!! If you like/love the sound of a B3 this pedal is a must!!! Can I rate this an "11" ?

Not sure yet, but it looks like it is built very sturdy and reliable!! It's my 1st EH, but from what I read and hear they are built to last!!

Not sure yet... sorry

I play funk/blues/rock/acoustic...mostly funk though. I have been playing guitar for about 9 years and this is by far the coolest effect I have owned. It fits my music perfectly!! From acoustic 12-string stuff, to funky B3, it works!!! There are no other analog effects to compare this to. This is it!!!! I am all anlog and so this is the next thing to a synth!! I love it. If I lost it, yeah, definitely find another one quickly!!! I love this site and its helpful info, so if you are curious about this pedal and you are relying on this site to know whether to buy...BUY BUY BUY!! You WILL NOT be disapointed!!! If you get it and find any settings that are extremely cool and/or usable... email me I am always interested!!!

Unit is very easy to operate. Very thoughtful layout of faders as opposed to knobs (they hold positions extremely well and are a breeze to use). The suggested settings in the manual for 12 string guitar, organ and phat bass were right on. I agree with previous post that on 12 string and 18 string guitar settings you need to roll back some treble.
However, short of playing an actual 12 string Ric, the POG does a fine simulation for live applications and allows me to gig with one guitar (2004 Gretsch Setzer Hot Rod with TV Jones Classics).
Because of the variety of sounds available, I have to get used to adjusting the faders back and forth on stage between songs. This is a small price to pay as this unit has added a new dimension to my live sound pallette.
Best of all, the on/off switch is situated far from the faders so you won't accidentally kick your settings during live shows.

My setup is the Gretsch Hot Rod > Fulltone Supa Trem (for tone boost, not tremolo)> Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q > Barber Tone Pump > Maxon AD-80 Analog Delay > POG > Fender '65 Blackface Deluxe Reverb Reissue.
The unit is dead quiet when on or in bypass mode. The sound effects are very usable and never sound cheap. You can tweak them (bass, treble,different octaves/sounds)to your heart's content to get exactly the balance you want
I give the Hammond organ sound a 9.5. It sounded astonishing on "Like a Rollin' Stone" when I broke the unit in on New Year's Eve in a packed club.
I play in a duo with an acoustic guitarist and a drum machine. My bandmate couldn't wipe the grin off his face everytime I changed the faders. Since we don't have a bass player, I added a suboctave to the 12 string setting and left it on the entire night. It fattened up our sound unbelievably and made my leads really kick when I cranked the volume on the Gretsch.
I accidentally discovered a great steel drum sound (YES..STEEL DRUMS!) by using the 12 string setting , adding 50% suboctave and then kicking in the Cry Baby Wah and leaving it at the 75% position. We did Bob Marley's "3 Little Birds" and every note sounded like a tuned steel drum! The POG is like nothing else out there.

The unit is exceptionally well made and until it breaks I will not worry about it at all.
It does require an 18 volt adaptor (supplied with the unit) so I run it separately from my other pedals which are in a daisy chain with a One Spot power adaptor.
Since it is expensive, a backup is out of the question.

Never had any need to deal with them.

I've been playing out for 30 years. Worked all NYC clubs in the late 70's and 80's. Currently (past 8 years) in a duo working every weekend doing covers (Creedence, Mellencamp,Springsteen, CSNY) plus a lot of Irish rebel songs. (With my Ebow, I can even get bagpipes out of the POG.)
I compared this to the Boss Octave units and the Digitech Whammy. Wasn't even close...the POG has better octave tracking and is just outstanding at providing a multitude of sounds. I bought it without trying it (no one in NYC had one in stock!) from Elderly Music. They had the best price ($329 & free shipping). It is by far the best effects purchase I have made to enhance and fatten up the sound of my duo without adding a bass player (plus simulate Al Kooper on a Hammond!). If you are in a similar situation, or if you are in a full band and just want to get some great sounds (12 string/Hammond B3),check out the POG.

Blessedly simple. Only 3 modes to worry about and the rest is just equalizing the signals.

I'm playing a Sadowsky HSH strat and a RIC 650 through a Blues Junior. I've only had it for a few hours so please take this as the first impression it is. The best results I've found are by lightening up on the dry signal for purer tone. The bass mode absolutely rocks. I now feel like I own, and PLAY (which I don't) a bass.

The organ effect is truly exceptional. I find myself having to tone down the guitar pots for best effect. Actually, for best organ effect I've found that running it through a Qtron (no, I don't work for EHX!) is an exponential enhancement at 50% peak and 50% gain.

Solidly built. Same basic package as my Qtron, which has been left outdoors at the beach in mid summer for a month and peed on by my dog without any degradation whatsover. As a matter of fact it seems ever so slightly more responsive after that trauma.

So my 10 rating is based on doing the comps.

So simple the manual is a 2-sided leaflet. Have never needed EHX support.

It's fantastic value because it's so easy to use. Every possible setting (and they are pretty much unlimited with 8 sliders) is visible at the same time. Tremendous for home recording as you really can fairly faithfully replicate other instruments with one single set-up and skill-set.

Very easy to get a basic setup with the guide provided. Lots of options to play with in the sliding switches, which are pretty sensitive and you can suit to your taste - a great way to do the controls on this pedal. Not an exact clear definition of what the "detuned" tones provide.

This pedal provides a quite good rendition of a 12-string - the only fault is that the added octave(s) give a bit metallic tone, so you have to scale back a bit on your amp or guitar tone. This is also true for the "18 string" setting - very cool, but the treble it gives can be a bit ear-splitting. This maybe because I mostly experimented with a Ricky 1997 RI to the pedal and right into a Rivera R30-112, but the basic "Fender" setting through the amp alone wasn't that bright.
The settings they give for an organ sound are truly astounding - what a blast!
Another cool thing is that the sub-octave can be added in a small amount to add some flavor and fatness to your overall sound - very useful.
I've only had this pedal a few days, so am still experimenting - I've never seen anything quite like this. I think the sounds are quite usable for something special when you need it. It's a Keeper!

Seems like it will be OK, time will tell on the slider switches.

A very expensive pedal but worth it as there is nothing like it, and it does the job as advertised. Does make my Ricky sound like a 330-12 when I want it to for British invasion stuff. I won't be giving it up!