Fulltone Ultimate Octave

nice and easy three knobs and a fat switch

i think it is fine... i rarely use this pedal for the octave setting in mostly bought it beacuse i like the fuzz on it. I think the octave setting is a little sharp sounding

i have banged it up before and it is fine

Mike is a prick most of the time cause he is so freaking busy, but he does what he says he will do

i would say it is a great pedal... if you are ooking for a good fuzz this is a good one to buy, if i lost it i would cry like a baby casue it is so expensive then i would order another one

the manuals' OK. it *can* be tricky to get good sounds. if you use distortion elsewhere in your chain then back off on the fuzz control. the tone control adds the octave sound. the fat bright switch does have an effect, but the controls all seem to be interactive to an extent - take your time and you'll get what you want! octave off it's an old dirt box - Jimi all the way. This thing only seems to work above the 12th fret, and preferably on the front pickup, so be warned! Play chords down the bottom end and either pickup and you sound like the rhythm parts in Borg Sex!!!

front-end always homemade guitars, with PAFs, Freds, rails, etc. back-end has been a mixture - Zoom COSM, Behinrger V-Amp2, direct to desk, etc. Other FX include Zoom 2100 #9for volume and wah only), CryBaby, Bad Horsie, DS1, Ultimate Octave (can you see where this is going...?!?!). Yes it's noisy with a PSU, and in the real world batteries are NOT the way to go. Noisy as in hum, not hiss. The effects *usually* sound great - get your sound a LEAVE IT ALONE! Yes, I can sound like Satch, and that's why I bought it. 'nuff said.

I'd drive over it with no worries.

Mike's a busy guy. Got very upset (and VERY offensive) when I enquired as to where my pedal was after seven months waiting. After two weeks or so of emails he found the order, apolgised and offered me a free pedal on top. It was his fault, period, but he made good. I therefore give him an average score of 5.

I write and play instrumental guitar music, with an occasional leaning towards experimental. I've been playing for a looonnngggg time. If it were nicked I'd kill the thief and get it back that way. Too much hassle to deal with Mike again. If it were lost I'd get it from a *different* distributor. I love that I can (and do) sound like Joe whenever I need to. It helps with melody lines - sometimes a front pickup on its own doesn't cut through, but with this thing it *alwayts* gets heard. I didn't give it a 10 because when I bought it there were no UK distributors. No loss of marks for sound, though.

Three knobs and one is just for volume. Very easy to use. Like being able to dial in the mix octave of the octave effect with the tone knob.

Setup always goes first because this can effect the sound of the unit.

Gibson SG Classic w/ Lindy Fralin "stock" P90's> Fulltone Deluxe Clyde> Fulltone Supa-Trem> Fulltone Ultimate Octave> Fulltone Full Drive 2> Fulltone DP-1> Soldano GTO> Line6 DL-4> Zvex SHO> Dr.Z KT-45 w/Z best 2x12 cab. All pedals powered by PedalBoard.com's Juice Box.

The land of fuzz is a different place, one that is kind of alien to me and the other guitarists of my generation (I'm 20). When I first turned the pedal on I was istantly disappointed, I was hoping to be able to use the octave effect by itself and you can't with it as it is. So after the initial frown I turned on the fuzz and I turned that frown upsidedown. I thouhgt the fuzz was amazing! Sounds a lot like amp blowing up distortion when playing chords and very "legato" fuzz when single notes are played. Of course the first thing I did was play purple haze with the octave effect on. That octave can scream bloody murder if you wish and can be very subtle ala the tone control. The fuzz seems more like that of Jimmy Page to me than Hendrix but that's just me, the '69 is pure hendrix tone. I was very happy with the fuzz and though I can't just turn on the 8va by itself the effect is superb. Pedal can get REAL raunchey and nasty just like a real fuzz should and the octave can send anybody in a club running for the door if so desired, I love that. The fat/bright switch is also a very good idea, I haven't decided witch to use, probably just whatever I feel like at the moment. I don't like the drop in volume when switching to bright but what do you expect, you're cuting out the mids where most of your volume occurs. Only "legitimate" gripe is the "stutter" when turning on and off the octave when fuzz is engaged, just switch on an "and" beat, when the song is half way through a measure or at the end of one, and problem basically solved. Very happy it sounds a lot different from the '69 fuzz.

It's a fulltone, my grtandchildren are going to be using this pedal!

Haven't used it, see above. I did e-mail about my dp-1 being fuzzy and he told me to send it to him, this shows that if there's a problem he'll fix it but otherwise don't bother the man!

See sound quality as a pedal is only as good as it sounds!

I haven't found it difficult at all to use. The knobs are all self-explanatory, and very dial-able. Sure it can easily get out of hand, but it's also get back into control quite easily with a twist of this or that knob.

Initially I was delighted with the octave side of the machine, but thought the fuzz was too over the top. Turns out it was largely a matter of getting used to it, since I hadn't used a fuzz in a few years and just wasn't tuned in, mentally, I think. So at first I used a bit of OD from my VIsual Sounds Route 66 instead, either that or just cooked the amp, then kicked in the octave.

What turned me around on the fuzz was one night I was playing a bar gig, and took a break. While I was heading out the door for some fresh air, my drummer asked if he could mess around with my guitar. I said it was cool, and headed out. A friend of his sat in on drums while the bass player noodled a bit, and I heard this really great sound coming out of the guitar and rushed back into see what my drummer was doing to my setup. Turned out he just had the fuzz engaged, but it sounded so musical I couldn't wait to play with it again myself.

After that the fuzz has sounded completely different to my ears and I've been using it a lot by itself. Of course, engaged withe the octave it's insane.

In addition to Who Knows, Purple Haze and the usual tunes people seem to buy these octave boxes for, I find it sound damn good on Santana's version of Black Magic Woman, on the opening riffs. Long sustained tones melting into octave feedback ... And of course played in D, which is pretty much the 'optimum' key for octavizers ...

So far so good. Seems to be built really rugged, though I wonder about the toggle switches, which although strong are quite thin.

Havne't had to deal with customer support, fortunately.

Using this thing just as an octave, I'd give it a 10 except that you have to admit that as an octave box it's just a one-trick pony so would put it more at 8.

However I love the fuzz so much, by itself, that it's saved from being that pony, so the fuzz brings it back up to an overall 10.

Three knobs, two buttons, one switch. All the pots are very sensitive and interactive, switching from FAT to BRIGHT opens a whole new world of crazy fuzz-sounds. If you want for example the purple haze kind of fuzz, use the BRIGHT setting. Elsewise, use FAT. The tone circuit allows many different voicings. I recommend searching for the sweet spot that matches your instrument once and leave it that way.
My setting: volume 11 o'clock, tone 11 o'clock, fuzz (only) 8 o'clock, FAT mode.
The only -if you can call it that- drag is that you have to unscrew the baseplate to change the battery.

I have been playing blues and rock for about 12 years now. At present I play in a newly founded trio (plus vocals), so I really have to work with the guitar and cannot simply add a nice solo here and there. My setup: Rockinger Strat with Staufer Blues pickups (if you don't know this brand, read my review), Arion Stage Tuner (which generally sucks but still refuses to break and so successfully prevents being replaced), FULLTONE ULTIMATE OCTAVE FUZZ, modified Vox Wah (true bypass), VoodooLab Microvibe, Hughes & Kettner Tube Factor, mod. Twin (Class A, Vintage 30 speakers. The amp is always set for an slightly crunchy sound).

Well - fuzzes play in a league of their own. If you want a beautiful sound, don't use a fuzz. Fuzzes are "in your face". And this one is very useable, because it completely avoids the thinness of many other fuzzes. THis one can sound as fat as you want it to. The possible degree of distortion is ridiculous, the 8 o'clock setting is enough for me. I only bought it a week ago (#356, made in 1996, I paid 195 Euros on Ebay Germany) and am still experimenting with it. For now, I use it to add clour here and there, my main lead sound is still produced by the TF, but -in comparison- the UO sounds more rocky, more brutal, more... fuzzy. With this stompbox on, your guitar won't get lost in the mix. Used in front of an overdriving amp (or tube pedal) the UO fuzz turns your Strat into the ultimate weapon. I like to play the TF in factor I for rhythm work and kick in the UO for leads - super!
As for the octave up effect, well, if there is a pedal in this world that really SCREAMS, this is the one. If you know BOG's "Who knows?", you know the effect. Quite ring-modulator-like, strange, crazy. You can always top the most distorted leads with this one. Nothing to play with all the time though.
Well, writing about tones is a little bit like talking over dances, so I think this should be enough to water your mouth if you are really interested in fuzzes. Try this one!

My pedal is 8 years old and has never had a repair... this says it all, I think.

I emailed Mike once for information and he answered me the other day. I emailed him again yesterday and have no reply by now, but hey, he runs a business, right? This is all I can say.

This box does exactly what it is supposed to (many other stompboxes don't). It's reliable, almost indestructible, I would look for a new one if this got stolen. From all the fuzzes I've tried, This is the one. I would even buy it for the fuzz alone, witzhout the octave effect.

Very easy to use.. Just 3 knobs and a bright/fat switch.

This pedal nails the Hendrix octave up sound.. Gets plain nasty when playing more than one note at a time..(In a good way) I like the fuzz on this unit but 90% of the time use the Octave effect becasue it sounds so great.

To me this is a great Octaver that has a good fuzz for a bonus.AIf I used fuzz more often, I'd probably have a dedicated pedal. I've been using this for about a year and a half and it is the frequently asked about at gigs from other guitarists..

I give this a 1o based on the Octave effect..

I have had ZERO problems with this pedal in the yar and a half I've had it.. Very ruggedly made.. I don't expect any problems. I don't use a backup (too expensive)

Never dealt with them at all.. though the MP3's on the site are cool and represent the pedal very well..

I love ths pedal and ditched a Prescripton Electronics "Yardbox" for it .. Alot of times you buy guitars, pedals amps etc.. and while you are happy with what you have you still look for something better. I can't say that's the case with this as it is exactly what I was looking for !

I would definiely buy another one if I had to.. You could obviously buy other brands for less but I thought this pedal was well worht the $$ based on the qulity of it..

This is a follow up to my previous review about a year ago, and a response to the post below from Stefan from Sweden. I'm still enjoying the heck out of this pedal, and am getting even better tones after I upgraded my AB165 bassman head to a Fuchs Overdrive Supreme. Still would stick with a 9 on ease of use, in that, it is a pedal for experienced fuzz users. Not as easy to plug in and use like say a fulldrive, but probably easier to work with then vintage fuzz pedals if you know what you're doing. I have gotten better at it in the last year or so that I've had it.

Sounds killer with my old strat ('68) and even easier to use at gigs with the kinman pickups which are very quiet. I like the bridge pickup with the tone control rolled back a bit (non standard wiring, middle knob controls tone for the front two pickups and the back knob is tone for the bridge only. I dont have any use for standard strat wiring anymore. There are so many cool things you can do with the 3rd knob, like I described above, or master tone and blend or bridge pickup, etc.

When using the octave up button, I sometimes will kick in the fulldrive 2 to darken and boost the sound a bit. Very fat, searing tones happen.

A lovely box, no problems there. Regarding Stefan's issue with the power. One, include your email in future reviews this way folks can contact you with your concerns. I bet Mr. Fuller himself would email you if you provided the link. Set up a free web-mail account and check it every few weeks if you don't want to put your real addr on the net... Anyway, 1) are you running off a wall-wart (single 9v) supply with a link cable? I have one that's in parallel and I only use it with effect I don't use at the same time. 2) If you have a U.S. style power supply like Voodoo Labs, is your European voltage converter designed for audio use? 3) If you have a Euro version of a pedal power supply, is it a high quality one? As in a Carl Martin product vs. a cheapo like Nobels. You get the idea, I think it's a regulated vs. non-regulated power supply issue, the more pedals you use with a non-regulated the worse it gets. You should contact Mike Fuller and ask what his European customers do about this.

Contact Mike if you still have a problem with it, or feel free to email me at the addr below, let me know how you made out anyway.

10 on sound, but not for casual "boss" type pedal stompers.

With just 3 knobs and 3 switches You would think that getting a good sound out of the pedal would be easy,and it sort of is,but then I started turning the knobs and and suddenly things started to get more complicated!.Don't get me wrong,the sounds I'm getting' are great,but it might take a while to get the most out of the unit.

I bought this pedal to use it as an octavia substitute,and it turned out that this was the sound that I've been looking for ever since I bought my first Jimi Hendrix record.What I didn't realize when I bought it was that I also got a first class fuzz pedal,this pedal actually eliminates the need for an extra fuzz-unit.

I've used it for almost 3 months(about 25 gigs),and I've had no problems with it whatsoever,both the knobs and switches seem very rugged.One strange thing about the pedal is that it makes a loud buzz when I run it on my DC-supply together with other pedals,it works fine on battery or if I just use this pedal by itself on DC,STRANGE!

The Ultimate Octave is definitely one of my favorite pedals,and it's one that I would never get rid of.I'm still confused about the buzz when running the unit on DC-power together with the rest of my pedalboard,but other from that I love the thing.

Easy enough to operate.Good sounds are already there.

This pedal has the most delicious fuzz you will find. Refined and large or sinuey and blistering.It kicks ass as a fuzz,but wait till you hit octave.Soaring ,sustaining and creamy fat lead lines with as much or little ring modulator weirdness as the situation requires.The pedal is just refined and tasty.

Very reliable as all Fulltone effects are.

Mike is a great boon to tone freaks and hard to please folks alike.He's fixed any problem I've had very quickly and professionally.He deserves a higher rating than 10.

Best octave and most usable sweet fuzz in one box equals and alltime great effect designation in it's category.

A wickedly good and versitile sounding Fuzz. You can adjust it from a huge sounding multi-purpose, bass heavy distortion/fuzz, with a high cholesterol mid-range, to a wild all treble fuzz with a bacon frying sizzle. On top of this you get one of the best tracking octavia, octave up sounds available, that can be switched on and off independant of the Fuzz function - cool!

see above. Not quiet, but low background noise for what it is. Much quieter than vinatge octavia fuzzes. I am using this with Fender Super and Deluxe reverb amps. It sounds awesome with these amps

This Fulltone UO dates from may of 1997. It has been switched on and off more times than I can count. I don't truely 'stomp' on my pedals, but at 235lbs
I don't exactly tippy-toe on them either. Anyway after 4 years the on\off switch
started with this problem where there would be a volume loss when activated.
Not everytime but 1/5-1/10 times. Mind you this was after 4 years of regular
use. it was 10/10 dependable until that time.

I hear people ragging on Mike Fuller all the time because he didn't take time
to chit-chat with them. I get the impression that Mike has his hands Fuller (pun intended) than a one man marching band. He runs a business, still builds and tests his own pedals, plays out and records CDs- and you can still get him on the phone- amazing!. He will handle business contacts but he doesn't have time to shoot the breeze with everyone of his 10,000 customers. I wasn't hoping Mike would be my best friend because I've bought some of his product, I wanted to find out what the warrenty was worth.
I E-mailed Mike about the problem. He promptly E-mailed me back with questions to clarify the failure. He asked me to ship him the Pedal. When it was in his hands it was difficult to fix. Again I must mention that it was one of those bad VooDoo things where it didn't happen everytime. Mike replaced the
on/off switch and the Volume pot and sent it back to me sounding better than
ever. If you want to do business with a company that backs up their products, I can whole heartedly reccomend Mike Fuller at Fulltone.

A wicked Good sounding mutli-purpose Fuzz/octavia, with customer service as good as it needs to be. And to all those people who bash mike because he doesn't have time to gab with them, if you really need some one to listen
to you talk , dial a 1-900.

Easy in that it has three knobs-volume, tone, and fuzz. One switch turns the unit on, the other turns the octave device on. Finally, one switch that alters the fuzz from bright to fat. I had a difficult time getting a good sound with the bright switch activated, but by altering my amp eq and using my fulldrive II in conjunction with the Ultimate Octave, I got a pretty decent sound with the bright switch. There's no manual-just a suggestion on where to place the effect on your chain (before the distortion).

Excellent-I'm a Fulltone nut-I have the 69 pedal, clyde wah, fulldrive II, supa-trem, and now this pedal. The 69 fuzz is a bit more musical however I like the midrange on the Ultimate Octave. Pretty fierce sounding fuzz but not noisy. A LOT EASIER to control than the Z-Vex fuzz factory which is too out of control for my tastes (I recently sold it). The octave effect is really cool-I thought it sounded better than the Octafuzz (I compared them side by side at the store). I don't like giving 10's so I giving this a 9.

As I've stated, I'm a Fulltone convert. I haven't had a fulltone break down on me yet (I've had the 69 for almost 2 years). I noticed that here on Harmony Central, people have complained about the foot switches-I haven't had problems (knock on wood). I like the solid metal box that supports the guts of these effects-super heavy, it breeds confidence in the reliability department. Based on my past experiences with Fulltone, I have to give reliability a 10 even though I hate giving 10's.

People either have a great opinion or low opinion of Mr. Fuller. All I can really say is that if there are problems, and you bought it from a dealer, than the best way to alleviate potential problems with him is to go through the dealer. That's why I support my local dealer-Dan's Guitars in Hawaii-you might have to pay a little more than gaspedal.com or whatever, but when it comes to good and friendly service and trustworthy recommendations, you can't beat the local dealer when problems do arise.

I play rock, pop and alternative and have been playing for 15+ years. Guitar is just a hobby. I use this effect for the fuzz and if I want to full around a little or add a little color to my solos, I then use the octave effect. Very versatile. I own other than the other fulltones listed above, a Voodoo Lab Chorus, a Guyatone Slow Volume, Boss DD-3, and a SIB Varidrive. I like the 69 fuzz better in that I think the 69 is more musical and has less midrange. However, that is not to say the Ultimate Octave is bad. It has its own unique fuzz tone quality and I like the fact there is a fat/bright switch that makes this effect very versatile. The octave effect is fun-going above the 12th fret with the octave fuzz on sounds very spacey. In general, if you are looking for an octave device, you can't go wrong with Fulltone-in my opinion, Fulltone makes the best pedals period (I just wish the distortion pro would come out soon). Some people are turned off by the price-however Fulltone has true bypass, and what would you rather buy-a made in Taiwan Boss pedal that sucks the tone out of your amp and guitar like my DD-3 (I just sold my DD-5 which was even worse sounding than my DD-3) or a made in the US pedal that is reliable and has superb tone???

Here's how easy it is to get a good sound out of the Ultimate Octave: keep it on the fat switch and you can't get a bad sound out of it. The bright switch takes more work, and I'm still not sure how useful it will be. This isn't to say that it's not useful, just that I haven't spent quite enough time with the pedal on that setting.

I'm using this pedal with a Tom Anderson Droptop, a Tom Anderson Cobra S, and a PRS Singlecut, playing through either a Mesa Tremoverb, Mesa Blue Angel, or Egnator TOL 50. This thing not only sounds good, and can get a range of tones, but it's just plain fun to play. The Egnater is a very quiet amp, and I'd hear the noise if it had any, but it's pretty quiet for a fuzz pedal. Speaking of fuzz, this one sounds better to my ears than anything except the Fulltone '70 pedal (a tie there, they do sound different, the UO is more midrangey, and it sits in a track well, too. The thing I like best about it is that I can get it to satisfy my own ear and tastes, and I don't get stuck sounding like a clone of someone else. I'm not completely sold on the "bright" setting, but I can see that it would be fun if you wanted one of those filtered sounds, and would work great in certain kinds of tracks.

I don't gig, I only do recording sessions. However, it's built like a brick outhouse, right down to the bulletproof paint job, and I wouldn't spend one second worrying about its reliability. I'm giving it a 9 because nothing is perfectly built, but really, I'm pulling that out of the air.

I have not had a problem that needed addressing, so I have no opinion on this.

Since I do sessions, I have to play in a lot of styles. But I could see this thing fitting in well in any rock style, fusion, techno-influenced stuff...really, it's quite nice and you can do a lot with it in that way. It's the most sheer fun I've had with a pedal in the 30 years that I've been playing, it just gets so many interesting tones with my guitars and amps, and I love it coupled with a TC chorus pedal, oddly enough. I have a studio full of effects, both rack mount and pedals, but really, the Fulltone stuff gets it better for guitar than anything else I've tried. I also use the Fat Boost, and Fulldrive, with a Budda Wah and the TC pedal. One other nice touch is that it's a kinda tall pedal; you can stick it in the back of your pedal board and still be able to work the footswitches, and like the other Fulltone stuff, the workmanship and look of the thing are cool. Even the knobs have a nice smooth, damped feel when you adjust them. I admit that I'm a sucker for nice hardware on equipment. In any case, tone is what matters, because tone inspires you to think of new things, and to play better. This thing has tone, and it has certainly affected my playing in a very short time. To my way of thinking, spending a couple of hundred bucks on inspiration is a no brainer.

Really a 10 if you are a seasoned vintage effects guy or a former octavia owner. If you are among the (all too frequent) guys doing the boring wah-ts9-delay-amp-thing you might need a little practice at when and how much to use of this effect. I started out as the latter back in the 80's moved to digital crap for a while around 1990.
Then went back to the boring thing, but added another silicon type pedal and used them together to get more interesting lead sounds. And separate for two different rhythm (or tamer lead) sounds. Guys, I don't mean to offend about the boring part, it was a great sound, just a little too commonplace and not adventurous enough anymore for my tastes. I'd like to think that musicians are a little more open-minded then most, but man there are a lot of fuddy-duddies out there on the weekend club scene (I admit I was like that for a while). If you're not that type, and enjoy some occasional use of wild effects, well let's have some fun then....

I use a 68 strat with harmonic design single coils, and early 80's hamer special and dean Z for HB sounds. I have almost all fulltone effects now except for echo and tonebender sounds. I have an SKB board which will eventually be upgraded to a nice two tier board like NGM's. The effects go: clyde - deja - Ult Oct - fulldrive2 - yardbox - choralflange - analog delay. (Sorry Mike, got a good deal on a used yardbox, but I'll come around eventually :-) The pedals go to a bassman AB165 (yeah I know) head and marshall cab. The fuzz itself is excellent, not sure how to classify it but I think it's supposed to be more fuzzface then tonebender. The octave up sound reminds me of Jeff Becks ring mod sound. I haven't been able to get the Jimmy Page "fool in the rain" sound or the subtle purple haze lead sound. It's me not setting something right, not the pedal. The sounds are in there, and the sound quality is excellent, just takes some practice and experience to get the magic out of it. But, fear not, I'll find it. I find that right now, I've been using it most as building a climax in solos i.e. kicking it in for a short burst. An example might be soloing with the fuzz part on and the volume rolled back a little on the guitar. Then bringing the volume up for a sustained part, then doing a short phrase no more then 4 bars with the octave, then out. It's a lot of fun, but as the poster before me said, beware of over using it!

All his stuff is made well. Plus, it's so pretty with the nice paint job and off white knobs, that I hate to have dust and grime from some dirty bar get on my pedals. I'm kind of wierd like that, I put it on my kitchen table when it was new out of the box and looked at it while I was eating dinner (before it gets dirty). But they are made to be stepped on and played, not seen, so on my board it went.

The first time I used on my board I was getting lost in the mix with it and was having problems maintaining levels even with my other effects. NOTE: I only like a little boost, I don't like my OD/fuzz sounds to be much louder then my fender clean sound, my motto is let the amp do the work. So I emailed Mike and asked him if it was intentionally a low output pedal. He responded (quickly) no way, the UO is one of the loudest fuzz/octaves around. He told me to send it in and he'd look/fix it. I told him, I'll sit tight and look over my setup, I didn't really think it was the pedal. (The first time I used it, to test if it worked, I played it through a champ using the battery and no other effect so I didn't have a sense of relative output levels). Anyway, it turned out that it was this stupid power supply thing I have, the ADA Batt-Man. It's supposed to have some feature where you can turn down the voltage and get the "sag" of a carbon battery. I don't think this feature worked right, it made the sound too wimpy. I mean it's a germanium fuzz, right? that's the main time you'd want that feature!! I turned it back to alkaline mode, and the sound quality and output was much better. The ADA power thing will get demoted to rehearsal gear when I get a new and improved pedal board.

I chose this one because you can use the fuzz separately. Also, because of the quality of other fulltone pedals I own. Some people say here on HC and in usenet that fulltone pedals are "nice but lack character" or something to that effect. I don't think it's really true about most of his pedals, certainly not this one. Maybe the fulldrive 2, but that's the intention not to color the sound. Also, the clyde isn't as versatile as a post-1980 crybaby. I think the crybaby of that era was meant to work with higher distortion levels. Assuming the dunlop had true-bypass for a minute... You can use the 80's crybaby more often, but it doesn't sound as good as the old vox tone. I had to rethink my wah playing, but I'm having more fun now.

P.S. I'm not giving 10's on sound quality on my first post anymore. If it stays with me, and becomes a staple, I should come back and update anyway.

Put simply, the Ultimate Octave ("UO") is an octave / fuzz pedal.
The UO is quite simple to figure out: 3 knobs - Volume, Tone and Fuzz. I have seen these knobs enough on different pedals to understand what they mean and do. There are two switches. One switch turns the pedal on and off, the second switch activates the octave effect (switches between fuzz and octave/fuzz). The pedal comes with a nice one page overview of the pedal and how to use it as well as the recommended placement in the signal chain. There are no suggested settings (like the Choralflange or FullDrive2 manuals), but the reality is, there is no real need for one. I personally enjoy finding all the settings I like myself.

I forgot to mention that there is a fat/bright switch which toggles the amount of mid-range in the sound. The bright setting has the mids completely scooped out. Personally, I keep it on the fat switch most of the time but will eventually experiment with the bright settings. Personally, if you do not know your pedals inside and out, why own them? I have owned the UO for only a few weeks so I am still experimenting with it.

The UO is an amazing pedal for the superior tone generated by both its octave settings and its fuzz. Personally, I find them both to be very useful. I will gladly elaborate on each. Before I do, please note that I have been experimenting using the following setup: a 1962 reissue Stratocaster, a Budda Wah, a Fulltone Deja-Vibe (with separate foot controlled speed pedal), the UO and a Fulltone FullDrive2 (got yesterday) into an Oahu amp (1x10, 18 watt hand-wired boutique combo-amp - excellent tone). I will also experiment further with my late 70's early 80's Marshall JMP 50-watt 2x12 combo and a Fender Hot Rod Deville 60-watt 4x10 (getting re-tubed at the moment).

Octave: When I was shopping for an Octave pedal, it recommended I consider the UO or the Octafuzz (Fulltone's superior-sounding version of the Octavia). I had them both plugged in at the same time and was alternating between them and comparing them. While I was able to get similar tones out of both, the UO was a little more controllable and versatile with separate tone and fuzz controls. This is not a dig on the Octafuzz, an awesome pedal in its own right.

In experimenting with the octave effect (one octave up for those who don't know), I've been able to come up with can give you tones anywhere from Band of Gypsies (Who Knows) and Purple Haze to some absolutely out-of-this-world ring modulation / synth tones to sounds that resmeble a shaken reverb tank (springy sounds) and crashing sounds (depending on my pick attack, pedal settings, etc). When my Deja-Vibe is activated (medium speed, medium intensity), the UO also picks up on the harmonics of the DV and the results are absolutely amazing and these sounds can kind of linger around as a result. Also, I use this in front of a FullDrive2 though I have not used them together much (I got the FD2 yesterday) but I most definitely will.

The other beauty of this pedal is that it has a great, smooth fuzz. In my opinion, the only real competition this pedal has in the fuzz category is from the other Fulltone Pedals. Personally, I like the aggressive sound I get through my UO with the tone knob set all the way down, fuzz all the way and my bridge pickup on ("Fat" setting). It is a smooth distortion that doesn't muddy up on the lows nor sound harsh on the highs. The harmonics are well defined across the guitar and I can actually get a little crunch with my Strat. It almost sounds like playing through an old Marshall. As I experiment more with the pedal. I will find more things I really like. Some people could get away with this simply as their fuzz box.

As I said before, I have not done a lot of experimentation with the "bright" setting, but with fuzz, I will probably go more with the "fat" because I really like it. However, note that the "bright" setting's scooped-mid tone is warmer than anyone else's. Most pedals, when dialed in to have a scooped-mid type distortion, generally sound cold, harsh, metallic, processed and outright bad. This one is everything the competition is not. Therefore, do not let my lack of use be a deterrent. It is simply a matter of personal taste.

I did forget to mention this pedal has true bypass, meaning it does not load your signal even when the effect is off. After dealing with the tone loss problems associated with the Dunlop Crybaby and the "on even when it's off" issue with the Electro-Harmonix Small Stone (the background noise coming out of my amp would phase even when the pedal was not on), I have learned of the virtues of true bypass. If you have not, I suggest you do.

I take very good care of all my pedals. I keep them in their boxes when I am not using them and I use them rather than abuse them.

That being said, I think that I would not have to worry much. The pedal is very well constructed and housed in steel casing. All the switches (including the small fat/bright switch located above the octave switch) seem put together real well and will likely withstand the type of use I put my pedals through.

I can definitely foresee gigging without a backup, I can not see this pedal having problems on stage. Between the amount of use I will put this pedal through and the way I take care of my effects, I foresee this lasting a very long time. My bet is that this pedal can take some heavy road abuse.

I do not have an opinion on Mike Fuller's customer service since I have not dealt with him.

I picked up my first guitar about 8 years ago but I have really gotten into it over the last two plus years (balanced job and school and guitar is not easy). I have learned so much about great tone in the last 6-8 months. This is why the UO has found its way into my setup.

Personally, traditional blues is my love but I like to play some rock, funk, a little jazz and fusion so I do have some pretty useful applications in which to apply this pedal.

With my "new and improved" setup, I am finding that I can do a lot with this pedal and come up with many new and exciting sounds of which to come up with song / jam session ideas. The UO sounds great for both chord usage and single notes.

In my opinion, this pedal has everything I need when it comes to an octave effect. I suppose that if there is anything that is missing on this effect, it would be the option to have either octave up or down (belive me, I'm really reaching here). Personally, I am not a big fan of the octave down effects (i.e. Boss).

In short, the UO is a hell of an effect. If I lost it, I would replace it immediately. There is no issue there. Anyone looking for an octave effect should seriously consider Fulltone's UO. If the UO is not as chaotic sounding as you'd like, check out the Octafuzz. Personally, I can not be any happier with the pedal than I already am.

Man, I don't know what the big deal is here in this category. It seems that a lot of people seem to think this is a super computer compared to most pedals. Hmmm, let's see, it has controls for Fuzz, Tone, and Volume (count 'em, three knobs), a small switch for choosing between the Fat and Bright settings, and TWO foot operated super sturdy switches (that scream "jump up and down on me"), one to turn the effect on or to bypass it, and one to activate the Octave effect (which will only work when the fuzz is working). It's nice to have an Octave/Fuzz pedal that you can use as a fuzz without the screaming octave on all the time (elimates the need to, say, have both a FuzzFace and an Octavia).

Now that doesn't seem to terribly complicated, does it? I will say that, for me, it's easy to dial in pedals, because I already know beforehand that I'll need the turn the Tone control down a good bit, as they're usually kind of shrill. But even on this pedal, the Tone is still useable to me in higher registers than I would normally venture into. I pretty much had a killer sound right out of the box. Now, dialing in the octave part requires some playing around with, but that's just for anyone new to octave effects, mainly just finding what registers on the guitar will get the most scream, and with what pickup configurations.

My setup changes, seemingly, from week to week, so I won't waste your time telling you about what amp it sounds the best with, because it sounds incredible with every amp I have used, all types, kinds, shapes, and sizes. Even with amps that really did not like pedals, this unit still sounded very musical (and, when necessary, very nasty).

First off, I just have to say, MAN, WHAT A KILLER FUZZ!!! This is the best fuzz pedal I have heard, and I have heard all of them. Believe it or not, I even like this better than Mike's '69 Pedal (I bought a 69 Pedal for a friend on his birthday, and he loves it, especially for studio work - and it just looks killer with the red paint and white knobs). Though the 69 Pedal is supposed to be very tubelike in its response, but the Ultimate Octave (from now on referred to as simply, the "Ultimate") has a low end that seems to hold togather better, and it has a sparkle that the 69 doesn't seem to have (and it's still just as warm and fat). I would have probably bought this pedal for the fuzz alone. Compared to Fuller's fuzzes (and especially this one), all the other fuzzes I tried sounded like rat droppings in a frying pan (nasty and not in a good way, flubby, farty bass, gritchy, etc), or they were like the Big Muff and had that horrible lower mid "scronk" and sounded like Smashing Pumpkins (stuffy, reminds me of an upset stomach). To give you a good idea, think of Eric Johnson's fuzz leads on Venus Isle, especially on "All About You".

Now, for the octave effect. It is only a slight bit different than the Fulltone Octafuzz. It's a little smoother and more controllable. The octafuzz kind of reminded me of a ring modulator (but not as chaotic). Don't get me wrong, you can still get every bit of that Hendrix Band Of Gypsies screaming, ripping fuzz out of the Ultimate, but you can decide when you want a smoother tone and when you want it to scream, simply by how you play and what pickup you are using. I like that screaming sound that I get with the neck pickup, and for using fuzz alone, I like the sound of a bridge single for that warm and fat and smooth overdrive-like fuzz (with a bridge humbucker, it sounds almost too smooth, like it's compressed or something).

And for the Bright/Fat switch, I always use the Fat setting, as the bright makes it sound a bit ratty. I guess you could call Fat the "Normal" mode.

I can't imagine this pedal going out. I would definitely (and do) use this pedal without a "backup" (though I always use a fresh battery before every gig). I have other overdrives, but no other fuzzes. My only complaint is minor, in that when you change the battery, the battery cable wire is at first awkward to fit back into the box properly, but I have a technique for this, and now it's no problem. I will say that changing the battery on fulltone stuff is probably easier than anything else, in that you actually twist off the rubber feet around the screw, rather than having to always hunt up a screwdriver, which was kind of a pain in the butt. Very nice. I wish everyone did it that way.

Also, someone complained about the bright/fat switch being small and an accident waiting to happen. That's not a problem for me, as it seems to be out of the way of your foot action. Come to think of it, since I only use the Fat setting, I would probably be happy if it broke off on the "Fat" side. No Problem.

Okay, this is starting to look like an "all 10" review, so bear with me here. I have heard some people voice the opinion that perhaps Mike Fuller is a bit "full of himself" (ha! - corny pun not intended). I did not get that impression, he seemed pefectly happy to answer any of my questions. I dunno, maybe they caught him on a bad day or something. He seems to be very helpful and straight with people.

My Ultimate is serial #688, I believe (I don't know why I felt it necessary to include that bit of info). I've been a hard rock and modern rock guy (in high school - history, really), then I was into jazz fusion, then I was heavy into blues big time (and not just SRV, I was really into Albert King in Memphis, and am still a huge Albert Collins fan). Hell, I've even had classical lessons, from some of the best. Now, I'm moving away from straight blues a little, and want to do something different (into the Eric Johnson, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Storyville, Ian Moore, and the classic vein, like Hendrix, Cream, etc). I've never been a fan of fuzzes really, but always held out hope that one day someone would make one to my tastes. It appears my hope and faith has been rewarded, in spades. If this was stolen, I'd cry for a minute, regain my composure, and head to my nearest Fulltone dealer (in my case, Speir Music in Garland, TX) and attempt to pick up another one.

Comparing this pedal to the 69 Pedal again, other than the slight tonal differnces, is that the 69 Pedal gives you a wider variety of fuzzes to choose from, the Ultimate gives you kind of a standard fuzz sound (plus octave, I like that trade). Besides, the 69 Pedal can't get this fuzz sound, and after playing with both of them for a long time (side by side tests, and only for fuzz), I have to say I like this much better. But that's just my cup of tea, others will no doubt like the versatility and sound of the 69 Pedal.

I guess an apt comparison between this and other fuzzes, I guess, would be that this is the Rolls Royce of fuzz (or Ferrari, if you prefer). This is the classiest fuzz I've heard, very dimensional and rich and organic, and the octave effect will knock you over, then kick you, and for some reason you beg for more. It's kind of like finding the proverbial dream woman, she's real classy, good looking, friendly and easygoing and fun, and whenever you want, she can be kind of lowdown and sleazy. I just wonder if the crowds sometimes get tired of my octave-up scream sound. I guess I'll be one of those guys that, well, kinda like Robin Trower is known for using the Univibe effect a lot, I guess I'll be the same way with the Ultimate. That really screaming, raging octave sound is too much fun to not play with. Try it sometime, but be careful, you might get hooked.

Very easy--it's a stompbox. What's nice about it is that the fuzz and octave effects are both footswitchable. It's got a good range of fuzz tones--in either the fat or bright modes--it would be nice if these modes were footswitchable, if only for live gigs, but I find that I usually use it in fat mode...it I use the bright mode, it's usually because I've changed guitars, so I hit the switch at that point. On top of that, the octave effect is great, and can be dialed in to be either subtle or in-your-face. It's easier to get going than your little brother when the fleet's in town.

I'm a convert--true bypass is the way....hallelujah.....I've been using the UO in front of the fulldrive2, and it's a good way to go...this pedal can provide a lot of gain, so you can dial in a lot of attack, and control the master volume with the fulldrive2, giving me a lot of options. The fulltone stuff is obviously designed to replicate a lot of hendrix-era effects, and it does sound great with my strat, but I get a lot of utility out of the UO with my les paul, SG, tele, all my guitars.....it's a nice ingredient for getting a good, cutting lead sound. I don't use it for rhythm sounds much, don't think that's what it's designed for. It gets a great screaming sound, just like your sister did last night.

Lifetime warranty. Or, as long as Mike Fuller is alive, I suppose. It seems well-built, just like your mama.

I sent Mike Fuller an e-mail, he replied! I felt special. He is a lovely man. He explained what the terms "tone" and "volume" meant, which was hugely helpful. Thank you Mike Fulltone! You da bomb.

I play blues and klezmer with hawaiian power chords. This pedal provides triscuits and brie for a party that's been weened on popcorn and cheese doodles. It's the Real Deal Neil......however, I would not recommend it as your sole distortion source; it's not an overdrive pedal, but for sheer volume and fatness, it's bigger than one of your uncles at an all-you-can-eat buffet. I tried a vox tonebender, and it sucked. I tried one of those big muff pedals from the 60s, but the guy wanted $200 for it, and it was falling apart. So, I punched him out and bought an ultimate octave. The first time I played it, I pissed off the neighbors. It's that tasty. If you like fuzz, or if you just play guitar, it's worthy of your consideration.

controls are 2 footswitches, one for fuzz the other for octave, vol. tone and fuzz knobs plus fat/bright switch.Really straight forward yet not really as easy to dial in as some pedals. there are alot of tones in this little box but you have to work somewhat to get 'em.

Ahhh...truly amazing sounds. I thought i would use this box a little to add color here and there but find i'm using it alot more than i expected. my rig as it stands now: G&L legacy or ASAT Classic> Erni Ball Volume Pedal> Voodoo Labs Micro Vibe> UltiMate Octave> Full Drive II> Supa-Trem> EH Memory Man Delay> Boogie .50 Caliber. I usually use the Ultimate in Fat mode but sometimes switch to bright for a more gritchy sound. The thing i like about it is the fact that it is alot more predictable than all the other fuzz octaves i have tried. it rules!

This thing will definately outlast me. I would gig without back-up no problem.

Mike is a really great guy and has promptly answered all my e-mail enquiries. i doubt i will ever need to repair this or any of my other Fulltone pedals anyways!

This pedal is definately worth checking out if your into cool weird sounds like i am. i cannot reccomend it high enough. If it were lost or stolen i would run out and get another immediately.I love the way it screams when you hit it. I have tried most all of the others (experience, octafuzz, proctavia, C.O.B. etc.) and this is the one. sorry about the gushing review, but the sound of this pedal haunted me when i first heard it and i had to have it. my kids think it is the devil embodied when i turn it on. doing double stops above the 12th fret makes true mayhem come out of your speakers. worth the price of admission.

Not as easy as your usual 3-knobbed box.You have to experiment with settings a lot with this thing.You can get insane sounds out of this, but you need to have a knowledge of the interaction of the fuzz and tone knobs on the pedal, as well as how to tweak your own amp.

Can you say PHAT?

Can't really say yet. One positive thing i've noticed is that the 9v battery has lasted much longer in this pedal than in any of my others like the grunge or delays, etc.

never dealt with fulltone. The instructions that come with the pedal are obviously printed out on a home computer and give no insight into how one might tweak sounds, but maybe this is to encourage experimentation.

This pedal is rad! Don't think that it's just a retro or 'hendrix' pedal. You can get ring mod sounds from it, crazy feedback, and more. There is so much room for tonal shaping here that i can't even begin to list the possibilities. Without a doubt the most versatile (tonally) pedal i have. Don't mistake this for a 'high gain' pedal, though. this is fuzz, a la the fuzz face. The only thing that i would change about it is to relocate or alter the fat/bright switch. THis switch is a toggle located right above the 'octave-up' footswitch. For those of us with big and clumsy feet, it would be easy to snap that fat/bright switch right off. It seems like fulltone should have installed one of those red flip tops (you know, like they have on 'self destruct' buttons on space ships in the movies) over the fat/bright. other than that, this pedal rocks

Don't get me wrong on this one. Let me explain.... This pedal has Volume, Tone, and Fuzz knobs; a Fat/Bright switch; an on/off footswitch and an "Octave-Up" footswitch. We are dealing with a lot of shit here. It is not that individual controlls on the pedal are hard to figure out, but the pedal is very sensitive to adjustments to the pedal itself, as well as the controlls on the guitar and amp. It takes A LOT of experimentation to get the straight fuzz and fuzz+octave tones that you are looking for. I LOVE THIS PEDAL, but you cant just pull it out of the box and sound like Ian Moore.

This pedal truly lives up to its name. You can use it like a regular fuzz unit, and then kick in the octave-up when needed. The fuzz sounds really beefy when the Fat switch is activated. Turning down the volume on the guitar with just the fuzz running cleans up the sound without sacrificing playing volume. The octave-up is the best I have ever heard. It tracks extremely well on any string anywhere on the neck. Depending on the guitar volume and pickup position settings, the octave-up note can go from subtle to nearly drowning out the fundamental note.

I have only had it for three months, so this is hard to answer. The pedal is heavy like a brick and is made out of 18-g (or 16, I forget) steel. Everything looks heavy duty, with the exception of the flimsy looking Fat/Bright switch. That thing really scares me, because it sticks out like it's just asking to snag something. I would rather it be just a regular stomp switch like the on/off and octave-up switches.

The nearest Fulltone dealer to me is three states away, so Mike Fuller sells directly to me. I have ordered from him three times now. He has always been very frendly on the phone, and has never been too busy to answer any questions. Some people say that he sounds arrogant, but I never got that impression. He is not afraid to tell you that his pedals kick ass, though. It's not bragging if you can back it up. Make up your own mind. Give him a call @ 310-397-3456

I would buy it again in a heartbeat. I have played tons of other fuzz units and octavia-ish devices, and this is the best by far. The price might seem a little steep, but it pales in comparison to what you get in return. I wish the Fat/Bright switch was a little more rugged, but that's it.