Fulltone Ultimate Octave

I like that it doesn't have a plethora of knobs, simple 3 pot adjustments is just right. The sound you're looking for won't come instantly and smack you sound pala, as it can be tweaked a bit, but it won't frustrate you either if you have the patience for it. (When I think of frustration, I think of the Fuzz Factory and the Fender Blender - both awesome sounding pedals with just too many adjustments to be made and too many knobs that complicate things).

It's noisy alright, just like a fuzz should be. I wrote this in another review... that it is true bypass, so no noise when bypassed.

I really like the sound when the Fat setting is engaged. Whether low or high, this is what fuzz is about! I play mainly through a PRS SE Singlecut and a Kustom Defender 50 watt tube amp. They sound great with the Fulltone.

The Octave Up switch is another story! With the neck pup selected, it can hit that sweet sound all day without trouble. It hits it nicely around the 7th, but it's loudest around the 12th. Chords sound sweet and nasty.

How could I NOT go without a backup?! This thing is solid! Though I am in the market for more fuzz... I may get a Fuzz Factory just for the fun factor.

I haven't needed to contact anyone yet.

I play rock from the 70's to now. Sabbath, AC/DC, Local H, GNR, STP, Velvet Revolver, etc. This will fit for some really heavy stuff we cover. It also fits when I want to jam some Jimi. The fuzz and octave sound great! Tweak it a little and play classics.

I wouldn't say hate, but I would have liked a bigger selector switch for the Fat/Bright modes.

Pretty easy to use. Volumne, tone, and fuzz knobs. Fat/bright switch, and controls for octive up and turning the fuzz on. It came with a one page guide. It just basically tells you where to put it in your effects chain, and a couple of tips on knob settings.

It sounds great. I agree with other reviewers, who said you need to take the time to play with the controls. Some of the bad reviews that I have read, I think are from people not taking the time to experiment with it.

I have five guitars I use with this, an American Fender Strat with a Dimarzio Paf Pro (neck), Seymour Duncan Hot Rail (Middle), and SD Invader (bridge); Ibanez JS100 with Dimarzio Paf Joe and Mo'Joe; Kramer with SD Live Wire; Jackson with SD Jazz and JB; and an old Epiphone Genesis with Gibson pickups. The pedal sounds good with all of them. Even in split coil mode.

The amps I use are a Peavey JSX 212 Combo and a Fender Princeton Chorus. This pedal sounds good on both amps.

As far as complaints of it being noisey with the octave swithch off, I noticed it only has excess noise if used on a gain channel with the gain on the amp and the fuzz on the pedal turned up. You really need to turn one down, either the gain on the amp or, the fuzz on the pedal. If you do this there is no excess noise. I usually put the gain on my amps to 1 or, 2, and turn the fuzz on the pedal up if I want more fuzz. The volumne knob seems to do nothing once it is turned past 9 or, 10 o'clock position, but only on a gain channel.

On the clean channel on both of my amps, you can really get some crazy old school fuzz sounds. Kind of like the Stones/Hendrix styles. And all the controls, even the volumne work properly.

When I started playing with the octave switch I immediately thought Satriani. It sounds good but, it does drop off a bit before the ninth fret. The bright/fat switch is all right but, I usually leave it in the fat position. The tone knob is great, you can really dial in some good sounds with it.

I have a lot of effects pedals mostly MXR but, also Electro-Harmonix, Dunlop, and some old DOD pedals. The only one I think that can really affect the UO is my MXR Super Comp pedal. It can help tame the fuzz.

It is still too new to comment on this. I have only had it a few weeks. It seems to be made pretty well. The only concern may be the location of the fat/bright switch. It is kind of close to the octave up switch and it is only a small dp switch. You may have to be carful you don't break it off when activating the octave up switch.

I E-mailed Fulltone a couple of weeks ago because, I didn't have a warranty card in the box. I wanted to make sure I just needed to keep my receipt if I needed some warranty work if something happend to it. I still haven't gotton a reply from them, and they won't give you their phone number. It even says this on their website. So I gave them the lowest rating I could. I believe with the money we're spending on these pedals they could at least be helpful to their customers. Hopefully, I won't need any warranty work. I would hate to see how long that would take.

I like the pedal a lot. I tried this along with the Fulltone Octa-fuzz. Both are fine pedals but, this one seemed like it had more tone variations.

I also, tried the Fulltone GT-500, which is on my list for pedals to buy. As long as this one can hold up to normal use. They seem to be quality products.

Overall, I give it a low seven, and that is only because of the un-availibility of the customer service center, and the fact that the octave can't be used by itself. If not for this I would have given it a strong nine.

Piece of cake. Simple as can be. If you can't work it - you're a moron.
No patches to edit - just (3) three simple knobs. No manual. No BS.

Volume - Tone - Fuzz - Fat/Bright switch.
On/Off Button - Octave Up Button.

Easy to get Satriani's sound that he uses on a few different songs with this pedal. That's my main reason for getting it - once I got it - I couldn't stop busting it out on leads. The pedal just rocks! The fuzz is decent fuzz but I don't use a lot at all - maybe 1 on the scale. I let my amplifiers distortion power the fuzz part.

I'm using a Gibson Les Paul BFG --> Ultimate Octave --> Boss DS1 (Keely modded) --> Mesa/Boogie Mark IV head. The pedal is slightly noisy depending on how much distortion or on board fuzz you're using. Use a noise gate if necessary. The total effect sounds incredible. Nothing like it in my opinion.

So far so good. Rugged design.

Not sure you need a back up for this pedal.

Never dealt with them - must mean it's a good product.

I play rock, blues, metal, Jazz and instrumental rock mostly. This pedal shines all over depending on your distortion settings. Great match for me. I've been playing for over 15 years now. I have TONS of different pedals for different things - this one is the most fun yet. I usually play Ibanez guitars but my recent purchase of the Les Paul is making me think otherwise.

Great pedal - get one!

Not too difficult to use. But there are some problems: there is not much to dial in. The fuzz is full out, even with the dial set in on 1. The tone is usefull, and the volume speaks for itself. The fat switch works, but only because the thin option is terrible.

I played it for about 3 years and was satisfied; no more no less. Liked it a little better than the FT octafuzz. But as i mentioned before: this is a one track pony, well a two track pony, as it has also a fuzz. But: the preferred dial in of both effects are the same and that is not always what you want.
I'm a huge Jimi fan,also for his octavio sound.
Then I bought a Foxroxx Octron. And it blew the fultone away! Now you have an octave up and an octave down extra (awesome on it's own and also helps to take some of the thinness of the octave up). And you can dial in the mix between direct and effect sound. And the amount of octave up and down! See my review of the octron.
I play classic rock, semi-professional. Use old ptp Marshall amps, speakers and Fenders. Only boutique effects.

Had it broken down twice on me. Probably as I was struggeling with the bloody 69 fuzz, who needs opposite DC current.
OK, my fault. But had to wait for months before our musicshop got spares from Fulltone. Not very impressive.

See above

There is nothing wrong with this apparatus, but there is a better competitor on the market: the octron, made by Dave Fox of Foxroxx. It has the same price (even a little bit cheaper I believe).

The pedal consists of three knobs (volume, tone, fuzz), one toggle switch (fat/bright), and two on/off switches (fuzz, on/off and octave-up on/off, with the octave up only being available when the fuzz is engaged).

Simple? Not really. The volume, tone and fuzz knobs are so interactive, that adjustments to the tone or fuzz will necessitate adjustment of the volume to compensate. The pedal is VERY sensitive to slight tweaking, and so there's a good, long learning curve in finding the "right" settings.

Of course it's entirely subjective what these "right" settings are, not to mention dependent on other variables (guitar, pickups, amps, other effects...). However, for me, the following seems to work really well:

volume:
Set this to the desired level in relation to your volume level with the pedal in bypass mode. I set mine so that with the pedal engaged, my volume level is the same to when I'm playing clean. I use a Fulltone Fat-Boost in the effects loop of my amp to get a higher volume for leads.

Set the volume knob last, since settings of tone and fuzz knobs will dictate where it should be.

Tone:
In the "bright" setting, full counterclockwise to 3 o'clock.
In the "fat" setting, from 9 o'clock to 12 o'clock.

Past 12 o'clock is to shrill for me no matter what I do with the other controls.

Fuzz:
To taste. Past 11 o'clock, it's really, really fuzzy. Not much difference between 12 o'clock and full clockwise really. My preference varies but it's usually set around 9 o'clock, sometimes higher if needed. In a gigging situations with my amp half-cranked or more, I get incredible feedback with this pedal with the fuzz set between 9 and 11 o'clock.

When engaging the octave-up effect, I use my neck pick-up and roll the tone knob on my guitar all the way down. This seems to produce the clearest, most ringing octave-tones...particularly if I roll the volume back on my guitar too. I don't adjust the controls on the pedal when switching the octave-up feature on and off.

I usually leave the "fat/bright" switch in the "fat" position. When I was borrowing a friend's strat (I usually play a Les Paul), I found I liked the "bright" position better.

The manual could have given some starting points (sample settings) and explained a thing or two about interactivity between guitar, guitar knob settings, and the pedal's performance, but it offered basically no assistance. Perhaps it's that way by design to encourage experimentation, as an earlier reviewer suggested.

I'm basically a bluesy player with a fondness for psychedelia. My setup:

Les Paul into an Ernie Ball volume pedal with a line out to a tuner > Guyatone analog phaser > Electro-Harmonix Tube Zipper > Fulltone Ultimate Octave > Marshall 60 watt combo amp with a Fulltone Fat-Boost in the series effects loop, and two digital delays (one short, one long) in the parallel effects loop.

I love the Fulltone Ultimate Octave pedal. It snarls, sizzles and sputters. It sounds like hot lava. It produces incredible feedback. It's AWESOME just as a fuzz pedal. The octave-up feature is an incredible bonus which can produce the "Purple Haze" and "Who Knows" sound perfectly. It can also produce ring modulator like sounds, and with a lot of fuzz it can get pretty shrill and hairy.

I'm giving a 9 out of 10 here only because there is a very noticeable hum present whenever the pedal is on in the "fuzz only" mode (it's dead silent in the "octave-up mode"). The hum is present even when my guitar volume and/or volume pedal volume are rolled all the way back. I compensate by switching the pedal off between songs. This is a quibble really. The pedal sounds absolutely great.

It's built like a tank. I always gig without a back-up. I couldn't afford to have a back-up.

I've played 2-4 gigs a month for 2 years with it and it hasn't acted up once.

I've had no need to deal with customer support from the manufacturer.

I've played guitar for 22 years. I currently play in a funk band with a heavy emphasis on acid-rock guitar rather than horns. Think of Funkadelic during the period when Eddie Hazel had a large influence on their sound (69 thru the mid 70's). The curious can see some Youtube clips linked here:

http://www.myspace.com/thecsc

The Fulltone Ultimate Octave is probably my favorite single piece of gear that I own. It gives me the fuzz/distortion tone I've wanted since I was a teenager listening to Hendrix and wondering why I couldn't get my solid state amp to distort that way. It's my primary distortion/overdrive effect.

It was expensive, but in my opinion it's well worth the money spent.

Stander 3 knob volume/tone/fuzz. 2 foot swicht fuzz/octave.1 toggel swicht fat/bright.I think all octave pedals are for advance players. If you just started playing this pedal would be difficult use becouse you need strong knowleged of scales and how the sound works for it to be effective.But, if you gone around the block and back this pedal very easy use.

SET/UP:tele/335>Fulltone Soulbender>HBE Germania(treble booster)>Ultimat Octave>Cry Baby>MI Audio Crunch Box>MI Audio Blues Pro>Volume pedal>65' Super Reverb RI.

(I only use the pedal with the fat on the bright scoops the mids and I do not like that)

I'll start with the Fuzz. I think it sound's like a solid state amp with every knob turn up.It has more volume than it needs. I think they could of taper it off some.But, the sound is smoother and more usefull than a Big Muff. Not as opean sounding as the Soulbender so there is some contrace between the two( a good thing).I can use the Soulbender and the Germania to drive or add treble to the Ultimate Octave.I can also use the Ultimate octave to drive the Blues Pro and the Crunch Box.Sounds good with the Cry Baby too.

The Octave part on this pedal is like a Dan Armstong Green Ringer. It has more ring modulater to it than the Tycobrahe Octavia.It starts to adding the upper octave around the 9th or 10th fret.It nails the JIMI TONE with the Cry Baby !You can bring it out more with a treble booster or a overdrive/distortion box after it.

Over all I think this pedal is a use full tool.There is some change to the octave when the fuzz or tone knob is moved around .But, the interaction with other pedals is a real pluse.

I have had no problems with my soulbender .I don't see having any with the Ultimate Octave.

N/A

I have been looking at octave/fuzz pedals for a year.Now I'm happy with what I got.Works great in my Blues/Rock band.

really sweet!!, it's small, good looking, 3 knobs, 2 switches, 1 togle, great overall , easey,just try everything out , try to be your self , manual good

it's fantastic, i've got my self a roctron purple haze( wich is great for heavey metal,rock) , but this just is the best overall, quality,sound,and it's a hell of alot simpler to use

hasen't let me down yet, and if it does( nothing lasts forever) , hey i'll get another one!!!!!!!!

great, 100% satisfied, a very friendly

overall, it's a cool pedal to own, it's built to last, signed in the back, simple to use, it colors your sound, but doesn't hide the real tone ( you!) good lookin, try one , buy one

Not many knobs to figure out but its difficult to get a useable sound.Its very picky about placement in a chain,amps,etc

im using this with a couple different guitars,carvin and gibsons with some other pedals into either a framus or hughes and kettner.I dont like the pedal.It always sounds harsh to me and not in a good way.I have a big muff a little big muff and a blue box I like all of those much more than the fulltone.The octave setting sounds very video game like but not in a fun way like the blue box. With the tone below half way its alright anything after that I dont see how anyone could use it unless they had a very dark guitar and amp.

My first impression was that it was built very well but in the process of letting someone try it to buy it from me the toggle switch broke.It felt stiff and it just broke.The battery desing is absolutely retarted.You have to remove the bottom panel to chage it and the wire is kind of short.If you are not carefull it could easily rip out the power wires.Maybe I got one with a bad switch so I wont rate it too low but the battery thing is just dumb.

Waiting on a reponse about the toggle

Some people seem to really like this thing but not me.I read up on it for a while then finnaly bought it online because no one carries them in my area.Dumb move because now im stuck with it.I dont see how or why it is so expensive my 70$ big muff does everything this can aside from the octavia and I find its tone very useable.This thing gets completely lost before distortion whereas the muff adds a nice low wall of sound.

This pedal is my third fuzz. Fuzz #1 is the Prescription Electronics Experience pedal. Fuzz #2 is the Zvex Fuzz Factory. The Ultimate octave is easy to get a sound out of, if you like fuzz. I find the tone control and Bright/Fat switch very useful for dialing in many different types of fuzz tone. I really liked the Prescription experience pedal's ability to switch between regular fuzz and Octavia, and that set up is what I really liked about the Fulltone.

I've used this pedal live with a Fender blues jr. amp and it sounds very sweet. It is a fuzz, so on regular fuzz mode it is a bit noisy, but I have a volume pedal and a volume control on my guitar so there is no excuse for me if somebody says I'm noisy on stage between songs. The octavia has a built in noise reduction circuit.I find that dialing in a nice fuzz tone is a matter of understanding how it works with an electric guitar. One way of figuring it out is to start with a guitar an amp and a fuzz pedal. Try it with a completly clean amp sound first, and try the fuzz knob at a lower setting. Use your guitar's volume control to vary your attack. Next try it with a more overdriven amp sound, not dimed- just kind of medium gain. This setting is great for the octavia sound, make sure to alter your guitar's volume control and vary your attack, try hitting hard and soft and everything in between. Where the octave really jumps out is when you're playing notes around the ninth fret and up. The more you roll your guitar volume back, the more pronounced the octave will be. You should be able to get the "satisfaction" fuzz sound with this pedal, as well as "purple haze". After you get the feel of the pedal, start adding your other effects to the chain and see what happens.

Fulltone pedals are the best built pedals around. Mike Fuller has been repairing pedals for a long time and you can tell that he has designed his pedals to anticipate heavy gigging and any kind of abuse. Yes I would gig without a backup.

I haven't had to use the company's repair dept. but I have heard a lot of positives from trusted individuals.

I play roots rock and use a lot of ambient textures with fuzz, tremolo, delay etc. I have been playing for 25 years, but I am still learning a lot every day. I have a carl martin comp/limiter, a voodoo labs 1st version tremolo, a Top hat wonderboy drive pedal, a Danecho, and an Ernie ball vol. pedal on my board. I went through a couple of fuzzes to get to this one, My P.E experience sounded great but I had a situation where it sometimes wouldn't switch back and forth between modes. The Fuzz factory sounds great, but it lacks a really convincing octavia sound, and I like to switch from reg fuzz to octavia and back, so this pedal really adressed those issues. As usual, I love Harmony Central's gear review pages and I'll be using this resource heavily when I start shopping for a nice analog delay.

It took me some time trying different placements in the effects chain and combinations with other effects before I found the sounds that I liked and could use. The controls are very sensitive and can make big differences from one setting to the next.

This is a Fuzz/Octave pedal and if you don?t like over the top FUZZ tone you should stay clear of this pedal. It does the Hendrix Thing very well but when used in combination with other pedals it can also do other things as well My Effects chain is as follows: Les Paul, Stratocaster or Telecaster ? E.B. Volume Pedal / Vox Wah with all Fulltone parts / Deja 2 / Ultimate Octave / VooDoo Lab Tremolo / VooDoo Lab Analog Chorus / Line 6 DL4 into a Fender Hot Rod Deville. I normally keep all 3 pots around the 10 to 12 O?clock position the switch in the fat position it is then feed to the Fulldrive Overdrive which adds more bottom end to the tone. This combination can give my Telecaster Tony Iomi?s War Pigs tone.

Have never hasd a reliability issue with this or any Fulltone pedal. This one is 6 years old.

Great service although you will more than likely never need it. My e-mails have always been answered.

A FUZZ with a capital F if you don't remember the 70s or you don't like tones from that period you may not like this pedal. But if you long for tones of a day gone bye this may be your ticket.

Not to ease to use! to find the right sound between the fuzz and octav features is a hassle.

To much fuzz to begin with. Why not make it less fuzzy in the low range. Fuzz only is very noisy and not so good to my ears. That should not be a problem to fix at the factory you might think!? But you sound like hendrix when you turn on the octavia.

good

Don't know

Pretty good but I should rather have bought the Fulltone octafuzz instead. Less fuzz and more guitarsound left!

This is easy to use as far as setting it up, using the controls.

I use this with a fender stratocaster and I have yet to find a usable sound for anything. The sound is too thin, or sounds like the fuzz into to "satisfaction". As far as saying Satriani uses one, the only thing I can say is maybe he used it once and threw it at a Roadie to get his attention. It is not useful at all and I'm going to see if I can return it....

It seems to be well built.

If someone bought this I wish them good luck for using it. I use a tonebone for my overdrive and this can't even come close to sounding half way decent.

MAybe I'm stupid (got a PhD) or maybe my expectations were too high but I could not get a usable sound from this pedal...I certainly couldnt find the sound that I listened to online or anything close to the Satriani tone everyone else raves about. I keep thinking...it's a pedal for godsake...how hard should this be....

I would like to rate this a 1 but because so many of you appear to be getting usable sounds out of this I will assume that it my stupidity or maybe a bad lemon of a pedal and not the typical experience....

Built like a tank. This is a Fulltone's strength.

I tried calling several times...got a recording that would not take messages and stated that I should email any concerns. I emailed twice with NO RESPONSE. Since I never reached them I cant say that they are rude or awful...so I go with a 5.

Probably if this thing didnt cost so much (way overpriced for a pedal that even if worked would not be a main staple in my effect arsenal) I wouldnt feel a need to write such a poor review. But I live in a major town that for somereason doesnt have a music shop that carried this so I had to special order without trying it out first. Now because I waited too long to return it..because I thought "Hey How bad can this be? It get glowing reviews, the sound samples are what I'm looking for so I I need to do is tweak it...work with it...understand it" $%^&*($%^&*! Well, I havent figured out how to get the sound I am looking for...so I packed it up to sell on ebay at a loss.

The Fulltone Ultimate Octave is very easy to get a good sound out of really.Just plug,balance the volume,tone,& fuzz level,plus decide if you want the bright switch on bright or fat,and away you go!!

I use a Ibanez JEM and JS1000 with a marshall & Boogie rack system ( JMP1 or Tri-Axis pre-amp into 50/50 marshall power amp )with my Ultimate Octave.The `octave sits on a pedalboard with a Morley Power Wah,TSD9 Turbo Overdive,Boss DS1 and Digitech Wammy.It fits in a treat.I can get instant hendrix or satch with just a press of the footswitch!!

It is handmade and built like a tank with a obvious high ammount of care,so I doubt there will be problems!! and no "I ain`t selling it any time soon!"

I have not had to contact Mike Fuller,but i`m sure he`d answer my e-mails if I sent him any...

The Fulltone Ultimate Octave is the only pedal I`ve ever heard that nails that "Octavia" sound made so brill` by Jimi back in the good old days.It is perfect for the "Wild geetar stuff" I do,and is a unique pedal to say the least.If it were lost or nicked I would be straight down to Peach to get another.I just love it`s twisted and tortured sweeet screamyness.When it is heard,they all come running over wanting to know what "that pedal is"!! It helps my music and has featured and a number of recordings already.I am now after either a Fulltone Fat Boost or Distortion Pro to add to the pedalboard.

It is fairly easy if you follow the intructrions and advice that Fuller give you with the product.
I am the kind of guy that will take it out of the box and plug it in and see what happends. Initially I was disapointed becuase I liked the immediate pleasure I got from my BOSS OC-2 (Japanese made) Octaver. Thne I read FUllers advice in the box and began to tweak.

After reading the manual I began to tweak. I wanted the Hendrix octave sound and the Satriani sound. WHat you have to do is roll back the fuzz to about 1 or 2. Take the volume up about 2 o clock and put your fingers on the tone knob. Switch to the neck pick up and turn the octave on and octave up button on. WHile playing with your left hand (higher up in the 12th fret range) rotate the Tone knob to your liking. I did this for a while and got the Satriani octave tone I was looking for. (I use distortion from my head and the Boss DS-1 stock)It does not like the higher treble of my humbucker (bridge). SO I rolled back the tone knob on my guitar and got some more great fuzz octave sounds from my humbucker (bridge).
If you want straight forward octave sounds get a harmonizer or a Japanese BOSS OC-2. If you are looking for Hendrix- Satriani type Octave fuzz - then look no further!

Built like a tank. The only issue is that I dont stomp on it hard enough sometimes, so i got to kick it in 2x. I will make sure to stomp harder to make sure the is nothing wrong with the switch.

I have dealt with fuller one time and it was a pleasant experience.
(via email)

For what it does, it is expensive but it will last. I have had it 2 years now. Tweak before you post here.

There are four sounds: fat fuzz, thin fuzz, fat octave fuzz, thin octave fuzz. The dials lessen or increase the overall impact of the fuzz, but for the most part, it's fuzzy and only so. The octave seems to work only on the neck pickup. It's kind of wacky on the bridge.

Sure is fuzzy. There's a lot that can be done with this thing, but much depends on the guitar, the amp, the player, the pick attack, the volume of the guitar, the settings on the unit, the tones of the amp, if other pedals are involved.... Alone, this thing is a thick, fuzzy curios of harmonics. The fat switch is beefy--sometimes it makes my Orange amp's Vintage 30's Celestion flub under the pressure. The brightness setting is nicely thinned out. I've never used a fuzz pedal before: always relied on an ADA MP1. The characteristics of fuzz are pretty versatile. There's a lack of progression in the harmonics that is a nice break from the syrupy, slathered distortion of the ADA or the Boss Metal Zone. Fuzz kind of sounds like it's constantly applying the brakes, as it hauls arse down the boulevard. But how can so much sustain be present? Fripp and Eno tones are all over this pedal. But it does it without sounding like Santana or Extreme. Bizarre. The fuzz is brittle without being glassy. It's rich without being sloppy. It's heavy without being scooped. It's thin without being weak.

Adding the octave, things change. Again, if the bridge pickup is used, it sounds kind of squirrelly. At the neck, some pretty high pitches can be eked out. It can sound like monkeys fighting, at times. Lowering the guitar's volume helps achieve an octave effect without adding the zoo or jungle tones.

In all, it's pretty excellent at what it does, and because I've paid so much for it, I don't intend to use it once or twice per show. I intend to learn how it can be folded in without being over the top. It is not difficult to go too far with this thing. This is where I'm sure it could cause listener/player/bandmate fatigue. With this in mind, I'm learning to rein it in... a bit.

So far so solid.

N/A

I play a mish mash of styles: none perfectly, but enough to get by. This thing can do No Quarter, Fripp, and Indian Ragas, depending on one's mood. If it could eased up a bit on the fuzz factor, I'd be less apt to be looking into the Soul Bender, but this could be a reason. You know, now that I think of it, I'm glad this thing is so very intense. It does what it does without apology. That's something. There's no reason to complain about a NASCAR because it doesn't have a couch, a bar, champagne, and ice.

Very easy to use.. though can be rather hard to find a setting that works good with other pedals. If you have the volume up loud enough so that it is even with your clean tone when you kick it on.. and then click on a distortion, it overloads the distortion. So then you have to lower the volume, but with the volume lower, you can't use the pedal on it's own, which is unfortunate, as there are many times where I would like to use the pedal with and without a distortion pedal infront of it (which is how fuller reccomends).

Sounds Amazing.. the octave tracking is supurb, especially around the 12th to 15th fret using the neck pickup. The only problem I have is that the pedal puts off noise when the octave is not enaged, I can't use it as just a fuzz alone. Oddly, engaging the octave takes away this noise and it is SILENT.

I don't think I would have any problems with this pedal breaking down.

Emailed Fulltone once about the noise problem with octave on/off, no answer.

I've been playing for 12 years, my main guitar is an Ibanez JS1000, Satriani is a big influence on my playing and is who got me interested in this pedal. Upon turning it on, I could hear Satch's tone ringing through it and place where it was used in tracks (ie. Turkey Man).. I only have two problems with it, one that I have a hard time going between using with and without a distortion pedal, two that it would be nice to use it without the octave and not have the little noise it puts off.

If this pedal were lost or stolen, I would definitely get another. It has such rich tone and is very inspiring to play through. Through tweaking the knobs you can dial in an array of octavia fuzz sounds. It responds well to your playing too, as some pedals get muddied up, this one doesn't, retaining the articulation of each note.

Easy, and pretty self explanatory.

This is my first Fulltone product, and given the hype, and some of the impressive tones i've wittnessed coming out of peoples amps, my expectations were high. I have an original Univox Super-Fuzz, which to me is the ULTIMATE octave fuzz(the only thing I've ever given a 10!)and this does not compare, but I don't think it was meant to.

The basic tone of this pedal is very good; thick rich and fat(not as much gain as I expected, but enough), and the octave is also good; splattered with just a touch of ring modulation.I always keep the octave on, or it seems to loose a little personality. The tone control is a little tricky; I found that it never needs to be more than halfway, especially with the octave on. There are some excellent sweet spots in both settings with the tone almost down and octave on.

Its a real bummer that it lags for a second turning the octave on!

Ah... the fat/bright switch. No one seems to use the bright very much, but I think it is every bit as usable. Ive found that the bright sounds better through a clean (Fender) amp, and the fat sounds better through an amp that is allready overdriven. This is no small feat as most fuzz pedals loose their cool with an allready distorted setup.

My brutally simple guitar setup is: cheap single coil guitar (Yamaha sgv, mex strat, or Teisco)-->fuzz flavor of the week (always come back to the Superfuzz though)-->Earth tube 100 watt head (like a pre CBS dual showman.awesome, and loud!)--> Fender cab.

Built tough, I have no worrys..

I couldnt pass this bargain up when I saw it at the pawn shop, and will probably hold on to it. I want to try it on bass, I think it would probably shine.

I play surf/garage on guitar, and punk on bass; in two different bands.

Overall, I really like it, and the louder my amp is turned up, the better it sounds. A real sweet pedal on it's own, but I think I'm just spoiled with the Univox...

On the surface it seems very easy to use. and when you use it by itself it is, but once you start having it interact with other pedals, and you start playing live in a band things get a bit more complicated. sometimes it sounds better with the fat switch on, but other times it's not.

fender am dexluxe strat into a drivetrain II to a supatrem to a dls chorus/vib to a reverb deluxe. I play serf music and am looking for a reliable fuzz box that sounds like some of the old yardbirds/ventures stuff.
the pedal is true bypass, built like a tank pedal. the octave part tracks well and sounds really nice. the fuzz section is full and rich but does not clean up with the guitar volume. I think the soul bender is a better fuzz sound though. one major problem with this pedal, and which makes it kind of unusable in my opinion is that when you have the fuzz engaged and you subsequently engage the octave there is a MAJOR delay in sound. so lets say you jamming away with a nice fuzz sound and you want to bring in the octave part you step on the switch and your sound disappears for a second. needless to say, I found this aspect to be quite annoying and that is why I had to take it back. to be fair I email mike at fulltone and he said that all fuzz/octave pedals will have a delay. I don't remember the captain coconut doing this but I may be wrong about that. I still want to try a homebrew UFO to see if that pedal does it. another annoying thing is that you cant have just the octave part on without the fuzz. but don't get me wrong fulltone pedals are awesome and this pedal is a nice pedal - probably work better in the studio rather than live that's all.

seem reliable. no issues there

mike is friendly and answered my emails very quickly. I own other fulltone pedals and have always had a good experience.

overall, this is a great pedal if you don't mind the octave cutting out the pedal when it's engaged. I couldn't get it to work with my setup but it may work with yours. it's damn hard to find a good fuzz box (not overdrive or distortion)

3 knobs, 2 footswitches, 1 mini-toggle switch. Easy to use in theory, hard to find a pleasing sound in practice (see below for more details).

I am using this pedal with a 1999 PRS Custom 22 or an 1997 American Standard Stratocaster into a Mesa/Boogie Nomad 55 Head plugged into a Marshall 2x12 cab. Well, this pedal is the first fuzz pedal I ever bought, and it confirmed that I just don't like transistor distortion all that much... The pedal is not overly noisy and is true bypass. The fuzz by itself is ultra-thick, and is much lacking in subtelty... It gives a huge lead sound, but quite quickly gets tiresome to my ears... It is also much too thick to be effective as "dirty rythm". The octave is so shrill as to being virtually unusable by itself, at least on a clean channel --unless you wish to REALLY pissoff the audience and your bandmates, not to mention loosing your hearing! It becomes easier to handle with the smooth Boogie overdrive --but then again anything does! Also, this fuzz does not allow me to replicate any of the classic sounds of Hendrix, Page, Clapton, Beck, etc. It is a different beast in itself. I must say that I am rather disapointed in this product, given all the hype surrounding Fulltone. But I recognize that sound is highly subjective matter.

Built like the proverbial tank!

I play anything from electric blues, to dinosaur rock (Hendrix, Led Zep, Allman Bros), to funk, to alternative music (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, RATM, etc.). I have been playing for 18 yrs now. In addition to my guitars and amp listed above, I own a Line 6 delay, Voodoo Lab Micro Vibe, and Dunlop Q-535 Wah --all true bypass. My set up is very quiet. I certainly would not buy this pedal again if stolen. I compared it to Fulltone's octafuzz, and the ultimate octave actually sounded better --which speaks poorly of the octafuzz... I also tried Voodoo Lab's Superfuzz and Bosstone --not great either... Well, maybe I'm just not a fuzz guy! I am very particular about my tone, and this pedal just does not cut it... Now, let's see about that Distortion Pro!

3 EQ knobs(Vol, Tone, Fuzz)
1 Toggle switch(Fat/Bright)
2 Foot switch(on/off, octave up)

Very easy to use, but it will take some time to figure out how to get the sound you want since the pedal can get a lot of different sounds from tweaking.

I am using a Laney GH50L with a Boogie cab, for guitars I use with this pedal is Fender strat with Texas special pickups and ESP Eclipse. Both single coil and humbucker guitar sound wonderful with this pedal.

Built like a tank with a metal casing. I was bit skeptical about the small toggle switch, but it's actually much sturdier than I thought.

I heard some people having bad experience with Mike Fuller, but mine was EXCELLENT.
He responsed my emails very quickly the same day. I also asked him where I could get a foot rubber which was missing from my pedal, he shipped me FOUR foot rubbers+screws and a Fulltone Sticker for free. Great customer service.

I play blues mostly with this pedal and works great.
I was searching for a fuzz that can do all my needs; fuzz that can sound both smooth and thick AND get nasty PLUS an Octavia effect that can be controlled by a separate foot switch. This pedal suits my needs perfectly. The only downside is you can only use Octave with Fuzz ON, can't use Octave effect by itself.
Overall, I've been very pleased with this pedal for the past 6 months I've had it.

3 knobs fuzz volume and tone, 1 bright/fat switch. All knobs do exactly what you expect.

Don't look any further, this is it. It's all in there.

Don't know yet in 3 weeks, got the feeling it'll last long.

No problems yet, but enough info on the on the internet.

I've been playing for 17 years now, use this setup for vintage blues/rock playing. Owned a Roger Mayer octavia, seemed less reliable in harware and sound. I use it with a standard 1978 strat in this chain: vox wah, voodoolab microvibe, fulltone ultimate octave, boss od-3 overdrive, boss rps10 reverse delay, boss dd5 delay- Marshall 1959 100W top, 1960 cabinet. There you have it, a great Band of Gypsies sound at all volumes. It's expensive but worth it.

This is a deceptively simple control layout. If you're used to setting the tone control between 12 and 3 o'clock, you may wish to reconsider. I find myself setting the tone control almost always lower than 12 0'clock. This is probably because it is an active control, not passive like most tone stacks. As for the volume and fuzz, just set to taste and start playing.

I rarely use the scooped "bright" setting, I almost always leave it on "fat"

I have the following rig:

Fender Telesonic --> Budda Budwah --> Fulltone Ultimate Octave --> Fender Hotrod 1x12

This rig, although basic, suits my needs. The Budwah will eventually be replaced with a Clyde, though (The Clyde is soooo much better!)

This is exceptionally quiet for a fuzz pedal. Recently I played a Boss Metal Zone in a store, and the noise floor was unbearable. You do, of course, get a hum with single coils, on almost any setting. This is unavoidable when dealing with high-gain.

The effect is usable at almost any setting, and all three controls are tweakable to a good extent to get the tone you want.

Please realize, this pedal is NOT a very versatile pedal... the fuzz sounds nearly the same with the control on 15 percent as it does at 100 percent, although there is a noticable difference. But, who buys fuzz for versatility?

In all fairness, it is probably one of the most versatile fuzzes around, with an octave-up, an active tone control, and two drastically different EQ settings... but it still always sounds like you're using a freaking fuzz!!

When *I* personally think of octave-up effects, the album A Band of Gypsys always comes to mind. Can the UO duplicate the legendary concert's sound? No. Can it do a recognizable faximile? Yeah, kinda. If you want that sound, I would recommend going with Fulltone's other octave up, the "Octafuzz". It does a much better clone of the original octavia sound. That is not to say that this octavia sound doesn't hold it's own--it does! Just in a more original and unique way.

The idea for a fuzz AND octave pedal in one is a great idea. I mean, how many songs per night on a gig can you use an octavia? One? Two? The octavia effect is a wild beast, best used sparingly and with great discression. It is pure sonic mayhem. A fuzz, on the other hand, can be used as much as you like :)

I mostly use this as a fuzz, with an octave as a climax occasionally or on certain leads.

How does it sound? Great! I love this fuzz. It is snarly and tempermental and has a great powerful crunch to it, also sustains and feedbacks for days. It's great.

The octave-up is even more aggressive and spits, sputters, and squeals like every octavia clone should!

This pedal is great for creating just an agressive and singing fuzz texture.

I can't give it a ten because it has this transient distortion that sometimes gets annoying... it is part of the sound, and I wouldn't get rid of it even if I could, but a smooth sound once in a while would be nice.

Nothing to say here. Reliability and build quality couldn't be better.

Can't say I've ever dealt with Mike Fuller.

This is a very useful little box when you want to tear it up with an aggresive, harmonically-rich, and surprisingly complex fuzz tone. AND it has an octave up for those times when you want to add some extra fire. All in all, I don't think I'll ever replace it!

Well, this isn't a super hard pedal to use, I had to spend a little time getting it dialed in, but really, it's not hard to master. I had a harder time learning to use the octave effect then anything else. When used right, it can sound very musical, otherwise it's easy to make it sound like this horrid high pitched screaming noise.

Features...

1. Volume
2. Tone
3. Fuzz
4. Yellow LED for Fuzz engaged
5. Stompswitch for Fuzz
6. Stompswitch for Octave Up
7. Red LED for Octave Up
8. Fat/Bright Switch

One kind of annoying thing about this pedal, you can't use the Octave Up by itself. You either use it with the Fuzz on, or not at all. Granted, I don't think I WOULD use it by itself (octave), but the option to do so would have been a nice though.

I mostly use this with a Gibson 330 going into a old Gibson 4-10 Ranger combo, or a Gibson Les Paul (with the Jimmy Page LP electronics) into a VHT Pittbull 45.

With the 330/Ranger combination, I use it for more of a 'classic' style fuzz and rarely with the octave up effect. This pedal still lets my 330 breathe, as it should. I have it set up for pretty light fuzz, kinda like early Stones or The Kinks.

I get a little wilder with the Les Paul/VHT and can cop some fairly close Black Sabbath tones with it. If you don't really know what this pedal does, listen to the solo in Black Sabbaths 'Paranoid', that's basicly it. I didn't get this cause I wanted to sound like Hendrix, but Hendrix riffs sounds pretty cool with it too. I wanted something for that early Iommi tone, and for me, it delivers.

I can get a pretty wide variety of tones out of it, and it's fun to kick the octave up effect in and out. I think this box is worth it for the fuzz alone. If you play any sort of stoner rock/ or early doom metal, check this thing out. For me, it's Sabbath in a box. I mix it with a Hot Cake sometimes, to get some insane heavy DOOM sounds out of it, but it does great by itself.

I havn't, and don't expect any problems out of it. It's given me no grief in the year I've owned it. I'd use it without a backup as it's not really a big part of my sound, but really nice to have when I need it.

Mike is brief and to the point. He takes care of whatever questions I have, with any luck I won't be requiring service on this of any of my other Fulltone units.

I have way too many guitars/amps/basses/pedals to even begin to list, but most of it is Gibson (including several amps and basses).

I basicly use this for that early Black Sabbath tones, as well of certain NWOBHM bands like Witchfinder General. It's not a HUGE part of my sound, but nice to have for when I need it. If I lost it, I may or may not replace it. It's a cool pedal, but again, not a big part of what I play. It's got a really nice fuzz, but the octave up effect isn't for everybody.

Pretty straightfoward octave/fuzz pedal. The manual is very brief but at 200 bones it's not likely that junior will buy one to play the latest Blink 182 riffs. Goods sounds are obtainable with a little tweaking and I'd surmise to say that musicians of intermediate to advanced levels of playing can get really happening sounds in a short period of time.

I use this pedal with a variety of Strats, a Les Paul Special and a Tele. My main amp is Mesa Boogie Rocket 440. The Rocket is basically Boogie's version of a Fender Super Reverb, with a lot more flexability via the gain channels. This pedal works very well for the SRV/Hendrix thing but is also great for unique sonic texures ala Satriani as well. I've also got a Fulldrive 2 which is my favorite overdrive/distortion ever as well as a Voodoo Labs' Micro Vibe and Analog Chorus in my signal path. The unit works best when it is FIRST in the chain (just like any good Fuzz). Good sounds are easily obtained and I find the fuzz to be nestled nicely between the 69' and 70' pedals fuzz units mike makes-Cream era Clapton when the fuzz is used solo and Jimi's B.O.G. with the fuzz on it the fat mode. There's not a "suck" button on this thing.

Mike's stuff is made to survive-rugged enclosures, heavy duty switches and quality silk screened graphics inspire confidence. I use a FDII made in '96 as my primary OD/Distortion unit and IMHO, there is no finer pedal on the market. I've used the typical Rat, Tube Screamer, Jeckll & Hyde, Daddy-o pedals as well and the FDII has survived 'em all. I fully expect the same out of my Ultimate Octave. My only fear is the tiny "fat/bright" toggle being broken-it's in a good spot to get nailed by my size 11. Yes-I'd gig without a backup.

Mike is generally a pretty helpful guy. He comes off a little brash sometimes but when you're a one man operation and selling a great deal of product business must be conducted swiftly. He's always been helpful and has never been dick-ish to me personally. I generally shy away from boutique equipment after a bad experience with a Holland Amp because it was so expensive and so frustratingly unreliable but Mike Fuller had made me feel cool about buying "small manufacturer" gear again!

I play blues and blues rock styles of music and this pedal fits in well with my style. My setup is: Strat>Ultimate Octave>Analog Chorus>FDII>Micro Vibe>Boss DD3 Delay. I've been playing for 15 years and have tried the Dunlop "Jimi Hendrix Octave" as well as the Prescription Electronics C.O.B. (Clean Octave Blend" and my Ultimate Octave makes those look pretty crappy. The fact that you can use the fuzz by itself or with the octave makes it like getting two for one. It ain't cheap but Dad always said "ya get what you pay for" and cliche as it may sound, it's true in most cases. I'd probably get another if it was stolen-it's a cool effect but you have to be careful not to over use it-it's NOT a subtle effect. My only gripe is the little bright/fat switch being out there and very vunerable.Mike makes good stuff and if you want to have tone that exceeds the normal "Joe Shit the rag man wanking through a Boss pedalboard" you have to pay for it. The octave on this tracks beter than any I've experienced and is useful over the majority of the neck (but it really shines past the 11th fret). The fuzz is thick and round and that little switch I bitch about (Fat/Bright) allows radical EQ shifts for more tonal flexibility. Maybe a little "flip cover" over the switch would put me at ease.

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.