Z.Vex Octane 3

Huge octave fuzz with three knobs: output, tone(mid shift), and input(drive). It's very loud and quite easy to set up a good sound, in my opinion. Once again, huge fuzz. 2002 edition.

This octave fuzz has a very particular sound that not every fuzz user might like, it has very particular uses. It can be noisy, even picking up radio stations, a feature which I actually enjoy- stopping the music, turning down the volume on the guitar for a few seconds, and voila! instant lo-fi sampling-like sounds. Like any distortion or fuzz, it can be a little noisy when on and not playing. I play through Fender amps with both single coil and HB equipped guitars, and I think the single coils work better. Basically, here's where the Hendrix-like soloing sounds come through and shine with this pedal. My favorite use with any guitar is to do two-note power chords (5ths) in the lower register to create massive, Sabbathy riffs. Only two notes though! Anything more will make the pitch shifting affect the chords, adding unwanted out-of-key notes. I also like the sputtering out sounds it generates. 9- the Octane 3 does it's job very well, but it's limited in its uses

Super reliable electronically, however the custom paint job will chip over time unless you take extreme measures to care for it.

I Haven't contacted them.

Unlike many other players/reviewers, I really enjoy some of the noisier attributes to this pedal, which I knew of before purchasing, and chose this over other similar fuzz units. It's wonderful straight up as an octave fuzz for solos, but I believe there's always another function that can be attained if you mess around enough with any effect. I do also use an overdrive as my main distortion and a delay. It works nicely with the delay, not at all with the OD. If stolen, I'd be devastated because of the price, but I would definitely buy another. If you listen to the solos from Dungen, Alan Sparhawk from Low and The Retribution Gospel Choir (he uses this pedal too), or Jimi Hendrix, you can really dial in some of their sounds with the Octane 3. It's particular, but well designed for those uses.

This is a pretty poor octave fuzz. I love octave fuzz as an effect and have owned a few. This one just does not cut it at all.

Where is the SUSTAIN? My guitars have way more sustain with the pedal OFF. Notes crap out abruptly and ugly instead of ringing on and on like a good fuzz will do. Keep in mind this effect is only usable for single notes so the sustain problem makes it mostly useless. It makes you sound like you have bad touch! but it is the pedal!! maybe you can tell your audience that when your solo asses out!!! I don't need a pedal that works against me.

Noise! Every fuzz pedal is noisey but this one is retarded. Maybe you could use it as an emergency radio in a pinch!

Tone!!! but what tone? It is very flat and ugly sounding. Completely takes over your guitars sound and turns it into a swarm of bees with some sports radio thrown in.

If you think this pedal sounds good i don't even need to hear you play! I know you suck before you've even play a note.

If you want an octave fuzz that sounds good try the prescription electonics experience fuzz. It sends the octane home whimpering with it's tail between it's legs.

Hell yes! zvex builds pedals to last.

Zvex has the BEST customer support around. I wish the pedal was broken, but it isn't it just sounds like a turd.

Zvex is a great company. I would say they are overpriced but the amazing warranty makes up for it. I will continue to buy thier products but probably would not take a chance on another fuzz style pedal from them.

I am using this with Bass. Just so you bassplayers out there who are as me always looking for fx reviews know.

Very easy to use. Read below for details or check out the demo video on zvex.com

Sound quality is subjective, but I will try my best to describe it:
This pedal can sound like a truck unloading 5 tons of rocks when playing chords. It is very thick. When the battery gets older (or if you reduce input and turn up output) it starts to crackle and spit. It can sound like a truck collapsing while trying to unload 5 tons of rocks.

It is very noisy, no gate. You can tell when it?s on. You have to decide whether you like this or not.

Mine does a low thump when you turn it on. I e-mailed zachary vex and he told me I have an older design and I should change one capacitor. In the meantime I found ways to use the thump musically, so it doesn?t bother me anymore.

As with any other stomp box (except MoogerFoogers and the analogue zoom pedals) the switch is quite loud by itself. Why aren?t there silent switches?

Yes, it picks up radio signals, but mine did so only when the battery was fresh and I turned it up very loud. And I only did so when I used it "without" input as an instrument and then the radio was a feature.

I like the pedal a lot, I don?t think I will sell it ever.
One more thing: if you?re looking for fuzz tones with lots of bass frequencies, go elsewhere, it cuts quite a bit of bass. also the ringmodish sound when you bend two notes together as demonstrated by zachary vex in the video on his website does not work that very good on a bass (with a hi C string it does better).

It does what it does - so I?ll give it a 10.

I have it for 6 months now, and no issues. I only changed the batterie last week because I had a performance with dancers and video and I didn?t want to risk it as I could not do a break to change it. But I?m sure it would have lasted a few more weeks (but I guess the sound would have changed more, see above)
Very well built, metal box.

I e-mailed with Zachary Vex a few times and he always responded very, very fast and was very nice. He is a cool guy!
Also he offers life-time guarantee, what more can you ask?

Well, I use this pedal in improv/noise/metal, and I like it a lot and will keep it.
But I have ordered a Woolly Mammoth to have a more bassy fuzz.

This pedal was my first fuzz. If I remember correctly I compared it to these pedals in the shop when I bought it and liked it the most:

Proco Rat Juggernaut
Jimi Hendrix Octave Fuzz
Zvex Fuzz Factory
Zoom UF-01 Ultra Fuzz

not self explanatory, but easy to get killer sounds out of it

People buy this box because they want the EFFECT. And maan, this is an effect and not a toneshaper, this is insanity in a box - like when jimi hits his fuzz face and his vintage stratocaster interacts with a maxed 100W marshall stack - it's just goin on and on in shades.

I tried to get this sound from the Fuzz factory, but didn't succeed. As opposed to the factory, here every setting sounds amazing.

Yes, it's noisy, because noise is what it's supposed to do.

looks reliable to me.

Been playing for almost 20 years, my style varies, from blues to pop to metal. This effect suits everything that needs real dirt and noise. What got me into this pedal was the video on zvex.com, and I have not regret it for a second. It's expensive but worth every penny.

3 knobs, IN for gain, TONE for mid scoop/boost, OUT for volume.

I use it with a single coil strat, which is what Zack recommends. This pedal is a screaming fuzz. I have owned a Boss Fuzz, Fuzz Face, and the Z Vex Fuzz Factory. The Octane 3 is by far my favorite. The upper octaves are only really prominent playing at the 12th fret or above. Low on the neck, it sounds like a huge fuzz. HUGE.
The volume of this pedal, and the fuzz factory, are the loudest things I have ever heard. It is painfully loud with the OUT at 10:00.
My only complaint is that the gating is pretty strong in this pedal. If you have good fingers, it won't bother you. If you are sloppy (like me), every little consistency comes through.
The sound of this pedal is truly like nothing you have heard anywhere else. That is the appeal for me. Its a wicked high gain fuzz with augmented octaves that no one else has. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Zack Rules.

Zack is excellent. He treats his costumers like a personal friend.

Awesome. I got mine used for $199. I wouldn't pay the $325 for a new one... thats more than my MIM strat cost. If Zack could find a way to bring the price down I bet these would be hugely popular.
The sound of this pedal is truly unique. I love it.
8 for overall simply because for the price, you are half way to a gorgeous tube amp.

Incredibly easy to use. 3 knobs: volume, tone and gain. It sounds good know matter what you do.

I had a Proctavia 2 yrs ago which was sounded miserable. I found it very difficult to coax out any useful sounds from the damn thing. The octave effect was minimal below the 12th fret. The fuzz sucked. It soon became ebay fodder. I just figured the whole octave effect thing was just not worth all the hassle so I never planned on replacing it.

I was in Oldtown Music [Portand OR], the other day, to checkout two other Zvex pedals [Seek-Trem and Seek-Wah...both of which were very cool].

The owner was raving about the Octane 3. I indulged him and waited with indifference as he set it up. It took all of 30 sec before I knew I was walking out the store with it.

The fuzz,ring mod and bypass are all incredible. The octave effect is equally present both above and below the 12th fret, as well as, in open position. I cannot get an unusable sound out of this thing. It likes strats, Les Pauls and other fx pedals. Even my semi-hollow body [Johnny A] works with it.

I'm never fully satisfied w/ the sound of any pedal, but this one is an exception

Zvex has a good rep. My super-duper 2 in 1 has been problem free. I assume this one will ne the same.

I've never had no reason to contact them.

I've played a lot of country [pedal steel] and blues. I'm now playing a lot more rock [Stones to Jet]. This pedal is a powerful addition to my pedalboard.

I've yet to try it out with my Steel. I expect that combo should produce some pretty searing sounds.

It is spendy, but I would replace it in a heartbeat.

Aside from it's price, this is the one of those rare pedals that seem almost flawless.

Not much to it. Three knobs, one for input volume, one for tone, and one for drive/harmonic presence/insanity. The Octane doesn't really do a tone of things, so it shouldn't be hard to figure out. I give it a 9 because if you don't know what you're doing, you're just going to get a Hoover vacuum sound coming from your amp, or a Mexican AM radio channel, or both.

Fantastic octave up fuzz. Put the input volume way down and the drive way up, tone on the mellow side, and turn the volume on your guitar down a bit-- the purest octave up sound I've heard. Probably the loudest pedal I've EVER heard--literally. It will make your ears bleed with the volume half way up. With humbuckers, you can almost get a good rhythm sound--at least like a Sabbath-esque single-string riffage rhythm sound. On a Strat (or any single coil for that matter), don't even think about it. If you want ears bleeding, balls-to-the-wall, Hendrix style octave madness. This is it. Try a double-stop higher up on the neck and you'll get this "dive-bomb from hell." Quite sweet. I give it a ten because it does exactly what it advertises it does, and it does it about better than any other octave fuzz I've heard.

Are you kidding me? This thing's a tank. Everything ZVex makes is a tank. Oh, and you put a 9-volt in and FORGET ABOUT IT. It'll last for years. Rediculous, especially with the amount of output this thing hands out.

Haven't had to deal with any problems, but everybody else seems to have no problem with the customer support.

I play big, epic, guitar rock. Spacey, heavy, melodic. Think melodic stoner metal. This works for certain applications (like melting the faces off the first few rows in the crowd), and it works well indeed. If what you want is an octave-up fuzz, try out the Octane. It's a little pricey, but GOOD LORD, this thing will kick you in the sack. In a good way. I think.

Three knobs. Not too difficult. Took me a bit to find certain sounds in my head...ah, but they were there. :)

Gotta tell you up front that I wasn't really into the whole octave thing. "Why'd you buy it then, ya retard?!" Two words: the fuzz. Totally anti-social. My wife hates it, which of course means it's fantastic!

Why not just buy the Fuzz Factory? After all, I could have gotten it much cheaper (possibly used)? That would be filed under the "ease of use" category. In most of the reviews for the FF you find that capturing just the right tone takes a certain amount of experimentation (kind of like on a Mesa/Boogie amplifier). Being that I'm a plug-and-play kind of guy, finding useable settings is very important; and that's exactly what this does. So many useable sounds at so many different settings. Lots of fun.

The ring mod and the octave sounds are great, too. Just kind of icing on the cake. There is also some kind of built in gating as well...this is really what I was after. Totally gnarly. Just check out the video clip at the website to hear what I'm talking about.

Love the fact that a "10" is described as "pristine sound quality". In a way, though, it really is. Very hi-fi lo-fi sounds. Or something.

In terms of gig useability:

The only issue with this one is if you are playing the pedal with your amp's distortion on. Then it becomes a very noisy vacuum cleaner when you aren't playing :) That said, playing with your amp's distortion on was not the intended use for this puppy. That ALSO being said, you can get some really cool sounds that way.

The only problem I've experienced with radio interference is when my guitar volume knob is turned all the way down and my amp's distortion is on. When the volume knob is turned up, the Hoover returns...until I play, that is.

In terms of the life of the pedal:

Seems to be made fairly sturdy. Guaranteed for as long as the creator -Mr. Vex- is alive. He seems to look fairly healthy in the pics I've seen. :) Even so, he is mortal and I plan on outlasting him (heh).

I don't have personal experience, but having read through the forums he seems fairly easygoing (though he is human). Again, lifetime guarantee on the pedal (Mr. Vex's lifetime, that is). Very nice.

I have a hard time giving a "10" for a pedal that costs $280 (10 = "fantastic value" on H-C, mind you). That said, tone is priceless...and the Octane 3 has it in spades. I play rock in all its mutant permutations and I was looking for something to become part of my signature sound. This is definitely a step in the right direction.

I love it, but it would take a while for me to replace it if lost or stolen...I'd still do it though.

The only thing I wish it had was another knob for dialing in more of the ring mod sound. Lots of fun.

Thank you, Mr. Vex. As the Joker once mused, "Where does he get those wonderful toys?"

A summary in two (fragment) sentences: Highly unique. Highly useable. :)

By the way, I use this site all the time - great. This is my first submission - negative, but I have to review this thing. Just wonder if anyone else is having these problems ???

Anyway,
Not much here, 3 knobs, just play around with them to get the effect you want. The problem is the primary sound I get out of this thing is some radio station, have no idea which one. It completely dominates even though I've tried many settings.

However, it's a pedal, I mean, it's got an input output and 3 knobs.

I'm trying to use this with my Carvin 200SX combo. But have tried it with my JM250 head also. Have tried with and without other pedals.

Is it noisy? Well, all I can seem to get out of this thing in my studio is a radio station. The effects are strong if you get this thing in a certain exact spot, but most of the time it's just a fuzzy $1 radio. The amp doesn't seem to matter, and 98% of the time I get this radio station interference, doesn't seem to matter where the placement is.

In short, I really can't use this pedal because I never know which placement will produce nothing but radio and which will produce the effects I bought this for.

No completely unreliable. Since I cannot relocate a stage or a huge home studio the pedal goes where the pedal goes. Again, all I can get is a bunch of garbled radio station, even though 'supposedly' this is the improved model which eliminates this.

I would absolutely not gig with this it's pretty much a colorful paperweight now.

Can't take it out on a gig because, hey, what if the stage is not 'the spot' where the pedal works? Will you start picking up a Country/Western radio station in the middle of an Ozzy tune? I wouldn't trust it.

I contacted the company. They were 'semi' rude, they just told me to move the pedal to another room. Since as I said I'm not going to relocate a $20K studio to another room to make a 6 inch pedal start working, not to mention, how do I move the stage when I play out if it 'happens' to be in radio-zone?

They would not replace or refund. I was just told to relocate the pedal. Gimme a break guys. Am I the only one with this problem?

I play Classic Rock, Rock, Blues, a little Metal, and have been for over 25 years. I have many pedals I recently stopped using for a small modeling effects board just to save the hassle. I purchased this pedal to try to achieve some effects I could not with the various combinations of pedals I have.

If it were lost or stolen? I think it's already lost.

I chose this pedal from reviews and information on the pedal itself, as there was not one available locally.

Wish? I just wish it would work. In the few fleeting moments where the radio station disappeared and the pedal worked, I was able to really get some nice effects from it. However, it doesn't work often.

My suggestion would be, this can produce great effects, but if you really want it make sure you can return it because THERE IS AN ISSUE admittedly by the company that radio reception on this unit has / still is a problem. For that kind of money, pretty ridiculous.

This pedal is really easy to use, even though there are a multitude of sounds available. The manual is just part of a page, but there really isnt much to explain: Out (volume) Tone (mid-scoop) and In (drive).

I use this in the following setup: Spector NS-6 guitar--TS9--EHX Qtron+--EHX MicroSynth--Octane 3--Zvex Fuzz Probe--DL4--TR-2--RAT--Mesa Boogie Rocket 44. I run everything straight into the front of the amp instead of the effects loop. Noise is not a real problem with this pedal, unless you have your amp on the drive channel or is there is another dirt box on. Overall, this pedal is quality sound all the time, and very distinct.

I wouldnt question its reliability, Zvex is solid like whoa. I have a Fuzz Probe, the Octane 3 is my second Zvex pedal. The batteries last a long time in his stuff, which is always nice. I cant afford a backup really, so I just try to keep it in my sight at all times.

I play all sorts of music, and this pedal makes making new music fun, and it adds an element of unpredictability to old stuff. Ive been playing for nine years, and I spend a lot of time studying classical guitar, so when I plug in and start wailing, i like to make really crazy sounds, and this pedal definitely helps. I compared this to the Roger Mayer Octavia, the Fulltone Ultimate Octave and a Jimi Hendrix Octave Fuzz. Octane OWNS all these pedals.

I am a huge ZVex fan, and I hope to acquire more of his stuff, notably the Machine and Seek Tremolo he is working on.