Octavius Squeezer

analog bass synth

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend us your rears, for Octavius Squeezer is here! Now shipping, Octavius Squeezer is the only analog bass pedal you need. Designed specifically for bass guitar, Octavius Squeezer has true analog reconfigurable signal path technology, true bypass switching and a comprehensive array of analog synth, octaver, fuzz, envelope filter and other effects driven by a convenient digital preset system. With all this plus tuner and metronome in a size that fits in your gig bag, this is one pedal you simply can't afford to be without! Listen to it now!

Octavius Squeezer includes a dedicated filter circuit bred in our Agent 00Funk and Agent 00Funk Mark II envelope filters. It also includes the fuzz circuit from our Brown Dog gated bass fuzz. A digital pitch tracking stage tracks the notes you play right down to the bottom of your instrument's range and drives an analog synthesizer which can produce various waveforms at either the same pitch as your input, one octave down, one octave up or two octaves up. All of this can be patched, mixed and configured in a variety of ways to give an enormous array of available effects.

Use the effect control to switch between the 50 user-editable presets that can be stored in the Octavius Squeezer's onboard memory. Adjust any of the presets on-the-fly with a twist of the param knob. See the current effect and parameter settings clearly displayed on Octavius Squeezer's backlit LCD. Use the two user-assignable footswitches to bypass, tap tempo and switch effects on the fly. Save and load additional presets to SD card (like the one in your digital camera) using the onboard card reader, and use it to upgrade Octavius's firmware as new versions become available.

Bootsy Collins says:

Octavius Squeezer is the funkiest funk box since the Mutron release in the early 70's that I based my sound around. The Octavius Squeezer is the new millennia funk box with A Pink leather beaver patch right up the middle, to keep the cream inside.

I will be developing some new fiber optical sounds based around this new Octavius Squeezer patches and manual settings. I will find a way to squeeze the juice out the love between a musician and his pedal. Although this puppy is naked, it does come with pink panties for safety. Watch where you direct your Pee on this One!

Bootsy baby!!!

Check out who's using Chunk.

features

Designed for bass guitar.
Wide range of synth, octaver, envelope filter, fuzz and other effects.
True bypass - input is connected directly to output by a mechanical relay when switched off.
True analog signal path with reconfigurable analog technology.
50 digital presets onboard.
SD card socket (SD card not included), allows you to save/load additional presets, upgrade firmware.
Analog two pole lowpass and bandpass filter circuit.
Analog fuzz circuit.
Digital pitch tracking with advanced harmonic rejection.
Analog waveform synthesis with portamento.
One octave down, one octave up and two octaves up synthesis.
Runs from a single 9V battery or external power supply (not included).
Convenient form factor includes no-tools battery drawer.
Sturdy steel case finished in an eye-catching red.
Two user-assignable foot switches.
Two digital control knobs.
Backlit 2 line, 16 character LCD.
Blinking tempo LED.
Auxilliary output for click tracks and Agent 00Funk Mark II envelope input.
Tuner.
Metronome and beat-locked effects with tap tempo mode.
Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) modifies filter cutoff.
Beat-locked filter waveforms include triangle, ramp, square, staircase, random and step sequence.
Effects can be organised into banks for easy selection.
Additional effects planned in future firmware updates.
Lovingly manufactured in Australia.

Octavius Squeezer analog bass synth back view

connectors

The Octavius Squeezer has four connectors on the back:

input - signal from your instrument comes in here.
aux - provides a separate click track output or connects to the envelope input on the Agent 00Funk Mark II.
output - signal goes out to your amplifier here.
9vdc - plug in a regulated 9V DC 2.1mm supply here.

Octavius Squeezer analog bass synth top view

controls

Turn the effect control to switch between presets. Push it to enter the menu system.
Push the param control to toggle which parameter of the current effect you want to edit. Turn it to adjust the current parameter. The exchange knobs menu option lets left-handed players switch the function of the effect and param controls so that they don't obscure the LCD with their hand when switching effects.
Click the right footswitch to toggle between effect and bypass mode, indicated by the active LED.
The function of the left footswitch changes according to the current footswitch mode. Hold both footswitches to cycle through the different footswitch modes. Some of the things you can do with the left footswitch, depending on the current mode, are:
- Cycle forwards through the effects in the current bank (NXT mode).
- Cycle backwards through the effects in the current bank (PRV mode).
- Tune your instrument with the output muted (TUN mode).
- Tap a tempo for the beat-locked effects and metronome, start and stop the beat (TAP mode).
- Briefly enable the LFO or beat-locked effects (MOD mode).

sound samples

These sound samples were recorded with a Fender Jazz Bass plugged into the Octavius Squeezer's input and the output plugged directly into a 24 bit digital computer recording interface. They demonstrate just a handful of the many different effect configurations available with the Octavius Squeezer.

sample	notes
Double Chin	Here's Octavius Squeezer's synth adding a fat octave below the instrument and filtering the lot. The LFO sets the fat wobbling.
Gobstopper	Another lowdown delectable concoction of synth and filter. Quite a mouthful!
Grand Pimp Daddy	It's a tight and funky hip-hop style sawtooth synth with beat-locked filter and LFO set in a crazy MOD mode to be triggered by the left footswitch. Fear the daddy!
Kermit The Funk	Hi ho. This one's fuzz and then envelope filter with a beat-locked square wave filter step.
Octofuzz	An octaver with fuzz applied to the original signal. Mmm...chunky.
Envelope Filter	Here's Octavius Squeezer set up as a smooth and funky envelope filter.
Freak Downstairs	Octavius Squeezer can sweep or step the filter in time with the beat, which you can tap in on the left footswitch in Tap Tempo mode. Various filter waveforms (triangle, ramp, square, staircase, random and step sequence) are possible, but in this preset, the filter follows a descending staircase step sequence.
Destroy Them My Robots!	Another beat locked effect, this one follows a randomly generated step sequence. That's combined with lashings of LFO and portamento for a truely disturbing robotic experience.
Harry Highpants	Why should keyboard players have all the fun? Harry Highpants is a pulse synth two octaves above the pitch of the instrument (those pants are right up under the armpits). With loads of portamento dialed in, Octavius Squeezer glides smoothly between notes.
Budgie Smuggler	A sawtooth synth with beat-locked filter sweep. Zis is an egsellent niteclub ja?
Cheese Grater	With fuzz after the lowpass filter and an octave-up synth mixed in, this one shreds everything in sight! The bandpass output of the filter is mixed with the fuzz output to really make it scream on the peaks and the LFO gives that nice slow throb as the note dies away.

user manual

View or download the user manual for the Octavius Squeezer as a PDF here.

signal flow

The following diagram and the table below explain the analog signal processing chain within the Octavius Squeezer.

label	description	notes
1	input buffer	Low noise, high impedance analog input buffer.
2	tracking gain	Since different instruments produce signals with completely different levels, a menu function lets you adjust the gain here so that the pitch tracking system performs optimally with your instrument. This is set through the settings menu and is independent of the current effect preset.
3	pitch tracking	An intelligent digital pitch tracking system which is able to quickly lock on to any note you play while rejecting the harmonics and noise which commonly cause other synth and octaver units to "mistrack".
4	octave up/down	Octavius Squeezer can synthesize tones at the same pitch as your instrument or transposed from your instrument by various intervals, including two octaves up, one octave up, a fifth up, one octave down and two octaves down.
5	tuner	Compares the detected pitch with a highly accurate internal frequency reference and tells you whether your instrument is currently tuned sharp or flat.
6	VCO	The hybrid Voltage Controlled Oscillator synthesizes a variety of waveforms with variable duty cycle and tracks the notes you play on your instrument. It features adjustable portamento to glide smoothly between notes.
7	VCA	The analog Voltage Controlled Amplifier applies a volume envelope to the synthesizer output. It's controlled by the volume envelope generator (8).
8	volume envelope generator	The envelope generator can operate in two modes. In ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) mode the speed and level of each phase of the volume envelope are adjustable. In envelope mode the volume of the synthesized tone tracks the volume of your playing with adjustable attack and decay speeds.
9	synth premix mute switch	This analog switch allows you to mute the synth input to the filter premix. This is useful if the current effect has no synth component or if the synth output is to go through the fuzz circuit only (through the fuzz switch (24)).
10	filter premixer	This analog mixer blends the synth output with either the output of the fuzz circuit or the clean input signal prior to filtering.
11	VCF	The Voltage Controller Filter is a two-pole resonant analog lowpass and bandpass filter. The filter circuit is virtually identical to the filter in our our much-loved Agent 00Funk Mark II envelope filter pedal, with the addition of a bandpass output. The filter operates on the filter premix (10) and its cutoff frequency is controlled by the filter control mixer (12). It features programmable resonance (Q) which ranges from smooth subtlety to insane mayhem.
12	filter control mixer	Blends together the envelope generator, beat-locked sweep and LFO to control the filter cutoff frequency.
13	beat-locked filter sweep	Sweeps or steps the filter in time with the beat, which you can tap on the left-hand footswitch or dial in with a menu function. Beat-locked waveforms include triangle, ramp, square, four step staircase, eight step staircase, random and step sequence. In step sequence mode you can program in a sequence of up to 24 steps to follow. The sweep or step rate can be set to various speeds including sixteenth note (semiquaver), eighth note (quaver), quarter note (crotchet), half bar, full bar, two bar, pattern and note on. In pattern mode the sweep time is determined by the length (in bars) of the current pattern programmed in the rhythm menu. In note on mode the next step in the staircase, step sequence or random sequence starts each time you play a new note and does not change with the beat. The depth and direction of beat-locked filter sweep can be adjusted and there is also an optional smoothing parameter for removing sharp transitions.
14	LFO	The Low Frequency Oscillator sweeps the filter at an adjustable rate and depth and is great for creating warbling tremelo-type effects. The LFO depth can be programmed to increase or decrease at a given speed from the start of each note or can be triggered by the left footswitch in MOD mode.
15	filter envelope generator	Generates a filter cutoff envelope each time you play a note. In ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) mode the speed and level of each phase of the filter envelope are adjustable. In envelope mode the filter envelope follows the volume of your instrument just like a normal envelope filter, but with independently adjustable attack and decay times, sweep start, sweep gain, sweep direction and sweep limit.
16	filter sensitivity	Adjusts the sensitivity of the filter envelope generator (15) through the settings menu independently of the current effect loaded. This means you can switch between active and passive basses without having to switch or modify effect presets.
17	filter output selector	This analog switch selects whether the lowpass (LP) or bandpass (BP) output of the filter is sent to the filter postmix.
18	filter output gain	This analog gain unit controls the volume of the direct filter output in the filter postmix. It's also possible to completely mute the filter output at the postmix, which is handy when you want the filter output to go through the fuzz circuit on its way out.
19	filter postmixer	This analog filter blends the filter output with the output of the fuzz circuit or the clean input signal. The click track (28) can optionally be mixed into the main output here.
20	output buffer	This low-noise analog output buffer drives the main output to your amplifier when the effect is not bypassed.
21	bypass switch	This electromechanical bypass switch (relay) connects the pedal's input directly to its output for true bypass operation. When bypassed, there is absolutely no circuitry connected between your instrument and your amplifier.
22	premix gain	This analog gain unit controls the blend of the fuzz output or the clean input signal into the filter premix. It also can also be muted if only the synth output is to be filtered.
23	premix selector	This analog switch selects whether the fuzz output or the clean input signal is mixed with the synth output at the filter premix. For standard envelope filter sounds, you can get clean input into the filter by using this selector and muting the synth mute switch (9). You can place the fuzz after the filter in the chain by selecting fuzz as the premix input and selecting the clean input (or the synth output) at the fuzz selector (24).
24	fuzz selector	This analog switch controls which signal runs through the fuzz circuit. You can choose to put the input, either the lowpass or the bandpass filter output or the synth output (before the synth mute switch (9)) through the fuzz circuit.
25	fuzz drive gain	This analog gain unit controls how hard the fuzz circuit is driven. Turn it up for rampaging waves of meat or down to just crustify the edges a bit.
26	postmix selector	This analog switch selects whether the fuzz output or the clean input signal is mixed with the filter output at the filter postmix. This allows you to blend clean tone with your filtered effect or output fuzz directly without filtering.
27	postmix gain	This analog gain unit controls the level of blending of fuzz or clean input in the filter postmix. It can also be muted for filter output only.
28	click track	Provides a click (metronome) in time with the beat as tapped in with the left footswitch or dialed in using the rhythm menu. This can optionally be heard with your instrument through the postmix for metronome practise or can be output to the aux output through aux selector (29). You might run the aux output into a separate track for synchronization of the beat-locked effects when recording, or plug it into the drummer's headphone amplifier when playing live.
29	aux selector	Chooses the function of the aux output. The click track can be output here or you can output a copy of the input signal, which is useful for plugging into the envelope connector of your Agent 00Funk Mark II. The aux is a line-level output.
30	fuzz	Based on our highly-acclaimed Brown Dog gated bass fuzz pedal, this analog fuzz circuit produces rich, warm bass fuzz.

warranty registration

To register for your 3 year limited warranty on your Octavius Squeezer, please log in to our new customer area. Warranty terms and conditions are available here.

firmware updates

Firmware updates are now available for registered Octavius Squeezer owners. Please log in to our new customer area to register and download the latest firmware which fixes some reliability issues found with the firmware shipped on very early units.