EarthQuaker Devices really hit it on the head with this monophonic synth monster. The EQD Bit Commander commands all the bits of those old synth keyboards and smashes them into one tiny box for us guitar players to utilize. This is absolutely one of my favorite pedals of all time and has been on my board for probably the longest of all my pedals. Here is the run down
6 knobs:
Top left: Sub Octave – this lets you get the synth bass octave, 2 octaves down from your original signal. This is the grit and depth of bassy synth sound.
Top middle: Down 1 octave – This is the synth sound one octave below your main signal, its girthy but thinner then the sub octave. It is what you think of when you hear the old Super Mario games. I mean dead on to that sound.
Top Right: Up 1 octave – this is the high pitched scream of the crazy old synths that can just sing above the base note.
Bottom Left: Filter – this knob is more like a tone knob shaping the overall sound.
Bottom Center: Level – your overall volume.
Bottom Right: This is your bass signal which is actually going to be taking your signal and turning it into a square wave form, kinda like a fuzz in that regard but more of a synthy square.
Now here is the thing: every knob of octave (sub, down, up, and base) act as its own volume knobs, bringing in or out the volume of that octave and the level knob controls the overall. that is important to note. Roll the knobs all the way off and solo one to have individual notes, roll them all on or in pairs or 3 and have epic combinations. REMEMBER! this pedal is MONOPHONIC meaning it only registers one note on the guitar at once. Play two notes and you have chaos. If you like that chaos is up to you.
How I use the pedal: I use this pedal in 3 ways. I absolutely love just the square wave of the base knob. roll all the octaves off and just have the bottom row of knobs at 12 o’clock. This tone is sick and can make some sweet leads. 2nd I like just the Super Mario sound. Roll the base all the way off so you don’t have the original wave, roll the sub off so its not too bassy, level at 12, filter at 2, down octave at 12, and up octave at 9. This is an awesome tone for Super Mario kinda 8 bit stuff. Lastly, and the coolest in my opinion, is base at 12, level at 12, filter at 2, sub rolled off, down 1 at 9 and up 1 on just a tad. This is a sweet mix of square and synthyness that screams awesome.
I love this pedal a lot for fun sounds, and when you kick it on it morphs your tone into an awesome machine of glory. I highly recommend the Bit Commander by EarthQuaker Devices for you guys that like to have fun. Enjoy!
Submitted by Will C, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
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