In an era where everyone seems to be trying to cram more effects onto their pedal boards, any unit that comes undersized is always a blessing. Of course there has to be some sacrifices made to achieve this, and with the Tender Octaver Pro you get that in the micro knobs for controlling certain elements of the pedal. However, they will generally only need to be set once and left alone, so it is no great drama. The fact that the two soft touch switches are adequately spaced apart to allow separate engagement without hitting the wrong button is great. On such a small pedal, they have still managed to space it out so that you can work in a practical manner. With all the inputs and outputs at the top of the pedal, you can squeeze this into most pedal boards quite easily.
This busy pedal gives the user a lot more than the first version, with engagement switches for the effect as a whole and a toggle motion through the presets. Yes, presets. You are able to store four user defined settings in the unit that can be easily recalled and scrolled through, making this a far more versatile unit that any before. You also get independent level and tone controls for both octaves too, allowing you to really thicken the signal and achieve more of a harmonising effect. A smooth control knob allows you to set the intensity of automatic volume swells, giving this that real ambient vibe that is all the rage at the moment in guitar effects. If you want a lot of variety in very little space, this pedal is going to achieve that. Octaves up and down as well as some wacky detuning and harmony effects when set at very close intervals. This is one pedal that needs to be heard to be understood. It won’t work in every song, but it will make your sound stand out, that’s for sure.
