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Quick Hit: Emma Electronic Okto-Nøjs Review

The tasty combination of octaver and fuzz is taken to new highs—and lows—with this Danish design.

It’s been almost 10 years since Emma Electronic has introduced a new effects pedal, but the all-analog Okto-Nøjs octaver/fuzz is evidence they’ve been hard at work. The left side of the psychedelic-octopus-adorned pedal runs the octaver (Okto) section, which has separate level controls for the dry and octave signals. Emma Electronic claims the octave effect can track down to a low E on a bass (many octavers can not)—and it does! I can’t say the deep frequencies generated from the very lowest region of my 4th string would be that usable with the substantial serving of the effect I had dialed in, but this octaver certainly showed its moxie with responsiveness, clarity, and note stability overall.

The pedal’s alter ego lives in the fuzz (Nøjs) side of the box. It also brings the heft of an octave effect and unites it with the abundant grit it has on tap. The fuzz section is governed by a gain-tone-level trio, and on its own serves up a satisfying range of distorted flavors—be it a light dusting or an all-out sputtering grind. By engaging and flavoring the Nøjs circuit’s sub-octave through the Nøjs and color dials, I was behind the wheel of a fuzz/octave combo that could be maneuvered from huge and spacey analog synth tones to sticky, distortion-drenched low end with a bevy of unique ancillary noise and overtones. Run the Okto and Nøjs sections together and you have the means to create some very intimidating soundscapes. Maybe even earthquakes.

Test gear: Fender Precision, Gallien-Krueger 800RB head, Orange OBC212 cab, Focusrite Scarlett 2i4

*Recorded using Fender P into Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 interface into GarageBand.
Clip 1 - Nøjs section - gain at 1 o’clock, tone at 2 o’clock, level at 2 o’clock, color at 3 o’clock, nois at 2 o’clock.
clip 2 - Okto section - dry at 2 o’clock, okto at 2 o’clock, tone at 2 o’clock

Ratings

Pros:
Quick and precise octaver effect, versatile fuzz, with truly unique tones to be explored.

Cons:
It’s spendy if you’re not after both effects.

Street:
$229

Emma Electronic Okto-Nøjs
godlyke.com

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