Recorded using an Anasounds Element reverb and Jaguar HC50 (with ceramic 12” Weber Gray Wolf) miked with a Royer R-121 feeding an Apogee Duet going into GarageBand with no EQ-ing, compression, or effects.
Clip 1: Squier Tele with Curtis Novak JV-M neck pickup, first with Dig Deep bypassed, then engaged with clean control maxed and depth at 9 o’clock.
RatingsPros:Fun way to beef-up your sound or combine “normal” lead-guitar work with faux bass lines. Cons: Can be tricky to balance oomph and high-string clarity. High depth settings can sound muddy, depending on your amp and speaker. Only works in standard tuning. Street: $166 Blackbird Savoy opfxs.com | Tones:  Ease of Use:  Build/Design: Value: |
When you play in a guitar-and-drums duo, you know what it’s like to crave more low end—it put me on a quest that led to lower tunings, baritone guitars, and, finally, a dual-amp (guitar and bass amp) rig. So when I heard the premise of OPFXS’s Dig Deep—which processes octave-down audio for only your 4th, 5th, and 6th strings—I was intrigued. Operation is simple: The depth control dictates how strong the low-end signal is, while the clean knob controls how much uneffected signal accompanies the octave.
In trial runs with a Telecaster, a Starcaster, and a Jaguar, I initially found it tricky to balance Dig Deep’s stoutest tones with fundamental clarity on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd strings. The pedal is quite good at keeping the added octave on the lower three strings, but extreme depth settings make higher strings sound indistinct and a little, well, off. Back off a bit, though, and you’ll find a midpoint where the high strings sound pretty much how they sound with the pedal bypassed. The clean control, meanwhile, is extra useful near its upper limit, as anything below about 3 o’clock favors bass frequencies your guitar amp may not be cut out for, and sound quieter as a consequence. In all, Dig Deep makes for a simple way to enjoy beefier low end on a standard-tuned 6-string, but its sounds are in the traditional octave-pedal realm and aren’t necessarily a panacea for those in need of a bass pal.
Test Gear: Squier Classic Vibe Starcaster, Classic Vibe Jaguar with Curtis Novak JAG-V pickups, and Vintage Modified Telecaster Custom with Curtis Novak JV-M and Tele-V pickups, Fender Rumble 200 1x15 combo and 1976 Vibrolux Reverb, Goodsell Valpreaux 21, Jaguar HC50
