The Beetronics Babee Whoctahell is a compact sub-octave fuzz: a pedal that sits under your notes an octave below and breaks into glitchy, 8-bit style artifacts when you play more than one note at a time. Guitar Pedal X describes it as "a monophonic sub-octave fuzz - which glitches out on Chords and Double-Stops - in various interesting ways," and Beetronics bills the circuit as a "Low Octave Beeast kind of 8-Bit Fuzz"1. It is a revival of one of the earliest Beetronics fuzzes, the Whoctahell, brought back in the company's smaller Babee enclosure1.
What it does to your sound
Because the circuit is monophonic, it follows single notes down an octave cleanly, and falls apart in musical ways on chords and double-stops. The -2 Oct option is where the 8-bit character lives: Guitar Pedal X notes that it "can be incredibly randomized - and delivers those kind of 8-Bit Square Wave sounds with wild fluctuations"1. In other words, this is not a pedal for tight, repeatable tracking; the randomness is the feature.
Stefan Karlsson of Guitar Pedal X summed up his take this way:
"The unpredictability of this fuzz in different circumstances is what makes it so much fun."1
He also called the Babee version a welcome arrival, noting that it suited him well because he dislikes side-mounted additional controls, which the smaller format avoids1.
The controls: Whocta, Hell and Honey
The Babee Whoctahell keeps the same three-knob layout as the full-size Whoctahell1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Whocta | -1 Octave, the sub-octave level an octave down1 |
| Hell | -2 Octaves, the second sub-octave option1 |
| Honey | Fuzz Level1 |
Versions and the Royal Black edition
The Babee Whoctahell arrived in two formats: the standard version and a Royal Black limited version. Guitar Pedal X reported that "it made sense to have the Whoctahell also in the limited format (Royal Black) - where only a handful of those were available," making the Royal Black a scarce variant of the same circuit1. In its year-end roundup, the same writer listed the pedal as the "Whoctahell V2 Low Octave Beeast Babee Edition" at $149 and mentioned snagging "one of the super rare Black and Gold ones"2.
Price and where it sits in the range
The Babee Whoctahell Low Octave Beeast went for $149 and equivalent on the Beetronics webstore when it was announced in December 2024, with the site noting it flashed up as £120 for UK customers1. It followed the Babee treatment given to the OctaHive, another of the company's early fuzzes revived in the smaller format1. Players looking at the wider range will find the full-size Whoctahell, the Royal Jelly OD/fuzz, and the Swarm fuzz harmonizer among Beetronics' other pedals, all covered in the site's fuzz pedal and octave and pitch pedal sections.
Questions
What does the Beetronics Babee Whoctahell do?
It is a monophonic sub-octave fuzz: it generates a fuzzed note an octave below what you play. On single notes it tracks down an octave, and on chords and double-stops it glitches out in what Guitar Pedal X describes as various interesting ways. The -2 Oct option adds randomized 8-bit square wave sounds with wild fluctuations, so the pedal can be deliberately unpredictable.
Does the Babee Whoctahell work with chords?
Not cleanly, and that is the point. Guitar Pedal X describes it as a monophonic sub-octave fuzz, which means it tracks one note at a time. On chords and double-stops it glitches out in various interesting ways, and the reviewer found that the unpredictability of the fuzz in different circumstances is what makes it so much fun.
How much is the Babee Whoctahell?
The Babee Whoctahell Low Octave Beeast went for $149 and equivalent on the Beetronics webstore when it was announced in December 2024, with Guitar Pedal X noting that it flashed up as £120 for UK customers.
What is the difference between the Whoctahell and the Babee Whoctahell?
The Babee Whoctahell is a revival of one of the earliest Beetronics fuzzes, the Whoctahell, shrunk into the company's smaller Babee enclosure. It carries the same three controls as the full-size version: Whocta for the -1 octave, Hell for the -2 octaves, and Honey for the fuzz level.
What is the Royal Black Babee Whoctahell?
Alongside the standard Babee Whoctahell, Beetronics released the Whoctahell in its limited Royal Black format. Guitar Pedal X reported that only a handful of those were available, so the Royal Black version is a scarce variant of the same circuit.
Sources (2)
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-12-10
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-12-18
