C.G. Conn Conn MultiVider

The Conn MultiVider is an octave effect for wind instruments, released in 1967 by horn maker C.G. Conn. Conn partnered with Jordan Electronics of Alhambra, California to build it, and Catalinbread's history of the unit calls the result the first-ever octave effect for an electronic instrument¹. It was not made for guitar: the MultiVider is a horns-only instrument, meant to be used with Conn's proprietary woodwind pickup and a microphone input¹. It belongs to the wider family of octave and pitch effects, but its origins are entirely in the horn world.

Who made it, and when

C.G. Conn wanted in on the nascent effects scene in 1967 and partnered with Jordan Electronics to release the octave effect for wind instruments¹. Conn later went into manufacturing itself, ending the Jordan partnership, which is why there are two different MultiViders¹. In a JHS Pedals demo video, Josh Scott noted the company dates back to around 1967 and described the unit as made by C.G. Conn Limited of Brook, Illinois².

The MultiVider has a documented connection to a famous act: Catalinbread notes that the MultiVider was used by Zappa's band, the Mothers of Invention¹.

The two versions

The first model is gray and looks like a piece of dictation equipment, and it came with what Catalinbread describes as a plethora of battery gadgets¹. The later model, the 914, did away with the frequency selector and added a switch called Unison along with a power supply input¹.

Both models contain the "Soprano," "Bass" and "Sub Bass" switches, and corresponding volume for each¹.

The controls

The gray box model offers "bright" and "dark" input modes and a top-mounted Sensitivity control¹. On both models, the "Soprano," "Bass" and "Sub Bass" switches each have a corresponding volume control¹. On the 914, the Unison switch is essentially a dry signal control¹.

One caution from the JHS Pedals demo: on the unit they examined, the switches for octave up, octave down and sub bass did not do anything².

Inside the 914

The 914's circuit differs from the original. In the later 914 model, much of the circuit is switched to a CD4013 chip, an all-in-one CMOS device, where the gray box relies on a duo of ersatz flip-flop circuits for its octave down effects¹. Catalinbread also notes there is a wah inductor on the 914, connected to the sub-octave circuit somehow¹.

Power

The 914 is adapter-only, and the requirement is unusual: only a 12-volt eighth-inch style phone plug will do¹. That is not the standard barrel connector players are used to, so a typical pedalboard power supply will not fit.

Using one with a guitar

The MultiVider was built for horns, with a microphone input you would hook up to a clarinet or similar². In the JHS Pedals video, Josh Scott said you can put a guitar, or anything, through it, but that you need to use a big preamp². Players experimenting with one today should plan on that preamp stage ahead of the unit.

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