The Death By Audio Octave Clang is an octave fuzz pedal that layers an octave-up effect over a gain circuit, producing what the maker calls a blend of octave-up fuzz and "clangorous" tones, from deep resonant lows to searing high-octave leads1. It is built by Death By Audio, the New York-based effects company, and the current version is made in NYC2. The pedal was discontinued for about a decade before returning in 2024 as the V2, a rebuilt version with extended controls and a foot-switchable octave13.
The original Octave Clang, launched around 2009 with three knobs and a single footswitch, was designed to unleash unconventional tones, and Pedal of the Day notes that many users found it difficult to tame45. The V2 keeps that character but, in that reviewer's words, delivers "a more ferocious, menacing, and thunderous force that is as usable as possible for today's musicians"5.
An octave-up fuzz with a clangorous edge
The Octave Clang sits in the octave fuzz family, a category Premier Guitar's reviewer describes favorably, noting that "octave fuzzes are tops"3. Its circuit creates what Guitar Pedal X calls a pseudo-ring, distortion, noise and octave sound by adding two out-of-phase half-wave rectified copies of your signal together4. That rectification approach is what gives the pedal its metallic, ring-modulation flavored octave rather than a clean pitch shift.
Premier Guitar's reviewer found the fuzz side "has mass and spiky character, and does a great job of suggesting the brutish, switchblade attitude of '60s fuzz circuits" while staying in its lane in a mix3. The reviewer traced its lineage to first- and second-generation 1960s fuzzes, comparing its character to the Fuzz Face, Bosstone, Tone Bender and Fuzzrite, and its octave sounds to the Ampeg Scrambler and Green Ringer3. With EQ, gain and output set counterclockwise of noon and both octave and fuzz engaged, picking near the bridge was found to generate "almost ring-modulated and metallic Martian gamelan sounds not unlike first-gen octave fuzzes"3.
It is not a heavyweight in the traditional fuzz sense, though. The same reviewer noted it does not have the sheer mass of Death By Audio's Fuzz War, nor the overtone content and sustain of simple 1960s fuzzes3.
Controls and footswitches
The V2 carries over the original trio of Volume, Intensity and Shape knobs, now with extended range, and adds a second footswitch for the octave65. Connections are on the top of the unit2.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets output level, from totally silent to extremely loud. Above your normal volume it propels your chain into overdrive1 |
| Gain | Sets the gain of the pedal, up to +39dB, and drives the rest of the circuit into overdrive and fuzz1 |
| Tone (Shape) | A pre-gain tilt EQ adjusting highs and lows feeding the circuit. Overloading the lows gives a larger, blown-out sound; overloading the highs gives a more cutting, clear sound1 |
| Bias (internal) | Misbiases the distortion circuitry. Leave at 5-6 for standard functionality, or turn left or right for a rougher sound. Reached by removing the back plate1 |
The two footswitches work like this:
- Left (Bypass): turns the pedal on and off, with a red LED1. Premier Guitar notes this switch can also bring in the gain section without the octave-up effect3.
- Right (Octave): toggles the Octave Up mode, with a yellow LED that stays on or off when bypassed so you can see whether the octave is engaged1. Guitar Pedal X describes it as letting you play with or without the ring-modulation style octave effect4.
One limitation worth knowing: the octave cannot run on its own. As Premier Guitar's reviewer put it, "You cannot operate the octave effect alone"3. It only works with the fuzz and gain section active.
The internal bias knob deserves a note for anyone who opens the pedal. Death By Audio says it fine-tunes the pedal's response by adjusting the op-amp's behavior, and recommends the middle position, 5 to 6, for standard functionality1. Guitar Pedal X likewise describes it as a way to misbias the distortion circuitry for a rougher sound4.
Power
The Octave Clang runs on a standard 2.1mm 9V DC adapter with center-negative polarity, drawing 10 mA, and Death By Audio recommends isolated power supplies1. MusicRadar confirms the 9V supply and 10mA draw2. A 9V battery also works, though one is not provided; the maker advises attaching the battery snap to the board when no battery is in use rather than leaving it floating1.
The battery is not included, and the battery snap should be secured to the board when you are running on adapter power. Isolated supplies are the maker's recommendation for the 9V DC input1.
From the original Octave Clang to V2
The first Octave Clang appeared around 2009, according to Guitar Pedal X, with three control knobs and a single footswitch4. Guitar World places the original release "a decade and a half" before its March 2024 coverage6. It was discontinued and, in Pedal of the Day's words, spent "the decade since it disappeared" presumed extinct before the V2 reissue5.
The V2, announced in early March 2024, revisits the original circuit with a refined and extended control range, a foot-switchable octave and internal updates45. Death By Audio's own description of the rebuild: "Today, we've extended the range of the original controls, added a foot-switchable octave, and did some under-the-hood" work1. The pedal ships in a cream-colored enclosure6 and began shipping from March 14, 2024, priced at $22562. The original version was used on occasion by Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine2.
What reviewers said
Reviews of the V2 were positive. Pedal of the Day called it "WICKED AWESOME," describing an insane yet versatile beast5. Premier Guitar's reviewer found the very simple-looking pedal offers a trove of possibilities, calling it a very practical and unique option for fuzz and distortion tones, well-designed, well-built and well-executed3.
"the very simple-looking Octave Clang offers a trove of possibilities"
That reviewer highlighted the pre-gain tilt EQ and the many ways it interacts with the gain knob and the guitar's controls as the source of the pedal's weirder, more mysterious octave fuzz shades3. The octave mode itself was found to shift the tactile responsiveness of the pedal and guitar, often demanding a rethink of picking approach, which the reviewer found could spawn creative results3.
Videos
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Questions
Can the Octave Clang run on a battery?
Yes. The pedal runs on a 9V battery, which is not included, or on a standard 2.1mm 9V DC adapter with center-negative polarity. Death By Audio recommends isolated power supplies for adapter use, and advises attaching the battery snap to the board when no battery is fitted rather than leaving it floating.
Can you use the octave without the fuzz on the Octave Clang?
No. Premier Guitar's reviewer notes that the octave effect cannot be operated alone; it only works with the fuzz and gain section engaged. The second footswitch adds or removes the octave on top of the gain sound, but there is no octave-only mode.
What does the internal bias knob do on the Octave Clang?
The internal Bias control lets you misbias the distortion circuitry. Death By Audio says to leave it in the middle, around 5 to 6, for standard functionality, and to turn it left or right for a rougher sound. You reach it by removing the back plate, and it fine-tunes the pedal's response by adjusting the op-amp's behavior.
Is the Death By Audio Octave Clang true bypass?
Yes. The Octave Clang V2 uses true bypass switching, so with the pedal off your signal passes through without processing. The left footswitch turns the pedal on and off, with a red LED indicating the engaged state.
How does the Octave Clang create the octave effect?
The octave comes from a special octave transformer and a circuit that adds two out-of-phase half-wave rectified copies of your signal together. The result is a pseudo-ring, distortion, noise and octave sound, an octave-up blend that Death By Audio describes as clangorous, from deep resonant lows to searing high-octane leads.
Sources (6)
- OCTAVE CLANG, Death By Audio
- Death By Audio resurrects the Octave Clang, with the new and improved V2 offering “discordant ringing drones, visceral octave scrapes, and ground-shaking distortion”, MusicRadar, 2024-03-08
- Death By Audio Octave Clang V2 Review, Premier Guitar, 2024-05-03
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-03-05
- Death By Audio Octave Clang v2, Pedal of the Day, 2024-03-05
- “A ferocious, thunderous and now tame-able circuit triumphantly returns”: Death By Audio has rebooted its gnarly Octave Clang, Guitar World, 2024-03-06
