Stone Deaf FX's Rise & Shine Octapulse Octave Fuzz is the perfect marriage of Vintage Sounds and Modern Technology and Construction
I’ve had my Rise & Shine for about a week - and it’s very evident that Luke Hilton and his team have pulled out every stop with this very unique Octave / Trem Fuzz. It’s most certainly full-fat-flavour on both the core Fuzz Voicing and Upper Octave Effect. And then it does some even more clever things in how it can further modulate that octave effect [Octapulse].
I’m going to start off with some of the trickier aspects of the pedal - not that anything here is particularly tricky - you just need to be aware of how some things work.
I would say start with Volume and Tone at Noon, Mix fully CCW, and Fuzz Saturation on Max - that way you really get to experience the full richness of this pedal’s wonderful textured output - and you can adjust from there.
There’s just a handful of secondary features you need to be aware of - which concern MODES 2-4 in particular.
MODES
[ORANGE] Fuzz + Octave : Standard / Latching
[GREEN] Fuzz + Octave : Momentary Octave
[CYAN] Fuzz + Octave : Momentary Bypass
[MAGENTA] +Trem / Octapulse : Standard Division
[WHITE] +Trem / Octapulse : Custom Division / Pattern Trem
MODES 2-3 FOOTSWITCH POLARITY INVERT - By default the Momentary Footswitch action is set to 'Off' - where you 'punch' in the sound momentarily, while you can hold down the MODE button for 0.5s while in either of those MODES - to flip the default to 'On' - so that those footswitches now act as 'Kill' switches!
MODE 4 TAP DIVISIONS - When in Magenta Standard Division Mode you get to change the time signature / Tap Division by pressing the MODE button for 0.5s - this cycles through - Whole, Half, Triplet, or Quarter values for each 0.5s press.
MODE 5 PATTERN - For the Custom Division Mode you can tap in you own rhythm as such - in sort of Pattern Trem Fashion - over a quantized 120 BPM meter - which aligns your pattern to the nearest beat. You 'program' the Pattern by holding down the MODE button until it turns red - and then simultaneously Tapping the VOICE Button - the pattern saves when you release the MODE button. I had fun with various rhythmic patterns - including the beat from New Order's Blue Monday. It can be a little tricky getting the pattern totally 'crisp' that's just a learning curve really. Also this is the only function that requires dual button presses - so I need my fingers for said task - everything else I can operate with my big toe!
I learned very early on that I prefer the pedal on FAT Voice - and for me the Volume and Tone knobs are perfect set to around 3 o'c. The above visual fully illustrates my favourite setting on the pedal.
You can of course dial more Dry into the Mix, and dial back the Fuzz Saturation - there's plenty of sweet spots along the sweep of both dials - while I mostly like them at full-flavour!
Controls - Volume, Tone (Tilt EQ), Mix (Wet > Dry Mix), Fuzz (Saturation), Mode - 1-5 [Orange / Green / Cyan / Magenta / White], Voice : Orange (Bright) / Cyan (Fat).
Of course there's a vast range of tonal possibilities here going from a relatively Light Distortion through to a Full Fat Fuzz. I truly found the pedal a delight to deploy in every way. You can of course connect an expression pedal to vary the tempo of the Octapulse etc. - while I did not feel the need for any additional peripherals here.
I'm not sure how it would be accomplished - but I would quite like a 6th Mode here - with Fuzz + Octave as a default - but then the ability to momentarily punch in a Pattern Trem Octapulse. That really is just a nice-to-have extra - the pedal is already perfect as is.
Everything about this pedal is grand - from the parts selection, the enamel facia, flush back-plate, soft action footswitches - perfectly stiff knob action - this is for sure a beautifully engineered device, and I can see how it took several years to get to this level. Everything about this pedal it top-notch - including how it sounds and operates - and down to the packaging and the fold-out manual.
I'm very much looking forward to witnessing what comes next in this superb format.
The Rise & Shine 3-in 1 Octave / Octapulse Fuzz is very reasonably priced considering the quality and level of detail - MAP / RRP of $285 / €300 / £265. Available right now on the Stone Deaf FX Webstore and at International Dealers.
Demos
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
