Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Tycobrahe Octavia

According to Stevie’s technician Cesar Diaz, Stevie started using a Tycobrae Octavia effect pedal sometime around the release of the In Step album in 1989.

I was also the one to introduce Stevie to the Fuzzface. He didn’t know what one was until In Step. He had a Univibe, but he never used it, and I brought in a Tycobrae Octavia and the Fuzzfaces.

Cesar Diaz The Last Great Interview (SRV)
Possibly a Tycobrahe Octavia behind Stevie’s wah? SRV in the studio, circa late 80s.

Usage

Unfortunately, it’s unknown to which extent Stevie used this specific pedal in comparison to the Roger Mayer Octavia – which he also had. The latter essentially does the same job, and it was seen way more often on Stevie’s pedalboard.

Some sources claim that he used Tycobrae from the moment Cesar introduced them to him, which would be from sometime in mid-1989 (In Step release) to August 1990. That however doesn’t explain why he was seen using Roger Mayer Octavia during the Austin City Limits gig in October 1989, and on Letterman in April 1990.

If indeed he made that switch, he used the Tycobrahe Octavia for a very brief period of time – only a few months.

Stevie's pedalboard at Live at Letterman gig, April 1990.
Stevie’s pedalboard at Live at Letterman gig, April 1990.

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