Hi,
By old school analog octavers I mean pedals like the Boss OC-2 or the EH Octave Multiplexer. These pedals use a flip-flop to covert the guitar input into a square wave an octave below the input pitch, then use a filter a filter to get rid of the square waves upper harmonics. It sounds cool, but the problem is that since the flip flot changes state every time the signal goes from – to + when it sees multiple tones at the same time what comes out sounds like noise.
That sound is actually popular in experimental noise music, and I believe in sludge metal, but it doesn't qualify as polyphonic. In fact I would say that turning everything on the octaver effect all the way up and strumming a chord has the distinct sound of a bomb going off -> fading into a guitar chord.
