Boss Oc-2 Or Aguilar Octamaizer

[SanBassMan97]

Hey Everybody

Its me again And Y have A question Which is better?
Boss Oc-2 or Aguilar Octamaizer

Thanks

[JTE]

"Better" is so totally subjective. Having said that, I had an OC-2 for a long when, but replaced it with an EBS Octa-Bass about reeve years ago and haven't looked at another octave pedal.

The EBS tracks better than the Boss, and will easily track down below the A, when the Boss could only get to C, with anything below D being iffy depending on the condition of the strings. The Boss does have a unique sound that might be important for you however.

John

[jbednarski]

They're different animals. I have both and find little resemblance in tone between them. The OC-2 can do clean octave and synthy tones. The Octamizer does a different sounding clean octave and can do super low frequency tones similar to the DOD Meatbox.

[Jeff Scott]

How do the two compare to the Micro POG?

[Duuuuuuuuuude]

The Aguilar is subtle and fills out your sound. The Boss is much more aggressive. You can use it almost like a distortion pedal.

[smperry]

Moved to Effects

[willbassyeah]

since you like the oc-2, you might want to try the copilot cubix, i love my octamizer though and thinking of buying a meatbox clone by mantic frequency.

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by JTE

The EBS tracks better than the Boss, and will easily track down below the A, when the Boss could only get to C, with anything below D being iffy depending on the condition of the strings.

I've found that the tracking on all analogue octavers is pretty much the same. You're better off choosing the one you think sounds the best. There's probably very little call for that low A anyway.

FWIW I've got two OC-2s and with one bass I've got strung with flats they will both handle that A just fine, but I never use it that low.

[jcburn]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuuuude

The Aguilar is subtle and fills out your sound. The Boss is much more aggressive. You can use it almost like a distortion pedal.

+1 ^

The Aggy is my clean octave down of choice.

[marijn van gils]

I'm interested in this too!

I own and am very happy with the Octamizer. It is very versatile, from a very deep organic sound to quite a good synth sound (with the octave filter at 3:00 or further). Very usefull pedal!
It can do even more than octaving: by keeping the subocave off, the dry "channel" can be used as a static filter and a clean volume boost (or cut).

Out of curiosity though, I am buying a second hand OC-2 at the moment. I am hoping for a different flavour of synth sound, but if the Octamizer gets close enough to the OC-2 the OC-2 will have to go again. I don't see myself selling the octamizer because it can do a lot more than synthy stuff. But I hope to have some experience with their differences within a week or two...

[WaldoNova]

Since someone mentioned the MicroPog(Lows aren't synthy and the highs are organ like) you should also consider the MXR BOD. I tried the Aguilar and it was more like the EBS. I personally didn't find that it had a synthy tone at all. The OC2 is great for a synthy type tone(and it's cheaper than all of the other pedals mentioned)as is the MXR(synthy not cheaper) which can also do the clean and organic sound(adds some versatility which is it's major plus!).

Basically "better" is going to have it's own meaning depending on what you intend to use it for. These are all good units that perform as intended.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Jeff Scott

How do the two compare to the Micro POG?

Totally different animal. Micro Pog is digital and sounds thinner on the lower octave. I like my Micro Pog much better as an octave up.

[rimbaud]

Agree with JimmyM about the Micro Pog, and there's really an octave-up sound in this box recognizable among thousands.

Just google to see some vidz, this box clearly affects your bass tone. Not pejorative ok

BUT this box is really nice for octave-up soloing, I'm thinking of having one in my pedalboard with a MarkBass Octaver, wich is very very close to the OC-2, for octave-down use.

[newbold]

If you have to ask, then the answer is Boss.

Grab a used OC-2, play it, and if you don't dig it then spend the extra cash on another octaver. I grabbed an OC-2 because it's what I used to have (replaced after years without a pedalboard) and partly because it's a standard. The standard Jerry Garcia switched from the Mutron for. For good reason. I used to use it for pure synthiness but lately I've been running it as more of a clean boost with a big bottom. Compared to the Lululemon Yoga Pants of today, the 80's spandex aerobic workouts still pump dead sexy.

Mysogyny aside, I run the blend/mix at 2 o'clock to get the most out of the buffer and then roll in Oct1 to taste...lately it's been at about 1 o'clock. I play flats and that little extra push on the front end of my dirt really kicks everything in a bit harder. I sometimes just use it a hot buffer with both oct's off and the mix fully dry. it saves buying a boost/buffer for that 'certain something'.

If I'm running it as a synth with a touch of dry, I can get some amazing Radiohead tones out of my overdrive. You can probably find a beat up old OC2 somewhere for $30-50.

'till you really need a boutique pedal if you're a gigging player you'd be better served saving your cash, even if you have lots to throw around. In time you'll learn what you like by comparing to what you have - if you would, in fact, somehow prefer anything other than the OC-2.

Warts and all, I wouldn't move to another octaver unless I had to outright replace my gear.

Nothing personal, OP. I don't mean to imply anything disrespectful and feel that if you can bank an extra hundred bucks for a couple of months it could come in handy.

[bassjam]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Totally different animal. Micro Pog is digital and sounds thinner on the lower octave. I like my Micro Pog much better as an octave up.

The thinner sound on the low end may be why I like the Micro Pog.I went through most of the usual suspects in the octave pedals and liked most of them at home but they didnt seem to mesh well in a gig setting-the Micro Pog sounds very clinical and sterile at home,but I love the way it sounds in a band mix.I dont usually do much with the upper octave-maybe just a touch.I may have to experiment more with that.

[newbold]

Originally Posted by bassjam

The thinner sound on the low end may be why I like the Micro Pog.I went through most of the usual suspects in the octave pedals and liked most of them at home but they didnt seem to mesh well in a gig setting-the Micro Pog sounds very clinical and sterile at home,but I love the way it sounds in a band mix.I dont usually do much with the upper octave-maybe just a touch.I may have to experiment more with that.

Best thing I never thought about.

Awesome.

[marijn van gils]

Ok, it has been (much) more than a week or two, but after a couple of months playing both pedals side by side this is my experience:

- tracking of both pedals is similar, regarding both speed and how low they go: as good as any analogue octaver.

- Volume-wise, the octamizer is much more versatile. The -1 of the OC-2 is well below unity, while the one of the octamizer can go well above unity. Combined with the dry, the OC-2 can reach unity and a bit beyond, but the octamizer much more so.

- Sound-wise, the octamizer is much more flexible. That's logical, because it has tone/filter knobs for both dry and suboctave, while the OC-2 doesn't.
The octamizers' suboctave goes from very deep and smooth to dirty, middy and growling. The deep and smooth sounds more natural while the latter sounds more synthy.
The OC-2 does only one sound, but it is a very good combination of both synthy growl and fatness.
I haven't found myself playing with the dry tone on the octamizer, so for me it is probably it's least usefull feature. I could see myself using this pedal as a static filter and volume pedal in the future though: for example setting the pedal with the suboctave of, but the dry volume and tone with a lower volume and thinner tone, for example to play an intro with thin tone and volume and then shut of the pedal to jump to full tone and volume for the first chorus.

- The attack of each note is much more synthy on the -1 of OC-2 than on the octamizer. The attack of the octamizer sounds much more natural. Both can be a good thing, but I felt myself wishing for that OC-2 attack (and therefore sound) when doing synthy stuff.
This element is however most noticeable when the -1 is soloed, which has the problem of low volume with the OC-2, which made me happy again to play the octamizer...

- The OC-2 has a -2 octave, which the octamizer doesn't. I found the -2 only potentially usefull when playing very far up the neck, but really not so much. I guess this feature was not designed for bass guitar... No problem though, I simply always set it to zero.

Conclusion: both are great pedals with great sounds. The OC-2 wins for synthyness and price. It's biggest minus is the well below unity volume of the suboctave. The Octamizer wins for more natural tones and versatily, both tone and volume wise.

I only have room for one octaver on my board. The Octamizer stays (a friend is checking out the OC-2 at this very moment) because it is more usefull for my personal needs, but I'll probably miss the only thing it cannot do that the OC-2 has: that synthy attack.

[gregmon79]

newbold, what exactly are you talking about/what do you mean when you say this? And how would you do this. With a Micro POG say?? Considering this is the octave pedal I use.

"I used to use it for pure synthiness but lately I've been running it as more of a clean boost with a big bottom".....

Thank you.

[adamsmatthewj]

I'm definitely a believer in the Octamizer, I use it constantly. I love the versatility of the dry and octave level knobs, and the tone knobs for the dry and octave are pure gold. Indispensable feature of an octaver.
Tracks all the way down to a low Ab, no lag in the attack, plays very nicely with the other pedals in my chain (overdrive, envelope filter, distortion, etc) and true bypass works flawlessly (a MUST as far as I'm concerned)
That being said, it's not flawless. Playing ultra long, held-out notes are not its forte. If held out too long the tracking gets wacky, though I'd imagine a compression/sustainer in your chain would solve that (I don't use any compression/sustainer pedals).
I'd recommend it to ANYONE over other octavers, it's made me very happy.

However, I've never used an old OC-2. They are certainly legendary! And the fact that Janek Gwizdala owns about a half-dozen of them says something. Also does the fact that Juan Alderete swears by em.

I suppose your best bet is to just get them both on your board, figure out what they each do best, and have the best of both worlds!!