Boss OC-2 - Japan vs. Taiwan

JimmyM · #1 06-02-2010, 11:18 PM

i've decided i finally hate the micro pog's octave down enough to get an oc-2 to supplement it. the taiwanese models go for a lot less than the japanese models. is there a practical difference in them? meaning will i get the same tone and performance out of them as the japanese models?

btw, respect to all the other octaver makers out there, but i'm really only interested in the oc-2 so please don't chime in with recommendations to get other pedals. i know what's out there

billphreets · #2 06-03-2010, 01:16 AM

http://basschat.co.uk/lofiversion/index.php/t68019.html

heres a thread you may be intersted in ; )

JimmyM · #3 06-03-2010, 02:04 AM

i guess that takes care of this thread, bill...thanks!

Taylor Livingston · #4 06-03-2010, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billphreets

http://basschat.co.uk/lofiversion/index.php/t68019.html

heres a thread you may be intersted in ; )

Although the "authority" in that thread is claiming that the original OC-2s were built on perfboard

, they're at least right in that the difference is only in the power supply and won't make any difference in sound.

JimmyM · #5 06-03-2010, 02:19 AM

conical, for the huge price difference, i don't care if they used surfboard as long it sounds the same!

Taylor Livingston · #6 06-03-2010, 02:36 AM

Well, all I meant to convey was this: the notion that a big company like Boss would build circuits on perfboard (which means that each individual piece is bent and twisted to the next piece by hand by a human, which is a monstrously time-consuming task compared to machine assembly) is totally ridiculous.

Now, by itself it doesn't matter of course - people say ridiculous things all the time on the internet (almost exclusively, some might say!). But if somebody is telling you some info that they know about a Boss pedal and then they say that, you can pretty much ignore whatever else they say about it.

If somebody's giving you lots of really interesting info on fuel economy, and then they say that they've got a motor in their basement that puts out more energy than you put into it, that's your cue to stop listening.

KarateKid25 · #7 06-03-2010, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

conical, for the huge price difference, i don't care if they used surfboard as long it sounds the same!

ahhh I had to laugh at the perfboard / surfboard thing. Reminds me of something a work mate of mine would say.

bobbass4k · #8 06-03-2010, 08:18 PM

I would be that idiot. Yea, i made a cockup there, i opened it up very quickly when i first got it, and i remembered it being in perfboard for some reason, which it isn't, although it's not the fanciest PCB i've ever seen, and everything does look handmounted to me, but i'm not exactly an expert. So apologies to the pedal police.

But that 150% effiiciency engine is coming along a treat

Taylor Livingston · #9 06-03-2010, 08:28 PM

You know, right after I submitted that, I thought, "I bet the guy is going to read this, and then I'm going to feel bad." In real life I'm super-polite, but online I sometimes come across the wrong way. It could be the menacing photo of Lee Van Cleef as my avatar.

I've said all kinds of wrong stuff on the internet before, so I definitely don't claim to be the pedal police. There are some people out there who represent themselves as experts and then say totally inaccurate stuff, and that bugs me. I can tell now that you're not one of those, so a simple mistake is not something I should have made a big deal of. So, my apologies, sir.

You should try tacking some magnets onto your over-unity engine. I can get up to 170% efficiency with mine as long as the lights are out and no one's looking. It's a sensitive device.

warwick.hoy · #10 06-03-2010, 11:16 PM

FWIW here are some internals of an MIJ OC-2 Octave (not Octaver)

They come from the second post of This Boss Area Thread. The serial number listed on that thread dates it to 1987 and production of the OC-2 was move to Taiwan in 1989. There are lots of other gut shots (like 20 pages worth) on that thread.

I have an old MIJ OC-2 Ocatver. I've never messed with any other OC-2 MIJ or MIT but the word on the street (without reading the basschat thread) is that they sound the same. I think you're better off getting a newer one. The footswitch on mine is a bit wonky and if not for a well placed stomp it take an additional stomp to get my old OC-2 to click on.

FunkyBassline · #11 06-03-2010, 11:22 PM

I can't voice a well educated opinion like a lot of people on here, but I have an Octave and love it... does the dub sound quite nicely

I think I picked mine up for $45

billphreets · #12 06-05-2010, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taylor Livingston

You know, right after I submitted that, I thought, "I bet the guy is going to read this, and then I'm going to feel bad." In real life I'm super-polite, but online I sometimes come across the wrong way. It could be the menacing photo of Lee Van Cleef as my avatar.

I've said all kinds of wrong stuff on the internet before, so I definitely don't claim to be the pedal police. There are some people out there who represent themselves as experts and then say totally inaccurate stuff, and that bugs me. I can tell now that you're not one of those, so a simple mistake is not something I should have made a big deal of. So, my apologies, sir.

You should try tacking some magnets onto your over-unity engine. I can get up to 170% efficiency with mine as long as the lights are out and no one's looking. It's a sensitive device.

it IS quite a menacing photo..