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Help! Is a glitching Boss OC-2 a lost cause?

tombombadil7

tombombadil7

Supporting Member
Nov 29, 2022
27
67
#1
Hi all, I recently purchased a Japanese OC-2 Octaver from Reverb (not recently enough to return). I tested it out when I received it--sounded amazing--but have not needed it in the studio since. Just took it out to A/B against a Broughton Subsonic, it worked fine, but when I subsequently tried to use it in a signal chain with other pedals, it stopped turning on (by the way, I'm using a Voodoo Power Plus with 12v [*edited from my original post, mistaken for 18v] for the OC-2, plugged into a surge protector). I then tried the pedal on its own with no luck reviving it.

So I send the pedal to a pedal repair guy in Brooklyn who gets back to me with: "I can't fix the Boss. It's most likely 1 of 5 different IC chips and I don't have the means to test them." He doesn't know anyone else who could handle this job, and claims he doesn't know about testing IC chips and suggests I sell the pedal as-is on eBay.

I am reluctant to give up on it though, mainly because it sounded gorgeous, secondly because I paid over $200 for it. Does anyone know if anything can be done? Many thanks in advance for any advice whatsoever. 🙏
 
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#3
sloppy_phil said:
If you powered it with an 18v tap, it isn't so much a "glitching" OC-2 as it is a deep fried one. Those aren't meant to receive more than 12v. It definitely sucks, but I don't think there is much you can do except chalk it up as an incredibly expensive learning experience.
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My bad--I meant 12v. I corrected the original post. The Power Plus has a 12v option which I toggled on, since 9v was only producing a weak LED signal and low output. When using this power source, the pedal worked, and sounded excellent. Here's what the Voodoo manual says about the output I'm using:

"Unregulated power adapters are rarely run at their full capacity, which means that their actualvoltage will typically be 20-30% higher than their rated voltage. A 9VDC unregulated adapter willusually be closer to 12VDC. If the effect doesn’t run from a battery, it probably requires more than100mA and should be operated from output 5 or 6 with the switch away from NORMAL."
 
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#5
mazdah said:
Older Boss pedals are not meant to run on 12V "regulated" DC. Use either:

- Boss ACA
- Battery
- Daisychain from your tuner power output (like Boss TU-2/3 or Korg Pitchlabk)

Or it may be already too late and you fried it.

ALSO - all mine OC-2 worked flawlessly on 9V DC.
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Thanks so much, I truly appreciate the information. Possibly a very expensive and regrettable lesson.
 
#7
Thank you to anyone reading this, and to @sloppy_phil and @mazdah for their replies. I guess based on new information (that the pedal powers on but the octave feature doesn't work) I'd edit my question to whether chips can be evaluated/fixed, or if it's time to get another OC-2...

Also, if anyone's curious, I have to say I preferred the sound of the OC-2 to the Broughton Subsonic, despite the latter's smaller size and greater headroom. Daisy-chained and played back-to-back, the OC-2 felt subtly warmer/smoother.
 
#8
@tombombadil7 I hope you manage to get it sorted/repaired somehow. I'm not sure how to go about troubleshooting it, but there's less of a chance it's toast if you gave it 12v.

I happen to agree that the Subsonic does not quite sound like the OC-2, either. I honestly haven't found any octave pedal that sounds exactly like an OC-2, but many get very, very close. Including the Subsonic (which in addition to better headroom, tracks a little bit cleaner in the lowest registers of a bass). Depending on your usage scenario, I have also found that it is a more apparent tonal discrepancy when noodling around by oneself. In a band mix, it is far less obvious. My Nano/fly-out board has an OC-2, but my main gigging board has something else, and honestly they get me to the same place when it comes to making music with others.
 
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#9
sloppy_phil said:
@tombombadil7 I hope you manage to get it sorted/repaired somehow. I'm not sure how to go about troubleshooting it, but there's less of a chance it's toast if you gave it 12v.

I happen to agree that the Subsonic does not quite sound like the OC-2, either. I honestly haven't found any octave pedal that sounds exactly like an OC-2, but many get very, very close. Including the Subsonic (which in addition to better headroom, tracks a little bit cleaner in the lowest registers of a bass). Depending on your usage scenario, I have also found that it is a more apparent tonal discrepancy when noodling around by oneself. In a band mix, it is far less obvious. My Nano/fly-out board has an OC-2, but my main gigging board has something else, and honestly they get me to the same place when it comes to making music with others.
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@sloppy_phil thank you for fleshing out your experience with both pedals, and for confirming that my ears weren't lying. I'm mostly doing studio recording (with other players) in a rock setting, with an eye toward future live gigging, so your notes about the Subsonic are encouraging me to keep the pedal. I doubt the OC-2's subtleties will be detectible in those contexts, and furthermore the Subsonic sounds more practical.
 
#13
mouthmw said:
Nothing tracks as well as Subsonic IME, and the tone is an excellent OC-2 simulacrum, with a touch more mids and tighter lows.
Click to expand...
Nothing? That's a bold statement if you haven't tried literally every octaver pedal. Also, you just described obvious tonal differences after claiming "excellent OC-2 simulacrum". I'm calling confirmation bias.

I own a MIJ and MIT OC-2 and while they sound damn good they're inconsistent as hell. It's a very replicated circuit, and unless you enjoy the volume drop and glitchiness, you're probably better off with the MXR Vintage or Boss OC-5. At worst they'll get you 90% of the way there and can be had for a note.
 
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#14
Hamrlik said:
Nothing? That's a bold statement if you haven't tried literally every octaver pedal. Also, you just described obvious tonal differences after claiming "excellent OC-2 simulacrum". I'm calling confirmation bias.

I own a MIJ and MIT OC-2 and while they sound damn good they're inconsistent as hell. It's a very replicated circuit, and unless you enjoy the volume drop and glitchiness, you're probably better off with the MXR Vintage or Boss OC-5. At worst they'll get you 90% of the way there and can be had for a note.
Click to expand...

Well, I did say "in my experience". I haven't tried every octaver pedal of course, but I've tried a lot of analog octavers, including all the big names and some less known. Subsonic is an OC2 recreation, but it doesn't have the active switching which most likely softens the tone on OC2 while Subsonic is more open sounding, less muted if you will. I think it's a perfectly good OC2 style octaver if you're not splitting hairs.

I love 3Leaf Octabvre Mk III as well and I've always used it with tone all the way counter-clockwise (OC2 like setting) but it has an even tighter and more mid based tone. Subsonic gets closer to OC2 for sure. Tracking quality has pretty much always been mentioned with Subsonic by everyone and I found it to have a noticeably excellent tracking. I though my Octabvre tracked really well, but Subsonic took the cake there.
 
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#15
I have a MIJ OC-2. The settings I use - Level at 0 to 50, -1 Octave 5, -2 Octave 0. I generally stay off the the E String. The tracking isn't too bad, minimal amount of glitch. Once you're in the song it sounds fantastic. Add some Fuzz, even better.
 
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#16
tombombadil7 said:
My bad--I meant 12v. I corrected the original post. The Power Plus has a 12v option which I toggled on, since 9v was only producing a weak LED signal and low output. When using this power source, the pedal worked, and sounded excellent. Here's what the Voodoo manual says about the output I'm using:

"Unregulated power adapters are rarely run at their full capacity, which means that their actualvoltage will typically be 20-30% higher than their rated voltage. A 9VDC unregulated adapter willusually be closer to 12VDC. If the effect doesn’t run from a battery, it probably requires more than100mA and should be operated from output 5 or 6 with the switch away from NORMAL."
Click to expand...
If your Octaver was an early one as it sounds then it was designed for a 12V power supply (it will call for a Boss ACA adaptor on the bottom panel), then had a diode network internally that dropped the voltage down to 9V. Unless your pedal had been modded by someone in the past for a 9V supply (an easy mod that bypasses these diodes), the 12V shouldn't be an issue whatsoever. In fact there is a thread on TB where a well-respected circuit designer (Frank from FEA Labs) examines the OC-2 circuit and suggests that 12V should be fine for the components in the circuit- I think the main limiting component for above 12V is a resistor or capacitor. That said, old parts sat around unused may have gone bad (more likely capacitors though than the chips unless it was static related). I'll see if I can find that thread as he recommends some chip replacement options too
 
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#17
sunbeast said:
If your Octaver was an early one as it sounds then it was designed for a 12V power supply (it will call for a Boss ACA adaptor on the bottom panel), then had a diode network internally that dropped the voltage down to 9V. Unless your pedal had been modded by someone in the past for a 9V supply (an easy mod that bypasses these diodes), the 12V shouldn't be an issue whatsoever. In fact there is a thread on TB where a well-respected designer examines the OC-2 circuit and suggests that 12V should be fine for any OC-2 (even the water versions meant for 9V). That said, old parts sat around unused may have gone bad (more likely capacitors though). I'll see if I cn find that thread as he recommends some chip replacement options too
Click to expand...
Thanks so much! Please post if you find it, and I’ll look too.
 
#18
tombombadil7 said:
Thanks so much! Please post if you find it, and I’ll look too.
Click to expand...
Here is one post from the thread that is relevant- he says capacitor 25 is the voltage-limited one in the circuit (but should still handle 12V). The whole thread is pretty cool and explains some cool mods that I plan to one day try on one of my OC-2s. FWIW, I've run both of mine on 12V without issue (one is an early 12V version modded for 9V operation, the other is a later 9V version) : https://www.talkbass.com/threads/oc-2-clipping.1027629/page-3#post-15423060

Here's another post that says there is a second capacitor that also may limit voltage above 12V: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/oc-2-clipping.1027629/page-3#post-20113144

Are you certain you didn't use a reverse-polarity cable with your OC-2? doing that would pop a diode in the circuit and explain why the pedal wouldn't turn on (even if you had fried an opamp you should still get the power LED). If the guy you sent it to used a battery it would still turn on without that diode.
 
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#19
sunbeast said:
Here is one post from the thread that is relevant- he says capacitor 25 is the voltage-limited one in the circuit (but should still handle 12V). The whole thread is pretty cool and explains some cool mods that I plan to one day try on one of my OC-2s. FWIW, I've run both of mine on 12V without issue (one is an early 12V version modded for 9V operation, the other is a later 9V version) : https://www.talkbass.com/threads/oc-2-clipping.1027629/page-3#post-15423060

Here's another post that says there is a second capacitor that also may limit voltage above 12V: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/oc-2-clipping.1027629/page-3#post-20113144

Are you certain you didn't use a reverse-polarity cable with your OC-2? doing that would pop a diode in the circuit and explain why the pedal wouldn't turn on (even if you had fried an opamp you should still get the power LED). If the guy you sent it to used a battery it would still turn on without that diode.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for this information. The cable I was using came with the Voodoo Power brick and are "standard center negative polarity." The pedal turns on, but the octave effect doesn't work. If delving into chip testing is beyond the ken of the repair guy I sent the pedal to, I'm wondering if I (as an amateur with electronics) can really solve this. But I'm pretty handy, and open to trying.
 
#20
tombombadil7 said:
Thanks so much for this information. The cable I was using came with the Voodoo Power brick and are "standard center negative polarity." The pedal turns on, but the octave effect doesn't work. If delving into chip testing is beyond the ken of the repair guy I sent the pedal to, I'm wondering if I (as an amateur with electronics) can really solve this. But I'm pretty handy, and open to trying.
Click to expand...
Ah OK- I thought you were saying it stopped turning on when you were using it but the repair guy said it turned on at 9V. If he were using a 9V battery it would bypass the reverse-polarity diodes and still function, but in any case if the octave isn’t working it must be something else.
 
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