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Looking for an Octaver with OC-2 sound

#61
I got mildly obessed with this for a bit, and tried the following side by side, swapping between them to get a feel for sound (posted in the order of how much I liked them):

* Boss OC-2
* Boss OC-5
* Source Audio C4
* MXR Vintage Bass Octave
* HX Stomp Boctaver

I've got some detailed notes somewhere, but the gist was that the OC-2 still came out on top. The MXR had some annoying artifacts in the sound, and lost tracking at higher note volumes than the OC-2.

Biggest thing in favour of the OC-2 was feel though. It wasn't noticable when playing under normal circumstances, but when swapping between them, the OC-2 was noticably more responsive than digital alternatives. It just felt nicer to play through without any lag, and despite its known shortcomings, it's still the one I reach for 90% of the time.
 
#62
oomo said:
I got mildly obessed with this for a bit, and tried the following side by side, swapping between them to get a feel for sound (posted in the order of how much I liked them):

* Boss OC-2
* Boss OC-5
* Source Audio C4
* MXR Vintage Bass Octave
* HX Stomp Boctaver

I've got some detailed notes somewhere, but the gist was that the OC-2 still came out on top. The MXR had some annoying artifacts in the sound, and lost tracking at higher note volumes than the OC-2.

Biggest thing in favour of the OC-2 was feel though. It wasn't noticable when playing under normal circumstances, but when swapping between them, the OC-2 was noticably more responsive than digital alternatives. It just felt nicer to play through without any lag, and despite its known shortcomings, it's still the one I reach for 90% of the time.
Click to expand...

There is something to this. I really love my C4's Octaver, but I also like the real feel of the Octron and being able to manipulate it in real time. It probably sounds the same, but makes a difference in how I use it live.
 
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#63
What about the FKT Audio Octa Tone? Any opinion?

upload_2023-5-22_17-2-28.png
 

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#65
Oh man...the search for the OC-2 sound is a perilous one. I'd suggest just getting an OC-2 or OC-5 and saving yourself from the depth and price of this rabbithole.

From my personal experiences with this matter, the MXR VBO does it the best. If I were to rank them on "closeness to OC2 sound" out of my collection:

1 MXR VBO (sounds just like it but has mid switch and more gain...has been a mainstay on my board)
2 SA C4 (sounds like it but has trouble tracking actual octaves, interface is hard to figure out)
3 3leaf octabvre (sounds like it, but "tighter")
4 Mutron Octavider (sounds like it, but subbass octave doesn't have enough gain)
5 IE subterranea (does its own sub octave thing, but it tracks well)
6 Broughton SVD (sounds similar, but oddly very gated. The synth part of the pedal is cool, though).
7 IE Dubterranea (sounds like subterranea but doesn't track as well)
8 Foxrox Octron (really doesn't sound like OC2 at all, but it does have a cool sound. Definitely worth checking out)

I would really like to try the Cog T16 or T47, but they're basically impossible to find these days and the FKT Octatone is on my list of pedals to buy this year.
 
#66
D8E9EB5F-EBDB-47FC-A621-2BF39730B237.jpeg

Having owned an OC-2, and having tried a somewhat limited amount of octave pedals (POG, Sub n’ UP, MXR Vintage and Deluxe, OC-3), I’d have to say that the MXR Vintage Bass Octave is the only one that did it for me. Unfortunately, they are rarely in stock, and I have giant feet that hate mini pedals
:roflmao:

Then Boss released the OC-5 and I actually prefer it over the OC-2. You have to give Boss credit for listening to feedback from consumers, even if it took them 700 years to dump the OC-3. I just got the OC-5 for Father’s Day by the way! But I have tried them in the past and my point of view isn’t fresh out the box.

Edit to add: it seems to track and respond a little better without the compressor feeding into it, so I will be moving it in front of the compressor.
 
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#70
Nice to see the love for the mxr vbo: best take on an oc-2 I've encountered.

Boss OC-5 is perfect on paper, but I somehow still don't care for it.

On this topic, I'm loathe to even mention the 'thing' that's happening next week.
 
#73
Here's what happened to my Octaver search:
I've tried several, the MXR VBO among them. But I've also bought an OC-2 (the cheapest kind, a late Taiwan model).

One thing I learned is that octave pedals vary a lot when you play your bass into them. The feeling of how the notes sprout from under your fingers is quite different, even when the sound that comes out is quite similar.

OC-2 vs. MXR VBO was devastating - for the MXR.

Playing the MXR felt for me like steering a car where the steering column has two unnecessary joints where one it a bit too tight and one is a bit too loose.
Playing the OC-2 felt .... natural.


I've recently acquired an early Taiwan model that was modded with a level boost and a dry kill. This is my Octaver of choice now and I don't think about Octave pedals any more.
 
#74
el murdoque said:
One thing I learned is that octave pedals vary a lot when you play your bass into them. The feeling of how the notes sprout from under your fingers is quite different, even when the sound that comes out is quite similar.
Click to expand...

I came to exactly the same conclusion.

I did some tests side by side with an OC-2, OC-5, MXR VBO, and HX Stomp's boctaver. I tried a couple of basses (active/passive, p/j), and a few different pedal setups (e.g. compressor on/off before octaver).

Biggest difference was in feel, the OC-2 responded just that tiny bit faster to playing. It was really noticable when switching between each of the pedals, and I found I just enjoyed playing through it more since it felt that bit more responsive.

Sound-wise, I liked the boctaver the least, it was far behind the others. OC-5 I found closer to the OC-2 than the VBO (but not by much). The VBO had a really harsh low volume high frequency sound in its output I really hated (I'm probably not describing it well though...).
 

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