New Boss OC-5 Octave

[Benjamin Earl]

That's a great comparison video, Ben! Especially since you have the whole line-up!
I mentioned in my comparison video that I think the OC-5 is worth getting because it sounds close enough to it.

Thanks! I love that OC-2 sound, and I'm always searching for it. Where can I see your comparison?

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Just got mine today. Couple of things.

There is at least a small amount of tone suck in bypass. Lost a touch of highs and seemed to get a little lower midrange bump, which might be a loss of a little bit of the lows. This was with a PBass with a GZR pickup. It was pretty minimal, but there. Not a deal breaker, I doubt youd notice it in a mix.

I like the -1 in vintage mode a lot. It's definitely digital, although it's hard to tell until you get below D on the A string. Sounds enough like an OC-2 to me, plenty fat.

The +1 definitely sounds muted compared to my old MicroPOG, which I unfortunately don't have anymore, and definitely has some kind of envelope going on in front of it. It sounds good integrated with the direct and -1, but it's not something I'd use solo, and I used the +1 on my MicroPOG pretty regularly soloed. I'd probably just dial in a little bit to kind of give some upper harmonic content to the overall sound. IMO this is NOT a POG killer. The octave down on the OC-5 in vintage sounds MUCH better than the POG, the upper IMO kind of lacks in comparison. It might have been nice to have the current +1 sound in vintage mode, as it does integrate well with the -1 sound, and then have something more in the realm of the MicroPog for Poly mode.

I really didn't much of a chance to check into Poly mode, which really isn't of much interest to me anyway, but will probably do so another time.

Overall, I'm keeping it as it's pretty useful just as an octave down and the price was right, and I stupidly sold off all of my octave pedals earlier this year.

Definitely keeping my oc2 and micro pog.
I think I'm going to skip the oc5

The weird filter on the solo oct up was the deal breaker for me. Pog doesn't have that.

My 2 cents.

 

[Winton]

Thanks! I love that OC-2 sound, and I'm always searching for it. Where can I see your comparison?

Here are the 2 comparison videos I made:

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I tend to be gravitating towards the Guitar setting / POLY / Range at 0 / Direct and -1 to taste settings with a little +1 blended in but not overly obvious in the mix. It has octave without as much boom. More icing, less cake. Heh.

 

[Benjamin Earl]

Here are the 2 comparison videos I made:

Thanks! The Octaver sounds awesome! IMO your video shows that the OC-5 sounds very close. I noticed a few more artifacts with the OC-5, which is on par with my tests. The extra volume the OC-5 has in the tank is helpful for gain staging, so I still may replace it on my board.

 

[DennyOnBass]

Definitely keeping my oc2 and micro pog.
I think I'm going to skip the oc5

The weird filter on the solo oct up was the deal breaker for me. Pog doesn't have that.

My 2 cents.

If you have both and the tracking on the OC-2 isn’t an issue for you, I think that’s a wise decision.

 

[crucislancer]

I have an OC-5 coming tomorrow. I've never owned an octave pedal, so this should be an interesting experience. I figure it should help fill things out when my guitarist solos.

 

[kazuhank]

TL/DR: Digital artifacts made this a no go for this analog octave guy.

I was finally able to try mine in a rehearsal yesterday. There is a weird digital artifact that I'm noticing that is not enjoyable to my ears. I know that my preference is in analog octaves with their glitches and oddities, and so it was probably a foregone conclusion, but I will be returning the OC-5.

I play a lot of gigs with both synth and string bass, and I generally use octaves to create that sub synth vibe when I don't bring my Moog on a gig (I didn't buy this for the octave up).

I felt like I had to really work to get the low octave OC-2 tone I hear in my head with the OC-5. What is stupidly easy with the 3Leaf Octabvre, OG Boss OC-2, Foxrox Octron, Mantic Hulk, DOD Meatbox, et. al. was more challenging (and then still digital sounding) to me - especially in the band context.

 

[Al Krow]

Boss OC-5 in action on this clip. But forget - that I want the RC-500!!

 

[Switcharoo]

Another comparison for you, this time a blind test. Interested in hearing what results people get with them! I think I've drawn my conclusions but it's a work in progress...

 

[Matt Morgan]

Another comparison for you, this time a blind test. Interested in hearing what results people get with them! I think I've drawn my conclusions but it's a work in progress...

Awesome demo! I honestly prefer the OC-5 in all the demos I’ve heard. I really like my MXR BOD but I can definitely see an OC-5 in my future.

 

[IronLung1986]

OC-5 needed to be analog in order to really turn heads. It's not going to replace the OC-2. OC-3 sounds as good or better than either of them but was rejected because "digital". So the word matters a lot.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

OC-5 needed to be analog in order to really turn heads. It's not going to replace the OC-2. OC-3 sounds as good or better than either of them but was rejected because "digital". So the word matters a lot.

I'll disagree on the OC-3 sounding better than the OC-2. It's less glitchy than an OC-2, but the OC-2 has "the" sound.

 

[sunbeast]

I'll disagree on the OC-3 sounding better than the OC-2. It's less glitchy than an OC-2, but the OC-2 has "the" sound.

Same here 100%! I haven’t tried the OC-5 yet but it sounds far closer to my ears

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Same here 100%! I haven’t tried the OC-5 yet but it sounds far closer to my ears

Not sure if I prefer the OC-3 or OC-5. I was considering doing a shootout video, but that always end up with - "Why didn't you do X or Y?" So, I probably won't.

 

[basstalkname]

Another comparison for you, this time a blind test. Interested in hearing what results people get with them! I think I've drawn my conclusions but it's a work in progress...

I think the brown pedal from BOSS sounded better in the comparison.

 

[Al Krow]

The OC-3 was one of the most meh pedals I've had! Couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

There's a reason Boss have launched the OC-5 to replace the OC-3.

 

[JimmyM]

The OC-3 was one of the most meh pedals I've had! Couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

There's a reason Boss have launched the OC-5 to replace the OC-3.

Because it's two better than three. Duh!

 

[Al Krow]

Because it's two better than three. Duh!

So that's how we should console ourselves when we come 5th, we're two better than the guy who came third

 

[Feral Feline]

So the best is the OC-1...

...but I can't find "1" to buy.