New Boss OC-5 Octave

[smeet]

I got my first OC-2 in the early 80's, and I used it quite a bit, but was never blown away by it, and the tracking wasn't great. It's funny that people love it so much now. Kinda like those wretched late 70's Fenders that are now so in demand. I've since owned: MIJ OC-2, Pearl, Mu-Tron, nano POG, micro POG, POG 2, both Mooers, C4, 2 kinds of MXR, Valeton, EBS, Aguilar, Sub'n'Up mini, Subterrenea, Whammy, Octabvre, DoD OctoPlus, Copilot Cubic, TWA Great Divide 2.0, as well as multi effects like the Roland VB-99, HX Effects, and probably a few others.

I've had my OC-5 for a few weeks, haven't used it that much since it's just me right now.
But, I'm giving it a big thumbs up. It sounds close enough to the OC-2 to satisfy me.

The OC-5 tracks really well, all the way down to my open low B string. That's mostly useless, but still pretty cool. So I guess the vintage mode is obviously digital. But it sounds pretty analog to me, unless you like the glitchy vintage tracking of the OC-2.

All digital octave ups seriously grate on my nerves. The OC-5 is much better, as it filters out most of that horrible digital chirp on the attack. It's still not a beautiful sound, but it's one of the better octave up sounds I've heard. In fact it's one of the only ones I could see using without distortion or some other effect to cover up the nasty tone.

I haven't played around much with the Poly mode sounds yet, but they sound kind of like a POG or a Sub'n'Up. A bit cold and digital, with a harmonic structure that sounds vaguely out of tune. But you know, usable.

Anyway, I like it more than most (maybe all) of the other octavers I've used, so it's on my board now. Yeah.

 

[smeet]

I do find one annoyance though... When I power up the pedal, it's not bypassed. Did Boss think an octave pedal would be an always-on effect? Or is there a secret way to change that?

 

[Rolling Thunder]

I do find one annoyance though... When I power up the pedal, it's not bypassed. Did Boss think an octave pedal would be an always-on effect? Or is there a secret way to change that?

I noticed this too. Maybe take the battery out?

 

[smeet]

I noticed this too. Maybe take the battery out?

Already took the battery out.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Already took the battery out.

I noticed this because I always turn my pedals off after use (like they're light switches or something). I turn on my Cioks and there's the red LED on my OC-5. It's like if you bought a laptop in 2010 and McAfee pop ups every time you power up.

 

[Al Krow]

I do find one annoyance though... When I power up the pedal, it's not bypassed. Did Boss think an octave pedal would be an always-on effect? Or is there a secret way to change that?

I get exactly the same thing with the Boss SY-1 ie always powers up on. Wonder if it is because they both share the new much improved tracking capability?

 

[Switcharoo]

I'd bet it's partly down to so many people using switchers these days!

 

[Mr. voodoobass]

It was the same with my old oc-3

 

[RJ]

Been really pleased with mine. I originally bought it so that I could put my Ampeg Sub-Blaster on the shelf. The coveted OC-2 tone is cool but not something I really care much about or would have a practical use for.

The OC-5 definitely doesn't do what the Sub-Blaster does (does anything?) but it sounds really good.

To my ears it sounds more dependable than the old OC-2s. By that I mean the original OC-2s tracked ok until it randomly didn't, regardless of where I was on the neck. To me the OC-5 cops the OC-2 sound very damn well. Solo'd maybe you could hear a difference, but in a mix...I don't believe so.

In poly mode I dont have to think about the pedal. It's on, it sounds good, it does its job really well. I find the octave up signal way more musically pleasing and better voiced than any other digital octave up I've ever played. I didnt think this would be something I'd ever use but I actually really enjoy blending in a tiny bit with some fuzz.

Overall I'm very happy with this pedal. Super versatile. Even in poly mode the tones of the octaves are so much more musical than POGs or the like, which in reality probably isn't as 'true' of an octave but the OC-5 sounds far better, IMO. And its priced like any old Boss pedal and will likely outlive an 80s MIJ unit, which was definitely a consideration for me.

 

[RJ]

The biggest downside is that the dang thing powers on when I turn my board on. The OC-5 and my DD20 both.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

The biggest downside is that the dang thing powers on when I turn my board on. The OC-5 and my DD20 both.

Yeah, seems like the default should be "off". Trickfish amps, for example, default to Mute when you power on. I like that.

 

[sunbeast]

I do find one annoyance though... When I power up the pedal, it's not bypassed. Did Boss think an octave pedal would be an always-on effect? Or is there a secret way to change that?

This is a normal thing for Boss pedals due to their voltage-based bypass scheme, but also seems somewhat random whether you will get an “on” pedal or “off” pedal. I’ve had a number of Boss pedals over the years that had the same issue. Apparently you can mod the circuit around the “flip-flop” switching scheme via experimentation, using slightly different sized resistor values so that you can coax a normal operation one way or the other.

 

[Matt Morgan]

I know I'm pretty late to this party but I just got my OC-5 here in Germany. Like many have already said...it's pretty freakin' great.
Easily kicked my beloved MXR BOD off my board.
Tracks better, silent switching, great buffer, totally silent bypassed, great tone, built like a tank, octave up is much less brittle than my previously owned Nano POG.

Really, really great.

 

[Nunovsky]

Best review for this pedal from one of the best brazilian bassplayers.
It's in portuguese but I think he really explores the potential of the pedal in a very musical way. The tracking is amazing. He's only using it in the vintage mode bu this pedal is truly amazing.
I really need to get one of these for me once the gigs start and the money comes in.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Im still curious about the octave up only sound (no dry)

Has anyone compared it to the microPOG.
The boss seems the have a weird opening filter type thing on the attack when the oct up is soloed (from the clips I've heard)
Pog does have that issue.

Any one can confirm this??

 

[RJ]

Yeah that happens. You’ve got to be listening for it though. I also seriously doubt you’d notice it if you are using any kind of dirt or in a band context. IMO, the tone is still much more pleasing than that of a POG or a whammy’s octave up.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Yeah that happens. You’ve got to be listening for it though. I also seriously doubt you’d notice it if you are using any kind of dirt or in a band context. IMO, the tone is still much more pleasing than that of a POG or a whammy’s octave up.

I’d have to A\B it with my dual rig. No other way to find out.

 

[ReeV0]

Has anyone compared the OC5 with the Helix Poly Pitch effect?

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I was pretty harsh on the OC-5, I've played around a bit more and I think it may have become my favorite somewhere along the line. Part of the initial "yuck" was my misunderstanding of what was going on with the range knob. It's maybe a little more work to get up to speed on this pedal than a typical octaver, but well worth the time. I'm just pointing out that I was wrong.

 

[Nihilistic Milk]

How is the buffer on this pedal? Thanks