Why is this thing so hard to find? I can't find a new one or used one anywhere!
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New Boss OC-5 Octave
- Thread starter amper
- Start date
That’ll be a supply wrestle between COVID and the recent Suez Canal blockage.
I guess it's a good time to sell one. (Looks over at OC-5 I'm not using.)
EDIT: nevermind, I see why I didn't bother. It's $135 new, by the time I put up a used price, add in shipping and PayPal fees, I might as well just keep it in the collection.
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If it makes it easier, I can just send a shipping label and then you can just drop it off
Boss OC-5 - Quick Review
TLDR: the OC-5 seems to give us both the OC-2 and the OC-3 pedals combined into one unit (and another reason for "5" = 2+3?) with improved tracking compared to both its predecessors and throws in an octave up. What's not to like?
These seem be a bit like gold dust at the moment, but I had "tip-off" from a fellow bassist that there were a few on Amazon UK and on at a competitive price. Mine arrived over the weekend:
That OC-2 sound
As pretty much everyone else has already reported back, it nails that classic "OC-2" sound with the -1 oct solo'd, which is great.
Octave-up
I didn't think I was going to particularly like or use the octave up, but I'm already won over. It's not a clean octave up in the way the Digitech Mosaic is, to give you an 8 string bass sound, but it definitely adds a bit "extra" when used with the -1 oct and a bit of -2 oct; both when the pedal is used by itself but also when combined with fuzz and / or filter.
Easy to dial in a more 'Royal Blood' sound with a bit of clean (3.5/10), +1 oct (5/10), -1 oct (max), Poly setting at full range, pick into VTDI set for dirt.
Tracking
Very good at normal bass riff speeds, but will glitch if you sustain a note (which is not unusual for octavers). I actually prefer it in Poly mode over Vintage mode when I'm using both octave up and down simultaneously, as it gives me a cleaner overall sound and a touch better tracking.
With other pedals
Put it in front of a Red Ripper fuzz and Proton filter and it plays very nicely with them both, thickening up the sound just as you would want from an octaver.
Definitely looking like a keeper!
TLDR: the OC-5 seems to give us both the OC-2 and the OC-3 pedals combined into one unit (and another reason for "5" = 2+3?) with improved tracking compared to both its predecessors and throws in an octave up. What's not to like?
These seem be a bit like gold dust at the moment, but I had "tip-off" from a fellow bassist that there were a few on Amazon UK and on at a competitive price. Mine arrived over the weekend:
That OC-2 sound
As pretty much everyone else has already reported back, it nails that classic "OC-2" sound with the -1 oct solo'd, which is great.
Octave-up
I didn't think I was going to particularly like or use the octave up, but I'm already won over. It's not a clean octave up in the way the Digitech Mosaic is, to give you an 8 string bass sound, but it definitely adds a bit "extra" when used with the -1 oct and a bit of -2 oct; both when the pedal is used by itself but also when combined with fuzz and / or filter.
Easy to dial in a more 'Royal Blood' sound with a bit of clean (3.5/10), +1 oct (5/10), -1 oct (max), Poly setting at full range, pick into VTDI set for dirt.
Tracking
Very good at normal bass riff speeds, but will glitch if you sustain a note (which is not unusual for octavers). I actually prefer it in Poly mode over Vintage mode when I'm using both octave up and down simultaneously, as it gives me a cleaner overall sound and a touch better tracking.
With other pedals
Put it in front of a Red Ripper fuzz and Proton filter and it plays very nicely with them both, thickening up the sound just as you would want from an octaver.
Definitely looking like a keeper!
I can't believe the OC-5 is still sold out. Only available for Pre Orders on most sites with no availability date. I don't want to have to pull the trigger on an MXR Octave or OC3 used because Boss can't keep up with with supply and demand. Does anyone have a date on when this pedal will finally go on sale?
I’ve had the same thought. Mines like new aside from the dust it’s been collecting.
IMO it’s still the best sounding polyphonic octave out there. If I didn’t have the sub blaster it’d see more use.
I’ve had the same thought. Sorry to say mines mostly been collecting dust.
IMO it’s still the best sounding polyphonic octave out there. If I didn’t have the sub blaster and love it so dearly the OC-5 would see a lot more use.
Expound on that, please. Is poly up or down the big draw for you? What else have you tried? I've tried the Micro Pog, Tender Octave V1 (Micro Pog clone with only mono output), and Pitchfork. Pitchfork's my favorite so far, but if the poly octave up is that good in the OC5, maybe I'll try one in the NF if stores ever get them again.
For me, it’s Poly down with a nice thick tone and no glitches. The up isn’t bad, but I love the octave down on this so much that I sold my first year OC-2 October.
Up solo’d sounds weird and thin, but it works really well blended on guitar.
I could see it on bass to muddle through a cover of Jeremy, but that’s about it. Down isn’t bad. Overall mine’s been collecting dust too. Maybe I’m just not an octave guy.
I could see it on bass to muddle through a cover of Jeremy, but that’s about it. Down isn’t bad. Overall mine’s been collecting dust too. Maybe I’m just not an octave guy.
So in other words, stick with my Pitchfork and TO. And I replaced my OC-2 with the MXR Vintage Bass Octave, so I guess I'm still set.
I just rarely use octave up unless I'm playing Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" (at home).
Octave down has always been the priority for me.
Every couple years I go on an octave quest. Last time I decided I wanted to try something new I thought it would be nice to have something polyphonic and that could do an octave up.
It’s worth noting the solo’d octave down, OC2 thing has never been something I cared to achieve, though I do think the OC5 does a fantastic job of coping that sound, at least compared to the OC2s I’ve played.
This last go around I got the Pitchfork (really liked the idea of being able to use it with an expression pedal and have a much smaller footprint than the Whammy’s I’ve owned) the MXR BOD, the OC5, played more OC2s, etc.
The Pitchfork tracked really well but it sounded too sterile. Maybe it’s a perfect representation of the note that’s being played, I can’t say but I really didn’t care for the tone. I have the same sentiment for almost every other digital octave up pedal I’ve played so, this was nothing new.
I thought the MXR was ok. I liked the tonal flexibility of it but thought the OC5 was smoother. I also thought it sounded like it did a better job of the solo‘’s -1 OC2 thing.
The OC5 tracked equally well, if not better and the octave up tone was more pleasing to my ear. There’s some sonic filtering happening. I never run it with the +1 higher than the original signal and almost always have the -1 blended in as well. Some sort of distortion or fuzz usually accompanies all of this. It sounds massive and is hard to turn off.
I think I’m just so accustomed to the tone of a syrupy analog sound, and the rumble the Sub Blaster produces that it’s hard to find something to dethrone it for me.
I mainly throw the OC5 on my board to play with guitar. It’s a great sounding octave just not the one I reach for.
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I actually had no idea how rare they were until recently.
I remember counting down the days until their release years ago. I think I had a bass synth wah at the time. I really want to play one of those again. I remember it it tracking great but having a really interesting octave sound when you solo’d some of the controls.
I remember counting down the days until their release years ago. I think I had a bass synth wah at the time. I really want to play one of those again. I remember it it tracking great but having a really interesting octave sound when you solo’d some of the controls.
PSA: Both GC and Musicians Friend show these in stock. I ordered one from GC last night, haven't received a ship notification yet though.
I didn't see this before, but in
Asian cultures, the number 4 is often avoided as unlucky. In Japanese, one reading of the kanji for 4 四 is "shi", which is also the reading for the kanji for death 死
Because of that, an alternate reading of "yon" is usually used for 4.
