New Boss OC-5 Octave

[MultiScaleMale]

Whoa, how recently? Price has been slowly but steadily going up for years on used OC-2s. $90 is a good deal for an original like that. Not that you didn't know that. ha

Less than a year ago. Really good shape, too. Had it been a private seller, I think I would have told them to check prices, but since it was a store that means that they paid someone $40-45 for it.

 

[woodyng2]

Too be honest I never saw the point of an octave down for bass. Octave up? Now that’s a good idea. If it tracks well that is.

Octave down sounds great with fretless.
Tony Levin used that to great, er, effect, on “Sledgehammer.”

 

[Jakeman]

Octave down sounds great with fretless.
Tony Levin used that to great, er, effect, on “Sledgehammer.”

Agreed, sub-only octave on a fretless is killer - big part of what I do. I personally can't work with octave-up. The digital ones like the SubnUp sound like some weird sort of organ or keyboard. I like the analog octave up on my COG T-65, but it's not really usable on its own, more like an added tone to put on top of the sub-octave.

 

[allintime]

Wonder how it compares to my Valeton OC-10.



I imagine there will be no shortage of octaver shootout comparison videos once the OC-5 becomes more widely available.

My problem with the valeton is volume drop when soloing the sub octave. I hear this issue is the same for the original oc2, which the valeton is a clone of, but I've never played an oc2. I'm waiting for the octabvre mkiii to arrive.

 

[allintime]

Too be honest I never saw the point of an octave down for bass. Octave up? Now that’s a good idea. If it tracks well that is.

I made a post here 3Leaf Audio Club - Episode 2 with a video of a modern prog/jam band using an analog octave down on bass. Just an example of how it can be used

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Sweetwater called to let me know that I missed the first preorder shipment group, but will be in the second. Sometime in early October.

 

[woodyng2]

Agreed, sub-only octave on a fretless is killer - big part of what I do. I personally can't work with octave-up. The digital ones like the SubnUp sound like some weird sort of organ or keyboard. I like the analog octave up on my COG T-65, but it's not really usable on its own, more like an added tone to put on top of the sub-octave.

Yeah,I don’t think i would use the up octave feature at all.
I have an 8-string bass for that.

 

[kazuhank]

Sweetwater called to let me know that I missed the first preorder shipment group, but will be in the second. Sometime in early October.

I received that same call.

 

[NortyFiner]

My problem with the valeton is volume drop when soloing the sub octave. I hear this issue is the same for the original oc2, which the valeton is a clone of, but I've never played an oc2. I'm waiting for the octabvre mkiii to arrive.

Yeah, I've noticed the volume drop issue. Hopefully the OC5 corrects that.

 

[BurningSkies]

What does Grinch do?

It's the 'turbo' version of the Hulk fused with a Vitriol, which is a high gain distortion: "variable high-gain distortion with low and high pass filters capable of gyrator-based frequency boost."

If you like Mantic stuff or are on their wavelength...it's a thing.

 

[kazuhank]

It's the 'turbo' version of the Hulk fused with a Vitriol, which is a high gain distortion: "variable high-gain distortion with low and high pass filters capable of gyrator-based frequency boost."

If you like Mantic stuff or are on their wavelength...it's a thing.

I didn't NEED to know that these existed, and I also can't believe I didn't know. I just signed up on their email list and started following them on Instagram after seeing this. I LOVE the Hulk.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

It's the 'turbo' version of the Hulk fused with a Vitriol, which is a high gain distortion: "variable high-gain distortion with low and high pass filters capable of gyrator-based frequency boost."

If you like Mantic stuff or are on their wavelength...it's a thing.

I can hear speakers exploding from here.

 

[BurningSkies]

I didn't NEED to know that these existed, and I also can't believe I didn't know. I just signed up on their email list and started following them on Instagram after seeing this. I LOVE the Hulk.

Yeah, it was on my mind when the original run of limited ones came out a few years back. I love my Flex-Pro to bits. One of these days I'll find an original Density Hulk. I should probably work up a Mantic Collection like I'm doing with IE stuff apparently.

I really love my Flex Pro to bits after a few years. It does stuff that I haven't heard out of any other PLL. My initial review:

Scene report: Mantic Flex Pro LE:

About 20 minutes into using the Flex Pro the thought comes across your mind, "The only sounds this pedal has are really hostile angry and aggressive." sometimes these things decay and sonic entropy causes the pedal to descend into fits and sputtering whirls of digital chaos. If you spend enough time with the 6 filters and the super-interactive control set, you'll be rewarded with a number of sounds that you can't conceive of fitting into a coherent soundscape nor could you ever conceptualize a place where they'd be anything but destructive.

My guitarist (who got the 2nd unit of my order) mentioned that after playing with his at home for half an hour he became very angry and depressed at the same time...and had to go outside where he had a headache the rest of the day that he just couldn't shake.

So, in other words this thing is pretty kick@ss and a keeper. It has so much rage and fury and random senselessness that it's the perfect allegory for the human condition.

...and for everyone's talk about how they could never figure out how to use it live or in a band situation...I have for the past 2 years for nearly every show.

I'll hold off on the OC-5 until I see how much I like the new DubTerranea when it finally comes to my door.

 

[adamaarts]

I have the Japan OC-2 and don’t plan on replacing it with this, but im very interested how it compares side by side mainly for a backup/alternate use. Who knows, it may actually outperform the sound of the OC-2 and then that becomes the backup

 

[RickyT]

I prefer to twiddle physical knobs and I personally can’t stand SA’s software interface. Something like this works much better for me.

You don't need to fiddle with the software. There are so many Community Pre Sets that you don't need to create your own, unless you're after something super specific. Even then its probably in there somewhere.

Plug in, open Community Pre Sets and search for OC-2, or whatever, and BAM! There they all are. Click on one and it automatically let's you sample it. Save it to Your Library or Burn it directly to the pedal. Use a DMC Micro (or similar) and get access to the full 128 pre sets. I think I have 10 OC-2 variations on mine. Some with fuzz or a filter or an octave up. That all sound better and track so much better than the original.

You can use the 4 knobs on the pedal to adjust some things if needed (of course the App gives you far greater control, but again, I've never once needed to use it).

I don't see how they could make it any easier or user friendly?

 

[factory presets]

(Edit-I was wrong about the bamboo shoots thing, that is political, not superstitious!)

You say that as though there's a meaningful difference.

 

[willsellout]

You don't need to fiddle with the software. There are so many Community Pre Sets that you don't need to create your own, unless you're after something super specific. Even then its probably in there somewhere.

Plug in, open Community Pre Sets and search for OC-2, or whatever, and BAM! There they all are. Click on one and it automatically let's you sample it. Save it to Your Library or Burn it directly to the pedal. Use a DMC Micro (or similar) and get access to the full 128 pre sets. I think I have 10 OC-2 variations on mine. Some with fuzz or a filter or an octave up. That all sound better and track so much better than the original.

You can use the 4 knobs on the pedal to adjust some things if needed (of course the App gives you far greater control, but again, I've never once needed to use it).

I don't see how they could make it any easier or user friendly?

You appear to be under the impression I haven't owned numerous SA pedals and have formed my own opinion. I know what I like and don't like, though. I'm happy you like your SA pedal and it's interface.

 

[bass.player]

Oh nooo I just bought an OC-3 just a few weeks ago if I had known i would have waited. But then again I like the OC-3 quite a lot and don’t understand why so many don’t like it. But then again I am not after that nintendo sound ;-)

 

[cnltb]

It's the 'turbo' version of the Hulk fused with a Vitriol, which is a high gain distortion: "variable high-gain distortion with low and high pass filters capable of gyrator-based frequency boost."

If you like Mantic stuff or are on their wavelength...it's a thing.

Thank you!
I've never met a mantic pedal 'in person' but have been plying with the idea of getting a hulk as an octave down voice. Vitriol looks interesting also...and now that you told me a bit about it as, does Grinch.

 

[cnltb]

Cool move to have a 'vintage' setting and a 'poly' modern setting. I'd hope they've listened to the peeps about the negatives of the true vintage OC-2's. I ended up getting a bypass looper with it's own volume/level control to make it useable on my board before moving to other options. I hated the 'always on buffer' that was a tone suck and then the volume issue with running the 1st octave by itself. If they've sorted those things and the classic side does sound like the original, I bet plenty of people will be happy.

...though in our day and age, this cat has been skinned a whole pile of ways. Even as a only occasional user of an octave pedal, I have not only an original OC-2 but also a Cog T-16, a C4 and soon will take delivery of an Iron Ether Dubterranea.

The buffer was a tone suck?
Are buffers not supposed to prevent exactly that?