The OC-2 dilemma, again

[Enrique M]

I had both the MXR BOD and the Subsonic on my board for awhile for an A/B shootout. I had a slight preference, and I mean slight, for the BOD in terms of variety of sounds. But, I liked the Subsonic's glitch better and there was no comparison in terms of tracking, Subsonic stayed.

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

The video has unmistakable differences in tone. The basic character of the effect is the same, as presented. If I had $300+ cash for a "collectable" OC-2 Octaver and felt the itch I'd probably scratch it!

(I've had one (1) 3Leaf Mini, was probably not a solid example having an early Reverb used experience. I wanted it, but this one was crappy. Oh well...)

Never crossed paths with a Broughton, but every utility device I've ever had was crazy good!

I think that on any given day of the week in the best bang for the buck and everything is a trade off...I would probably grab the MXR VBO (the small blue one with the mid boost?) It sounds good and less glitchy in general and cost effective.

But, being 2025 and "latency" hand ringing not playing into a not too expensive, flexible effect with monster options...If keeping it simple @ $219 and fly with a Spectrum Intelligent Filter. Its nice!

I'm doing a pimp job on mine for +$41.00 with a purple Barefoot V1 mini switch cap and these...

I know it will sound even better then...

 

[Cerio]

It’s a good question. I’ve tried it, and while it does sound like an OC-2, there’s something about it that doesn’t feel the same as an analog pedal (the OC-5 is digital). That said, it’s probably just in my head — “Oh, it’s digital. It doesn’t feel the same, man.” I doubt I could hear or feel the difference playing the OC-2 and 5 blindfolded.

Yes, the difference it's probably just in your head. OC5 is a great OC2 alternative, but modern and cheaper. Nobody would tell the difference.

 

[ywan]

Check FTElettronica Sub Octave - it's Ampeg Sub Blaster clone.
Joyo ocho is worth mentioning - it's decent OC-2 clone.

 

[pgpete]

I like my OC-5

 

[NotColinGrigson]

I have an octave oc2 but back in the day I had an oc2 octaver which was simply gorgeous. It tracked amazingly without any added distortions. I loved that pedal until some lovely person stole it.
I still use my oc2 from time to time, but most of my octave needs are covered by an mxr bod ( slightly ot but my experience )

 

[mouthmw]

Subsonic for me.

I liked my Octabvre MkIII a lot, but the switch spacing was too narrow and I didn't need the tonal variety either (always had the tone fully counter clockwise).

Subsonic has the best tracking out of any analog octaver I tried and my current version sounds the most like OC2.
Why do I say current? I had two Subsonics and they sounded different.
The older one was more mid forward, less low end and the newer one (last drop he did) sounds, to me, near identical to OC2.

Here's the comparison I did:

 

[silky smoove]

How do you find the headroom on yours? I ask because I recently tried the new Cali76 with my active bass with humbuckers, and it distorts easily on some settings. I like the idea that I can run the Subsonic at 18v, but I don’t think the Octabvre can do 18v, right?

I’ve owned the older Cali76 and could get it to clip even at 18V. Not sure about the new ones. Regardless, every 3Leaf pedal I’ve owned (many) has handled high output instruments with ease, including every version of the Octabvre, and I say this as someone who’s owned literally every version of it that Spencer has built.

 

[Evan J]

I had the OC-5 for a couple years and loved it for the OC-2 sound. Eventually sold it to our FOH engineer because he was so impressed with it. I ended up going for the Aguilar octomizer cuz I actually liked more of a natural octave sound for my style. And the filter on the Aguilar is rad for synth stuff.

I think if you are considering the OC-2 sound, the OC-5 is the most reliable and convenient thing on the market. I would just grab one from a major retailer and try it with your rig for a week or so. And then return it with ease if you don’t like it.

 

[Winton]

I have an octave oc2 but back in the day I had an oc2 octaver which was simply gorgeous. It tracked amazingly without any added distortions. I loved that pedal until some lovely person stole it.
I still use my oc2 from time to time, but most of my octave needs are covered by an mxr bod ( slightly ot but my experience )

Mine tracks amazingly, too. It easily does a low A and rarely glitches on any passive bass. I even have to put the volume knob at 3 o’clock because of how loud it is.

 

[klattman]

MXR Poly Blue Octave switched to mono mode is close enough for me and it does lots of other stuff too(poly mode perfect tracking, modulation, up octaves, fuzz) .

 

[Mastiff_5]

Another vote for the OC-5. I love mine, and having two modes on tap is really nice. It handles my MBD very very well, tracking even boosted high gain settings with aplomb. Aplomb.

 

[sunbeast]

It’s a good question. I’ve tried it, and while it does sound like an OC-2, there’s something about it that doesn’t feel the same as an analog pedal (the OC-5 is digital). That said, it’s probably just in my head — “Oh, it’s digital. It doesn’t feel the same, man.” I doubt I could hear or feel the difference playing the OC-2 and 5 blindfolded.

I haven't played the OC-5, but doubt it's all just in your head. I'm not sure what type of pitch-shifting/tracking is used in the OC-5, but most digital options require a full waveform of a fundamental before they know what pitch to output. On bass that is significant. There are pitch-shifters that use different tech, like sample-rate shifting, but these also have to perform a lot of finagling of the signal to follow your dynamics and phase tightly- its pretty complex stuff going on behind the scenes and usually at the expense of tone and/or feel in my experience. If you can play to the tracking limitations of an analog unit there is none of that to worry about- it plays your notes with punch and immediacy, which to me is what keeps me connected to the playing. At the price of the OC-5 there are many analog options you could grab, including actual OC-2s (I found one of my current ones for $30 last year on Craigslist). Just my experience!

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I am looking for an analog octave pedal that sounds similar to an OC-2. It doesn't have to sound exactly the same, but somewhere in the ballpark. I've narrowed it down to a few options: a couple of Octaver OC-2s for sale locally, the MXR Vintage Bass Octave, the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, the 3 Leaf Audio Octabvre MKIII or the Broughton Audio Subsonic.

Boss Octaver OC-2 (Yes, Octaver, not Octave)
There are a couple of those for sale locally. One's in excellent condition for $345 and the other is in good condition for $200. I use to have an Octave OC-2, when I played passive basses, and I remembered it not exactly having tons of headroom. I'm a bit worried now that I play an active bass. Plus, there's always the not-so-great buffer.

MXR Vintage Bass Octave
It sounds like an OC-2, and Janek Gwizdala swears by it. The only thing is, I've purchased two before, when they first came out, and both had issues with the noise suppresser. I hear the issue is fixed, but I can't find one locally to try before buying.

MXR Bass Octave Deluxe
The one that sounds the least like the OC-2.

3 Leaf Audio Octabvre MKIII
There's a release scheduled for March. I like the idea of having the sub switch, but: the two switches seem very close together, it's expensive and I'm not interested in the octave divider. I'm also not interested in playing the buy as fast as possible game, but the resale value is there if I don't like it.

Broughton Audio Subsonic
Well, it sounds like an OC-2. Doesn't have the useless OCT-2 option. More headroom, true bypass and more volume on tap. Decently priced.

Which should I go for? Which would you pick?

I'm partial to the EBS Octabass. Tracks REALLY well. I've had mine for well over 20 years and it has had beer, coffee, water etc. spilled on it and it still freaking works

 

[meisi]

Subsonic for me.

I liked my Octabvre MkIII a lot, but the switch spacing was too narrow and I didn't need the tonal variety either (always had the tone fully counter clockwise).

Subsonic has the best tracking out of any analog octaver I tried and my current version sounds the most like OC2.
Why do I say current? I had two Subsonics and they sounded different.
The older one was more mid forward, less low end and the newer one (last drop he did) sounds, to me, near identical to OC2.

Here's the comparison I did:

that's pretty different. did you ask josh about this?

of the sound clips I've heard of the Octaver and Octave OC-2's - they sound quite different to me. Never played with them in real life though.

regarding oc2 analog sounds from a digital oc5 - imo there will always be a missing mojo component to digital recreations of analog sounds. Depending on how you're listening it can sound more than adequate.

As a listener I rarely care but as a player I want to feel the mojo because my brain knows what is actually going on.

 

[mouthmw]

that's pretty different. did you enquire with josh about this?

Nope, I chalked it up to component variance to be honest. They have different footswitches too, the new one felt much better to me in terms of turning the pedal on and off and giving me tactile feel for it (even though they're soft switches). Both were great though, I even had some thoughts about keeping the older one (due to mid forward tone), but ultimately, I kept the new one and I'm glad I did.

 

[Just Wrong]

Subsonic for me.

I liked my Octabvre MkIII a lot, but the switch spacing was too narrow and I didn't need the tonal variety either (always had the tone fully counter clockwise).

Subsonic has the best tracking out of any analog octaver I tried and my current version sounds the most like OC2.
Why do I say current? I had two Subsonics and they sounded different.
The older one was more mid forward, less low end and the newer one (last drop he did) sounds, to me, near identical to OC2.

Here's the comparison I did:

Is the last drop the one that’s still available on the website?

 

[mouthmw]

Is the last drop the one that’s still available on the website?

Yeah that's the one. July 2024 drop.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

Used an OC-2 forever and switched to the MXR deluxe without even noticing a difference. Great pedal that fits a Boss footprint. Mid switch always on.

 

[RattleSnack]

I just got C4 and don't look at octavers any more. Or synths or filters. C4 is of great quality, sounds amazing, it's got PC/Android/IOS editor, online community and presets. My friend uploaded preset he made for me, and I just downloaded it to my C4.
It truly is a pedal for year 2025.