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Thanks for the insight @Quatschmacher... Sounds like the VBO may not be what I'm after then - I'll stick with my Octabvre in that case I think.. You have no idea how pleased I am someone else has had the same experience with the OC-5 as me! The cavalry has arrived! 😄

All excellent points! The EBS and Orange blocks both do the breakup with completely different character so it'd be great if they re-visited Peggy! Struggle to work out why they made the new Mesa blocks seperate clean and drive blocks instead of 1 block like the original amp. I spent a good while with mine last night and started to get my "I'm seeing digital so I'm hearing digital" head on - So I pulled out the old board with a Tonehammer Pre on it for comparison, thinking I'd hear/feel something different and it'd be the death of the Anagram... didn't quite work out that way. There was little to no difference in response between the Anagram and Tonehammer (this was using the Super Cali amp block without cab block), I think the Anagram may be the closest to analogue feeling I've come across for base clean tones! What a belter of a unit this is!

I hope one day I can return the favour and start you off convincing yourself to keep gear you're unsure of! haha I'm glad you understood as I expected to be banished from basschat for such a poor description! It was the ToneX stuff that made me realise that it's possible to have a bit of life in the digital realm, this just feels like a step up in execution. As you say, the line 6 stuff is heavily dated and I think bass always seems an afterthought for them... no doubt the new stadium is mind blowing! I've noticed every iteration of line6 gear models the exact same source though so it'll reach a point where they can't go any further surely. The boss stuff always intrigued me, but my guitarist has the GT1 multi and I hate everything about it! Their work flow is what has always put me off them in the end... Having a benchmark for comparison would be fantastic - there must be someone on here with the time, skill, knowledge and good will to do such a thing! 🤔.. I only tick one of those boxes, and it's the least important of the four I'm afraid!

I remember seeing that post about how long it takes to process the signal... I've got no idea what the cause is but it's definitely something I feel and it can't be a fault with it being two pedals multiple years apart. I'm just waiting for someone to come and tell me at a gig how relieved they are that I'm back on my 3Leaf and I'll know this was all worthwhile... As much as we don't agree on the great octave debacle - I'm also partial to a bit of dull men's club and consider it to be my greatest online find of 2025! 👏

Sounds like a plan to me! Always up for a bit of pedal nerding! I must stress though when I say latency - I'm not talking playing through a bluetooth speaker across the room latency - it's just an every so slight lack of immediacy - All of the analogue octavers I've had have stuck to my note as if it's what's naturally coming out of the bass... with the OC5 it's like I can feel the every so slight delay in processing. If I get a second tonight I'll try and record an audio sample although it'll likely mean nothing without being the one playing as it's definitely a feel thing rather than an audible delay.

Pretty much yeah - It's that awkward shade of grey that shows up any and all blemishes like you've drawn a circle around it! It's my own fault, I should've know better... I'd say it's the amp models and cabs, Al... as seems to be the story of my morning it's a feel thing, they just seem to have more life to them without needing parameters like "sag" and "hum" to dial them in. They're closer to captures than models though in that the SVT won't drive when you whack the gain up; but sticking a vintage microtubes and compressor in front of it does a cracking approximation. The cab sims feel more musical and less dramatic once the amp blocks are EQ'd to suit. The can go into the typical more dramatic IR thing if wanted though The fuzzes are also brilliant, I find fuzz to be a really difficult thing for digital modellers to get right but the 3 fuzzes available are great. The noble block adds something more than low end, some of the newer models like he Orange and EBS blocks will give tube like saturation at low drive settings The pitch shifting is decent - using the pitch shift to do an octave up is nice and clear and sharp, the oc2 approximation is decent as far as digital goes Even little things like the tuner seem well thought out - Long press to access, a footswitch for mute on/off and tap tempo at hand on third footswitch. There were a load of updates before xmas too, Darkglass do seem really invested in this so it feels like an investment in the sense that you know most things will be incrementally improved over time. Everything just feels more premium. The best way I can explain is that to me, the HX stuff always felt flat and 2D.. like a really good drawing of what it as supposed to be, where as the the Ampero felt more like a less accurate sculpture of what it was approximating. The Anagram feels like the best of both. I'll be honest in that most of my concerns come from a) the price tag, b) previous experiences with digital and c) Only hearing it in anger through headphones so being unsure how it sounds in an FOH mix or through my amp. I think I've just talked myself into being happy about keeping it though.. thanks Al! 😄

Always happy and willing to be proved wrong... First time round I went so far as putting them on my board side by side and had my eldest switch them on and off at random and I could definitely feel the difference. I'm in South Shields - a small kick in the backside off Newcastle...

I guess we will have to agree to disagree, Kev. I don't believe it to be my bass or signal chain as it's always first in the chain and this is with Passive P's and Active Rays. Playing is subjective of course, but I use both pick and finger style and half of our set has been solo octave work for nearly 10 years now so I'm confident in my technique when it comes to this stuff. Like I say - I'm glad it works for you and many others and I really wanted it to work for me. I've bought two off the back of glowing reviews (although there were a few others both on here and across the pond who've reported similar experiences). After purchasing an Anagram I was really excited to move my 3Leaf on. May try the MXR VBO next...

There's the caveat though - almost. I've been running it in vintage mode and there is absolutely a difference - it's minimal admittedly but it definitely effects the attack and feel of the note. Punters don't notice it, and the band don't notice it but the fact I feel it and hear it is enough to detach me from what I'm playing. It was especially noticeable to me on sharp staccato riffs and fast upbeat octave playing (as is in the majority of the EDM stuff we do). I've had the same results on two new pedal, two years apart and I really went into this second one with an open mind based on all the positive experiences people have had - it's absolutely a thing.

Oh absolutely - It's not a bad pedal by any means and certainly does a good job of what it's intending to do. The only thing I can thing digitally that comes close is the SA C4, but I doubt you'll find anything better than the OC-5 for the guitar stuff you mentioned. It just doesn't do the soloed OC-2 thing as well analogue, which in reality is likely a small percentage of it's intended target audience.

Apologies in advance for the lengthy post but these are the sort of posts I appreciate when I'm trying to gain insight on buying new gear and hopefully it helps someone out... Just another two penneth from me on the OC-5, as I'd hoped to dethrone my 3Leaf and cash in on the unobtainium. I purchased a second OC-5 from Amazon thinking I'd missed a trick the first time round based on the glowing feedback it gets here from so many more learned folks than me.. Stuck it on my board, gigged it three times - and unfortunately I'm still finding the same shortcomings I found with the first one I had. First the positives: The tonality and character of the OC-2 is there in spades, the octave and clean signals blend together really well (I actually enjoyed this more than my 3Leaf in this setting) Octave up sounds natural Tracks brilliantly Built like a tank and looks as cool as it gets on a board There's only really one negative and it's the same as I found last time; latency. The attack of the note just isn't immediate compared to my 3Leaf, as well as the Cog T16 (v2 and V3), and OC-2s I've used in the past - it's a deal breaker for me. As someone who plays half of their set -1 oct soloed that immediate feeling and hit of the note when playing is everything. For balance, it's only really noticeable when -1 Oct is soloed, and not once did anyone come up and say "mind that soloed octave didn't quite hit the same, did it?"; I'd actually argue it sat in the mix very similarly to the analogue counterparts. It sounds like Boss have tried to negate this as you can almost feel a heavily filtered dry note for a split second before the processed note kicks in (best I can explain it). I'd definitely say this is the best digital octaver I've come accross (blows the sub n up's etc out of the water) and I'm really disappointed this didn't meet my subjective requirements; I felt more comfortable having this on my board than the 3Leaf. Glad this works for many, but I'm still firmly planted in the analogue world of octavers for now.

As it happens I realised last night a p!$$ed punter at our NYD show slammed a drink down on a nearby table and it's stained the case - so I won't be returning mine regardless now 🤦‍♂️. I'll add that workflow wise it takes the flexibility of the HX stomp routing and the intuitive UI of the Ampero Stomp II (my only modern multi fx experience) and improves again. Sound wise I'd also say it's a big step up from the Stomp and Ampero (as it should be for the money). I'd say if you've got genuine interest in the unit and you're more open minded to digital than I am I think it's worth a look but I'd buy from somewhere with a good returns policy just in case

For me it’s the same problem I have with every modeller in that while I love the work flow (particularly with the anagram, it’s so well thought out it blows my mind) I still hear digital; every time I kick a drive in, there’s a feel thing I just can’t put my finger on. my band plays through a line array Pa, and I use an amp for a bit of bass support but still wear IEMs, so I’m not sure what it sounds like at volume, but at sound check the drive just didn’t seem to pop to me without losing body and weight… even though my previous signal chain went through an HX One, I spend half the gig through a digital C4 AND it all goes into a digital desk anyways. I’m sure I’m listening with my eyes but it’s just something I struggle to shake - sorry for the wordy overshare, Al!

Was there anything you didn't like about it, Mark? I love mine for home use but not totally convinced for gigging so also debating return...

Thanks for the input! I've had to keep hold of my C4 and OC-5 as I don't think it quite covers what they do yet - so I'm currently running those with a powerpack and using the Anagrams stock PSU. I just haven't got faith in it but nervous about going all battery for something so high powered when playing 2 hours+. How did you find the NAM? I'm tempted to do this with my Tone Hammer but seems a bit above my technical abilities...

Long time lurker - first time poster after buying a shiny new Anagram earlier this week! Loving it so far, but the drives sounded a bit "dull" through my amp, fine through IEMS (I use backline and FOH) - any pointers for this? Also, the PSU seems a bit flimsy, especially for the cost... anyone had any joy powering with a power bank? There's some stuff on talkbass but nothing I can see that mentions real world use...

I'm painfully stuck between one of these (or the other Bassrigs but seem to be leaning towards the fifteen with all the comments of how well it sits in the mix) and an Anagram - I know they're two totally different bits of kit, but I like shiny new stuff! I was sold on the Anagram but everyone seems to mention the "feel" element of the Origin Effects stuff and that's huge to me, I can't imagine anything digital replicating that. My two concerns though - firstly, I spend half of my set using either a solo'd octave or C4 with some gnarly synth patches and I'm concerned the cab sim will cause issues with these, but I'd be reluctant to turn it off if it adds to the feel element.. Second, Headphone practice and C4 patch creation are a big thing for me and I'd need FOH sound available for headphone use when making C4 patches - anyone doing anything similar? I know this box is ticked off easily with the Anagram.. Sorry for the lengthy post, especially on an appreciation thread! Any input would be massively helpful though as hoping to order next week...

A Angled headphone adapter is an excellent idea!

Love this board! How do you find the octabvbre and Fifteen play together? I've always found cab sims take away everything I love from my Octave pedals...

Update: Mine has come off my board and may end up on the F/S section (Little one got hold of the registration card and decided it'd look better creased and torn so can't send it back under 30 days anymore)... Honestly a great sounding pedal and I'd recommend to anyone after an amp sim. My only issue is my band runs everything through an RCF Evox 12 system with no backline. The details of the amp sims are completely lost on it as it's not the best PA; so I may as well stick with my old school Tone Hammer V1

Software is awful - packaging says it comes with ToneX SE but it actually comes with ToneX CS which is an inferior product and limits what can be downloaded from Tonenet. The standard ToneX one comes with ToneX SE. I'd have sent it back for this alone if my youngest hadn't damaged the packaging. Some of the captures are great - for what I do the clean mix is a godsend as I'm not a fan of Cab IRs without a blend. There's a night and day feel difference between this and standard modellers though. I saw great reviews about the SVT models but it's the Aguilar and GK Fusion models that have impressed me. Some of the stompbox drive options are good too. Hope this helps... any more info needed let me know!

Unfortunately I lost my battle with GAS and mr DPD delivered the ToneX one bass edition on Saturday... Set up was every bit as convoluted as people say and I'm still finding my way around the software now but there are some great things in there!

Excellent review... they've certainly done well with the OC-5. I definitely remember there being a difference in the immediacy of my Octabvre Mini and the OC-5 (I was really rooting for the OC-5 aswell). Based on your review I may pick one up and give it another go...

Sure the bass pack is £99 though - so if not an existing user the bass edition is definitely better value