Al Krow

£114 from Amazon (postage included if you have Prime) - and very much obliged to the "tip-off" from @Kev for spotting that they were in stock (they've already run out again!). I do think Boss are making life very difficult for the OC-2 clone competition with the OC-5, given its feature set, the way it's nailed the "OC-2 sound" (with the added pedigree / brand recognition of being the "real thing" i.e. Boss!) and at a price point, new, that you wouldn't hope to get at least some of the well known alternatives, second hand.

Returns are a killer for retailers' margins, so you guys are going to be very welcome customers then!

I know several of you like to hear clips - so here's a couple from me: - the second in 'classic OC-2' mode with just -1 oct max, vintage setting, finger - first (same riff) in more 'Royal Blood' mode with a bit of clean (3.5/10), +1 oct (5/10), -1 oct (max), poly setting - full range, pick into VTDI set for dirt. In conclusion the OC-5 seems to give us both the OC-2 and the OC-3 with improved tracking for both and throws in an octave up. What's not to like? Definitely looking like a keeper! OC-5 'RB'.wav OC-2 'classic'.wav

"Insignificant by comparison" is overstating it. The EU 's two biggest customers (net) are the US with which it has a trade surplus of €150.3 billion, followed by the UK at €110.3 billion. Trade surpluses then fall away pretty rapidly in comparison with these two nations - the next is Switzerland at €33.8 billion. [Source: EU Commission data] In relation to music products IMO the US is going to be a massively more difficult market for retailers like Thomann to crack compared to taking on the likes of Andertons in the UK, if they were to follow the Music Store / DV247 model and set up a UK branch to take the hassle out of purchases for UK consumers.

Just put it in front of a Red Ripper fuzz and Proton filter and it plays very nicely! 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. So overall first reactions are a thumbs up from me. And, as everyone else has already reported back, it nails that classic "OC-2" sound with the -1 oct solo'd.

That last point is interesting. You thought about splitting your signal and using the OC-5 in parallel eg with an LS2 to make the most of your pups'output?

+1^^ except 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. In terms of tracking it's very good at normal bass riff speeds, but will glitch if you sustain a note (and the latter is not unusual for octavers).

To be or not to be, that has gotta be the question the OP intended, right?

I agree, it is high praise, and fully deserved from where I'm sitting. The Yamaha BB1025, which has been a goto bass for several years and will continue to be, is a truly fantastic 5 string passive PJ and hard to beat at its price point. My gigging experience is currently very limited with the Spector - Covid descended just as I was starting to use it in anger: I posted a review earlier in this thread: Spector fans!?! - Page 5 - Bass Guitars - Basschat The Spector Euro 5LX is a different, purely active animal, to the 1025 and, as I've posted elsewhere, has a lot more in common with another Yamaha the flagship BBNE2: The Yamaha BB mega-thread - Page 187 - Bass Guitars - Basschat I've set out in that comparison a number of features that I really like about both basses. Pulling out some of the stand-out features of the Spector, for me these are: tonal variety from single or dual coil for either pup on Spector and ability to mix and blend; meaty, fulsome tone from the EMG 40s plus TonePump preamp (dialled back!) which work really well together; sculpted comfortable body and laminated neck-through which looks and sounds great; playable, comfortable neck and easy to access 2 octave fretboard The fact that I, and much more importantly, MusicPlayers magazine are prepared to consider the Euro 5LX and the NE2 in the same breath is testament to the Spector's quality, not least given that it is significantly lower in price than the NE2.

I nearly ordered a pedal from Musique Shop in France who, with a 5% discount, were coming in just below £135 and seemed to be offering a free courier with UPS. But I fell off my chair at PayPal's crap forex rate which effectively adds another 4.5% (i.e. back up to £137). HSBC & Mastercard between then are not much better at 4% combined "non-sterling" fees. Then factor in possible loss-in-transit and difficulties with returning and paying just £1 more from DV247 (which is the UK branch of a German retailer, Music Store) was a no hassle, no brainer. Be great if Thomann took a similar step and set up a UK branch - dunno if their market share and holding onto a loyal customer base over here would warrant it?

Sorry John, can't help you on that one, but hopefully one of the others can. I do know that I was very pleasantly surprised when I got an older Legend Custom. Gave me the confidence to step up to a Euro 5LX, when Andertons had one in a sale, and which has blown me away - it's very possibly the best gigging bass I will ever have.

High praise indeed to compare a Yamaha (albeit top end) favourably with a Fodera costing several times as much! That's a very helpful comparison coming from someone who knows his way around high-end bases. It's made me feel a little more confident about my previous suggestion of putting my much loved Yamaha BB1025 into bat against your new Sadowsky and no live audience noticing a meaningful difference in the hands of the same player in a band mix.

Gotcha - and that's fair enough. I'm fortunate to still be fine with a shade over 10 lbs, but wouldn't want to go much heavier than this, although @Happy Jack has put me in touch with his double-strap maker from Brazil, which could lighten the load further still, but that one is very considerably above the £20 mark unfortunately.

On the age point, I'm actually not aware of anyone who is 😉 More seriously though, getting a better load bearing strap (in my case Minotaur 11cm / 4.3") has been a revelation and I'm really looking forward to gigging a couple of my heavier basses that I've previously hesitated to take out for 2 hour gigs.

I can't believe you've not discovered how good the B string is a thumb rest? Mutes it beautifully 😂

Hmmm...if it's definitely not aimed at bass players then why does the OC-3 go to the trouble of having a separate "bass" input?

No probs - I'll be able to check it out for myself now! Pedal has just arrived and I'm looking forward to giving it a spin tomorrow. A fellow BC'er said they had sold out on Amazon also now...

You make the case well in terms of some of the potential downsides such as extra weight and neck dive. But now I play 5ers I have zero need for a 4 string and there are few songs where a 5 string doesn't add something (eg positional ease, playing a song an octave lower etc) to what a 4 string offers. And the downsides of incremental extra weight and neck dive are very manageable. So why go to the hassle of taking 2 different ie 4 and 5 string basses to a gig, even if a 4 string should be perfectly good enough for most songs, if a 5er does everything a 4 does and can often add a little more? There may be similar arguments for using a 6 string, once you have mastered the instrument?

You play "native" Yamaha BB bass and do great recordings just on your phone, which more than makes up for it! There is no more universal language, we can share, than music!

At the end of the day, if it sounds good that's all that matters! 😊👍

Very good! The odd digression, with the odd oblique reference to a BB (like how does a Yamaha BB bass sound like with a D class or class A/B amp when played through a YYZ pedal?), after 6,000 posts is a good thing to keep us all entertained. After all, how many times can we remind each other that a 1024 is more refined than a 424? And those of us who prefer a fine red to more plentiful plonk will prefer one over the other 😁

Well my own experience ties in with yours: my Mesa M6 is in a class up from any of the D class heads I've had or tried. However a mate of mine owns and gigged both an M6 and a Berg B|Amp and he rates the B|Amp just as highly. That's a pretty good A/B comparison. I've heard clips of him playing his Berg rig with his band and he sounds great!

Hmmm...maybe. But I think owners of the Berg B|Amp would differ with that conclusion!

Nah, not muddy at all sounds really good in fact, although I understand why that might be something to be concerned about "on paper". If the EQ centre points had been lower, then for sure you wouldn't want to be boosting. But I would like a bit more low end punch as featured on gobasserk's clip. I think some circuits just suck low end more than others eg RAT drives are notorious. I think the VTDI has certain rodent tendencies!