Boss OC-5 Octave!!!!

[Bagman]

thanks team top thread 

[ped]

13 hours ago, pantherairsoft said:

I was reminded of this thread and thought I'd do an experiment over the last few days. A side by side of the OC2 and OC5, focusing on the -1 octave solo'd (does anyone use any other part of this pedal!), both at home via a small combo, and in the rehearsal room with a powerful rig, and both solo'd and in a mix.

To start, I should point out that my OC2 has the -2 octave disconnected, which boosts the output volume to the pedal. Side by side with an unmodded version, there is zero tonal shift to my ear, but importantly this makes the -1 octave volume absolutely identical to the OC5, overcoming the usual volume dip these pedals suffer. Having them at the same volume really helped this experiment. I should also note that this is a made in Taiwan OC2, that needs the ACA adapter (12v, which is then knocked down to 9v in the pedal) - Note on this at the end.

Also note that the OC5 was set to Bass and Vintage modes (which replicates the OC2). I'd like to give special mention to the fact that in poly mode, with the -1 octave solo'd and the Range knob set to 'lowest', the OC5 is a useful tool for some sub frequencies if you play it as though it was a mono octave pedal still, for those who don't want to destroy the building with a Dod Meatbox. The rest of poly mode is, IMO, very meh, but that one trick is a nice addition.

So, the comparison...

Here is what I did.
1. Side by side solo'd at home via Markbass MicroMark combo - focused on tone and noticeable latency.

2. As above, but into multi effects - OD, fuzz, envelope filter etc. to test how they played with other pedals.

3. Both of the above steps in the studio via a Markbass SD800 and Schroeder 1212L (LOUD). First without the tweeter, then with the tweeter dialled up - solo'd with three other musicians forced to close their eyes, listen and give me feedback. One of them was a drummer, so you can disregard their thoughts

4. As per the previous step, but in the context of a track with drums and keys/synths.

5. Absolutely everything above, in both active and passive mode on my bass.

 

Here are my/our findings....
Latency - Absolutely no difference at all. In fact, I sat and played a few lines with my eyes closed and had others change the pedals so I didn't know which was which... and feeling wise I couldn't tell them apart (again, remembering that I am talking only about vintage mode on the OC2... in poly mode, yes, I can feel the latency).

Tracking - Identical. I've seen lots of folk say the OC5 tracks better, but under a microscope and with clean playing, there is no difference at all. If the OC5 does track better, then my playing style doesn't allow me to highlight it. Both track down to an A on the E string without too much issue, and can track lower if you're very careful and don't mind the additional artefacts in the sound.

 

Tone - When solo'd and studying the sounds very closely, the OC2 has a 'tiny' bit more breakup on the lower notes/E string when you dig in. It's so minor that I had to check over and over to be sure I was hearing it. Aside that, neither I, nor the other folk could tell a difference between the two, with a focus on my playing style, I was able to circumvent that extra breakup. Also note that without the tweeter on the cab, this difference was inaudible. I should note that it's not a pretty overdrive, it's just digital clipping and not something I'd ever 'want' to replicate. Now we're talking ears, not a frequency analyser - and that's what matters - what we all hear. I like to think I have decent ears (former mastering engineer), but I am in no way an authority. To me, however, it was impossible to tell them apart aside that very close study Literally identical on the A-C strings (I play a 5, strung E-C). 

 

Active vs Passive - compared to each other, the OC2 and OC5 sound and respond identically to the passive setting. In active mode, the very slight breakup we mentioned about the OC2 on the low E kicks in with a slightly softer playing. I play soft any way, so I had to force it to make this happen. I usually use the bass in active mode and nothing about this test would make me want to change it. In fact, I'd say the active output form the bass actually helps the tracking of both pedals a bit.

With other pedals - The response and combining of them with other pedals was identical, it even made noticing the OC2 tiny low end breakup impossible when it was run into any kind of drive, filter etc.

 

The feedback above was unanimous from all (only I can comment on latency), no one could hear a difference at all and in fact, I'm the only person claiming there was a touch more breakup in the sound on the E string.

After a few hours of this questionably pointless experiment, here are my pros for both...

OC5

• Easy to find at a reasonable price.
• Nails the OC2 sound with zero latency.
• Has other options, even though you'll likely never use them, but maybe for that one song.
• Still under warranty if you have an issue.

 

OC2

• People think you're cool because you use an OC2.

 

Extra bonus test - I also tried running the OC2 at 9v, even though it needs 12 via a power supply (these ACA ones still use a 9v battery or can run on a 9v if you daisy chain it from another pedal, which is odd). I did this because I know many people out there do this without realising that the ACA version needed 12v and have come to voltage starve their pedal for many years. Aside the dimmer LED and drop in volume, which many folk thought was just the way the OC2 was, this introduces much more noise and breakup into the tone. Being honest, it's still totally usable, and for anyone that accidentally got used to using an ACA OC2 this way, the difference in tone between that and an OC5 is quite notable (and wouldn’t surprise me if this was the cause of some claims of the two being audibly different!).

 

While the voltage starved OC2 doesn't sound great to me, it does 'add something' which is very artificial, which I can see people liking it in its own right. That is, of course, not the point of this comparison though.

So, which one stays on my board? The OC5, but only because it's easier to replace if someone spills beer on it. I could happy pop either on there and no one would know the difference.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

 

Call that a TED talk? What did you learn about B2B sales and SEO from your test? 
 

(Actually, I love TED, I’m thinking more about LinkedIn - dare you to post it there)

[pantherairsoft]

3 minutes ago, ped said:

Call that a TED talk? What did you learn about B2B sales and SEO from your test? 

Using the term ‘OC2’ more than 10 times in one post seems to be good for getting ‘likes’… that’s gotta be some form of SEO at work, right!
 

This is MASSIVELY off topic (sorry everyone!), but this is my actual fav TED talk of all time… I first saw this when I was studying for my hypnotherapy diploma, and it’s as great today as it was back then…

 

 

Edited October 27, 2025 by pantherairsoft

[Bagman]

I am unconvinced I hear a difference between MIJ OC-2 and the OC-5 

I can say the OC-5 can get a few notes lower before becoming unusable 

 

Will keep both , one on each board , if I had to have 1 only ,then the OC-5 probably 

 

Another observation is prices of MIJ OC-2 seem to have skyrocketed (?) 

[Quatschmacher]

18 minutes ago, Bagman said:

Another observation is prices of MIJ OC-2 seem to have skyrocketed (?)

They did at one point. I’ve seen a few around £135-150 over the last year. 

[Bagman]

15 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

They did at one point. I’ve seen a few around £135-150 over the last year. 

140 uk pounds is $325 NZ 

 

looking at Reverb there's $6-900 asking prices by gum 

[Quatschmacher]

1 minute ago, Bagman said:

140 uk pounds is $325 NZ 

 

looking at Reverb there's $6-900 asking prices by gum 

There are lots of very optimistically priced things out there. 3Leaf stuff being another example. Whether folks are actually willing to pay that much is a different matter. 

[thisisswanbon]

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.

[fretmeister]

The OC-5 is nearly 6 years old now. Digital stuff moves forward rapidly even just in updates of firmware.

The Octaves in Helix / Neural etc are far more responsive now, but very DSP intensive.

 

Hopefully we'll get an OC-6 soon.

 

I still love my OC-5. I use it on bass with -1 of course, but on guitar I love the "only affect the lowest note of the chord" thing. That's ace for single guitar band stuff. Just sounds a little thicker when playing chords, and then more like a straight octave for single notes. 

[Kev]

56 minutes ago, thisisswanbon said:

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.

 

In vintage mode, the OC-5 responded almost identically to the OC-2.  If you're actively noticing a difference in latency, that's very odd.  The other mode is an entirely different matter, but on the one I had, the vintage mode did not suffer any latency.

[thisisswanbon]

19 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

The OC-5 is nearly 6 years old now. Digital stuff moves forward rapidly even just in updates of firmware.

The Octaves in Helix / Neural etc are far more responsive now, but very DSP intensive.

 

Hopefully we'll get an OC-6 soon.

 

I still love my OC-5. I use it on bass with -1 of course, but on guitar I love the "only affect the lowest note of the chord" thing. That's ace for single guitar band stuff. Just sounds a little thicker when playing chords, and then more like a straight octave for single notes. 

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.

[thisisswanbon]

25 minutes ago, Kev said:

 

In vintage mode, the OC-5 responded almost identically to the OC-2.  If you're actively noticing a difference in latency, that's very odd.  The other mode is an entirely different matter, but on the one I had, the vintage mode did not suffer any latency.

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.

[Kev]

6 minutes ago, thisisswanbon said:

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.

 

It does though, which is why I'm confused about how yours is behaving in your setup?  I've owned a lot of OC-2 and OC-2 types (including the 3leaf clone), and although it was a few years ago now, the OC-5 didn't fall short at all for me.  Sure, it wasn't QUITE as rubbery in tone as the OC-2 when directly compared solo'd, but it was extremely close and I'd never tell them apart blind, and there was no latency.  Didn't like the other mode at all, but vintage was spot on.

[Kev]

1 minute ago, thisisswanbon said:

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.

 

I guess I can only conclude it's more sensitive to bass/signal chain/playing etc in that case.  Odd but interesting.

[pantherairsoft]

I use the solo’d -1 Octave of the OC5 in vintage mode as my ‘clean tone’. It’s always on, 100% of the time. I can’t detect any latency at all and certainly no difference to my OC2. If there is latency, it’s the same as the OC2 and I no longer feel it having played with that pedal always on for years. I actually borrowed a 3Leaf recently from a friend (we did a swap over as he wanted to try my OC2), I couldn’t hear much, if anything, in it tone wise through my set up. There was certainly no difference in ‘feel’ for me either.

 

This is of course, within the context of my set up. Maybe the pedal is more sensitive to other bass inputs, power supplies, effects chains etc? 
 

I’d love to do a side by side in person with someone who does feel like the latency is there! It would be great to see if I can feel it using their set up and if they can acknowledge it’s not there using mine etc.

 

In the interest of science, where are you located @thisisswanbon?

Edited yesterday at 11:20 by pantherairsoft

[thisisswanbon]

4 minutes ago, Kev said:

 

It does though, which is why I'm confused about how yours is behaving in your setup?  I've owned a lot of OC-2 and OC-2 types (including the 3leaf clone), and although it was a few years ago now, the OC-5 didn't fall short at all for me.  Sure, it wasn't QUITE as rubbery in tone as the OC-2 when directly compared solo'd, but it was extremely close and I'd never tell them apart blind, and there was no latency.  Didn't like the other mode at all, but vintage was spot on.

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...

[thisisswanbon]

2 minutes ago, pantherairsoft said:

I use the solo’d -1 Octave of the OC5 in vintage mode as my ‘clean tone’. It’s always on, 100% of the time. I can’t detect any latency at all and certainly no difference to my OC2. If there is latency, it’s the same as the OC2 and I no longer feel it having played with that pedal always on for years. I actually borrowed a 3Leaf recently from a friend (we did a swap over as he wanted to try my OC2), I couldn’t hear much, if anything, in it tone wise through my set up. There was certainly no difference in ‘feel’ for me either.

 

This is of course, within the context of my set up. Maybe the pedal is more sensitive to other bass inputs, power supplies, effects chains etc? 
 

I’d love to do a side by side in person with someone who does feel like the latency is there! It would be great to see if I can feel it using their set up and if they can acknowledge it’s not there using mine etc.

 

In the interest of science, where are you located @thisisswanbon?

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...

[pantherairsoft]

2 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

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'm not eager to prove anyone wrong, but I am interested in how people perceive things so differently, especially when we're all a bunch of pedal nerds, with many many years (and countless pedals) of experience between us - my brain is always comparing and looking for this kind of thing, and there are many peoples I moved on due to latency. 'Something' is at play, and I'm interested. If I'm sat there playing an OC5 and saying there is no latency, then hand you the same bass and you say 'dude, there is noticeable latency' then the issue is 'us' - the human experience of sound and feel. And that's super interesting to me.

 

I've too done the blind on/off test between the same two pedals as well, and can't feel anything remotely like 'latency' (but I can tell a slight tonal difference between the OC2/5 and the 3leaf, but it's super minor), so having that experience is genuinely interesting to me.

South Shields is a bit of a trek (I'm in Derby), but after my next work trip, if the stars align, I'd love to take a drive. Worst case - a couple of hours trying out each other's pedalboards!

Edited yesterday at 13:44 by pantherairsoft

[Kev]

I am intrigued also, but not cross-country level of intrigued

 

It's just this does make me wonder as its not really a subjective thing.  Latency is latency, and I think I remember reading a very geeky post on TB or perhaps on reddit about someone actually measured what it was at a specific fret on a specific string from the waveform and it came out at something silly like 2ms, which of course isn't perceptible! I think my Shure wireless is double that, and again that's just not something you're ever going to notice.  Given that it is digital though, I feel like it must vary somewhat depending on the input signal, as opposed to the analog OC-2 type circuits that just flip whatever comes in back at you .  So its an interesting one, though perhaps one for the Dull Mens Club on Facebook 😅 

[fretmeister]

1 hour ago, Kev said:

I am intrigued also, but not cross-country level of intrigued

 

It's just this does make me wonder as its not really a subjective thing.  Latency is latency, and I think I remember reading a very geeky post on TB or perhaps on reddit about someone actually measured what it was at a specific fret on a specific string from the waveform and it came out at something silly like 2ms, which of course isn't perceptible! I think my Shure wireless is double that, and again that's just not something you're ever going to notice.  Given that it is digital though, I feel like it must vary somewhat depending on the input signal, as opposed to the analog OC-2 type circuits that just flip whatever comes in back at you .  So its an interesting one, though perhaps one for the Dull Mens Club on Facebook 😅 

 

This sort of thing intrigues me too and I get lost in looking stuff up.

 

Sometimes I just have to punch myself in the groin and repeat "Once the drums start it doesn't matter. Once the drums start, it doesn't matter" over and over again! 

[thisisswanbon]

1 hour ago, pantherairsoft said:

I'm not eager to prove anyone wrong, but I am interested in how people perceive things so differently, especially when we're all a bunch of pedal nerds, with many many years (and countless pedals) of experience between us - my brain is always comparing and looking for this kind of thing, and there are many peoples I moved on due to latency. 'Something' is at play, and I'm interested. If I'm sat there playing an OC5 and saying there is no latency, then hand you the same bass and you say 'dude, there is noticeable latency' then the issue is 'us' - the human experience of sound and feel. And that's super interesting to me.

 

I've too done the blind on/off test between the same two pedals as well, and can't feel anything remotely like 'latency' (but I can tell a slight tonal difference between the OC2/5 and the 3leaf, but it's super minor), so having that experience is genuinely interesting to me.

South Shields is a bit of a trek (I'm in Derby), but after my next work trip, if the stars align, I'd love to take a drive. Worst case - a couple of hours trying out each other's pedalboards!

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.

[thisisswanbon]

1 hour ago, Kev said:

I am intrigued also, but not cross-country level of intrigued

 

It's just this does make me wonder as its not really a subjective thing.  Latency is latency, and I think I remember reading a very geeky post on TB or perhaps on reddit about someone actually measured what it was at a specific fret on a specific string from the waveform and it came out at something silly like 2ms, which of course isn't perceptible! I think my Shure wireless is double that, and again that's just not something you're ever going to notice.  Given that it is digital though, I feel like it must vary somewhat depending on the input signal, as opposed to the analog OC-2 type circuits that just flip whatever comes in back at you .  So its an interesting one, though perhaps one for the Dull Mens Club on Facebook 😅 

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! 👏

[Homatron]

Could you please add a reflex test to the great OC5 latency investigation meetup @pantherairsoft, @thisisswanbon? The one where you catch a ruler as it is dropped through your fingers should do it.