Bass Octave Pedal Shootout - OC-2 and it's imitators! (Musical examples)

Can you name the 4 tunes used in this video without scrolling down?
I've been on the hunt for my new Octave pedal... I thought i'd bring you along for the ride! The contenders in order of appearance are:
My trusty old Boss OC-2
3 Leaf Octabvre Mk1
Cog Effects T-47 (Double T-16)
The new Boss OC-5
Markbass 'Raw' Octaver
MXR Vintage Bass Octave
The signal chain is Bass - Octave Pedal - Noble DI with no EQ or Compression whatsoever.
I'm still making my mind up, if you'd like to see my full thoughts please subscribe to this channel for a pedalboard rundown, follow me on instagram (paddy.blight) or keep an eye on my Talkbass and Basschat threads linked below where i'll be going in to the subject in more depth shortly! I'm always happy to answer questions on my experience!
www.talkbass.com/threads/the-...
www.basschat.co.uk/topic/4442...
If you'd like to test your ears against the OC-5 and OC-2 you can find a blind shootout on my channel.
In all cases I've tried to match the volume and tone to the OC-2 the best i could. The settings currently being used are shown at all times.
Timestamps:
Test One (All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow) | Sandberg VM4
OC-2 0:07
Octabvre 0:16
T-47 0:24
OC-5 0:32
Markbass 0:40
MXR VBO 0:48
OC-2 (reprise) 0:56
Test Two (Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO) | Precision w Flatwounds
OC-2 1:16
Octabvre 1:23
T-47 1:31
OC-5 1:38
Markbass 1:45
MXR VBO 1:52
OC-2 (reprise) 2:00
Test Three (Sledgehammer - Pete Gabriel) | Sire V7 Fretless
OC-2 2:18
Octabvre 2:23
T-47 2:28
OC-5 2:33
Markbass 2:38
MXR VBO 2:43
OC-2 (reprise) 2:48
Test Four (Bad Guy - Billie Eilish) | 1971 Fender Mustang
OC-2 3:01
Octabvre 3:15
T-47 3:29
OC-5 3:44
Markbass 3:58
MXR VBO 4:12
OC-2 (reprise) 4:26

[@fross1203]

Nice playing, helpful demo to show they mostly sound the same.

[@dancityhulk7022]

Hey, this is actually a very nice, i.e. informative Demo. Good sound quality, very very nice basses, nice riffs, everything comes together to form a pleasant, inspiring video! Thanks! 💛👾💛

[@PaddyBlight]

Thanks for the kind words DCH, I'm glad you got something from it!

[@mutangbaru]

thanks for the video man. it helped a lot. i like the variety of backing music. easy to justify the difference or whatever we want to hear from those pedal. great job man.

[@PaddyBlight]

Thankyou, glad you found it useful!

[@frge1594]

markbass is my favourite

[@yuichituba]

Great octaver comparison video! And I got the 1st, 2nd, and 4th song! :D I have the Boss “Octaver” OC2 and it’s an awesome pedal. Just like you mentioned in another comment, I don’t have much of a volume drop like others when I solo the oct -1. But when I play live, I actually use my Source Audio Spectrum and it sounds fairly close.

[@jamesturley1980]

Nice video, I have just started seriously looking into putting a pedal board together and my next pedal will be an octaver. I quite like the sound of the Raw Octaver and it's reasonably priced too!

[@PaddyBlight]

Yeah, I think it's the most budget friendly of them all and it definitely competes!

[@cmcaudiobe]

I wanted to like all the others, but OC2 all the way. all the others had more attack on the octave sound than the OC2. which some people might find good, but I like the slight bloom/decay in the attack of the OC2. just feels like home to me. the MXR might be the closest.

[@Jah3lohim]

Agreed

[@jdjk7]

I love the sound of my OC-2, but it's an old pedal (1986) and it probably needs some components replaced before it'll be useful live again. It just farts out so easily.

[@charleshale8504]

I've got an early MIJ OC- 2 Octaver and the Octabvre Mini; they both work fantastically. Recently lucked into an Octabvre MKIII from 3leaf and didn't like it at all. The Mini is probably my fav, but the OC-2 is right there and I could truly use either

[@cheveyo2403]

Nice Video and playing. Octaver is going to be my first real "effects" pedal after the compressor i got. I ended up ordering a KMA Qeequeq 2. its analog has top connectors. and still cheaper than the ones i liked in your video. OC2.- MXR Vintage.

[@michael_caz_nyc]

I like the 3 Leaf the best ( however ) they were all really close. Which one " Tracks " the best ( particularly the Lowest notes? ) Nice demo, enjoyed it. oNe LovE from NYC

[@monkeyxx]

That 3 Leaf was nasty!!

[@keziahj]

thanks a lot! 💛👾💛

[@ulis3082]

Great Video! And what´s your choice? For such a pedal is so important how it feels while playing.

[@PaddyBlight]

Short answer, for pure pleasure i's OC-2, for gigging practicality i like the COG! Octabvre mkIII on the way to me now. I'll be doing a more in depth report on the basschat/talkbass threads very shortly!

[@jaredingalls6804]

Great video. Could you maybe add a "clean sound" to the loop of musical examples on very subtle effects like these (for people like me who aren't good enough to always make the distinction)

[@PaddyBlight]

Cheers Jared! There's a pass with the clean sound at the start of every example, unless i've completely missed what you mean!

[@jaredingalls6804]

@@PaddyBlight Wow I must have been tired when I initially watched this. You did exactly what I was talking about and I didn't even notice. My bad on that

[@nram3930]

I'll spill my thoughts out, maybe it'll help someone: A bit about me: I'm getting into pedals and effects because I am starting to find the limit of what a "pure" bass can do, not to mention my terrible Ibanez GSR 200 (a lot of people really like it, I have a strong love-hate relationship with it. It's my first - and only - bass and it plays pretty nice but it just feels so cheap). I'm not yet good enough to carry a solo performance like Victor Wooten or Marcus Miller, which is what I'm aiming for, so effects would be a very good way to spice things up. I also play a lot of synth stuff and an octave is crucial for those Jojo Mayer jungle jams that I really like to do. It also just sounds really cool. So, all of these sound *nearly* identical in the video because of sh*tty youtube compression - but there is a difference: The OC2 has a thump to it, without being overbearing in the low end. It's like a mild overdrive, very clear but with that little extra color. It is a classic - didn't get to play it myself, but it seems no one can challenge the king - or can they?! The Octabvre is smoother to my ear. Less rhythmic with a mellow low end. It is nice but not what I would go for with just an octaver - however, it would probably be much better suited for FX chaining than the OC2 as you could use compression, maybe a saturator even, and an eq to make that thing a monster. The T-47 is the growliest of them all, it sounds dirty even - it has a very specific vibe, that perhaps I wouldn't want but it's certainly interesting. *very* synth-like, but some eq would probably tame it. It is quite heavy on the low end. The OC5 is nearly identical to the OC2, enough so that I couldn't really tell each one apart. The Markbass is a bit noisy, has some static or distortion in it - which I kinda like. However, I would probably like to introduce that effect separately. And last but not least: The MXR sounds like an OC2 but with a mid bump. So which one I would theoretically buy? Well, ironically the OC-5 - but not because of the sound. If I only had this video to go on, the sound is so close that it really wouldn't matter to me - in real life I bet all of those sound worlds apart, but through youtube (or Spotify!) these are indistinguishable by most people if not purely separated by some simple EQ. What I want is a pedal that goes deep with plenty of options and it HAS to have a poly mode. And which one will I really buy? I don't know. Maybe I'll find a really good deal and I will get one that I did not expect. I doubt any of these are my "dream octave pedal", so I'll keep looking - and of course I still have to try these live, because you can fix how it sounds - but you can't fix how it feels!

[@jdjk7]

I had to double back on Party Rock to make sure I was hearing what I was hearing... anyway, FWIW, the Octabvre sounds the best to my ear. I guess I like it enough that I have three of the damn things now-- Mini, MKII, and now MKIII. I do think you can probably get away with any on this list. If I'd never gotten an Octabvre, I'd have probably gone with the COG instead-- though the particular model you show in the video is bigger than I'd like, which is unfortunate because the A/B feature is neat. I saw you said you got thr MKIII -- Mine definitely gets use. Overall I think it's a worthy upgrade. The dual volume setup actually makes it a lot easier to get the settings I wanna hear. I also like the change in knobs, because the new knob arrangement is super secure and not liable to change settings in transit. Frankly the only thing I don't like about it is that it might be a little TOO compact to operate the footswitched accurately-- especially on a small board with little space between pedals. I'm still getting used to it. The only octaver that i'm still really interested in buying anymore is the Broughton Audio Synth Voice. And... the funny thing about that, is that it's an octaver, but not! It has an extremely subby octave down voice, but the "main" voice is actually at the same octave as your bass. This means you can play, ahem, "synth voices" without having to adjust to playing an octave higher, if you don't want to. It's also made to track accurately within the range of even a 5 string bass.

[@PaddyBlight]

Still waiting for my Mk.III.. cant wait! I do think the Octabvre records beautifully, just misses a little of the super-sub that the OC-2 has. All reports suggest the new one has it down!

[@jdjk7]

@@PaddyBlight Coming back to this comment a couple years later, I still have my Octabvre but it was displaced by the Broughton Audio Subsonic. Subsonic is a great one, if you don't have one. Comparing it, the Octabvre, and my 1986 OC-2, the Subsonic is basically identical in its octave tone. The Octabvre now lives on a different board where its middier tone works better.

[@PaddyBlight]

Interesting! I'm going to have to keep my eye out for one of those. Big Broughton fan in general! @@jdjk7

[@jdjk7]

@@PaddyBlight I recently picked up a secondhand T-47, and I think it's done over the Octabvre for me. The A/B preset situation is a much nicer and flexible solution than the sub switch.

[@PaddyBlight]

@@jdjk7 I am also using the T-47 again now! Same reasons really...

[@follydub]

your OC-2 is freakin juicy! Do you experience a volume drop with solo -1oct and if so how do you handle it live?

[@PaddyBlight]

If i'm just using the solo octave i nearly always put a light drive after it just to bring it up...although mine doesn't seem to be lacking in volume as much as a few i've used for some reason! Word on the street is that they want to run at 12v, not 9...but you get full volume on a 9v battery!

[@solal94]

love the test 4 bass line. Is it from a song?

[@PaddyBlight]

It is! Bad Guy, Billie Eilish

[@MixMuffin]

LMAO using the LMFAO track had me laughing my ass off 😂

[@PaddyBlight]

Haha yeah, as soon as I found the stems for it I knew I had to use it for something!

[@JS_bass]

I have my old OC, and I having a GAS with the new OC5, do you recommend me that upgrade?

[@PaddyBlight]

I'm still using my OC2 :)

[@williamclifford340]

1:16 - Lets REALLY get the party started!

[@PaddyBlight]

That's why we're all here, isn't it? :D

[@FabricioAlves79]

What is your choice between OC2, OC5 and Octabvre?

[@PaddyBlight]

Live... OC-2! Recorded... I'd be happy with any. Looking forward to seeing how the Octabvre 3 holds up!

[@DannoDemo]

​@@PaddyBlightFollow up to this video? Live vs. Recorded vs. Practice vs. Etc.? Cheers and thank you for this video!

[@AngelDeVille]

"all I wanna do, is slap someone"

[@imalright2837]

You just saved me 500 bucks

[@PaddyBlight]

You're welcome! Were you trying to get hold of a new Octabvre by any chance? I gave up trying to find one to update this comparison!

[@ObraBass]

Who gives a damn for octave I love that black P bass

[@PaddyBlight]

Hahaha, me too!

[@PingPongPix]

They all sound the same to me. Is that the correct answer?? 😂

[@PaddyBlight]

Totally... if that's what you're hearing then that's your answer!

[@ushnicyuvnikof2748]

You have crap headphones or speakers? There's some quite big differences in tone and clarity here.

[@Vaari80]

For me those sound quite the same. So features and price will make the difference.

[@coleemmersonhallman5329]

really wanted to love the markbass, but it just sounds hairy :/