BASS OCTAVE SHOOTOUT // Boss OC-5 vs. MXR Bass Octave Deluxe vs. EHX Nano POG

[@ampthebassplayer]

Pro tip for anyone struggling with tracking: turn the tone knob down. Giving your octave pedal a more focused fundamental without the upper harmonics/overtones will give you the best possible tracking.

[@TheBassChannel]

☝🏻

[@craigmoran893]

@@TheBassChannel ive found the mxr likes an even tone. not too loud, passive actually works the best.

[@FlankinspanK]

fantastic tip! needs more known! i use that technique when im trying to use a tuner

[@mostyles328]

Analog monophonic pedals also track better with a single/split pickup. Humbuckers also don’t interact well. Single passive P or J sounds awesome!

[@MrClassicmetal]

It's been a bit of a struggle with the EBS pedal, even with all the tweaking and playing with a soft touch. After switching to an OC-5 there were no more issues. It tracks _very_ well. Same as the Digitech Drop.

[@danutd94]

Thanks so much for being so thorough and actually discussing the practical applications of each pedal here! Far too many “review” videos are just reading the press release with some tone examples.

[@kajagoogoo69]

fun fact: boss skips the number 4 on all their pedals because in japan, the number 4 is considered bad luck, its like the number 13 in the west, they only had one pedal out with the number 4 on it and it was discontinued, although ironically its very sought after nowadays, the parametric pq4

[@rudraroychowdhury8876]

Hi this is Rudra from India and I play bass since 2004 as pro what I heard in your video boss oc5 tracking is way better than mar so that’s why I personally go for boss oc5 pog is great but it’s costs so high for me. Thank you for your video..

[@erstwhilerambler]

The comment at 9:04 - “Unless you’re attempting to talk to a humpback whale…” 🐋😂 - is, by itself, worth the price of admission. 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 I gotta watch more of this channel. Great info.

[@thewetterbass]

Boss is kind of the best of both worlds! Great review as always and refreshing opinion.

[@T-Hawkeyes]

The missed the Okta Nojs!

[@thewetterbass]

@@T-Hawkeyes 🤫 let’s keep it a secret…

[@aangtonio5570]

3:45 POG = Instant "Jeremy" bass tone 👌

[@The_Metal_Mechanic]

I personally want a good octave up and run it through distortion and a guitar amp to do some really cool solos. Might need to get myself the POG.

[@LeviBulger]

The POG is great but sounds like an organ. The Boss OC5 is the best octaver in the market right now as far as tracking and sounding like your guitar. I would definitely recommend you try them side by side. The POG2 can do some cool things, but the OC5 is just so good at sounding like your instrument. Tough choice.

@@LeviBulger for me, the boss poly octave really falls apart with any chords more complicated than a major triad, compared to POG, or newer digitech whammy stuff

[@robertf1309]

I love my OC-5. It's my go to now for octavers. Took me three months for mine to come in since it was on back order. But I'm so glad I have it now. It's a signature part of my sound these days

[@ryananthony4840]

I have the micro POG, bought it when I learned Dusty Hill from ZZ Top used it in his live rig to get that synth bass sound.... he used it with the micro Thumpinator to roll off the muddy low mush

[@dorssberube]

I was happy to find a new old stock OC-2 in my town.

[@BassMonstrum]

I have a 3leaf Audio Octabvre mk 1, a 3leaf Audio Octabvre Mini and a 3 leaf Audio Octabvre mk 3. My favourite analog octave pedals!

[@antonyvo4president]

sell one to me? :-)

[@BassMonstrum]

@@antonyvo4president Nah, bro. I need them in case of a rainy day 😉

[@abouc]

The MXR in front of my Justin Chancellor Crybaby and Source Audio Aftershock can produce some tasty & velcroey, gated fuzz tones. I love the mid switch for that added agression.

[@jamcam9]

This was what I was looking for. Gonna go put the MXR on my shopping list. Sounds like it will be the best for that Pino fretless octave tone.

[@robertcrist3822]

You never did just an octave up which is what I am interested in all of those pedals for

[@wooods5186]

Same.

[@markwarner5554]

Good demo, nice tones, and Chuck you're a handsome fellow.

[@craigmoran893]

Chucks the best presenter/reviewer.

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

Oooo this should be good! Love me an octave pedal.

[@jc-if9kz]

I gotta talk to the whale. 🐋🤘 Thanks for the exploration!

[@Loki_FPV666]

I have owned the Nano POG and wasn't a very big fan, because it struggles with 5 string bass and lower tunings.

[@a.a677]

BOSS OC-5 all the way

[@pCeLobster]

The OC-5 has a fatal flaw though: the Vintage mode is not loud enough. It struggles to maintain unity volume with the 1 octave down solo'd. Seems they recreated the OC-2 a little too well. I had mine for one band practice and then went straight back to my trusty OC-3. OC-3 honestly has a better, smoother, bassier tone and is far more capable in terms of volume.

[@nunyazz]

Nice reviews! I have the MXR and pair it with the MXR envelope filter to get those great funkadelic tones.

[@aaronfrazier524]

It's like they're made for each other ✌️

[@EvilBlakey]

TC Electronic Sub'n'Up smokes all of these

[@poonreaper101]

I'm Looking into these pedals trying to get a deep cutting through sound. Mostly for playing jazz lines and writing grooves. Great Video! I Like the MXR so far.

[@Oscaraha]

I like that the different manufacturers now tend to include octave up as standard (mxr does have the poly blue octave that does this as well). I think the oc3 works just fine for me though, and its convienent that it also include distortion. Just sold my Aguilar Octamizer because the OC3 do the oc2 thing pretty good.

[@T-Hawkeyes]

Thank you for NOT demoing the EMMA Okta Nojs, the king of all octavers.

[@Therealchuckbailey]

🙌🏽🤘🏽

[@mrarturmeireles]

MXR is the best OC2 pedal of the 3 😎

[@FlamesAt1000ft]

Great “Shoot Out” on the Octaver debate!! My preferences are the Boss OC-5 & MXR Octave Deluxe!! b(‘_

[@fabiocester6804]

Well, First riff with the J, the boss has undoubtely the biggest balls!

[@jeffjeff4477]

I love my OC 3

[@fabiocester6804]

I spit my coffee at "Unless you are talking to a humpback whale"... Great vid guy, you are the best.

[@chriscaccamise2391]

I also particularly enjoyed the part at 3:38

[@fabiocester6804]

@@chriscaccamise2391 you're right!

[@lukkaturi]

Same here 😂

[@markbass354]

VERY NICE

[@funkybasstrix]

I have the micro POG, although I've tried the others I didn't like the fluttering from the MXR & the Boss. I wanted a pedal that would give me the low octaves without dying out. Thanks for the video, I hope to see more Bass specific vids in the future.

[@thoughts_are_free]

the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe ... no doubt.. had them all... POG is better for guitar and Boss is for Bass player who like to play guitar on Bass like the POG too... but the real Bass player who play "Bass" and not second guitar... those will use and love the MXR... best tone for real Bass... works also good on guitar ;-)

[@DaCostaGuitars]

This has just cemented my choice for the MXR bass octave deluxe. It just does everything i'd need in octave. As cool as Poly upper octave does/can sound, my tone is already midranged to death, so the girth & lower octave offered by MXR can really give a bigger boom to my tone (without needing another amp/cab for the cleaner low end to counteract).

[@arielnoblesax5548]

Best video ever thanks Man 🖤

[@darynyeats9613]

Got the OC5 for the lowest mode, so I can play chords and it only triggers and octave on the lowest note.

[@LZRBrick]

I love this I have really been debating between the MXR poly blue, the OC-5. I don’t have another for the third that the same but how do they compare to the POG2?

[@artslife3876]

I LOVE this review, I chuckled most of the way through 😆😅 So, basically none of these 🤣😂😅🤔

[@iamgribs]

I think the MXR sounded best. Boss close 2nd, not bad, nice sounds. The TC was just ...... too "polite" to my ears. Not terrible, just not for me.

[@ferox965]

Pedal without an octave up is a deal breaker for me.

[@craigmoran893]

They all sound like they track well enough, though you can really only get an idea of any latency issues while you're playing them. I would have liked to see the Ebs one instead of the Pog. I cant believe you didnt play test the pedals with a pick!

[@Therealchuckbailey]

Well call me Ripleys Believe it or not… cause…. I didn’t! 🤷🏻‍♂️ sorry!

[@mikeortega6072]

finally dawned on me the "octave" theory... 2 notes simulation right? but what if I want to drop an octave without that 2 tone sound? I just want to drop my EADG down an octave...

[@TheBassChannel]

You can always simply turn the Dry signal all the way off in that case! Sometimes it can get muddy and tough to hear, but it depends what you're playing and which type of pedal you're using.

[@cmvb]

try the EBS Octabass

[@Hallowasniet]

What is the best one for octave up stuff (trying to make to sound like a guitar in combination with a ehx pitchfork)

[@Therealchuckbailey]

POG does octave up well

[@marcionobrega5117]

Gostei dos 3 muito bom 👍

[@pauliebass85]

0:16 Can anyone tell me the make and model of the bass? TIA

[@chymist66]

The volume isn’t loud enough

[@chrisfielding]

In the video, you say, "I can see what Chris is saying..." a few times. What is Chris saying???

[@Therealchuckbailey]

I touch on what Chris was talking about in the comments after I say “I can see what Chris was saying.” His thoughts with respect to the topic I was discussing. His opinion on that

[@Therealchuckbailey]

So I’m the first instance chris felt that the OC-5 did vintage ok but not as good as the MXR pedal. He felt the same way about it’s poly capabilities and how the nano pog operated. It was kind of lackluster as it didn’t excel in any one facet but did both kind of meh. I understood what he was saying but didn’t necessarily think that a weakness. That it could also be looked at as a benefit in terms of versatility.

[@ChrisCaccamiseMusic]

He mentioned me because I shot all the tones and made my own notes on the performance of each as well. Even though I may not be talking in this video, everything Chuck said is a combination of both our opinions.

[@treed873]

I use a TC Electronic SubNUp and can achieve all of those sounds with it.

[@RHINOSAUR]

Best one is the EHX Pitchfork. No tracking issues!

[@MikaelBerglundBass]

You don’t have a P-bass with flats?😮 I don’t trust you 😉 My take on the octave pedal thing is the digital pedals, although louder, seems to be much boomier and not able to create the same even response. Their advantage seems to be the tracking ability and poly possibility if you’re into that but as far as for using the pedal as an octave down pedal analog is the way to go in my opinion. Also these pedals tracks and functions very differently on different basses so try them out with the bass(es) of your choice before deciding which one is for you. A tip is using a good compressor pedal before the octave pedal in your chain.

[@texasiguana]

OC2

[@mark6302]

I'm just popping in to say how crappy the octave effect is on the Zoom b1x4

[@craigmoran893]

Thanks. The octaver on my Ashdown Geezer Head, is also pretty shit, so I use the MXR.

[@tolabassist3302]

Thinking about buying a octave pedal for a while now and one thing I noticed in all the reviews and videos are...those boss pedals are overrated. MXR cheaper and sounds better in my ear. Pog .....lol not even worth it

[@ChrisBrown-kl8xq]

No offense to the rest of y'all, but you just need to get out of Josh's way and let him handle the demos. Application is everything with an octave. Most octave demos just sound like bad 8 bit video game music, but Josh nails this demo.

[@Therealchuckbailey]

l mean... that is kind of offensive LMAO. Well... Chris, no one was offended. Josh is amazing at what he does... but Josh lives in another state and coordinating him to do every demo is pretty tedious even though he is pretty awesome and makes his way out to Las Vegas a whole lot to help! Also, we try to showcase a wide variety of playing styles as not everyone plays like Josh... in fact not many can play like that... so as much as I want to "get out of his way" until he moves here, more people chip in to the gas fund to get him here or he can charter his own private plane... you are stuck with multiple players, playing multiple styles in every video... Forever :) (Say that last part like in Sandlot* for effect.) Hey though for real... post a video of how best to play with an octave pedal. I would love to see it as any kind of constructive criticism is helpful and appreciated. I personally Would love some tips and pointers so you can tolerate more than just Josh playing in the future. Thanks again Chris and we super appreciate the feedback!

[@ChrisBrown-kl8xq]

@@Therealchuckbailey Ha, touché! I can appreciate multiple players with multiple styles, but this is the first bass octave demo (Josh's part) I've ever heard that didn't, as you say, 'sound like spaceship music.' I've literally never gotten the excitement over octave pedals, probably because I don't appreciate spaceship music. That said, I do appreciate all the work you all do on The Bass Channel. I really miss Fuzz Fridays. I bought a Dirty Haggard Audio - Degrade pedal specifically because of your review.

[@Therealchuckbailey]

@@ChrisBrown-kl8xq hey thanks man! I’m not huge for octave pedals either but they’re big time in funk and jazz so since I don’t really focus on any of that I am with you! I miss fuzz Fridays too! We didn’t get a lot of traction with those oddly… I liked the ones where all 3 of us reacted in real time to the pedals cause it felt very casual but I loved them all tbh. Hopefully we can revisit someday. I love the DHA stuff! Their pedals are so damn good!

[@ChrisCaccamiseMusic]

@@Therealchuckbailey I love Dirty Haggard stuff too, but I forget, where are they from?

[@Therealchuckbailey]

@@ChrisCaccamiseMusic PORTLAND FUCKIN OREGON!!!!

[@greedygringoprospecting6941]

do the boss eq 200.

[@patrickdehertogh2080]

Is it possible to use a octave pedal for drop tunings. for example if a song is played dropped whole step can you keep it in standard tuning? an drop it down a step?

[@murderousalex]

the OC-5 sounds better than the other two.

[@1234drums]

Thank you, Sir. That was very helpful

[@Ponsmaru]

23:51 minutes of video and no one play one fkng chord ...

[@TheBassChannel]

The MXR being analog and the OC5 mostly mimicking its analog forefather, they wouldn't have really worked for chords.

[@cipotebionico5417]

Pole

[@ppilasiewiczz]

Hard to say, because I like Your reviews. But this one is not about pedals, but about big ego of the hosting person. I would prefer listen to some objective opinions, not about personal story and preferences. Very irritating and not inspiring. Sorry.

[@doug1844]

I sooooo disagree! I don’t hear ego at all. I do want to hear opinion, especially when it’s informed opinion. He never once said what anyone ought to prefer but went out of his way to say he had a favorite based on his style and the sound he prefers.

[@MikeS-wo7bt]

Respectfully, +1 for disagree. He seemed upfront when things were his opinion, and I think he said YMMV pretty often. I actually thought he was a very good presenter.

[@jde1780]

Unfortunately, the Pog sounds similar to many of their other pedals. In the tone, it's kind of a delay'ish, room-reverb'y, doubling feel and synthesized. For me, not desireable. The MXR sounds the best, but does not have an octave up. For what I need, that's a killer for me. If I wanted octave down, It is good. The OC-5 tracking sounds better, but I'm still not sure. It is, kind of what you said, the standard. Although, my OC-2 kind of sucks.