Boss Octave Pedals Through The Years (OC-2, OC-3, OC-5)

The Boss Octave range has been very popular for 40+ years with guitar players and bass players alike. The OC-2 was introduced in 1982 and was produced for 21 years. It is such a classic that it commands a lot of money on the used market. The OC-3 took on the mantel from 2003, quickly becoming a favorite of acoustic players as well as electric and bass players. In 2020 Boss combined the 2 to create the OC-5 which is their latest addition to their Octave family of pedals.
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0:00 intro
0:24 Early octave pedals
1:40 Boss OC-2
5:02 Boss OC-3
9:20 Boss OC-5

[@hutchmusician]

My OC-3 has made me a fortune. I play corporate gigs and weddings as a solo singer-acoustic guitarist and nothing fills a dancefloor faster than suddenly sounding like you’ve been joined by Bootsy Collins. Brilliant bit of kit. Made me improve my approach to the low notes too, to make for interesting lines rather than just basic root notes.

[@Yyz1971]

Thanks for the video. I actually learned some stuff! Cheers!

[@MonserratFoster]

What a good video man! Thank you! I've been looking into getting one of these for bass.

[@michaelfowler3187]

I really loved my oc-2 and enjoyed it more on guitar than bass but I often used it as a momentary sound in the bass to emphasize transitions and stuff - it was really nice during quiet parts too because it filled up so much sound. The MXR Bass Octave Deluxe later became my preference finding it easier to blend in the dry signal and get a mid boost. I miss the growly quality of the sound in the boss though, I wish that I kept it.

[@erikpeterson778]

P-bass into an OC-2 is octave heaven. Just play above the ninth fret and mind your attack so the tracking doesn't freak out.

[@mihaivasilian3924]

You sold me on the Boss CS-2. I'm out for an octave pedal now. Just started watching this video.

[@evamalmberg]

Trevlig och intressant video som vanligt 😊

[@JasonAyalaSpare]

Tack!

[@gasarockband]

Loved to hear Freak by silverchair at 6:46 😍 That was pretty cool! ✨

[@JasonAyalaSpare]

They had some memorable riffs

[@chiptriplett655]

Great info on this video. I have been chasing a good octave pedal. I was trying to start away from a BOSS pedal because my board is already a little heavy on those. This clinched it really. I have a EHX Octavix on the way and hope that'll do the trick. I know it's more of a sound effect type pedal but we'll see. Thanks for the info!

[@JasonAyalaSpare]

The TC sub n up is pretty good

[@8xlaxx]

Great video. Just got a Japan made OC-2 to practice w/ my bass. Very pricey piece of kit.

[@KRAZEEIZATION]

The OC-2 is the best. I hated the digital OC-3 and sold it. The OC-5 is out too as it’s digital. I like the OC-2 on a bass.

[@ray12a]

very detailed and concise examination, but why couldn’t boss make this video? you’re doing gods work with things like these and guys like me are grateful oc-2 was my favorite for years. oc-5 came and took it. have you tried boss bc-2 or rv-3? high quality, those. the bc-2 is kind of a trick in that you need two BC2s. one set clean feeding into one set dirty. prefaced by an OC5, of course..

[@JasonAyalaSpare]

I have had the BC-2 and I own a RV-3. I'm going to do a video the RV series.

[@JoeBat95]

Just got an OC-2. Wish me luck!

[@JasonAyalaSpare]

Good luck, I hated it at first

[@JoeBat95]

@@JasonAyalaSpare it took all of 5 minutes for me to understand its charm 👍

[@cglancer]

thanks for the great video! you've used some wicked riffs to show us the effect. any chance you'd be willing to list which songs they're from? I noticed 'more than words' was in there but the rest elude me

[@JasonAyalaSpare]

Most of them I made up, except for More Than Words, Know your Enemy and Freak

[@cglancer]

​@@JasonAyalaSpare wicked riffs!

[@JuxtaCrucem]

Got the old 3 knob brown job. That sounds wrong...... Glitchy too, which I like.

[@JasonAyalaSpare]

I love it on bass

[@NewFalconerRecords]

Interesting to know that Boss didn't always get it right. I have a Pitch Shifter/Delay (PS-2) that I bought second-hand 30 years ago. The high octave is completely out of tune (probably why someone sold it off in the first place), just awful. But it's an awesome clinical delay pedal, really cold and precise with a huge range of delay times. But I never use the octave functions. The low octave is okay, probably good enough to do a bad version of 'Seven Nation Army' if you're really desperate.

[@JasonAyalaSpare]

Yeah, I bought that pedal recently. If not for the delay it would be useless.

[@745bob]

Freak .....Bass

[@cooleyballs1]

Oc 2 tracking is and always was terrible.

[@JasonAyalaSpare]

I hated it when I bought one in the 90s. It sounds better on bass.