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aaronharmon
Silver Member
USA
271 Posts |
 Posted - 01/09/2010 : 22:43:58
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What do you guys think of the OC-3? I just got a PS-5 and I am not sure if I like it yet. I bought it because I really like the sub-octave feature on the OD-20 and wanted a little more flexibility with the effect.
I didn't figure I needed both, but may ending up getting an OC-3 after all.
What are your thoughts; how well does it track, is it really polyphonic? |
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Pedal Dan
Silver Member
USA
419 Posts |
Posted - 01/09/2010 : 22:51:22
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I've got an 82 OC-2 Octaver with the gold set screw knobs and it's just sick! One if my buddies used to have both and he thout the OC-3 tracked better. I use the neck PU and play where it tracks best. Cool pedals! |
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natthu
Gold Member
Australia
756 Posts |
Posted - 01/09/2010 : 23:41:27
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I saw Kaki King play here in Adelaide on friday night and she was using an OC-3 for her octave down sounds. It sounded good. I used to own an OC-3 but I could never get it to sound good... I've got an OC-2 "Octaver" now which I think is better. None of the Boss pedals seem to work well polyphonically though. The PS-* series of pedals can do that octave effect but they doesn't sound as good as a dedicated octave pedal.
I also have a Pearl OC-07 Octave pedal which is like an OC-3, but also has octave up. It's a pretty cool pedal, but they are expensive if you can find them. I also used to use an Exar Octave which was basically the same thing as the Pearl. Also a good pedal.
If you want a polyphonic octave pedal, the Electro-Harmonix POG pedals work very well. POG2 is better than the POG. The Eventide PitchFactor is awesome, but unfortunately you're looking at mega bucks with these units.
Another thing you can do to stabilise the octave effect is to put a compressor in front of it. This works pretty well.
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Leeroyfunk
Silver Member
United Kingdom
400 Posts |
Posted - 01/09/2010 : 23:52:05
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quote:
Originally posted by aaronharmon
is it really polyphonic?
It IS polyphonic in the sense that you can play chords through it without the rumbly-splurge/tracking nightmare sound you get from the OC-2, but it doesn't work like the EHX micropog, which adds a sub-octave to every note within the chord. Rather, the OC-3 poly mode detects the lowest note within the chord, and adds a big fat sub-octave to the root note only: If you play single notes, it works just like the -1 octave from the OC-2, i.e. adds an octave below whatever note you play. As far as I know, it tracks really well.
My brother-in-law is a solo acoustic guitarist and has the OC-3 on pretty much permanently, effectively adding a bass note under whatever he's playing, but without swamping the sound in sub-octaves (check out www.jongomm.com or http://www.youtube.com/user/jongomm - he's incredible).
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Edited by - Leeroyfunk on 01/10/2010 00:09:46 |
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aaronharmon
Silver Member
USA
271 Posts |
Posted - 01/10/2010 : 00:10:11
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| Thanks the POG2 is on my want list, it may be a while before I can justify it though. They are pretty steep. |
Edited by - aaronharmon on 01/10/2010 01:02:30 |
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jackderringer
Silver Member
USA
153 Posts |
Posted - 01/10/2010 : 09:17:19
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i loved mine before it mysteriously stopped working  and another one is on my wishlist, though i hear some people say the oc-2 is better, so i'm a little torn myself.
i can't say anything about polyphony because i play bass, and i only really used it for slow, dramatic parts to really add some balls. i never had a problem with tracking, though. ever. even on bass. and i imagine that range control is pretty fun on guitar.
i also own the ps-5, and if it's the octave sound you're after, go for the octave pedal. the ps-5's octaves are very fake, IMO. and i do have tracking problems with it. not to mention it's not polyphonic and twice as expensive (and half as valuable?)
until you can justify getting the pog2 i'd go ahead and get the oc-3 used. you can get them on ebay for around $50. |
Edited by - jackderringer on 01/10/2010 09:25:43 |
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OC-3 Thoughts
