Boss OC-2

The Boss OC-2 is an analog octave pedal that adds notes one and two octaves below whatever you play, alongside your original signal. Boss launched it in 1982 as the Octaver, and it became a fixture on professional pedalboards over a 23-year production run, remaining what Boss's own history calls a benchmark for octave effects¹²³. Guitar World's Paul Riario calls its straightforward sub-octave pitch-shifting "the perennial 'thickening agent' for so many guitarists and bassists"⁴.

It is a monophonic pedal: it tracks one note at a time, which suits single-note basslines and low riffs rather than chords. Boss describes it as legendary among bassists for its ability to create synth-like sub-bass tones, produced with an all-analog circuit and a unique method of phase inversion⁵.

What it does: one and two octaves below

The OC-2 produces two extra voices in addition to the original signal: the first is one octave below, the second two octaves below³. Each octave's level is adjusted independently, so you can blend a subtle sub layer under your dry tone or kill the dry signal entirely and play with only the octave-down voices³.

Because it is analog and monophonic, the tracking is touch-responsive⁵. Tim Mahoney of Sublime told Premier Guitar what he values in it: "it only tracks one or two octaves below the original signal, and it's simple, clean, and pure"⁹. TONEHOME notes it is an advantage to use a compressor in front of the OC-2 to limit the spectrum of frequencies it has to work with, which helps the tracking stay stable³.

The controls: Oct 1, Oct 2 and Direct

The pedal has three knobs, and that is the whole interface.

One documented starting point comes from Prince's rig: Oct 2 at 5:00, Direct at 12:00 and Oct 1 at 4:00¹¹. Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas of Mutemath, speaking to JHS Pedals, described his approach in similar terms: "I do have a little bit of the direct sound in [the BOSS OC-2], which is just a normal bass sound"¹².

Inside the circuit: analog phase inversion and JFET switching

The OC-2's octave-down voices come from an all-analog circuit using a method of phase inversion that Boss describes as unique, which is what gives the pedal its touch-responsive character⁵. Champion Leccy's technical analysis of the circuit found that the filter section is a set of low pass filters, each a series resistor followed by a capacitor to ground, placed before the CMOS ICs¹³. The pedal "has a bunch of filtering in it to get the clean (though fun and wobbly) octave down," which is why a popular synth mod bypasses that filtering for a rawer sound¹⁴.

The circuit also uses JFET switching, and the Boss schematic omits the first JFET buffer, which was taken out along with the switching¹⁵. Two transistors in the circuit, the 2SK30s at Q7 and Q8, can be replaced with 2N5457 JFETs for DIY builds, and Champion Leccy's author judged that a J201 would probably be equally effective¹³.

History and versions: Octaver, Octave, Japan and Taiwan

The original pedal, named the Octaver, was produced from 1982⁶. Sources disagree on how long it stayed in production: TONEHOME lists a 1982 to 1984 run for the Octaver name³, while Boss's own material gives the OC-2 Octave a 1982 to 2005 run, a 23-year production span¹⁷². Pedal of the Day reports the name changed to Octave in 1984, when production moved from Japan to Taiwan⁶.

• Made in Japan: the earlier version, a lighter shade of brown, with what Pedal of the Day's reviewer judged to be better build quality⁶
• Made in Taiwan: the later version, a darker shade of brown introduced about a year after launch³
• Collectability: old Boss pedals have a reputation among collectors for special elements that cannot be replaced by anything modern¹⁰

Juan Alderete, interviewed by Stompbox Book, has pointed out that the two models came from different factories with different brown colors, and that he does not think that was by accident¹⁶.

What replaced it, and the OC-5's Vintage mode

The OC-3 SUPER Octave followed the OC-2, and beyond its groundbreaking Poly mode with adjustable range it also furnished players with an OC-2-style mode for both guitar and bass, plus a Drive mode¹⁷.

In 2020 the Boss OC-5 put a modern spin on the OC-2 from 1982¹⁸⁷¹⁹. Its Vintage mode engages the classic monophonic bass sound of the '80s-era mono OC-2, where the -2OCT/RANGE knob adjusts the two octaves below volume, with the option to blend in an octave up via the +1 Oct control⁴²⁰. Guitar.com's reviewer, comparing the two, described the OC-5 alongside "the very vintage (and analogue) OC-2 Octaver from 1982"²¹¹⁷, while Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson wrote that he personally prefers the OC-5 to the OC-2²¹²².

Who uses it

• Prince used the OC-2 from 1982 onward, including both the original Octaver and later Octave versions¹¹
• James Walbourne of the Pretenders and His Lordship formerly used one: "I also used to use an OC-2 Octave because I wanted to sound like Neil Young"²³
• Tim Mahoney of Sublime names it among his top five oddball pedals⁹
• Bassists at large: Guitar World calls the brown box, launched in 1982, still a reference tone for a huge number of bassists seeking their own sub-octave sound¹⁹, and Boss's history notes guitarists also used it to fatten riffs and mimic basslines¹⁷

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