Boss OC-3 Super Octave Pedal

Get 3 octave modes in one pedal, including polyphonic octave mode, drive mode, and the original OC-2 mode. Drive mode gives you a boost with fat distortion.

Overall User Ratings (based on 45 ratings)
  • Overall:
    3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Sound:
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Features:
    3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Ease of Use:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Quality:
    2.5 out of 5 stars
  • Value:
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Manufacturer Support:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • The Wow Factor:
    2 out of 5 stars
Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars
(45) (see rating details)
Submitted January 31, 2009 by a customer from hotmail.com

"Overrated and Overpriced"

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
It should be noted that I use this pedal just for guitar; I'm not speaking to what this can do for a bass, but frankly, they make five-string basses for not much more than this pedal, and if you want notes lower than that you're nuts.
Sound
The sound of the regular, sub and poly modes just sounds like a very unpleasant synth; not real at all. I was looking for something to just take my acoustic down an octave; this makes it boomy and fake, and not the cool kind. Another complaint about the poly mode: while it does track very well (MUCH better than the OC-2), even with range maxed out, the notes get quieter the higher up the scale they are. Your E's will be blowing out the speakers and the D's will be barely noticeable. Also, if you're using it while you're playing chords, the pedal often picks up two notes and plays them both an octave down, which sounds like crap. You can fix this by lowering the 'range,' but by then it's not worth it anymore except maybe on a two-chord song. That said, the sound of the distortion setting is pretty cool though.
Features
If you're looking for something to experiment with, create unique sounds with, or just play with, this is your pedal. If you're looking to sound anything like you're playing bass when you're not, move along.
Ease of Use
Controls are simple and straightforward, that much it has going for it.
Quality
If the pedal had a better sound in poly mode, I'd rate this much, much higher. But as-is, this is just too much money for a pedal that just does this much unless you're into really off-the-wall sounds.
Value
Over-priced unless you just really want a pedal that does what this does.
Manufacturer Support
Gave it a 5 because I've never had to use them and don't expect to. Boss makes good stuff.
The Wow Factor
If you want an octave pedal, you want one that sounds better than this.

Musical Background:

Active musician solo and in bands

Musical Style:

Acoustic, pop, rock
28 of 44 people (64%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Please wait.