OC-D2 by Christopher Hooker isn’t just another octaver plugin. It’s a powerful tool based on the legendary Boss OC-2 pedal, but significantly expands its capabilities, offering a level of control and flexibility unattainable by most analog or digital counterparts. Created with a love for detail and an understanding of musicians’ needs, OC-D2 allows you to generate signals one and/or two octaves below the original instrument, opening up new horizons for bassists, guitarists, and sound experimenters.
Features that set OC-D2 apart
Unlike the classic Boss OC-2 pedal and many other octave plugins, OC-D2 offers unique settings and control over sound shaping. It’s not just an emulation, but a complete sound design tool.
Flexible filter control
One of the key advantages of OC-D2 is access to low-frequency filter settings, which are fixed in most other devices. You get control over both the filters at the outputs of the oscillators (allowing you to change the tone from a full square wave to a pure sine wave or any intermediate state) and the filters in the detection circuit. Control over the detection filters is crucial for accurate pitch tracking, which is a weak point of many octavers, especially when working with polyphony or instruments with complex timbres.
Two operating modes for sound variety
The plugin offers two fundamentally different octave generation modes:
- Additive Mode: In this mode, the octave signals are simply mixed with the original signal. You have full control over the levels of each octave and the overall balance between the processed and dry signals. The dynamics of the oscillators in this mode can be controlled using a noise gate or a tracking envelope generator that responds to the input signal.
- Phase-Multiplier: This mode is unique and offers a different approach to creating an octave effect. It inverts the phase of the main signal, following the state of the selected oscillator. The main advantage of this mode is the preservation of the full dynamics of the input signal, which can be critical for expressive playing. The phase multiplier mode has two sub-modes (A and B), with mode B being a more complex circuit and a more accurate simulation of the original Boss OC-2 pedal. Mode A creates additional harmonics, giving the sound a more “brass” or “metallic” tint, while mode B provides smoother transitions with fewer harmonics, reproducing the classic OC-2 sound.
Improved tracking and stability
The presence of a DC-offset switch allows you to adjust the input signal, significantly improving the accuracy of tracking, especially when working with signals that have an offset or are rectified. This makes the OC-D2 more reliable in various usage scenarios.
Visual control and monitoring
The integrated oscilloscope (scope) allows you to visualize both the input and output signal. This is an extremely useful feature that helps to understand how the plugin processes the signal, identify possible tracking problems, and fine-tune the parameters to achieve the desired sound. The oscilloscope has a “tuning” control to adjust the display scale.
In addition, the “Listen” buttons allow you to listen to the signal at different stages of processing within the plugin. This makes it possible to “peek behind the scenes”, understand the impact of each processing block, and, if necessary, bypass certain sections.
Reproduction of the Boss OC-2 modification
Many users of the original Boss OC-2 pedal resort to hardware modifications to disable the output filter and dynamics sections and get a more “synthesizer” tone. OC-D2 provides the ability to easily reproduce this effect by simply adjusting a few parameters. The plugin comes with a set of presets that demonstrate its capabilities, including presets that imitate this popular modification.
Conclusion
OC-D2 by Christopher Hooker is an extremely flexible and functional octaver plugin that goes far beyond simple imitation. It offers deep control over all aspects of octave sound shaping, from accurate tracking to unique generation modes and the ability to fine-tune filters and dynamics. If you are looking for an octaver that not only reproduces the classic sound but also gives space for creative experimentation and sound design, OC-D2 is an excellent choice. It’s an indispensable tool for creating dense basslines, fat synthesizer sounds based on guitar or bass, or any other experiments with pitch lowering. Available in VST format for Windows (Win32), this plugin will be a valuable addition to the arsenal of any musician or sound engineer.
