Mooer Ocean Machine II released: deep C
If you thought supplies of the Ocean Machine had dried up, fear not. The Ocean Machine II is a subtle evolution of the Devin Townsend pedal – out now
Refreshed Ocean Machine II adds MIDI clock sync, significantly upgrades looper
The Devin Townsend Project has reunited with Mooer to create the Ocean Machine II for 2024, and it’s available now. The second-generation Mooer Ocean Machine dual-delay and reverb effects pedal gets a fresh look and some useful updates, without losing the unique blend of long delays, shimmering reverbs and overdub looping that made the 2017 original so interesting in a world of DSP-powered stomp-boxes.
You can already order the Ocean Machine II – for America, it’s on Amazon for $299. European buyers get good value from Thomann, where the Ocean Machine II in stock – latest price £225. Thomann’s offer appears to include a PSU, and in addition to the Thomann three-year warranty, an extra year when the unit is registered.
- New generation of Ocean Machine sets sail in 2024
- Enhanced 24-bit delay and reverb algorithms, MIDI clock sync
- Upgraded display and easier firmware updates
- Affordable price point remains intact – don’t get conned on eBay!
Somehow, as a user of the original Ocean Machine, I missed Mooer announcing a second-generation version. The first version, with its distinctive blue, crackle finish, seemed to have sold out in most places by 2022 and it wasn’t clear if Devin Townsend, or the Ocean Machine, would return to Mooer’s range – firmware updates for the original had not appeared, leaving a few bugs unresolved, and Mooer’s expanded range of studio effects seemed to make the blend of features redundant.
Though, sneaking in under the radar at NAMM 2024 was a preview Ocean Machine II – in black, rather than silver.
That’s not the point, though. If you wanted to make ‘a sound like the Ocean Machine makes’, you can achieve it in lots of ways with plenty of existing hardware and software. What’s unique about the Ocean Machine is that it combines three effects (two delays and a reverb) tailored for ambient, experimental and unsettling scene-setting and backgrounds, as well as the ability to be dialled back to be a perfectly good effects unit – and a looper.
So in one box, you can make a quick, evolving background, and then switch preset and play live with a completely different feel. The Ocean Machine II builds on these features with some subtle upgrades.
Musicians in North America can already buy the Mooer Ocean Machine II on Amazon for $299 – with instalment option at the time of writing, and some discount vouchers for the wireless switch, power supply, and switch topper accessories.
In Europe or the UK? Thomann has the Ocean Machine II in stock, priced between £225-£229 with an extended four-year warranty if registered (and standard three-year from Thomann). It also seems to imply the PSU is included with the EU models, an accessory which cost £19 for the original.
How has the Ocean Machine changed since 2017?
2024’s Ocean Machine II looks brighter, crisper and clearer. It’s a shame the rest of the world’s oceans have not followed suit, really. The silver background makes the control legends easier to read, and if you’re interested in a different kind of legend, Devin Townsend’s octopus logo and branding is also a bit easier to make out compared with the stylish abstract signature of the original machine.
A subtle change is that Delay A and Delay B controls have swapped places – on the original, Delay B was the first when reading left to right, in both the controls and the footswitches. The group markings for the controls are also easier to understand at a glance – and no, Mooer hasn’t simply changed the letters A and B; check the list of delay styles.
Each delay, and the reverb, has been given different coloured knobs for the controls as well. This makes it a little easier to tell what you’re adjusting at a glance, and it’s also pleasing to see the high-quality, robust hardware looks to be otherwise unchanged here. With up to two seconds of delay to play with, you spend a lot of time tweaking.
The display looks clearer too, making more use of colour and contrast. Mooer claim the DSP engine has been refreshed as well (it’s reasonable to suspect the original Ocean Machine may have been severely affected by 2020-22’s chip shortages) and has improved 24-bit processing and algorithms
Whatever lies under the hood of the Ocean Machine II, on the surface you’ll find these upgrades:
- Looper – the time available for a recording has increased from 44 seconds to 120 seconds
- MIDI clock sync – the most demanded feature from the original Ocean Machine
- Support for the Mooer F4 wireless footswitch – a big upgrade over the Air Switch
- Calibration for an external expression pedal sweep
- Improved delay and reverb algorithms
- Different colour knobs for the different effects, making it easier to make intuitive changes
- USB-C connection for firmware updates
Although Mooer phrase the updated delay algorithms mentioning the 24-bit, 44.1KHz quality, the original Ocean Machine also operated at this sample rate so it seems more likely that if a more powerful DSP was available, it’s been used to improve the calculations and quality of the effect itself rather than an improved sample rate throughout.
There’s no specific mention of improvements to the stereo imaging and performance of the box when used with stereo sources, and for many users that may not be an issue as it is a guitar effect primarily – but it could be one area where the algorithms have been improved, so I look forward to trying the Ocean Machine II at some stage.
Mooer’s original Air Switch for the Ocean Machine is a plastic affair with a 9V battery. The F4 Wireless Footswitch operates on the same 2.4GHz paired mode, but is metal-cased, with a built-in rechargeable battery and USB-C charging port, plus a power switch. It’s also available in a couple of different colour finishes.
What’s missing, based on the specs?
I’ve yet to see an Ocean Machine II, so I can’t say if it’s a big upgrade for existing users. However, it looks like the remote footswitch still can’t be used to control the looper (this seems like most people would want it, but I use the Ocean Machine as a desktop effects unit with hands-on controls, so I’d like the remote foot switch to do loop control while I’m ‘playing’ the effects).
Finally, the USB-C port is ONLY for firmware upgrades, rather than MIDI or as many interfaces would offer these days, MIDI and audio.
The looper memory appears to still be volatile, so while there are 24 performance presets as before, you still can’t tie a loop to a preset and save it. This might have been requested by owners because the original Ocean Machine specifications refer to 32MB storage for the looper, when this is really just the memory the looper can use – storage implies keeping things.
MIDI control – Ocean Machine II changes
The Ocean Machine II does seem to be very evolutionary, and in relatively small steps. A lot of what can be controlled in MIDI was already offered by the final firmware update released for the Ocean Machine, V1.1.1 (V1.1.2 did make an appearance, but disappeared very quickly). There is a a MaxForLive Ocean Machine controller template which should remain functional on the Ocean Machine II.
Of course, the big change is that the clock-division driven delays can now be synched to incoming MIDI clock. I expect a fair number of original Ocean Machine owners will be asking ‘where’s the firmware update for our machines’, as this feature was always ‘coming soon’…
Soon appears to have arrived, and while the need to buy new hardware is annoying, the price of the Ocean Machine II is the same as the original one, $299 or £229 for US and UK customers (and presumably, somewhere in the middle for the EU). With a fresh warranty, Mooer’s growth in terms of support and distribution, and perhaps, more upgrades to come thanks to that USB-C firmware port (it’s a bit of a waste if that’s all it does, and there are no upgrades!) it looks like anyone who missed the Ocean Machine the first time around has been rewarded.
While writing this new piece, I noticed eBay has a fair number of original Ocean Machines for sale at ludicrous prices – £350-450 – usually from Japanese resellers. Don’t fall for it – the original machine may, one day, be a collector’s item, but the Ocean Machine II seems to be nothing but a subtle improvement in all aspects apart from looking a bit less weird. However, the lack of big changes means the original Ocean Machine is still well worth having if you’re not worried about MIDI clock sync.
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