Any VST Synth VS Oberheim OB-6

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True, but you actually don't need gazillions of synths (or effects), regardless of hard- or software.
A big pile of hardware just shows your clutter earlier.

Having said that, all those cables are what turns me off of hardware too, so no big hardware setup for me neither
The GAS is always greener on the other side!

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jdoo wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 3:33 am JDoo OB-6 BKMs--> https://www.dropbox.com/s/2s063vn2p9j33 ... .docx?dl=0
Excellent doc ! Thanks a lot !
:)
Build your life everyday as if you would live for a thousand years. Marvel at the Life everyday as if you would die tomorrow.
I'm now severely diseased since September 2018.

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Summary- how much sound do you want in your song? It’s been my experience that unless it’s a featured part, the benefits are not worth the expense when mixed in a song. However, if your looking for inspiration, just playing to play or having fun then go with what feels right. BUT you have to hear it firsthand.

TL;DR
I have a lot of soft synths and hardware. For this discussion, I’ll limit soft synths to Omnisphere, Diva and Serum, and hardware to System 8 (Juno 106, Jupiter, JX) and OB-6 module. My initial reaction to each of these soft synths was wow! They all had unique sonic capabilities and could easily create a wall of sound.

I initially bought a system 8 as a way to control Omnisphere and get deeper into synthesis. I found that my “playing” went up considerably and using the built-in sequencer and effects had me creating in a different way.

When I unboxed the OB-6, I played it for hours. The sound was so much deeper and intense that I’ve since not used the System 8 as much. I really like the System 8, but it sounded like a toy in a raw single sound comparison.

I find more “playing” inspiration with the OB-6 and use it for featured parts. I use the System 8, it’s plug outs and the soft synths in my songs. It’s easy to get carried away with one sound or a stack of sounds and I haven’t found a regular use yet for the OB-6. I would never part with it though, it’s sound is so sublime and unique that the player part of me hasn’t found a replacement for as of yet.

In full transparency, I’m a songwriter, not a sound designer. I’m after completing songs for demo and publishing.

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chk071 wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 1:43 pm
jdoo wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 3:33 am Basing opinion of the OB sound on compressed youtube soundbites? Well done.
TBH, i never understood why someone wouldn't be able to judge a synth's base sound by Youtube videos. A Moog sounds like a Moog, a Oberheim sounds like a Oberheim, and a TB-303 sounds like a 303, regardless of 192 kbit/s MP3. Basically, what you are saying is that nobody would be able to judge whether the music he listens to is any good, because, everything on the net comes MP3 encoded these days.

No comprende, really.

Whether or not it is wise to judge before you got your own hands on with the synth is another topic.
I only gues you never understud that because you never actually worked with hardware synth and didnt heard the sound :) there is difference youtube vs in the daw sound, its subtle, but there is. Tho sometimes that sublte thing can impact your decisions when sculpting the sound.

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Well.. that's what i thought. It's subtle. And a Moog is a Moog. Regardless of whether you hear it via analog speakers, your DAW, or Youtube.

So why isn't someone supposed to judge a synth by a Youtube vid then? Again, it's like saying you can't judge Madonna, because you bought her album as MP3, not on vinyl.

I also wonder who only plays his analog synths via his speakers, and never records it. Makes no sense.

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chk071 wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 4:00 pm Well.. that's what i thought. It's subtle. And a Moog is a Moog. Regardless of whether you hear it via analog speakers, your DAW, or Youtube.

So why isn't someone supposed to judge a synth by a Youtube vid then? Again, it's like saying you can't judge Madonna, because you bought her album as MP3, not on vinyl.

I also wonder who only plays his analog synths via his speakers, and never records it. Makes no sense.
i wouldn't judge either hardware or software on videos, mainly because its "opinion" once you get past actual specifications.
they will focus on the good in stuff they like or the bad in things they dont, so i dont expect t a full picture from videos.
videos are good for wasting time on the bus though 8)

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vurt wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 4:24 pm i wouldn't judge either hardware or software on videos, mainly because its "opinion" once you get past actual specifications.
they will focus on the good in stuff they like or the bad in things they dont, so i dont expect t a full picture from videos.
Absolutely. It's just that i don't agree that you can't judge the quality of a synth via a Youtube demo at all. I've seen enough demos, and bought enough soft synths that i can say that you definitely can hear a general character in sound demos. At least when they're done well. You won't be able to judge much when they just play the pure oscillator, without anything, of course.

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maybe it's a hang up from the not too distant past, where youtube sound was a bit iffy. even listening to maddonna (your example) may as well have been a moog through distortion :hihi:

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chk071 wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 4:00 pm Well.. that's what i thought. It's subtle. And a Moog is a Moog. Regardless of whether you hear it via analog speakers, your DAW, or Youtube.

So why isn't someone supposed to judge a synth by a Youtube vid then? Again, it's like saying you can't judge Madonna, because you bought her album as MP3, not on vinyl.

I also wonder who only plays his analog synths via his speakers, and never records it. Makes no sense.
You just repeated yourself 2nd time and again: Try to work with or play around with same hw synth then talk because youtube demos doesnt always represent the true sound due to compression.

Here is a real world example. Monark is running 88.2hz in a daw. Alot of people including you i suppose run daw at 44.1. Given the first sense it wouldnt matter if you downsample Monark to 44.1hz right? Try it and you will hear the difference.

Same with some hardware synths. As example Uno by IK, Deepmind 12, Arturia Microbrute. When runing outside "youtube" its really better, alive.

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Elektronisch wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 5:04 pm
chk071 wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 4:00 pm Well.. that's what i thought. It's subtle. And a Moog is a Moog. Regardless of whether you hear it via analog speakers, your DAW, or Youtube.

So why isn't someone supposed to judge a synth by a Youtube vid then? Again, it's like saying you can't judge Madonna, because you bought her album as MP3, not on vinyl.

I also wonder who only plays his analog synths via his speakers, and never records it. Makes no sense.
You just repeated yourself 2nd time and again: Try to work with or play around with same hw synth then talk because youtube demos doesnt always represent the true sound due to compression.

Here is a real world example. Monark is running 88.2hz in a daw. Alot of people including you i suppose run daw at 44.1. Given the first sense it wouldnt matter if you downsample Monark to 44.1hz right? Try it and you will hear the difference.
Is the difference so severe that you're not able to judge Monark's sound character or quality in 44.1 kHz?

I've played with hardware synths, BTW. I just don't have one right now. I had a Blofeld, and played a Jupiter-8, and a Roland D-20. I'm not saying that that makes me an expert, just... because you claimed that i can't judge it, because i have no experience with hardware. ;)

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Wouldn't both hardware and software alike suffer when published on YT?
There are videos of older songs on YT, which sound fantastic to my ears.
So, I don't think one can blame YT. Having said that, I am sure that such a quality hardware synth sounds superior to even the best plugins of the same type. And you don't have to worry about sampling rates, drivers, CPU power, bugs, and such nerdy things. You just turn it on and it sounds fantastic out of the box.

Another aspect: I wonder how old the person is who opened this thread. As you get older, your hearing becomes worse and you might not hear the subtleties anymore like you used to decades ago. It surely is case with me, unfortunately.

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e-crooner wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 5:23 pm Wouldn't both hardware and software alike suffer when published on YT?
There are videos of older songs on YT, which sound fantastic to my ears.
So, I don't think one can blame YT. Having said that, I am sure that such a quality hardware synth sounds superior to even the best plugins of the same type. And you don't have to worry about sampling rates, drivers, CPU power, bugs, and such nerdy things. You just turn it on and it sounds fantastic out of the box.

Another aspect: I wonder how old the person is who opened this thread. As you get older, your hearing becomes worse and you might not hear the subtleties anymore like you used to decades ago. It surely is case with me, unfortunately.
I'm 62. And I grew up in a world of hardware going all the way back to 1977 when I got my first synth. In fact, up until 2014, all I had was hardware, buying synths constantly. I'd dare say I probably owned more hardware synths than 90% of the people here.

And I'm telling you straight out, and I was totally against going to in the box, I was blown away by the sound quality of the top soft synths. And since I don't play live (only record my songs) I can honestly say that, within the context of a recording (wav file, mp3, whatever) my software synths take no backseat to my hardware synths. In some instances, they surpass the hardware.

Again, I'm not talking about how these synths sound in my room playing live, which I couldn't give to craps about. I'm talking about the final, finished, recorded product.

In that respect, Youtube, Soundcloud, Spotify, Bandcamp, live or whatever, doesn't matter to me. I know what does and doesn't sound good to my ears.

To that end, I will never go back to buying expensive hardware ever again. It is not even close to being worth it go me.

YMMV.

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62, well, at your age even a Bontempi might do the trick :D No offense :wink:
Same here. Although of course I would not mind being given that Oberheim for Christmas, I don't really need something that professional. Plugins are much more practical, e.g. multiplying instances as needed, no cables, no repairs, etc., and at the same time incredibly more bang for the buck. I think I read yesterday that the OB-6 only has a single LFO, and no additional envelopes for pitch modulation and things like that.


Regarding the notion that the computer mouse kind of destroys the fun, many Midi controllers have various freely assignable knobs and sliders these days. Sure, it is not the same as having dozens of dedicated controls on a beautiful hardware synth, but for most people 8 knobs or sliders should be enough to fulfill their limited tweaking needs at home.

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i like my hardware because most of it has no recall, theres a certain feeling i get from knowing, if i switch off, then come back in an hour and switch back on, without touching any controls, i may never hear the exact sound again 8)

that "living in the moment" is something i enjoy, not everyone will.

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vurt wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2019 7:42 pm i like my hardware because most of it has no recall, theres a certain feeling i get from knowing, if i switch off, then come back in an hour and switch back on, without touching any controls, i may never hear the exact sound again 8)

that "living in the moment" is something i enjoy, not everyone will.
Me too ... I love that "I wonder what the Teisco / Abyss / Dark Energy sound like today" feeling :hihi:

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