Upcoming Synapse OB-Xa: Obsession

[Ingonator]

Here is an improvisatation using my latest OBsession Pad sound (single patch demo):
OBSession - Pads Demo 01
This is a single instance and no external FXs were used.
This Strings patch is using the 12dB Bandpass filter.

The patch in this audio demo is actually a dual patch so "single patch demo" is not 100% true...

With this patch it might not be as obvious as in some others i have made. I did not choose other examples as i did not know exactly if we are allowed to talk about this feature yet...

[AnX]

you can in split mode tho

Which is another thing Arturia's instrument misses out on having Roland didn't bother to include it in their (Cloud) Jupiter 8 either - and NO, multiple DAW instances isn't the "same thing". Nice that Obsession has this

personally, I was in the "multiple instances" camp

dont see the point in losing polyphony for such a simple "workaround"

[EnGee]

The bass is fantastic as well! I suspect Dune?!

The bass is frickin' awesome, isn't it? It's FBM's free Mono/Fury, which has very quickly risen to near the top of my go-to list, just behind Union (which is a completely different style of synth, obviously).

To provide a bit more detail on the OBSession patch, it uses both oscillators with saw waves and I've taken advantage of the Dual mode to use a second copy of the patch one octave higher than the original patch, so you get two voices per note. Like the OB-Xa, OBSession only allows you to change the Osc and Filter controls, so you can't just load one patch into one side and another patch into the other. That may sound like a limitation but I have found it to be really inspirational, in that you have to put some effort into creating things that work together. It's like the OB-Xa's secret weapon. Trust me, you're gonna love this thing.

Thanks. Going to check Mono/Fury tomorrow.
Yes I'm sure I will love Obsession. I like a lot OBXa V, the interface is a pleasure to work with and I hope Obsession would have the same inviting GUI.

[PAK]

personally, I was in the "multiple instances" camp
dont see the point in losing polyphony for such a simple "workaround"

Don't know how Obsession has implemented the split point but, on the hardware, you just push the button and press the keyboard key where you want to split from. That allows a very fast work flow compared to having to do the same thing on a host.. meaning you're more likely to use it.

Same thing with controlling two layers within one interface, without having to switch out to the other instance. That time delay, even if it's not that big, IMO leads to less tweaking between layers. Ultimately meaning you're less likely to use the feature for what it's best for - which isn't sticking a bass sound on the low keys and a lead/pad on the upper! But, rather, building 2 layers which work with and compliment each other. Plus you can then save it as a preset. IIRC The OB-XA itself had very few dual patch memories - I think it may have been as few as 4.

[Ingonator]

Don't know how Obsession has implemented the split point but, on the hardware, you just push the button and press the keyboard key where you want to split from.

There is a parameter for this at the backpanel where you cn adjust the split point.

[AnX]

you can in split mode tho

Which is another thing Arturia's instrument misses out on having Roland didn't bother to include it in their (Cloud) Jupiter 8 either - and NO, multiple DAW instances isn't the "same thing". Nice that Obsession has this

personally, I was in the "multiple instances" camp

dont see the point in losing polyphony for such a simple "workaround"

[Ingonator]

I got a permission to tell that a reduced polyphony with Dual/Split patches is not really an issue as a 16 voice mode was implemented in the latest OBsession versions resulting in 8 voices for each Dual/Split part. You now can switch between a 8 voice an 16 voice mode. Like in the 8 voice mode also in the 16 voice mode all voices got their own edit and mute buttons.

[AnX]

thanks for the info

[zerocrossing]

you can in split mode tho

Which is another thing Arturia's instrument misses out on having Roland didn't bother to include it in their (Cloud) Jupiter 8 either - and NO, multiple DAW instances isn't the "same thing". Nice that Obsession has this

personally, I was in the "multiple instances" camp

dont see the point in losing polyphony for such a simple "workaround"

I agree with both of you! Having to set up a split in your DAW is a PITA, but getting full polyphony in each split/layer is nice.

[edit] Ooops, just saw that you can keep 8 voices, that's plenty.

[Niowiad]

I also never really use built-in split modes.
Mainly because if those are in fact two different patches for two separate sections in the arrangement being played, I want to post process (mix) them independently.
Ideally, if polyphony and voice stealing wasn't a problem, I'd only use keyboard split modes if they had separate audio outputs, but it's never the case.

I'd rather just spend 1 minute (probably less) to set it up in the DAW with two instances.

[BONES]

Yeah, I wouldn't use split at all but the dual mode is another story. As I said, you can't load up two separate patches, so it becomes more like turning it into a 4 osc, 2 filter synth. Vacuum Pro has dual layers but, because you just load a patch into each layer, it's never interested me but this is very different and I really like it. It sends you down a different path, one I wouldn't have thought of on my own.

[PAK]

I also never really use built-in split modes.
Mainly because if those are in fact two different patches for two separate sections in the arrangement being played, I want to post process (mix) them independently.
Ideally, if polyphony and voice stealing wasn't a problem, I'd only use keyboard split modes if they had separate audio outputs, but it's never the case.

In that case another instance makes more sense. But, unless Obsession missed a trick, in theory you can just pan layer 1 hard left, and layer 2 hard right. Not only is that helpful in creating a bigger stereo sound (and, btw, that's a trick used a lot on other synths with dual layer, though usually you'd route each layer via its own output, and pan in the mixer) you can also take that stereo channel and, in your hosts mixer, split off each sides mono channel to its own processing bus. Thus, provided your host has that flexibility, you should be able to do it.

Actually, even if it didn't, there's also FX plugins which will split the stereo signal for you. So your luck should be in, this time, even with a single stereo output (though, as said, it still makes more sense to use more instances for this scenario, IMO )

[Ingonator]

As was already mentioned in Split mode only the Osc, Filter and envelopes settings are different/independent while other parameters are global for both parts. This is not like 2 fully independent patches that you get with 2 instances. Personally i think the Dual mode is more interesting as new sounds are possible that way which you can not get with a single mode patch.

In Split mode Part A uses voices 1-4 (or 1-8 with 16 voices) and Part B voices 5-8 (or (9-16 with 16 voices) so panning both parts differently would be quite simple.

[Buckster]

I use Unify for all things related to keyboard range and velocity switching, latching etc so powerful and so easy to use

[Ingonator]

I use Unify for all things related to keyboard range and velocity switching, latching etc so powerful and so easy to use

I don't think this is really related to how the Dual and Split modes work in OBsession.

FWIW the Instrument racks in Ableton Live 10 Suite allow layering multple instances in a single MIDI track and it is also possible to create key zones there. Instrument racks can be also saved as a preset file.
For MIDI effects i mostly use those included in Live, especially the Max 4 Live ones.