Oberheim vs. Oberheim

[Spencer Maddox]

You don’t need any of them. Just get Serum and some OBX waveforms and call it a day

[Spencer Maddox]

What do you want? A cookie?

Thank you for posting the video. I don't think anyone's comments were directed at you, but rather at the person who made the video or even just the synths themselves. I found it very informative and appreciate you posting it.

I did too. His comparisons are fine. I don’t know what everyone’s up and arms about

[JHernandez]

What do you want? A cookie?

Thank you for posting the video. I don't think anyone's comments were directed at you, but rather at the person who made the video or even just the synths themselves. I found it very informative and appreciate you posting it.

That's cool.

I wouldn't assume to know one way or the other. I get alerts for direct replies and in this case it's just some randoms opinion. Nothing against that person but my reply was for the OP, I wasn't fishing for opinions on Starsky's comparisons. Just random, so I randomly replied, like saying "and?".

Is all good.

[Chrisk-K]

The best example is The Final Countdown.

thats not the best example of anything

It’s the best example of mixing two absolutely different synth engines (FM and analogue subtractive)!

[AnX]

what?

[Ingonator]

I had used several Oberheim emulations either as i own a license or had tested the demo versions.
This is my current ranking for those that i had used:

1.) Synapse Audio OBsession
2.) DiscoDSP/2Dat OB-Xd v1.5 (freeware/donationware)
3.) U-He Diva (Uhbie filter + Dual VCO + Feedback + Digital Env modules)
4.) Arturia Matrix-12 V2 (with Waves OneKnob Phatter to enhance the low end)
5.) Brainworx bx_oberhausen (Trial version)
6.) Arturia SEM V2 (with Waves OneKnob Phatter to enhance the low end)
7.) Arturia OB-Xa V (demo version)
8.) Sonicprojects OP-X Pro II (demo version)

I might be biased concerning OBsession as i was a Beta tester there but independent of that it is my favorite Oberheim plugin and also one of my favorite plugins ever. After around 4-5 months of using it it's still not boring and i still love it.

The free OB-Xd sounds very nice too and i am surprised that only a few people are comparing this with OBsession (at least the basic sound as OB-Xd has no effects and also some other features from OBsession are missing).

Diva is not a full Oberheim emulation but with the Uhbie filter and some other modules you can get close to several patches from OBsession and other Oberheim plugins. I was able to reprogram some of my OBsession patches there and even if they do not sound 100% identical the results are nice. For patches that use the 4-pole/24dB LPF the "Multimode" filter module in Diva seems to be the best choice. Concerning sound quaiity Diva is great anyway.

Concerning the 3 Arturia Oberheim plugins Matrix-12 V2 is my favorite one but i would be happy if Synapse or U-He could do another Matrix-12 emulation.

Talking about OB-Xa emulations i would always pick OBsession and not Arturia OB-Xa V as sound wise IMHO OBsession it is MUCH better and i prefer the feature set in OBsession over that in OB-Xa V. There might be certain interesting features in OB-Xa v but overall IMHO that's just not enough to make the plugin better than OBsession.

I had owned (and sold) a license for OP-X Pro II several years ago and tried the demo many times after that (got the demo installed at the moment) but still i do not really like it. The best about it might be the big amount of available patches.

About bx_oberhausen i have mixed feelings and while it sounds nice "as is" i don't know if i actually need it. Like the corersponding hardware it sounds quite differnt than OBsession and indeendent of the technical diffferences and/or differences in the basic sound and features i prefer the sounds i get from OBsession (it's very easy to get sounds that i like from this...).
Arturia SEM V2 might sound worse than ob_oberhausen but still not bad (especially with some bass boosting with an external FX) and it has some features not found in bx_oberhausen (e.g.the 8 voice programmer page). Besides that i got it anyway as part of V-Collection 6.

[BONES]

I'm a bit the opposite - on a purely objective level I think Obsession is a very good synth but I find very little use for it in our music. OTOH, really useful sounds practically fall out of bx_oberhausen every time I add it to a project. There is simply no other filter ever made that can compete with what the SEM has to offer. It's an absolute beast of a thing, capable of spitting pure liquid rage from your speakers with almost no provocation whatsoever. (Brainworx's take on it is like that, at least, not sure about the real thing.)

You don’t need any of them. Just get Serum and some OBX waveforms and call it a day

Ummm... let's see. First of all, does Serum have filters modelled after Oberheim's? Is Serum's unison the same? Does Serum allow you to offset parameters for each individual voice the way they were in classic Oberheim synths? The answer to each of these questions is "no", which means Serum will, at best, manage to replicate one of many things that define the sound of classic Oberheims. Then, of course, is the fact you could buy any two or three of the synths under discussion for the price of Serum anyway, so buying Serum isn't going to save you any money. because as much as I love bx_oberhausen, the best thing about it is that it only cost me $29. Finally, Serum is a synth made for brainless teenage girls, no real man would be caught dead using it.

[gentleclockdivider]

The current value of OB-Xa's is really wild. They were cheap 20 years ago, nobody put them on the level of the SEM's, Minimoog's, Jupiter-8's, or Prophet 5's. I bought my OB-Xa for $350 and ended up giving it away.

Sound-wise, OB-Xa's are edgy and bright. The best example is The Final Countdown. Conversely, SEM's are warm and smooth, with no rough edges at all.

Yep , the dx7 can indeed sound edgy and bright ,
but also mellow and warm

[chk071]

You don’t need any of them. Just get Serum and some OBX waveforms and call it a day

The big magic of the OB-X or SEM comes from the filter. Nothing sounds like it really.

[rezoneight]

You don’t need any of them. Just get Serum and some OBX waveforms and call it a day

The big magic of the OB-X or SEM comes from the filter. Nothing sounds like it really.

Oh my lord he was joking guys.

[chk071]

Are you sure? I mean like... really sure?

[Spencer Maddox]

When in doubt consult my Signature

[Spencer Maddox]

Ummm... let's see. First of all, does Serum have filters modelled after Oberheim's? Is Serum's unison the same?

Serums filters are better then the Oberheims. Just use German LP. It’s sounds extra warm and analougueyish. I think this is because of the special analogue sauce they put into it. You can edit any waveform you want in Serum, Therefore Serum is legally more analogue as it can be made more warm with the wavetable editor.

Serums unison is also vastly superior to the OB. The OB unison is only useful for making the Jump sound over and over again. Serums unison is powerful. It’s not even in the same ballpark as the Ob, it’s in the majors while the OB plays Tball.

Finally, Serum is a synth made for brainless teenage girls, no real man would be caught dead using it.

Where do I start with this one. The Sexism?
The True Scotsman Fallacy?
Actually, I will not address any of that and rather admit; you are correct Bones, us blasted kids need to become real men like you, in a testosterone filled rage I shall now open up Obsession and play the Tom Sayer lead so loud everyone in my city will be able to hear it.

[vurt]

legally more analogue?
is that morally more analogue too?

[Spencer Maddox]

True analog synthesizers have wavetable editors to make them more analogue.
It’s just an undeniable, unavoidable fact.
Don’t shoot the messenger: I didn't write the rules.