Gforce Oberheim OB-X

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Glad they fixed it. Now add it to the plugin itself.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Sorry for a probably dumb question but isn't this similar to the Synapse Obsession (fantastic synth) ?

I'm no Oberheim expert but here's my understanding...

Gforce did the OB-X. Synapse Obsession is an OB-Xa (same with Arturua). That was the next model after the OB-X. The OB-X used discrete circuitry (i.e. individual capacitors and resistors arranged to create components) for almost everything (it had some chips for the Envelopes only). The OB-Xa replaced the discrete circuitry with analog chips but otherwise, looked very similar. So it's got oscillators on a chip, filters on a chip, envelopes on a chip, etc. They have similar, though not identical feature-sets.

The OB-X is said to "sound better". But it was more costly to build and would have been more difficult to maintain (less stable). The OB-Xa would've been more stable. If something died on an OB-Xa, you'd just need to remove the chip, replace it with a new one, and calibrate the voice card and you're back in business. Much easier to repair as long as chips are avialable.

The OB-8 was an OB-Xa with some "Page 2" features that further expanded the feature set with more LFO and Env options.

[Teksonik]

Glad they fixed it. Now add it to the plugin itself.

Yeah it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have some indicator when you load the plugin "you have 6 hours left of your demo period" and so on.

Obviously the plugin is tracking the time somehow so providing feedback to that count down would be useful especially in cases where the demo is limited to several hours of use rather than say 30 days.

Of course developers have to walk a fine line between providing a demo that's going to entice people to buy without being too liberal that it encourages them to use the demo in any way without paying for the plugin. I don't envy them that balancing act.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Yeah, I get the need for demo limitations. I don't even begrudge them this particular limitation (the 6 hours - I still think the Alpha patches are silly if you're going to have a time limited demo like that - no need for the double whammy). I just think it should be more clearly communicated to end-users via the plugin itself.

If I clicked Run Demo and it said, "This demo is limited to 6 hours total run time or 7 days, whichever is shorter" then I, and a number of others, wouldn't have walked away with their DAWs running.

[Vortifex]

..

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Obsession is hampered by an awful janky workflow. OP-X PRO II as well. OB-X is much better in that regard.

Yeah, agreed. With Obsession, you're constantly flipping back and forth (back panel, Tweaks panel voice 1, Tweaks panel voice 2, etc.). And OP-X II is even worse because it's got a ton of completely hidden features where you have to stand on one leg facing north, turn a knob 2 degrees counterclockwise while holding Shift+Control+Alt, etc. Why they didn't just release a skin with all the features visibile is beyond me. I never bought it for that reason.

I'd also add that Obsession's raw sound doesn't do much for me, and the FX are among my least favorite on any synth i own. GForce's OB-X is better in both regards as well as workflow. OP-X Pro II however has the greatest preset library of any analog synth with all the fun patches that are based on, and sound convincingly like, classic synth patches you heard all over the 80s. That's almost worth buying it alone.

[Jac459]

Sorry for a probably dumb question but isn't this similar to the Synapse Obsession (fantastic synth) ?

I'm no Oberheim expert but here's my understanding...

Gforce did the OB-X. Synapse Obsession is an OB-Xa (same with Arturua). That was the next model after the OB-X. The OB-X used discrete circuitry (i.e. individual capacitors and resistors arranged to create components) for almost everything (it had some chips for the Envelopes only). The OB-Xa replaced the discrete circuitry with analog chips but otherwise, looked very similar. So it's got oscillators on a chip, filters on a chip, envelopes on a chip, etc. They have similar, though not identical feature-sets.

The OB-X is said to "sound better". But it was more costly to build and would have been more difficult to maintain (less stable). The OB-Xa would've been more stable. If something died on an OB-Xa, you'd just need to remove the chip, replace it with a new one, and calibrate the voice card and you're back in business. Much easier to repair as long as chips are avialable.

The OB-8 was an OB-Xa with some "Page 2" features that further expanded the feature set with more LFO and Env options.

Fortunately you are not an expert

Thanks a lot mate, very helpful.

[Jac459]

Obsession is hampered by an awful janky workflow. OP-X PRO II as well. OB-X is much better in that regard.

Yeah, agreed. With Obsession, you're constantly flipping back and forth (back panel, Tweaks panel voice 1, Tweaks panel voice 2, etc.). And OP-X II is even worse because it's got a ton of completely hidden features where you have to stand on one leg facing north, turn a knob 2 degrees counterclockwise while holding Shift+Control+Alt, etc. Why they didn't just release a skin with all the features visibile is beyond me. I never bought it for that reason.

I'd also add that Obsession's raw sound doesn't do much for me, and the FX are among my least favorite on any synth i own. GForce's OB-X is better in both regards as well as workflow. OP-X Pro II however has the greatest preset library of any analog synth with all the fun patches that are based on, and sound convincingly like, classic synth patches you heard all over the 80s. That's almost worth buying it alone.

I first used Obsession as a Rack Extension for Reason Studios.
At this time the workflow was making absolutely sense because in Reason you are use to press tab to go to the back of a device (as devices are supposed to represent real instrument).
So I was loving Obsession for that. Now that I am not anymore in Reason Studios, I do agree it makes less sense...

By the way, side note on Synapse, they have a mythical (in Reason Studios world) Rack Extension named Antidote. It is a kind of Diva/Dune 3. An analog on Steroid synth sounding totally nuts. Even today with all the alternatives I have, I very often go back to it for fat creamy sound.

[Examigan]

Obsession is hampered by an awful janky workflow. OP-X PRO II as well. OB-X is much better in that regard.

Yeah, agreed. With Obsession, you're constantly flipping back and forth (back panel, Tweaks panel voice 1, Tweaks panel voice 2, etc.). And OP-X II is even worse because it's got a ton of completely hidden features where you have to stand on one leg facing north, turn a knob 2 degrees counterclockwise while holding Shift+Control+Alt, etc. Why they didn't just release a skin with all the features visibile is beyond me. I never bought it for that reason.

I'd also add that Obsession's raw sound doesn't do much for me, and the FX are among my least favorite on any synth i own. GForce's OB-X is better in both regards as well as workflow. OP-X Pro II however has the greatest preset library of any analog synth with all the fun patches that are based on, and sound convincingly like, classic synth patches you heard all over the 80s. That's almost worth buying it alone.

About the hidden features, the Rack edition is easier to work with:
https://www.sonicprojects.ch/opxpro2/in ... uge_sh.gif

I totally agree about it's preset library and like you mentioned, I think it is worth it for that alone.

I really like the OB-X interface though, and its sound is great.

[El°HYM]

Agree to the flipping back & forth can be a workflow killer but Obsession has one of the very best Shimmer Reverb Effects (by Mirko Ruta) available, imho.

[Jac459]

Agree to the flipping back & forth can be a workflow killer but Obsession has one of the very best Shimmer Reverb Effects (by Mirko Ruta) available, imho.

Well I am not into VA so I don't know about its fidelity but I can confirm that I love the song of this little synth... Really warm and present...

[4damind]

I don't like the workflow of Obession either, so I've always given the synth a wide berth.
SEM is more my thing, I used the Arturia a lot and later the bx_oberhausen which sounds even better and has a great unison mode.
Is the OB-X actually technically comparable to the SEM module? These are both still discrete circuits, while others also had the Curtis chips?

[zvenx]

...
Is the OB-X actually technically comparable to the SEM module? These are both still discrete circuits, while others also had the Curtis chips?

To my understanding yes (though the OB-X doesn't have the multimode capabilities the SEM does.
rsp

[Echoes in the Attic]

OB-Xtreme is the one to beat for an OB-X.

[mi-os]

Is the OB-X actually technically comparable to the SEM module? These are both still discrete circuits, while others also had the Curtis chips?

They are very comparable except for the obvious differences in the filters. Therefore the OB-E and the OB-X should be even more comparable.