Obxd synthesizer

[george]

Master the art of sound design with discoDSP's OB-Xd and Inktomi

[gitterdudeobx]

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We would also like to add that it is disappointing to see that the fork you shared only replaces the images without adding any new features or significant changes. While we appreciate the effort to create an alternative version, we believe that a more contributive attitude towards open-source projects would involve adding new features or improving existing ones, rather than simply replacing images.

Open-source projects thrive on collaboration and contributions from the community, and we encourage everyone to participate in a way that adds value and benefits to the project as a whole.

I was going to let this slight insult slide but recent events has made me want to share my view on the subject.

It's interesting that out of the dozen or so clones of the OB-Xd source, mine was the only one that added any value to it. The other ones are currently exact copies of the source, with nothing added or subtracted to it.
And yet discoDSP decided to be disappointed with my fork and not any of the other ones.

Unfortunately I'm not much of a JUICE programmer; so I just fixed the few things I could, added a GUI and made sure people running Linux could quite easily get a working program from the source.
I had the repo open for PRs, so anyone with more programming skills than mine could suggest enhancements.

"Open-source projects thrive on collaboration and contributions from the community" apparently, so the obvious question is if discoDSP would accept a PR with my GUI and compile scripts into the original OB-Xd repo?
For some reason my Magic 8 Ball says "Outlook not so good".

The alert reader will notice that I'm talking about my fork in the past tense.
That's because discoDSP decided to file a DMCA against it; effectively taking it down, since I didn't see GitHub's "You have one day to fix this" mail until it was too late.

Before publishing the repo I specifically asked discoDSP, in a since removed Issues comment on the OB-Xd repo, whether he asserted copyright on the preset banks as well as the GUI images and got the reply that the banks are just settings; suggesting that he didn't.

But on August 14 that all changed
https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/mas ... iscodsp.md (https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2023/08/2023-08-14-discodsp.md)

So my second question to discoDSP is : which other settings banks do you claim to be "under exclusive license to (y)our company, discoDSP LLC" ?
Because I have a feeling that if I re-uploaded my fork with just the "J3PO Gold Bank.fxb" removed I'd pretty soon get another DMCA for another bank.

/gitterdude

[george]

Hello,

First and foremost, it is important to recognize the value of open-source projects and the contributions made by community members. Your efforts to address certain issues are highly commendable and reflect the collaborative spirit that is fundamental to open-source initiatives.

Nonetheless, it is imperative to have a clear understanding of copyright and licensing issues in the context of open-source projects. While the source code of a project may be open-source, allowing for modification and redistribution, certain elements such as graphics, preset banks, or other media may be subject to different licensing terms and copyright protections.

In the specific case of the OB-Xd project, there appears to have been a misunderstanding regarding the licensing terms associated with the J3PO bank, which is not included in our OB-Xd GitHub project page. This bank is a commissioned work and, as such, is copyrighted by discoDSP. Consequently, it falls under the exclusive license of discoDSP LLC, and any use, distribution, or modification of this bank without express permission from discoDSP constitutes a violation of copyright law.

While it is regrettable that there was an initial lack of clarity on this matter, it is of utmost importance to respect the copyright and licensing terms associated with all components of a project, even when contributing to an open-source initiative.

With respect to your query about other banks, I would like to inform you that while some other banks are community made (specifically: 012 - FMR OB-Xa Patch Book.fxb, 013 - Kujashi.fxb, 014 - Vivolator.FXB, 015 - Luke's Soundhouse 80s & Synthwave.fxb, 017 - Breeze Meat and Potatoes.fxb, 018 - Breeze Meat and Potatoes Extras.fxb, 018 - The Bass Project.fxb), it is strongly recommended to create your own for your fork or any other distribution. This approach will also allow you to create a unique and personalized version of the project.

Furthermore, it is important to address the DMCA notification that was sent. There was a one-day window provided to respond to the DMCA notification. Unfortunately, no response or action was received from your end during this time frame and GitHub had to take down the full fork. It is essential to address such legal notifications promptly to resolve any issues and avoid further complications. We understand that this situation is frustrating, but it is important to act quickly and proactively when faced with legal notices.

I trust this explanation helps to clarify the situation and the rationale behind the actions taken by us. It is always advisable to maintain open and transparent communication with project maintainers and copyright holders to ensure compliance with all licensing terms and to avoid any potential legal challenges.

[gitterdudeobx]

It is a bit amusing that all it took for my work to go from "disappointing and non-contributive" to "highly commendable and reflecting the open-source spirit" was four months waiting and a DMCA-takedown of my repo.

When the copyright holders first tell you that preset banks are just settings, and therefore are not copyrightable, then go on to remove that public discussion and eventually hit you with a DMCA instead, as opposed to maybe filing an Issue on it, it's not that easy to "maintain open and transparent communication with project maintainers and copyright holders to ensure compliance".

But I guess I'll remove all banks but the ones mentioned above and maybe branch it out as a submodule, in case someone else also suddenly decides that "Those banks that have been freely distributed for years are now copyright me"

[george]

Your concerns are noted. There was confusion regarding the preset banks' copyright. Initial communications may have indicated they were settings, but the J3PO Gold bank is copyrighted by discoDSP with an exclusive license.

The file leading to the DMCA action wasn't in our OB-Xd GitHub repository. DMCA actions are standard for potential violations, especially without timely responses. Contributors must ensure repository compliance with licenses and copyrights.

We acknowledge the removal of certain banks from your fork. It's crucial to exercise caution with content, particularly regarding copyright. We trust this provides clarity on our position. As this matter has now been addressed, we won't be commenting further.

[gitterdudeobx]

Initial communications may have indicated they were settings, but the J3PO Gold bank is copyrighted by discoDSP with an exclusive license.

So what you're saying is that the J3PO Gold bank doesn't contain settings?
Then what does it contain?

Paying for an exclusive license of something doesn't necessarily mean that you have a valid copyright on it.
That all depends on whether it's copyrightable in the first place or not.

[EvilDragon]

At any rate I'd love to see your repo back up, as clean as possible. Patch banks are not really a problem worth fighting over IMO.

[BackInCheck]

In this shootout with other OB-X emulations, OB-Xd had some issues recreating the authentic sound of certain presets, that sounded more authentic in other emulations.

For example:

at minute 0:22 the OB-Xd patch couldn't recreate the detuning of unison and it sounded considerably brighter

at minute 2:11 the OB-Xd patch sounds considerably different from the others



Is this all due to user error, differences in parameter ranges or are these soundengine issues that have been addressed in more current versions of OB-Xd?

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

In this shootout with other OB-X emulations, OB-Xd had some issues recreating the authentic sound of certain presets, that sounded more authentic in other emulations.

Is this all due to user error, differences in parameter ranges or are these soundengine issues that have been addressed in more current versions of OB-Xd?

Allow me to quote the very first post in this very thread....

Obxd is emulation of famous ob-x, ob-xa and ob8 synths.
While not copying originals, some of the features were taken to a better point.

It was never meant to be an exacting emulation like U-he or Softube do for example. But it's still one of my favorites.

[mixyguy2]

It was never meant to be an exacting emulation like U-he or Softube do for example.

Then why does their web site say "The OB-Xd is a synthesizer that has been designed to recreate the sound and behavior of the Oberheim OB-X."

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

It was never meant to be an exacting emulation like U-he or Softube do for example.

Then why does their web site say "The OB-Xd is a synthesizer that has been designed to recreate the sound and behavior of the Oberheim OB-X."

I don't know. It's not my website. I didn't write it or make that claim.

OB-Xd was created by 2Dat and was inspired by the Oberheim's without being a true emulation. I don't think he even had access to one going off memory. My recollection is that he was just a fan of them and wanted to make one of his own using ZDF filters. Which he did. And in my opinion, it sounds great! It's a really nice little synth.

Then 2Dat basically open sourced the plugin and stopped development. At this point DiscoDSP began releasing their version, making updates and taking donations.

If you have further questions, go back to the start of this thread and read the first few pages or search for 2Dat's posts and read it directly from the horse's keystrokes.

[EvilDragon]

It was never meant to be an exacting emulation like U-he or Softube do for example.

Then why does their web site say "The OB-Xd is a synthesizer that has been designed to recreate the sound and behavior of the Oberheim OB-X."

Because discoDSP can be full of it sometimes.

[aciddose]

Is this all due to user error, differences in parameter ranges or are these soundengine issues that have been addressed in more current versions of OB-Xd?

I know the envelopes in the real deal have a severe bug, the chip used (I can't remember specifics, SEM?) didn't correctly buffer the attack current. So at some point depending upon the attack time, if you use "too long" of a time (too high resistance) the attack to capacitor current is simply not high enough to proceed to the decay stage. This creates a very interesting effect in that the actual time-to-decay, or the length of the attack stage becomes both temperature dependent and entirely chaotic (random.) If I recall correctly, this is due to the envelope using an attack asymptote of approximately 100.5% or similar, and there being a diode (?) involved in the attack rather than a proper buffer to make up the diode-drop voltage (~650mV.)

There are many other bugs like this in the analog circuit, design flaws really, that lead to buggy yet very interesting and extremely notable effects when pushed to the edges of the parameter ranges. These are known as "edge cases".

Likewise, all analog ADSR/AR/etc envelopes have a limit to the maximum current they can provide. In many cases but perhaps not all, this leads to the attack slope at minimum times becoming a linear or near-linear slew rather than logarithmic.

[aciddose]

... hit quote again rather than edit.

[audiojunkie]

It was never meant to be an exacting emulation like U-he or Softube do for example.

Then why does their web site say "The OB-Xd is a synthesizer that has been designed to recreate the sound and behavior of the Oberheim OB-X."

Because discoDSP can be full of it sometimes.

"Sometimes"?