New GForce OB-EZ

[interruptor]

It's a great idea to provide a more intuitive interface for the rather overwhelming OB-e!

Currently the plug-in seems to be somewhat buggy though:
While browsing through presets a bug occured every time when I did the following:
- Set Filter: "Plucks"
- Step from preset "Clavi Auto Rez" to "Culturally Approppriated Plucker"
Result:
- Interface freezes, CPU load goes from 1 to 10%
- Sound is still working fine
- I tried it three times and had to restart the DAW everytime
My Setup: VST3, Win10, Reaper 7

[zvenx]

I am not saying it is not a bug, but on Mac Apple Silicon 14.3.1 and Cubendo, that works fine here.
rsp

[menthol]

We need OB-eSE, for that extra fat analog sound!

[Chicken Drummy]

I don't understand why I would use this if I have the full version.

I will say though, that this (and OB-E of course) has maybe the best square waveish sounds in all of VST land. A deep sounding square wave is, seemingly, pretty hard to code.

I imagine it wasn't developed with you in mind. This is for new users but GForce was kind enough to give it to current OB-E users for free.

[zvenx]

Indeed.. it was not created with an OB-E user in mind I don't think.

It however does however one feature over the OB-E I like and I hope they include it in a future OB-E version.
Global Disable Effects..
Turn the effects off in OB-EZ and switch patches it stays off....

With the OB-E, Gforce included a fantastic sounding Reverb which they are apparently so proud of, that many of their patches are just doused in Reverb Galore....I prefer my patches much dyer... OB-EZ allows me to do this easily.
rsp

[MrJubbly]

Look at this GUI's back, everytime I do it makes me laugh.jpg

"Look at this GUI's back, every time I do it makes me laugh."

[abernathy]

The two folders on the left are 'All' and 'OB-EZ'.
If you click on the 'folder' icon, you see 'Factory' and 'User' directories.

Right, back on the computer and I see you are right. Odd, I thought I saw more presets when I hit 'ALL', but it seems it's the same presets whichever you select. Just re-read the GForce blurb and you will be able to import OB-EZ presets into OB-E, but no mention of the other way round.

So this kinda sucks IMO. We can’t have the best of both worlds due to an artificial limitation. I like this simple interface but it’s incompatible with the synth it is bundled with.

[Uncle E]

I do see the value of providing a simpler interface, that could be useful at times, but I'd rather they just made that an optional interface for the OB-E plugin (like Pigment's new play mode) rather than making me install a whole other plugin just to access it, especially if it doesn't even share the same presets.

Press Group and then press Zoom on any module:

[BONES]

That's not quite the same thing, unless you want to make every module identical. That's why OB-EZ is so good - it has a UNISON button that detunes each module against the others. In OB-E, you have to detune each module manually, which is a gigantic PITA. If the VINTAGE knob was less subtle, it might be a useful substitute but it's not. So it isn't.

This is for new users but GForce was kind enough to give it to current OB-E users for free.

Could you be more patronising, do you think? I'm anything but a "new user" and this thing is absolutely for me.

Indeed.. it was not created with an OB-E user in mind I don't think.

Right, that's why they are giving it away to OB-E users for free, because they don't think any of us will have any interest in something that's actually usable.

[felis]

....Press Group and then press Zoom on any module:....

The group function is great to get a base sound set up, and then go into individual modules to modify to taste, rather than having to rely on some type of vintage or randomize function.

On the OB-EZ, I think the audition function can be handy too, if using it in standalone mode on a laptop without having a keyboard attached.

[Chauzou]

Correct me if I am wrong, but Ob-EZ doesn't look like it's shipped with new presets. All I see are pre existing OB-E presets...bummer

[abernathy]

It seems they are basically trying to be Arturia, from the look of the GUI (beautiful but inefficient) to the Analog Lab idea of a preset player with simple controls and limited presets. They could've made this a fantastic addition to OB-E by showing all the OB-E presets, but they chose to complicate/hamper it in this way. It's kind of bizarre that OB-E should be the programmer for OB-EZ but it can't be. Frustrating to me, but a luxury problem these days... These synths do sound lovely!

[beely]

This synth clearly (to me) isn't for synth programmer nerds (like most of us on KVR). It's for musicians or non-sound design nerds, who maybe might like the sound and presets of OB-E and find them musically useful, but find the interface daunting and over-complicated to navigate, especially when they are not synth programmers by default, and the price fairly high.

This way, you get the sound, a bunch of presets, a quick musical way of tweaking the core sound behaviour (filters, envelopes etc) without having to be overly tweaky, for a small amount of money that might make it more of an impulse buy, and a possible gateway drug for people who end up liking it so much they decide to get the full version.

For those who already have and like OB-E, you're probably not going to find this that useful (and it won't cost you anything to find out).

It's also a way for GF to get more mileage from their existing codebase, offer new products for different use cases and user types and at different price points, and a possible gateway drug into deeper GF instruments.

For those that don't see the point of this, it seems they are largely just looking at the product from their own point of view, rather than realising that there are other people with different perspectives and needs. If it's not a product for you, it's not a product for you...

(I'm not a super fan of the newer Arturia-style 3D interfaces though, I prefer the older, flatter GUIs personally. But I've also thought the general SEM design wasn't particularly aesthetically appealing, anyway... I'm more a child of the 80s, not so much the 70s...)

[Teksonik]

This synth clearly (to me) isn't for synth programmer nerds (like most of us on KVR). It's for musicians....

Can one not be a "synth programmer nerd" and also a musician? I consider myself to be both and don't consider them to be mutually exclusive.

[aMUSEd]

This synth clearly (to me) isn't for synth programmer nerds (like most of us on KVR). It's for musicians....

Can one not be a "synth programmer nerd" and also a musician? I consider myself to be both and don't consider them to be mutually exclusive.

Exactly - I don't see them as separate things