Choice Polybrute or Ob 6 or Prophet 6 ?

[cryophonik]

My next purchase will be a TEO-5 as soon as they become available. I’ll decide after that if I’ll keep my OB-6. It’s funny, back in the 80s I was never really into Obies, but since buying my OB-6 in early ‘23 it’s become one of my favorites. The TEO-5 looks, sounds, and specs out even better from what I’ve seen so far and I have no doubt it will become an instant go-to synth for me.

[zerocrossing]

If you had to choose and keep one of these three synths, which one would it be?

Polybrute / OB 6 / Prophet 6.

Quality, reliability, sound, ergonomics.

To complete a Virus Ti2, Nord Lead A1, Subsequent 37, Toraiz AS-1, Blofeld.

The Polybrute appears to be the most interesting, sequencer matrix, modulations for example.

What do you think ?

The PolyBrute is the furthest from any plugin, so if you use plugins, that would be my recommendation. It’s a synth that leans towards the aggressive spectrum of things, so getting lush sounds out of it takes a bit of practice. It’s definitely the most capable analog poly, until you get up to the Moog One.

The Prophet 6 is pretty different than software as well, at least software that emulates a dual filter analog poly. The bass resonance compensation makes it sound different than Prophet 5 emulations. It’s definitely a lot simpler and you really already have a single voice of it in your Toraiz AS-1.

The OB-6 is similar to the Prophet 6, but obviously an Oberheim style sound. Since you have the Toraiz AS-1, this might be the better option of the two, to give you more options.

Anyway, they are all great instruments, so it’s a tough choice. I have the PolyBrute and the Prophet 6 and I love them both for different reasons. Even though the Prophet 6 is a subset of features of the PolyBrute, they can’t always sound similar, but definitely always as good. If you want something that leans towards classic sounds, the Sequential 6 series synths are a great choice. If you want something a bit more experimental and flexible, the Arturia is really one of the best choices, if not the best.

[zerocrossing]

My next purchase will be a TEO-5 as soon as they become available. I’ll decide after that if I’ll keep my OB-6. It’s funny, back in the 80s I was never really into Obies, but since buying my OB-6 in early ‘23 it’s become one of my favorites. The TEO-5 looks, sounds, and specs out even better from what I’ve seen so far and I have no doubt it will become an instant go-to synth for me.

Wow. Your love for the OB is world renowned, so that’s a pretty starting statement. Are you sure you don’t want to add the TEO-5 to your collection, rather than replace? I know sometimes a new synth may seem better due to its novelty, but really it’s just another great flavor.

[zerocrossing]

I had an OB6 which sounded really nice but eventually got a little tired of it's limited sound. Decided to replace it with a Polybrute but that went back due to voice cards continually going out of tune. The keybed was also a real letdown. A stable Polybrute with fatar keybed would resonate with me. For now I have no polysynth, but the Muse is definitely piquing my interest.

You likely had a defective unit. My first unit had a bad voice card that would sometimes calibrate, sometimes not, but always go out of tune fairly quickly. Sweetwater sorted it out for me and got me a new one and it’s been rock solid since then. I think I calibrated it once when I got it and never had to do it again. Of course, there are “vintage modes,” that will provide built in per-voice offsets that can sound out of tune, but that’s up to you to turn on or off.

[cryophonik]

Wow. Your love for the OB is world renowned,...

Me? No, I think you’re thinking of someone else or getting it confused with my Prophet 6. My love for my P6 is maybe world renowned, but I don’t recall ever carrying on about the OB-6. I actually had reservations about buying it for years, but finally caved when I found a no-brainer deal and it pretty quietly became a go-to for me. When I bought it, it was about $300-400 less than the going average and in mint condition, so I figured that I could easily try it, hate it, then sell it at a profit, except it didn’t quite work out that way.

[cryophonik]

. Are you sure you don’t want to add the TEO-5 to your collection, rather than replace? I know sometimes a new synth may seem better due to its novelty, but really it’s just another great flavor.

I may end up keeping the OB-6 as well, but I feel that its potential is more undermined by the “6-series” paradigm than my P6 or Trigon-6. It’s not just novelty with the TEO-5, it’s the better modulation, better arp (I use the OB-6 for arps a lot), OLED screen, etc. I just wish it was available in a desktop module, but it seems compact enough and I do love a good Fatar keybed.

[HAL76]

I have just exchanged my OB6 against the studio electronics Omega 2. Think different.

[Uncle E]

Nice!

[zerocrossing]

I have just exchanged my OB6 against the studio electronics Omega 2. Think different.

I GASed hard for an Omega or CODE 8 for the longest time. By the time I could afford one, I’d become so used to polyphonic aftertouch that there was no way I’d drop that amount of cash on something that didn’t work with my controller. Amazing sound, though. Seriously the best modern polyphonic synth.

[HAL76]

I have just exchanged my OB6 against the studio electronics Omega 2. Think different.

I GASed hard for an Omega or CODE 8 for the longest time. By the time I could afford one, I’d become so used to polyphonic aftertouch that there was no way I’d drop that amount of cash on something that didn’t work with my controller. Amazing sound, though. Seriously the best modern polyphonic synth.

The price tag is shocking. I didn´t even consider the 8, but immediately liked the sound of it I heard in some demos. I was lucky to find an Omega 2 for sale and it was an adventure to chose it.

You know how it is, words can´t really tell - but I´m very very pleased with it and glad that I did it. Everything that comes out of it just sounds "better" and sits right in a mix. I lately made som Kicks with it and wouldn´t even consider 080s from the TR anymore.

[zerocrossing]

I have just exchanged my OB6 against the studio electronics Omega 2. Think different.

I GASed hard for an Omega or CODE 8 for the longest time. By the time I could afford one, I’d become so used to polyphonic aftertouch that there was no way I’d drop that amount of cash on something that didn’t work with my controller. Amazing sound, though. Seriously the best modern polyphonic synth.

The price tag is shocking. I didn´t even consider the 8, but immediately liked the sound of it I heard in some demos. I was lucky to find an Omega 2 for sale and it was an adventure to chose it.

You know how it is, words can´t really tell - but I´m very very pleased with it and glad that I did it. Everything that comes out of it just sounds "better" and sits right in a mix. I lately made som Kicks with it and wouldn´t even consider 080s from the TR anymore.

Yeah, the tone from Studio Electronics synths is second to none, IMO, but the price is steep. Their ATC-1 was recommended to me, and it was one of the first analog synths I bought during my return to hardware phase in the 00s. As soon as I found the ATC-X for sale (the ATC-1 with Moog, ARP, SEM and 303 filters and a distortion effect) I snagged it.

Anyway, as I said, if between then and now I hadn’t become hooked on polyphonic aftertouch, there’s no doubt that I’d own one of their 8 voice polys. They actually made some noise about adding it, but then never did. Not sure why. The only polyphonic hardware synth I kept that doesn’t support it is the Analog Four, but that’s almost more like 4 monos in a single box.

[Uncle E]

You know how it is, words can´t really tell - but I´m very very pleased with it and glad that I did it. Everything that comes out of it just sounds "better" and sits right in a mix. I lately made som Kicks with it and wouldn´t even consider 080s from the TR anymore.

Yes, Studio Electronics has a knack for that. Greg is a monster of a player and loves synths, so it's no surprise. I took my ATC-1 to him many years ago for a tune up, he hooked his DX100 up to it and started shredding like you wouldn't believe.

[HAL76]

delete

[HAL76]

You know how it is, words can´t really tell - but I´m very very pleased with it and glad that I did it. Everything that comes out of it just sounds "better" and sits right in a mix. I lately made som Kicks with it and wouldn´t even consider 080s from the TR anymore.

Yes, Studio Electronics has a knack for that. Greg is a monster of a player and loves synths, so it's no surprise. I took my ATC-1 to him many years ago for a tune up, he hooked his DX100 up to it and started shredding like you wouldn't believe.

I know little about SE, but the philosophy is "strictly analog" and while playing and programming I had the immediate impression that the synth was designed with passion and love. It "shines" in areas where the competition from Sequential etc. looks pale in my opinion today.

[HAL76]

I have just exchanged my OB6 against the studio electronics Omega 2. Think different.

I GASed hard for an Omega or CODE 8 for the longest time. By the time I could afford one, I’d become so used to polyphonic aftertouch that there was no way I’d drop that amount of cash on something that didn’t work with my controller. Amazing sound, though. Seriously the best modern polyphonic synth.

The price tag is shocking. I didn´t even consider the 8, but immediately liked the sound of it I heard in some demos. I was lucky to find an Omega 2 for sale and it was an adventure to chose it.

You know how it is, words can´t really tell - but I´m very very pleased with it and glad that I did it. Everything that comes out of it just sounds "better" and sits right in a mix. I lately made som Kicks with it and wouldn´t even consider 080s from the TR anymore.

Yeah, the tone from Studio Electronics synths is second to none, IMO, but the price is steep. Their ATC-1 was recommended to me, and it was one of the first analog synths I bought during my return to hardware phase in the 00s. As soon as I found the ATC-X for sale (the ATC-1 with Moog, ARP, SEM and 303 filters and a distortion effect) I snagged it.

Anyway, as I said, if between then and now I hadn’t become hooked on polyphonic aftertouch, there’s no doubt that I’d own one of their 8 voice polys. They actually made some noise about adding it, but then never did. Not sure why. The only polyphonic hardware synth I kept that doesn’t support it is the Analog Four, but that’s almost more like 4 monos in a single box.

In my opinion, limiting yourself to products with polyphonic aftertouch is like limiting yourself to blonde women. It misunderstands the character and also mature models