OB-Xf by Surge Synth Team

[GruvSyco]

I tried using my X8 as a reference for recreating patches in OB-Xf. Knob positions were not very useful at all. I ended up turning parts of the hardware patch off and matching by ear to the plugin. I eventually gave up because the filter in Xf has a graininess/distortion to it that simply does not exist in any of the filter types on the X8. On its own the plugin sounds decent but it’s not very accurate to the hardware. Most of the knobs on the plugin have far too much range compared to the hardware too.

[EvilDragon]

As I said earlier, OB-Xf is not a direct emulation but more of an "inspired by", same as OB-Xd before it.

[frosties]

In other, quite important, news: we are super glad to announce that OB-Xf now supports ASIO out of the box, since Steinberg changed the license for ASIO SDK so that it can be used in GPL3 projects as well!

Of course, this change is coming to Surge XT and a bit later Shortcircuit XT, too!

"Out of the box" means you can use it natively in a standalone version?

[EvilDragon]

If by "it" you mean ASIO driver, then yes. Users don't need to get ASIO SDK themselves and self-build the plugin locally anymore if they wanted to use the ASIO driver. Now it's simply available straight up.

If by "it" you mean the synth itself, this was possible for a long time already.

[EvilDragon]

By the way, folks, the current nightly has some 172 patches in the factory bank. Still looking to completely fill it up to 256, and then we can basically call it 1.0 as far as I'm concerned (well, there's a few other bugfixes that need fixing and one final feature that needs to be wrapped up, still)

[mi-os]

Thanks for the update. Presets are very welcome.

[Iu Gob]

Thank you so much for your generosity and fantastic work. OB-Xf is a creative and high-quality synthesizer. Bravo, Surge Synth Team!

[trewtwer]

Thank you very much, amazing work with this classic synth.

[felis]

Wow! Just gave it a quick spin. This thing sounds fantastic.
Awesome idea to put the Matrix style filters in there.
I really like the way the mods to the lfo can interact with each other.
Osc. sync sounds just the way I like it.
I think lots of people will like the randomize feature.
The many simultaneous small changes it introduces can give usable results.
The voice variation can bring on that added touch.

It's like a 'Best Of' the OB with extra special sauce.
Like I said, I just played with it for a short while, and there's a lot of stuff stuff I haven't tried,
but everything I have tried, sounds top notch.
I'll put the link here again for those looking to try it out:
https://github.com/surge-synthesizer/OB ... ag/Nightly
Many thanks for this one. Outstanding work.

[mi-os]

Has anyone compared this to GForce OB-X, Aly James OB-Xtreme or the SonicProjects one?

[EvilDragon]

It's not going to sound the same, nor was it intended to.

[felis]

I've got a bunch of OB type stuff from GForce including the OB-X, and several from others as well.
They're all variations on a theme, or different flavors. I like all of them.

[mi-os]

It's not going to sound the same, nor was it intended to.

I know it's not an exact emulation. What I mean is its ability to imitate an analog synth that is reminiscent of an OB.

[mi-os]

I've got a bunch of OB type stuff from GForce including the OB-X, and several from others as well.
They're all variations on a theme, or different flavors. I like all of them.

Thank you, so there is no clear winner for you. They all sound like a typical plugin.

[GruvSyco]

For some, clear winner isn’t necessarily the most accurate. I have hardware OB-X8 and TVSpro. The GForce stuff sounds ridiculously close. DIVA can also get very close. Their SVF filter was the first that got the sound right and the Jupiter filters can cover most of the OB-Xa territory the SVF won’t.

When I tried participating in a couple of threads on the SEM emulations I noticed a lot of people like characteristics and qualities of some of the emulations that were not actual characteristics of the original synth. So clear winner depends entirely on what the listener thinks is best for their needs.

OB-Xf filters are not very well aligned with what I can do on my hardware. I think the plugin sounds good though, just not as Oberheim-like as other offerings. ED has stated it’s more “inspired by” than trying to recreate an accurate emulation though.

OPX pro was my go to Oberheim emulation for years. I haven’t bothered to compare it to my hardware because I’m afraid the illusion of all those years enjoying it when it was the only real option will be shattered.