Poll - Vote 4 yr Oberheim

[VariKusBrainZ]

Aly James OB-Xtreme

And Aly is a big Prince fan

[Echoes in the Attic]

If you like Zebra HZ more anyway, have you looked into Zebra 3 and it's SVF filters? If I'm not wrong, that's the type of filter that the Oberheims also use? Allthough there is no filter in Zebra 3 where you can morph between LP and HP. You can do that with Diva and it's Uhbie VCF, though.

In any case, I'd be more looking into what synths you like from sound and usability, not so much that they are a perfect replication of this or that synth.

Quite a few synths have the OB SVF filters. Omnisphere as well, which actually got introduced when they did the hardware integrations and there were no filters that behaved like the oberheims.

[Echoes in the Attic]

Aly James OB-Xtreme

And Aly is a big Prince fan

The osc overdrive in OB-Xtreme is pretty unique too.

[GruvSyco]

I have an OB-X8 and a TVSpro. The Gforce emulations are ridiculously close in sound. I can get a lot of mileage out of DIVA as well. At one point I was recreating the X8 factory patches in DIVA, ABing directly with the hardware.

OPX pro was great for the longest time. ABing with the hardware though, it is missing something in the high end. It sounds muffled. You probably wouldn’t really even notice in a mix though.

As far as any of the other SEM based emulations go, I always hear people liking aspects of the emulation that I don’t really feel are characteristic of the actual synth. Sizzle is one that gets thrown around a lot. The only time my original SEM sizzled back in the day was right before it released the magic smoke.

[Yorrrrrr]

Synapse Obsession.

[zvenx]

I really love Dune 3 and Legend HZ.
I really like Proxima.
Obsession was probably the most disappointing Vst I have ever bought (and I was looking forward to it so much that I bought it during a glitch of their system before it was even released, that is without even demoing it)

Bottom line is tastes really do differ.
rsp

[Examigan]

OPX pro was great for the longest time. ABing with the hardware though, it is missing something in the high end. It sounds muffled. You probably wouldn’t really even notice in a mix though.

Yeah it's tough to notice in a mix.

In OP-X Pro-3, (compared to OP-X Pro II) there is an improved oversampled engine
with a smoother "polished" sound which also can go brighter.

[Examigan]

Op-x II Pro, maybe the best sounding and funkiest emu with the classic sound, but there is something that made me very angry. I think there are thousands of presets, some of them five times, just in different banks and the good presets are very often too loud - +5dB or more, that's annoying. It is like you are selling stovetops that get too hot and you always burn your food.
The preset manager is a joke and bad for a fast and organized workflow. I know there is version 3 out now, but not interested, same synth in different clothes

Lots of new stuff, not just different clothes like you mentioned.

From the manual:
"The synth offers 10 filter types, 5 envelopes, 4 LFOs, added modulation effects, a voice
boards view, a very powerful new preset browser offering search, category tagging and
favourites, and last but least an extremely powerful modulation matrix!"

Also - an improved oversampled engine featuring a smoother more "polished" sound which also can go brighter.

[Echoes in the Attic]

If you like Zebra HZ more anyway, have you looked into Zebra 3 and it's SVF filters? If I'm not wrong, that's the type of filter that the Oberheims also use? Allthough there is no filter in Zebra 3 where you can morph between LP and HP. You can do that with Diva and it's Uhbie VCF, though.

In any case, I'd be more looking into what synths you like from sound and usability, not so much that they are a perfect replication of this or that synth.

Quite a few synths have the OB SVF filters. Omnisphere as well, which actually got introduced when they did the hardware integrations and there were no filters that behaved like the oberheims.

Another one with OB filters is Ana2, which also has a huge selection of vintage analog synth waveforms. I find it can easily nail Roland and Oberheims. In fact whenever I use it, I seriously wonder why I have any other analog emulations.

[zvenx]

Did not know that.. that may explain why Ana2's sound always appeal to me.. those are my two favourite filters.. Roland and Oberheims.
rsp

[felis]

I like GForce OB stuff for strictly sound, but am also really liking the re-done Arturia SEM V3 for features.

[Hewitt Huntwork]

When it comes to which emulation comes closest to the original, in my opinion it's the DSP OB-Xd. It comes extremely close to my OB-8. With the DSP, I can reproduce all the sounds of the OB-8 without any problems. This is also possible with the OP-X Pro, but it takes longer.
I haven't found a replacement for the Matrix models yet. Neither for the M12 nor for the M6. Arturia gave me some hope with the 12V. But in terms of warmth and richness, it's miles away.

I appreciate you sharing this. I am a fan of the Matrix sounds and I used to own an M-1000. I think for some of us, this is the "Oberheim sound" while for others (OP included) the "Oberheim sound" is gnarlier and funkier and came from different Oberheim synths. I feel like Matrix sounds are the most underrepresented in all of VSTdom!

[Cavey Arrgh]

At one point I was recreating the X8 factory patches in DIVA, ABing directly with the hardware.

If you made the patches for fun and not as part of a money making venture, would you mind sharing one or two patch screenshots? (screen pics are easy and nothing to have to download, or worry about viruses) I ask because I always wonder which are the best combos of DIVA oscillator and envelope types for OB sound (the filter is obvious

[cryophonik]

What is the best Oberheim emu for you no matter what…

Easy, OB-6

[4_the masses]

Cherry audio 8 voice if you can't afford a real oberheim, but no matter what, your not going to sound like or crate the music that Prince did no matter what bro