Poll - Vote 4 yr Oberheim

[Uncle E]

Thats false information. DCO is not a synth on a chip, its digitally controlled oscillator meaning the core is analog, just its tone and shape ect controlled digitally.

Synth on a chip would be something like access virus for example, VA, or FM synths like DX7

They are DCO and they are also synth-on-a-chip. Synth-on-a-chip refers to the CEM3396, which is the DCO oscillators, VCF filter, and VCA all together on a single chip. Synth-on-a-chip does not refer to digital synths.

[DCrown]

I mean, a lot of emus of other synths are ok compared to hardware, but Oberheim...

I reject the premise of this post.

just curious what people think, use and like and I start liking OB-E even lots of presets are not convincing.

[Examigan]

What is the best Oberheim emu for you no matter what model (Obx, Obxa, SEM...)?

I think it's impossible to just ignore the particular model and lump all Oberheims together into one category. The Matrix 1000 is completely different from the Matrix 12 which is completely different from the OB-Xa which again is nothing like an OB-X or a SEM and so on. They all use different voice chips (or in some cases discrete voice cards), different filter types, DCO vs VCO's. completely different architectures etc.

Well, here is a video of someone who should no better. (btw avery intersesting and good video imo). Most Oberheims more or less the same soundwise, only minimal differences possible.
Question was what is the best Oberheim for you (Oberheim plugin!).

Since I will never again own any Oberheim hardware as I am unwilling to commit the financial resources and physical space to it, which ones were discrete and which ones were VCOs, or DCO systems on a chip isn't really relevant

All that matters is does the plugin sound good, and if that answer is yes, can it accomplish what I want it to, and is it worth what it costs

I own a handful of various Oberheim inspired plugins. Some were free, some were included in a bundle with other plugins, and some I purchased outright

Every single one of them sounds like an Oberheim product, works in the musical context I want them to, and was worth the money they cost. I have many TBs available on my drives so space isn't a concern for any of them

Were some of those you have sample-based plugins? Most regular synth plugins don’t need very much space. I was wondering since you mentioned you have several, and many TBs of space.

[IvyBirds]

What is the best Oberheim emu for you no matter what model (Obx, Obxa, SEM...)?

I think it's impossible to just ignore the particular model and lump all Oberheims together into one category. The Matrix 1000 is completely different from the Matrix 12 which is completely different from the OB-Xa which again is nothing like an OB-X or a SEM and so on. They all use different voice chips (or in some cases discrete voice cards), different filter types, DCO vs VCO's. completely different architectures etc.

Well, here is a video of someone who should no better. (btw avery intersesting and good video imo). Most Oberheims more or less the same soundwise, only minimal differences possible.
Question was what is the best Oberheim for you (Oberheim plugin!).

Since I will never again own any Oberheim hardware as I am unwilling to commit the financial resources and physical space to it, which ones were discrete and which ones were VCOs, or DCO systems on a chip isn't really relevant

All that matters is does the plugin sound good, and if that answer is yes, can it accomplish what I want it to, and is it worth what it costs

I own a handful of various Oberheim inspired plugins. Some were free, some were included in a bundle with other plugins, and some I purchased outright

Every single one of them sounds like an Oberheim product, works in the musical context I want them to, and was worth the money they cost. I have many TBs available on my drives so space isn't a concern for any of them

Were some of those you have sample-based plugins? Most regular synth plugins don’t need very much space. I was wondering since you mentioned many you have many TBs of space.

Yes some are sample based for example Syntronik 2 which I got as a bundle had 3 different Oberheim instruments, UVI has Vintage Vault that has a bunch of sample based Oberheim instruments as well. I use those for presets mainly

Also have to say the new Omnisphere 3's Oberheim filters are awesome and sound great, especially with the Wavetables. It's probably my favorite Oberheim synth at the moment

Beyond that I also have many of the G Force ones and all of the Arturia ones. I do however really wish Arturia would update the Matrix 12 with the next V collection

[Examigan]

I agree on updating Matrix 12. Hopefully it's already in the works?

[jupiter8]

Well, here is a video of someone who should no better. (btw avery intersesting and good video imo). Most Oberheims more or less the same soundwise, only minimal differences possible.

SEM and OB-X were discrete, OB-8, OB-Xa, and Matrix-12 were chips, and Matrix-6 and Matrix-1000 were DCO synth-on-a-chip.

Thats false information. DCO is not a synth on a chip, its digitally controlled oscillator meaning the core is analog, just its tone and shape ect controlled digitally.

You have that backwards. The core is digital and tone and shape is done in analog.

[IvyBirds]

I agree on updating Matrix 12. Hopefully it's already in the works?

You can get pretty close with the new Omnisphere 3. Many people skip over it's VA capabilities but they are pretty awesome. The new OB classic filter models are awesome, and they have a killer model of the State Variable filter in the Sequential Oberheim OB6 in addition to to all the other filters, and has an EXTREMELY deep and powerful mod matrix that can do just about everything the Matrix 12's can do and a few things it can't, and you get 2 extra Oscillators if you wish

While not a perfect or specific Matrix 12 Emulation it can come really close and do the same types of things, and sonically I think it sounds better than the Arturia version which is getting very long in the tooth.

Of course it does pretty good emulations of other Oberheim polys as well, and with four oscillators can replicate the four voice also

[zerocrossing]

I mean, a lot of emus of other synths are ok compared to hardware, but Oberheim...

I reject the premise of this post.

just curious what people think, use and like and I start liking OB-E even lots of presets are not convincing.

Convincing of what?



Maybe you hate the Oberheim sound? You mentioned that you've never owned one, and your idea of Oberheim comes from Prince albums.

Well, maybe Oberheim just isn't for me. Never played a real one. And the fact that I like Prince, doesn't automatically mean that I would enjoy the same instruments he used. So this is no problem, cuz there are lots of other synths, but won't change the fact that what the emus I experienced gave me: no inspiration and they were boring to me the opposite of what for instance HZ Zebra gives me.

Do you think Prince recorded his OB-X direct to tape and never processed it at all?

Now it's even crazier that you're comparing an analog emulation to a high-powered semi-modular synth plugin? It's like you ordered a NY Aged Strip steak and are confused that you didn't get lamb vindaloo.

I don't know what to tell you. I don't have an Oberheim... well, my ATC-X has a SEM clone filter, but I wouldn't say that quite counts. I do have most of the GForce stuff, and it's fantastic. I used Arturia's OB-Xa V on a track for a video game and I thought it came out quite good.

(the part starts at 7:03 and is a soundtrack for a retro boardwalk amusement park area of an open world sandbox VR game)

https://soundcloud.com/charmedparticle/ ... g#t=7%3A03

I was just going for that classic Van Halen type of 80s rock sound. Would one of the other emulations have worked better? Maybe, but I never had issue with what I was getting so I never bothered to swap it out.

[DCrown]

I mean, a lot of emus of other synths are ok compared to hardware, but Oberheim...

I reject the premise of this post.

just curious what people think, use and like and I start liking OB-E even lots of presets are not convincing.

Convincing of what?



Maybe you hate the Oberheim sound? You mentioned that you've never owned one, and your idea of Oberheim comes from Prince albums.

Well, maybe Oberheim just isn't for me. Never played a real one. And the fact that I like Prince, doesn't automatically mean that I would enjoy the same instruments he used. So this is no problem, cuz there are lots of other synths, but won't change the fact that what the emus I experienced gave me: no inspiration and they were boring to me the opposite of what for instance HZ Zebra gives me.

Do you think Prince recorded his OB-X direct to tape and never processed it at all?

Now it's even crazier that you're comparing an analog emulation to a high-powered semi-modular synth plugin? It's like you ordered a NY Aged Strip steak and are confused that you didn't get lamb vindaloo.

I don't know what to tell you. I don't have an Oberheim... well, my ATC-X has a SEM clone filter, but I wouldn't say that quite counts. I do have most of the GForce stuff, and it's fantastic. I used Arturia's OB-Xa V on a track for a video game and I thought it came out quite good.

(the part starts at 7:03 and is a soundtrack for a retro boardwalk amusement park area of an open world sandbox VR game)

https://soundcloud.com/charmedparticle/ ... g#t=7%3A03

I was just going for that classic Van Halen type of 80s rock sound. Would one of the other emulations have worked better? Maybe, but I never had issue with what I was getting so I never bothered to swap it out.

Prince is known to often have used presets, some exceptions or course, all that mattered to him was super fast workflow , he had too many ideas of new songs in his head, and no, synths were rarely processed, mostly directly recorded to tape from machine. I watched a lot of videos about him.
Why would you process a synth sound unless you don't want to get something weird?!

Not convincingmeans I already wrote it, GForce to me didn't make a good job on presets, very, very often way too much reverb. But I found the fx switch off knob. OB-E is a good tool to make own presets to me. My 2nd instrument plugin that inspires me to make own presets thanks to this thread. There seems to be a preset issue wirh Oberheim emus, Op-x also terrible job, way too loud presets, no consistency in decent loudness, what did the preset programmers drink?.

Is there something wrong with you?
Where did I compare Oberheim to Zebra????

I just mentioned I like using Zebra, whereas I don't like using Oberheim emus that much.
Zebra is a softsynth.
Oberheim emus are softsynth.
Do you get it?!

All that matters is whether you enjoy using something or not..Also t hings like whether emu is 100% like hardware don't matter at all.

[Uncle E]

(the part starts at 7:03 and is a soundtrack for a retro boardwalk amusement park area of an open world sandbox VR game)

Chariots of Fire!

[zerocrossing]

(the part starts at 7:03 and is a soundtrack for a retro boardwalk amusement park area of an open world sandbox VR game)

Chariots of Fire!

Huh, I was going for a Jump knock off.

[Uncle E]

Huh, I was going for a Jump knock off.

17:01

[IvyBirds]

Prince is known to often have used presets, some exceptions or course, all that mattered to him was super fast workflow , he had too many ideas of new songs in his head, and no, synths were rarely processed, mostly directly recorded to tape from machine. I watched a lot of videos about him.
Why would you process a synth sound unless you don't want to get something weird?!

Not sure where you got this information from, but you seem rather ignorant on how 1980s records were recorded and the methodology that Prince used when he recorded his most iconic works at Sunset Sound from 1981-1987 when he opened his own studio called Paisley Park

He was a fan of giant character filled consoles, he especially liked the custom API/DeMedio Console built by Bill Bushnell at Sunset Sound and later modified/built by Frank DeMedio that he used to record albums like Purple Rain that had unique textures and colors. He liked it so much he had one custom built to sound just like it for Paisley Park Studio B

He also was a fan of Studer tape machines, and Apex Aural Exciters which you can hear all over his ,iconic tracks and had unique sonic character. He also used many esoteric effects units Publison IM-90

He would also record stuff live in clubs or in smaller studios to take and bring that tape into Sunset where it was bounced down to another tape through the desk, while other parts were rerecorded again, and new parts were tracked adding all kinds of color and texture

Then that multi tracked tape was then pushed through the API/DeMedio desk again for mix down and recorded yet again to another tape

Which was then handed to Bernie Grundman for mastering where he added even more color and character to the recordings with his custom built and modified mastering gear

When you listen to Prince records you are not hearing pristine recordings of Synths. You are hearing Synths that were run through a colorful desk multiple times, that was recorded, mixed, and mastered using custom and modified gear to impart a very specific colorized sound with unique sonic textures. This is true of every 1980s album recorded, mixed, and mastered in the analog domain, but especially the Prince records

Finally the only way to hear those records when they came out was on Vinyl with its own sonic character and frequency response, or on 8 track tape or cassette again each with its own sonic character, and if you heard it on 1989s radio or MTV you were also hearing the sonic character of those formats as well and the gear they used to broadcast it

[DCrown]

C'mon that's riduclous to think a console adds that much to a sound.
First of all every one used tape and of 70s and 80ies, so Prince was no exception.
I know very well what consoles Prince used.
If you know about Prince, you know that he didn't care that much about sound or mix quality, a song had ro be recorded and mixed quickly, that was important, the song itself was important, it rarely took him more than 2 takes to record something.
His music would sound pretty much the same whether a Neve, API or whatever console would have been used. He like Sunset Sound's API,cuz he got used to it, he never wrote a book about how wonderful that console made his music sound.

You talk about color like a blue sky on a painting was all of a sudden changed into orange by a console or mastering engineer. Mastering must not even change anything on sound.

[Matt67]

Pandora's box has been opened