Poll - Vote 4 yr Oberheim

[IvyBirds]

The new Omnisphere 3 with the new modeled Oberheim filters has one of the best Oberheim sounding Oberheim patches of anything on that list

I would say Sonic Projects OP-X PRO-II/III is the most like a real Oberheim sound. Extremely underrated and one of the most accurate analog emulations out there.

The question was asked and polled "What is the best Oberheim emu for you"

The problem with the OP-X Pro is it's lacks the Modulation Matrix of Matrix 12, and you can't emulate 4 Voice, as it's architecture doesn't support it

So it's not a complete package to emulate Oberheim sounds, but certainly sounds good in a limited way

[felis]

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

As seen from the extreme number of choices in the poll, the question wasn't specific enough.

My two votes went for - best basic sound - OB-E,
and
best modulation options - Matrix 12V.

Oberheim is not just one specific sound or model, and there are many emulations of different variations.

[braincandy]

I started demoing a couple of these that I don't already have and....I bit and bought Obsession. I have no idea how close to an OBX-a it is, but it really sounds amazing and more alive/fuller/richer than the Arturia OB-Xa, which I still really like and will still use. Before I bought it, I chose the GForce OB-X and UVI OB Legacy in the poll as my favorites as they just both do it for me.

Alright. Now back to the pedantry and hair-splitting.

[sacer]

the new arturia sem v3 sounds also really nice

[Vortifex]

I liked the sound of Obsession but the workflow was so bad I didn't buy it.

[Najimad]

I am surprised some don't know what the Oberheim sound is and what models represent The Oberheim sound, pretty sure it is not Matrix, the devolopment of Matrix is one cause for Oberheim 's bunkruptcy, it was'nt considered a good synth and was no success, so Matrix is not the famous Oberheim sound or synth.
Tge question what is the best Oberheim for you?
Since it is a software instrument forum, I refer to my fave softsynth Oberheim and do not care whether it is a good emu of hw or not and there are different models and concepts to pick.
On the poll list only Arturia is pretty weak imho.

Couldn't find a poll.of synths like Serum, Dune, Phaseplant, Pigments etc...
Is there any? would be interesting.
How are they called? Supersynths?
Well, I think I will start a new poll...
but need help for a complete list

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I liked the sound of Obsession but the workflow was so bad I didn't buy it.

It sounds like Richard may be open to doing a new Obsession GUI in the future after the extremely positive reception that Proxima's GUI received. Might be part of an "Obession 2.0" or something though and Richard doesn't work super fast. But yeah, the reason I don't recommend Obsession is the same: too much going back and forth (front panel, back panel, trimmers page).

[Examigan]

The new Omnisphere 3 with the new modeled Oberheim filters has one of the best Oberheim sounding Oberheim patches of anything on that list

I would say Sonic Projects OP-X PRO-II/III is the most like a real Oberheim sound. Extremely underrated and one of the most accurate analog emulations out there.

The question was asked and polled "What is the best Oberheim emu for you"

The problem with the OP-X Pro is it's lacks the Modulation Matrix of Matrix 12, and you can't emulate 4 Voice, as it's architecture doesn't support it

So it's not a complete package to emulate Oberheim sounds, but certainly sounds good in a limited way

OP-X Pro 3 has a mod matrix. Not a large number of slots, but it’s there. Also the voice boards can be deactivated to make it a 4 voice.

[Matt67]

I keep reading about the “Oberheim sound” here. What exactly is that? Or to put it another way: What is the “Roland sound” or the “Korg sound,” etc.?

My OB-8 doesn't sound like my Matrix-12. It doesn't sound like my Matrix-6 either. I remember the Four Voice from the studio. It sounded completely different too. So what is the Oberheim sound?

All I can say is that every single one of them sounds fantastic. That's why I haven't sold any of them (I only traded the OB-Xa for the OB-8).

And something else that has nothing to do with the topic, about the hardware itself. Unfortunately, my entire collection was stored in a room with high humidity for over 10 years. I didn't know that at the time. All of the Sequential synthesizers and over half of the Roland and Korg synthesizers were destroyed by the humidity. None of the Oberheim synthesizers were affected.

[rasmusklump]

The new Omnisphere 3 with the new modeled Oberheim filters has one of the best Oberheim sounding Oberheim patches of anything on that list

I would say Sonic Projects OP-X PRO-II/III is the most like a real Oberheim sound. Extremely underrated and one of the most accurate analog emulations out there.

The question was asked and polled "What is the best Oberheim emu for you"

The problem with the OP-X Pro is it's lacks the Modulation Matrix of Matrix 12, and you can't emulate 4 Voice, as it's architecture doesn't support it

So it's not a complete package to emulate Oberheim sounds, but certainly sounds good in a limited way

OP-X Pro 3 has a mod matrix. Not a large number of slots, but it’s there. Also the voice boards can be deactivated to make it a 4 voice.

Yup.
Sonicprojects is the best one for me personally.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I keep reading about the “Oberheim sound” here. What exactly is that?

Funny you should ask. I was watching this interview yesterday and Tom Oberheim gets asked the "how would you describe the Oberheim sound" question here at 33:56:



The whole interview is worth a listen. They talk at different points about how the OB filters don't lose bass, and how the resonance sort of distorts, allowing for sounds that Moog and Sequential synths weren't able to totally nail at the time. So those are definitely characteristics of the Oberheim sound I think one could point to, even if they're not the only synths that do that today.

[mholloway]

G-Force getting the actual Oberheim branding is going to make it very hard to convince people they aren't the "most accurate" but I'm not convinced it's true, as buying a brand logo / getting quotes from Tom himself all falls under "business men doing business" afaic. Gforce made some very strong moves as a business regarding branding.

BUT....

I still really dislike their OB-X plugin, and oh my have I tried to like it. I wanted to love it. But it's just so clinical and ugly and weird. Basic modulation never sounds musical, it sounds clinical and abrasive -- vibrato, LFO to cutoff or amp, the most basic stuff never sounds "smooth" or musical. And there is a lot of weird right-mouse-click / open hidden panels to find important controls. And then, maybe worst of all, the envelopes -- what the hell is up with those envelopes? Again, never musical, always difficult to dial in, never responding how my brain / instincts expect. From "so short it's useless" short to suddenly "so long I'd never use it" lengths at the most bizarre places on the knob.

And (of less concern, but still...) the presets are drenched in Gforce effects as if they distrust the actual sound of the thing. I know, I know, old analogs synths were always run through chorus and verb and etc etc, but it's still absolute overkill. If you want to hear how the oberheim synth actually sounds you need to lock all the FX OFF and then check out the presets.... and they aren't exactly inspiring.

Maybe I'd hate an actual OB-X if I had one in front of me -- it's quite possible. Maybe it has the clinical modulation and horrible, horrible envelope ranges. I don't know. Or maybe Gforce isn't as amazing as the successful branding suggests. Again, I don't know -- I just know when I"m having a horrible time programming a soft-synth, and that is always the story with their OB-X.

I also have OB-E but I won't comment on it as I've never bothered to really put it to the test, the 8 separate SEMs are pretty overwhelming and getting used to the offset behavior has always seemed more trouble than its worth. The presets are, of course, drenched in FX.

Sonic Projects synth is a UI nightmare, always has been, even with the updates it's still just absolute over-engineering in every direction -- but it sounds good and things behave as expected when I program it.

But as for my vote, that's easy -- BX Oberhausen. Musical, sweet, clearly laid out, nearly impossible to make it sound bad. I love the thing.

[rasmusklump]

The new Programmers Edition of opx-3 has decluttered the gui.

[mholloway]

The new Programmers Edition of opx-3 has decluttered the gui.

I'll check it out, wasn't aware of it

[DCrown]

Have to check, as well