Gforce Software Oberheim SEM

[gentleclockdivider]

Is the SEM useful for nonstandard sounds? In the demos I hear quality conventional sounds but haven't heard anything much outside that. Is the SEM mainly, even only, for those old-school type conventional bass and lead sounds?

what’s an old skool bass sound versus new skool ?

[sQeetz]

I just love the way it sounds and will try to incorporate it in as much tracks as I see fit for it. Oldskool or Nu-skool.

[plexuss]

Is the SEM useful for nonstandard sounds? In the demos I hear quality conventional sounds but haven't heard anything much outside that. Is the SEM mainly, even only, for those old-school type conventional bass and lead sounds?

what’s an old skool bass sound versus new skool ?

Old skool uses sine waves and New skool uses granular synthesis.

[fairlyclose]

Played with demo - big thanks to Gforce for making the demo process so simple. Nice synth, very versatile and the sound certainly took me back but I have Hive which fills that space enough for me now

[Uncle E]

How is it different from putting the same synth on multiple tracks and sending the same MIDI to them? Or hosting them all in BlueCat Patchwork? Or using DDMF Metasynth? Or using PolychainDIY?

What makes Loomer unique for this scenario? (Legit question not trying to be snarky)

It’s just one of the things architect can do .
It can do a helloffalot more , it’s a midi modular host .
But Yes , for this scenario other tools will get you the same result

Is Architect doing the detuning or are you tuning each instance individually? Does it provide oversampling? Is it actually splitting the synths polyphonically or is stacking them in unison?

The others don't detune. Metasynth and Superplugin provide 16x oversampling realtime/64x oversampling offline, and PolychainDIY makes monophonic instruments polyphonic. If Architect does all that, it's certainly worth the price.

[briefcasemanx]

I think OB-E and SEM are up there with U-He's stuff, a step above TAL, Synapse, Arturia, etc.

I'd agree with that except I think Synapse is up there as well.

The Legend is very good, probably very close to U-He or G-Force's SEM stuff. Obsession for me is a step down, more at Arturia or TAL level.

I think OB-E and SEM are up there with U-He's stuff, a step above TAL, Synapse, Arturia, etc.

Have you tried Talmod , it's up there with the best of them
Can you guess which is the sem and which is talmod ?
Both doing some filter audio rate mod
Of course the sem sounds like a sem and talmod has a more roland kind of vibe but when it comes to pure audio signal path and modulation update rate , talmod is topnotch
https://app.box.com/s/x3cbt6p6fu4vdqclihv38ut5yft6hiug

Yes I have tried TALMod, I own and enjoy all of TAL's plugins

[felis]

....How is it different from putting the same synth on multiple tracks and sending the same MIDI to them?...

You should be able to play 4 note chords with it.

If you put 4 instances on tracks and send them the same midi, they're mono, so they will all play the same note - C4, G5, or whatever. If they have different sounds, you can get massive layered sounds that way - probably too big.

There's probably other ways besides Architect to get chords from mono synths within DAW's, but it might take some digging to get there.

[Uncle E]

You should be able to play 4 note chords with it.

That’s cool. It’s deep and I don’t fully get all it can do. Can it do it with hardware like PolychainDIY?

[BONES]

Theobviousquestion is what sor tof CPU overhead you have to pay for all those features you don't need just to play a chord.

Sound & CPU wise, it doesn't hold a candle to GForce's offering

SEM is definitely very light on CPU compared to bx_oberhausen and if you keep oberhausen in MONO mode then, yes, SEM can sound ever so slightly beefier, even without the third VCO. But when you turn Unison on and the voice count to 2, oberhausen instantly sounds better than SEM. Game over. From there, adding in oberhausen's more comprehensive effects suite takes it even further ahead. SEM really aches for some kind of saturation/overdrive compared to what oberhausen can do out of the box. So maybe if you'd said SEM sounded a little bit better in certain situations, you'd have a point but to say bx_oberhausen "can't hold a candle" to SEM justs reveals your bias. Honestly, they are both great but if I could only have one, it would be bx_oberhausen every day of the week. Maybe SEM is a better SEM but bx_oberhausen is a better, more versatile instrument overall.

Then, of course, there is OB-Xtreme, which I've never been able to try, but I have a reasonable expectation that v2 is going to blow all of them out of the water. It mus tbe getting close, Alynhas added this video to the site -

Like I say. I have all three emus and I had a SEM (hardware). Faulty memory or not I still prefer GForce's version by a mile. Arturia's is the worst.
But YMMV. And at the end of the day, who cares?

Everyone who's serious about emulations?

So idiots, then?

I think OB-E and SEM are up there with U-He's stuff, a step above TAL, Synapse, Arturia, etc.

Whereas I don't see anything that puts either above the others you mention. Where they are very simmilar, in my view, is that they are both hugely over-rated around here. I own products from both, and they are fine, but I think people put them up on a pedestal for no good reason.

I don't give a flying f**k about brands, I try to judge every product on its merits, and the products I own and others I've used from those brands are not intrinsically any better (or worse) than a lot of other products out there. Beyond a certain basic level of competence, judging a product by who makes it or how much it costs is just plain ludicrous. Look at all the one and two man devs - Synapse, Dimitri Sches, Adam Szabo, etc. - who compete successfully with companies with dozens, up to hundreds, of employees. For my money, those are the people to admire and support, but I still judge their products on their merits, same as everyone else's.

Welp, I just found the thing that makes me want this -- I realize it's already been mentioned in the thread, but somehow I missed the "hidden panel" area that expands the Arpeggiator controls and gives you a Step Input, 32-Note sequencer including MIDI export, and HOLY CRAP that makes this thing just heaps of instant joy.

Does your DAW not have a sequencer? The only value I see in these kinds of on-board sequencers is that it allows me to play complicated parts on stage with the press of a key, instead of actually having to learn the part. Beyond that, I don't see that they have any value at all.

I see it as good for devs. e.g. Every factory patch in Uno Synth has a sequnce to show it off in the proper light and, when you are going through a big bank of patches, it's nice to have an arp/sequencer to play a pattern while you audition. But once I select a patch, the first thing I do is turn the arp/seq off.

Is the SEM useful for nonstandard sounds? In the demos I hear quality conventional sounds but haven't heard anything much outside that. Is the SEM mainly, even only, for those old-school type conventional bass and lead sounds?

You'd think so but I think that's mostly the market GForce are going for. It's a 3 osc synth with lots of cross-mod capabilities so it's up for pretty much anything, even pads.

The Legend is very good, probably very close to U-He or G-Force's SEM stuff. Obsession for me is a step down, more at Arturia or TAL level.

I'd go the opposite way, I think Obsession shits all over The Legend. It's way more usable and versatile and it sounds better, too. The extra features elevate it way above The Legend.

[vertibration]

Theobviousquestion is what sor tof CPU overhead you have to pay for all those features you don't need just to play a chord.

Sound & CPU wise, it doesn't hold a candle to GForce's offering

SEM is definitely very light on CPU compared to bx_oberhausen and if you keep oberhausen in MONO mode then, yes, SEM can sound ever so slightly beefier, even without the third VCO. But when you turn Unison on and the voice count to 2, oberhausen instantly sounds better than SEM. Game over. From there, adding in oberhausen's more comprehensive effects suite takes it even further ahead. SEM really aches for some kind of saturation/overdrive compared to what oberhausen can do out of the box. So maybe if you'd said SEM sounded a little bit better in certain situations, you'd have a point but to say bx_oberhausen "can't hold a candle" to SEM justs reveals your bias. Honestly, they are both great but if I could only have one, it would be bx_oberhausen every day of the week. Maybe SEM is a better SEM but bx_oberhausen is a better, more versatile instrument overall.

Then, of course, there is OB-Xtreme, which I've never been able to try, but I have a reasonable expectation that v2 is going to blow all of them out of the water. It mus tbe getting close, Alynhas added this video to the site -

Like I say. I have all three emus and I had a SEM (hardware). Faulty memory or not I still prefer GForce's version by a mile. Arturia's is the worst.
But YMMV. And at the end of the day, who cares?

Everyone who's serious about emulations?

So idiots, then?

I think OB-E and SEM are up there with U-He's stuff, a step above TAL, Synapse, Arturia, etc.

Whereas I don't see anything that puts either above the others you mention. Where they are very simmilar, in my view, is that they are both hugely over-rated around here. I own products from both, and they are fine, but I think people put them up on a pedestal for no good reason.

I don't give a flying f**k about brands, I try to judge every product on its merits, and the products I own and others I've used from those brands are not intrinsically any better (or worse) than a lot of other products out there. Beyond a certain basic level of competence, judging a product by who makes it or how much it costs is just plain ludicrous. Look at all the one and two man devs - Synapse, Dimitri Sches, Adam Szabo, etc. - who compete successfully with companies with dozens, up to hundreds, of employees. For my money, those are the people to admire and support, but I still judge their products on their merits, same as everyone else's.

Welp, I just found the thing that makes me want this -- I realize it's already been mentioned in the thread, but somehow I missed the "hidden panel" area that expands the Arpeggiator controls and gives you a Step Input, 32-Note sequencer including MIDI export, and HOLY CRAP that makes this thing just heaps of instant joy.

Does your DAW not have a sequencer? The only value I see in these kinds of on-board sequencers is that it allows me to play complicated parts on stage with the press of a key, instead of actually having to learn the part. Beyond that, I don't see that they have any value at all.

I see it as good for devs. e.g. Every factory patch in Uno Synth has a sequnce to show it off in the proper light and, when you are going through a big bank of patches, it's nice to have an arp/sequencer to play a pattern while you audition. But once I select a patch, the first thing I do is turn the arp/seq off.

Is the SEM useful for nonstandard sounds? In the demos I hear quality conventional sounds but haven't heard anything much outside that. Is the SEM mainly, even only, for those old-school type conventional bass and lead sounds?

You'd think so but I think that's mostly the market GForce are going for. It's a 3 osc synth with lots of cross-mod capabilities so it's up for pretty much anything, even pads.

The Legend is very good, probably very close to U-He or G-Force's SEM stuff. Obsession for me is a step down, more at Arturia or TAL level.

I'd go the opposite way, I think Obsession shits all over The Legend. It's way more usable and versatile and it sounds better, too. The extra features elevate it way above The Legend.

I doubt OBextreme will blow anything out of the water. Thats a reach man

[felis]

This thread needs less 'noise' and unsubstantiated bullshit and more factual, useful information about the GForce SEM.

[mholloway]

Does your DAW not have a sequencer? The only value I see in these kinds of on-board sequencers is that it allows me to play complicated parts on stage with the press of a key, instead of actually having to learn the part. Beyond that, I don't see that they have any value at all.

Ableton live does not have a Step Input sequencer, no. I envy the amazing one implemented into Studio One, and the pretty good one in Logic, both which pair well with the 'pattern' systems both DAWs offer.

Step Input sequencing is different than hitting record and playing something in real time. It's based on the Pro-One and the SH-101 -- where you can enter notes and they get plugged in the sequencer regardless of your timing, one by one, with a button for Hold and a Button for ties. I assume you don't know this, because if you did, you wouldn't ask me the completely silly question "does my DAW have a sequencer" as if that somehow renders SEM's 32-step sequencer useless. The SEM sequencer provides a different way of sequencing than my DAW. One that is fast, fun, and can be stored with a patch -- and, when desired, exported as MIDI to my DAW. Good stuff.

[zerocrossing]

Ableton live does not have a Step Input sequencer, no.

What?

[zerocrossing]

You put OB-E on a back burner?
Blood hell

rsp

So, I took it off the “back burner.” Here’s my mini-review.

First off, the sound is gorgeous. It really is stunning. You could score Stranger Things with just the high-lights preset folder. The presets I checked out are either super useful, classic or interesting.

The UI… bit of a mess. Too many thin lines and not enough contrast. Why is the third oscillator on the “back” panel? If you’re moving away, move away. I also should add that I’m not a fan of the OG SEM’s general layout. Sort of confusing. I’ve always liked synths that have a mixer section, not put it in the filter section, but whatever. A few YouTube tutorials and I was good, but when I think about how basic the synth is, it really shouldn’t have needed it.

I won’t be buying the single voice. It might be nice at times, but not really worth buying. I’ll use OB-E in mono mode and be happy. It’s really nice they added that third oscillator and let you make it a mod source. Really open things up. It’s really so far ahead of Arturia’s emulation, they may as well be emulating synths from different companies. Arturia should do what they did for CS-80 V for SEM V. That would be a fair fight.

[vitocorleone123]

You put OB-E on a back burner?
Blood hell

rsp

So, I took it off the “back burner.” Here’s my mini-review.

First off, the sound is gorgeous. It really is stunning. You could score Stranger Things with just the high-lights preset folder. The presets I checked out are either super useful, classic or interesting.

The UI… bit of a mess. Too many thin lines and not enough contrast. Why is the third oscillator on the “back” panel? If you’re moving away, move away. I also should add that I’m not a fan of the OG SEM’s general layout. Sort of confusing. I’ve always liked synths that have a mixer section, not put it in the filter section, but whatever. A few YouTube tutorials and I was good, but when I think about how basic the synth is, it really shouldn’t have needed it.

I won’t be buying the single voice. It might be nice at times, but not really worth buying. I’ll use OB-E in mono mode and be happy. It’s really nice they added that third oscillator and let you make it a mod source. Really open things up. It’s really so far ahead of Arturia’s emulation, they may as well be emulating synths from different companies. Arturia should do what they did for CS-80 V for SEM V. That would be a fair fight.

The back panel thing is a bit silly. But so is the whole OB-E layout to me. Heh. I like the Extend function so everything is visible on the SEM.

EDIT:
1) when the panel is extended, the middle line should be gone and the Oberheim logo centered - it looks odd as is

2) why can't so many companies build a good preset browser? a great looking synth with a poor (and tiny) browsing experience.... you'd think with u-he synths being around so long that others would get inspired