Oberon

The world is full of free substractive synths,and though some of them are really good, others are just repetitions of the same patterns producing the same songs. This is logical, and in spite of that that's always something to praise.

Now Oberon belongs to the former group, being a very good sounding synth.
It has 2 oscillators, and the filters are really quite good actually, making this little beats sounding very very analogical. Its sound reminds me of the best analogical synths, it seems it's inspired by the Oberheim, but I can't judge that. It just sounds good.

When you browse the presets you'll think it's a quite limited synth, very far from Synth 1 or Polyblit for example. But when you play with it you'll realise of its full potential. You can get really good electronic basses,and truly analogical pads. It's much more than what it appears at simple sight.

Its interface is simple and clear: the oscillators, envelope, filters...are very clearly separated and visible. and the GUI is not spectacular but very decent though, with those orange over black.

It has never crashed in my computer, and it uses very little cpu. that, together with its good sound, has made me use it more often every day.

100% recommendedRead Review

well this is one of my bread and butter synths, no doubt. i should say that this gets used in about half the tracks i write which ... may not be many...

anyway, i really enjoy it. simple, smooth and pleasant. easy to program, good docs including midi ccs.

i don't think the presets show off it's abilities, but then i usually use it for very smooth sub basses with a bit of character. it also does quite decent punchy leads and such, but for me it's a bass synth of great standing.

superb VFM.Read Review

the Oberon was really a surprise, it really sounds analogue! it is a cliché, but it is really the case with this one. Sort of like of a Juno, but different, in its polyphonic mode, and very nice analoguish leads in mono-mode with portamento. Not overly versatile, but again like the Juno, kinds of always sounds good in what it does. Very nice vintage-looking interface, I would swear I used that synth in hardware. Again, Juno, Jupiter 4 type of sounds, but not so much the Roland signature sound, but the closest in a VSTi to those kind of hardware. Very warm natural sound, osc and filters. Almost real substractive analog! Great for Jupiter-type strings, smooth leads, ambient organish pads... it is all in the quality of sound, not in extravagant features.Read Review

I downlaoded Oberon one day because I was seeking a new synth with the quality of Satyr but not as difficult to program. Oberon fits that bill perfectly. Its a champ for simple virtual analog stuff. I really like the retro-GUI. My only criticism is that it blinks a little when you use the toggle switches.Read Review

This a top little free VSTi, One of the best I've found in terms of analogue emulation. The GUI looks a lot like a certain analogue hardware synth I've seen before. Maybe a Roland Jupiter 4? However the name would suggest the programmer had an old Oberheim synth in mind when he came up with the name.

What I love about this VSTi (apart from the fact it's free of course) is that it's very simple to use but very easy to get some really nice sounds & textures out of it. First off, De-tuning the oscillators can give you some very fat sounds. The filter section is nice as well. There are 2 envelopes for Modulation & Amplitude & these combined with the filter section can give some very nice sweeping string/pads that can sound very fat & convincing.

The programmer has written some brief but excellent notes that come in the form of a Read-me file. In this file you can find details of the parameters in the Oberon synth, Notes about the limitations imposed by Synth Edit, A MIDI CC chart etc..

Overall this is a fantastic little synth never mind that it's free (I'd be happy to shell out a few quid for this one to be honest) & more than worthy of download. The programmer has done an excellent job with the sound capabilities & quality + The GUI is excellent as well (Not so important but nice to have such a good looking front-end all the same).Read Review

Oberon is one fat bloke. 2 oscillators goodness await
all who enter. My first impression of the Oberon brought
to mind the roland Sh-09 and 101. After months of using
it, I have yet to experience a single crash, I can't say that about many other Se creations. A excellent look tops off the package, more presets would be useful but its easily worth 40$. A great testament to the power of SE in talented hands. Good work Cocknaige keep it up.!!!!Read Review

What's to say other than this is one of the best free synths out there. Oberon does NOT sound or look like a typical SynthEdit creation. It has a seriously fat sound, and the interface is professional quality.

This is a definite must have, and I would recommend this fabulous freebie to anyone. Keep up the good work LOC!Read Review

Excellent free synth, very rich sounds, worth a download, I'd say. there are two oscillators, one tri saw can be detuned for very fat sounds, the othet a pulse wavw which has pwm. Oscillators can be synced.

The interface is beautifully drawn too. This is probably my favourite vst instrument. Great achievement considering it was done with syntheditRead Review