OP-X PRO-II

This is simply an awesome sounding synth. It's obivously an Oberheim OB-X emulation from the looks, but this thing really can emulate the typical classic sounds of all kinds of iconic synths of this era including Jupiter-8 and Prophet-5. Especially the Jupiter-8 factory presets the synth ships with sound closer to the real thing than anything else I've heard so far. The synth furthermore comes with absolutely tons of included soundbanks which really all are absolutely outstanding.

The synth offers a nearly endless number of features including voice based detuning, dozens of arpeggiator presets, FM, ring modulator, effects, automated voice panning, step-sequencer and so on. This on one hand is great of course, but if you want to program your own sounds from scratch the plentora of features also becomes a disadvantage somehow since a lot of stuff isn't really obvious and often isn't laid out logically which makes reading the manual a must and therefore can be cubersome. There's really a steep learning curve and I hope they one day provide something like a video tutorial.

Luckily the provided soundbanks are as good and there are as many sounds that you don't necessarily need to program your own sounds. If I do then I almost never start from scratch but just edit an existing preset which already sounds alike which saves me a lot of work.

I initially also wasn't happy with the interface which was too small and hard to read. But then they luckily released bigger interfaces and also an alternative interface without keyboard and unnecessary stuff which is my favourite. Especially the largest version of this interface, the Rack Edition Huge, really is like day and night compared to the original interface with huge sharp controls and big sharp text. Still a bit complicated but a lot better than the original one.

Another positive point to mention is that this synth is very light on CPU for a virtual analog having such a great sound. I'm able to use more than 10 instances in a one session on my medicore computer which is really great.

So all in all I really can highly recommend this synth.

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OK I might be a little bit subjective here, let me explain :


I realised quite recently that the OB-X synth (the real machine, not the VST) had the sound I've been looking for in the last 15 years. No kidding. Since I've started making music as a kid, I wanted THAT sound but I had no idea where to find it.

Of course buying an OB-X wasn't an option so I looked for a similar VST. That's when I found this little gem !

I've tried MANY a VST synth in my life : all the native instruments, alchemy, sylenth-1, minimogue, ableton's operator and a lot of freewares. I really found them good, until I listened to that one.

They claim it has an analog sound which I found hard to believe given that everybody pretends to sound analog nowadays. To me it's the only one that sounds analog (the free minimogue is a close match though, but it's a different kind of sound, so they complete each other pretty well). Honestly this one has this "thing" which makes it sound like a real machine.

So yeah, I'm a bit subjective because I discover the OB-X (the real synth) and OP-X (this plugin) at the same time, and got really excited, however I can say to things :
- it's defintely a faithful emulation, and if you can hear the difference withthe real thing, then you definitely have superior ears than mine
- it's the most analog sounding VST I ever heard

Another thing to consider also is that I'm not into tweaking or designing sounds. I'm more into writing music. So to me presets are just as important as the capabilities of the instrument. That's another area where OP-X shines ! There are 1500 presets, and most of them sound just excelent. You have also a lot of presets from famous songs and artists (pink floyd, toto, etc ...) which are surprisingly similar if not identical.

So in a word, this VST sounds amazing right out of the box.

The only thing is that the interface looks really cluttered and that's a bit annoying. Besides, you will probably have to read the manual, if you want to make the most of it (adding efects, controling the detuning of the voices and so on ...)

Yet it does have the best sound I ever heard and to me that's the most important thing.

If you are after this kind of sound, try the demo. If you aren't ...well try it too, you might fall in love ;)Read Review

I bought this VST several months ago because I needed that fat Oberheim sound for some songs my band does live.

This is a good Oberheim incarnation and has all the bells and whistles that came on the original hardware version, plus a few extra. The sound is big and fat just like the Obies of the day. I can do a fairly direct comparison because I still own a Matrix 1000 and have it in my studio so I can hear the differences. The differences are there, but there not so much that this synth can't be considered a fairly faithful recreation from the sound standpoint.

The added capabilities of being able to pan and tune each oscillator individually is really nice. Where this VST lacks though is in the area of Midi implementation and EFX.

Virtually every other "decent" VST out there usually has a built-in chorus, delay or reverb somewhere. For me this is very helpful since I can store the appropriate effect with each patch. The OPX-PRO does not have any onboard EFX. While it sounds big, all the older analog synths benefited from EFX added to the patch and the Obie is no exception. I have to chain in outboard VT EFX to get the sound I need from the Obie and have to program separate patches on those EFX so that they load when I change the patch on the OPX. At $149.00 it could have it's own onboard EFX I think.

Also, no midi learn capabilities so you have to handle controller mapping in the host or on the controller board itself. If you're fine with that then this isn't a huge deal and that is in fact how I'm dealing with it myself. I've just gotten spoiled over the years with the midi learn capabilities of a lot of other commercial VSTs.

In the end, this isn't a bad VST and it sounds great and pretty darn authentic. I would highly recommend downloading the demo version and playing with it a bit to see if it suits your needs.Read Review

Sound: It's all about the sound for me, and this synth NAILS the late 70s SEM filter sound. As a result, not only is it a spot-on OB-X clone, it can sound just like a Jupiter 8 and Prophet 5. Warm and lush to cold and digital, this synth sings in all the ranges.

Features: In many ways it's the VSTi synth I've always wanted; fat, analog, sweet filter, with great modulation features. It also has a killer FM/ringmod implementation that goes beyond the original OB's capabilities by allowing one or both of the oscillators to be a sine wave.

Download the demo, try it. You'll be hooked.

UI: Very authentic. Some of the controls are a little on the small side, and some things won't be obvious until you read the manual.

Presets: wonderful banks with emulations from other synths, and the Famous bank is hilarious- I could name almost every song each patch was used in.

Customer support: lots of updates, fast e-mail response. Very good.

Value for money: this thing is a bargain at $99, plain and simple.

Stability: Rock solid. CPU use is a little higher than most, but very similar to, say, the TAL Uno-60. Totally worth it though.Read Review

When I first heard this vsti, I had to buy it! I use it for leads using my Akai EWI4000s and it delivers! It reads midi controls great live and what strikes me the most is the portamento.
If you're looking for a realistic, sweet, FAT analog vsti, this is the most realistic, sweetest, FATTEST one I've ever found! When they said Oberheim OB-X clone, they weren't kidding!

I'm not the one to design sounds, even though it's easy enough with the GUI, I just use the presets given and they give 400 of them for your use! I particularly enjoy the leads provided because of my particular use and they are colorful. I enjoy the variety.

It has an attractive GUI that mimicks the Oberheim OB-X pretty well, although using it's keyboard with the mouse is a little difficult trying to hit the black notes.
The one real gripe I do have about it, however, is that notes hang in Sonar when stopping and editing midi and you restart the song until it hits the particular note(s) that's hanging. Other than that, it tracks really well!Read Review

I don't know why it took me so long to find out about this product just after I already spent the money on Minimonsta, but when I heard the sounds coming from OP-X I had to throw down the cash immediately. This synth is FANTASTIC. Its the near perfect 80's rock synth, but it fits many other styles as well. The SEM filter emulation is so spot on its scary. Think Rush's "Tom Sawyer". This is one of the fattest VSTi synths I have ever played, mostly due to teh way they detuned each oscilator voice individually, and in a way that is authentic to the original.

I also recently picked up MiniMonsta and IMPOscar which I also love for different reasons but I have to say the OP-X has won my heart over even both of those two well respected synths. The lead sounds are thick and ballsy. The sweeps are great. Lots of great brassy sounds.

I have never actually played an Oberheim synth, but I hear from other people who have, that this emulation is very very good. I sort of don't care whether its authentic. It sounds fat and ballsy and that's all I care about.Read Review