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Average rating:
4.6 out of 5
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I just bought mine this past weekend and my initial impressions are these: I really love being able to create incredible sounds on a synth which doesn't require onboard f/x or external processing all the time. The basic sounds are fat and warm. The pads and strings are very warm and rich via detuning. The unison mode provides some cutting leads and rumbling basses. I don't use synth-brass sounds, but it can do them quite well. I feel that the OB-8 overall is warm and full and has a character of it's own. I've got a later version (MIDI, Page 2 commands silkscreened on front panel). I'm still getting used to getting around (not as well laid out as the Jupiter-8 I just sold)on it, but I've been happily tweaking away without too many problems. If you're looking for something different than VA's or the Juno/Jupes, give it a shot as it's a very different sounding beast. I'll add a more in-depth review down the road.
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I just bought mine this past weekend and my initial impressions are these: I really love being able to create incredible sounds on a synth which doesn't require onboard f/x or external processing all the time. The basic sounds are fat and warm. The pads and strings are very warm and rich via detuning. The unison mode provides some cutting leads and rumbling basses. I don't use synth-brass sounds, but it can do them quite well. I feel that the OB-8 overall is warm and full and has a character of it's own. I've got a later version (MIDI, Page 2 commands silkscreened on front panel). I'm still getting used to getting around (not as well laid out as the Jupiter-8 I just sold)on it, but I've been happily tweaking away without too many problems. If you're looking for something different than VA's or the Juno/Jupes, give it a shot as it's a very different sounding beast. I'll add a more in-depth review down the road.
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This is the greatest analog that I've dealt with and I've had a lot of them. It's warm, it's phat, it's all that!!! One thing that I discovered is you can change the character of the synth tone by adjusting the voice chips resonance controls under the hood (i.e. T-105, T-106). I adjusted it to my liking instead of the factory calibration and it now has more realistic organ sounds, grittier synth pads, ultra resonant basses, it screams unlike it did before. I can make the resonant control almost distort the VCA for a grittier, punchier, overdriven sound.
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I own an later model OB-8 with MIDI and the silk screened page 2 graphics. It's my second OB-8 and I love it as much as the first pre-MIDI one I bought years ago when they originally came out. The OB-8 screams and it awesome when two patches are layered together. Great leads, effects and string sounds. Not a bad electric piano either, except for the fact that it's not a velocity sensitive synth. I'll usually look elsewhere in analog-land for basses unless I want to use a unison or stacked patch. As far as programming goes, with all the knobs and buttons it's a blast to tweak and you'll usually wind up with a great new patch or wierd evolving sound. The Page 2 graphics sure help a lot to speed up the process. Perfect for techno, and the arpeggiator can be externally clocked and programmed in an almost endless variety of ways. The chord hold feature is also mega cool. Lots of modulation options (a typical Oberheim strength) and cool LFO's. I also love the mod levers and knobs. My only gripes are that the noise doesn't have it's own volume/mix control, and I haven't figured out how to save and load patches or banks through a MIDI sys-ex dump. I think there may be a way to hack through that problem though. Anyone had success overcoming that problem?
Shortly after its release, Oberheim distributed a cassette of the 500 best patches created by OB-8 users. Anyone out there have a copy??? The factory patches are out there somewhere on the internet as a .wav file.
Obviously a 5 out of 5, even though it's an old geezer. Tom Oberheim, you're a genius!
F.Y.I. - I paid US$900 for mine in mint condition in 1996. I paid US$3200 for my first one in the 80's (ouch!)
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