I got mine on my birthday after saving my paychecks for a good long time! This is easily the best sounding, highest quality hunk of American made audio chocolate I've ever owned. The stereo panning brings a fuckin' tear to my eye! Absolutely worth every cent; no regrets. Every time I look at it I have to rub my eyes and appreciate the fact that I own such a beautiful instrument. A heart-felt bravo and thank you to Tom Oberheim, Dave Smith, Marcus Ryle and everyone else who had a hand in making this dream a reality for me. 😍❤️
Just played for the first time with mine few days ago. I've got lots of synths but this one is the best sounding, and best feeling I had playing a synth ... ever. ! Happy for you as well !
@@payt01 yeah I feel you. But when you look @ the prices of a “USED” Obx, Obx-a, and a OB8, $5k doesn’t sound bad at all. Can’t believe how crazy the prices of ‘used’ gear has skyrocketed.
@@etpslick100 Many of these Synth’s is either over or nearing an age of 40 years, and even the first Digital synths is made with really “small and simple” size ic’s, just alot of them which is just as unstable and prone to failure as discrete components. If you can even find a tecnician that can diagnose and repair them, it cost an arm and 2 legs to refurbish them if they are in really bad shape.
@@etpslick100 there’s value in the old units not having any ICs that will eventually turn them into paperweights. Can’t say that about the new ones. Also, there’s value in the appreciation of the older units due to their historical significance. Older units are an investment, newer units are a liability. So the older units don’t actual “cost” anything since you’ll likely be able to sell them for more than you bought them for. You’re simply temporarily converting the money into something you can enjoy :)
Just got my OB-X8 last night and I've been having trouble pulling myself away. It is shockingly, staggeringly good. Much to my relief, it has all the weight, texture, creaminess, power, and rock-n-roll attitude of the originals. I can count on one hand the times I got this kind of emotional response out of a synth over my 30+ year career... this thing is top of the class. Well done!
Bought one mostly because of your prophet comparaison video. Best experience with a synth in my life. Could I ask, wich other synths ( that you can count on your hand ) made you feel the same ?
@@jfracine_composition so glad! I've fallen head over heels for mine as well. I’m a sucker for most of the big 80s synths, so my OB, Prophet 5, Roland analogs & D-50, and the Yamaha DX series all keep me happy!
The OB-X8 is close enough to the OB-X for me. This demo and another recent one makes me glad I decided to order the OB-X8. It will go perfectly with my Rev 4 Prophet 10. Great work Oberheim and Sequential team !
I’m more excited about this synth coming up the walk in the hands of my trusty FedEx driver than any other synth in 35 years. Thank you Dave, Marcus and Tom.
@@peterldelong I just got off the phone with Sweetwater. They said they have not received any units as of now, but looks like about another week. At least this is what I was told. I was informed if they in fact get the 50 units as allocated, I would be in the first batch for shipment. Fingers are crossed.
"trusty Fedex driver"? Is that really a thing? After a good dozen failures by them I stopped buying from any seller that uses that company. I'd sooner have rats pull my mail in a wagon.
I’ve owned the OB-X8 for almost a year now. It’s hands down my favorite analog polysynth currently in production. Thank you for all the work in getting the sound and vibe right. It absolutely paid off. Thank you a million times over!
I am an OB-Xa owner and i am just amazed with the job you done. I am ordering my OB-X8 . Thank you so much Marcus and Tom . You are living legend with Dave Rossun
Thanks for the side by side video. It's all in there. Now it's just up to the creativity of the users to make it really sing with our own custom presets. Great job Sequential and Oberheim!
The sample and hold 2 filter was different. It's always the same: on simple patches clones come really close but when you start to push it ... yep still angry. I should have taken a broken obx when i could but didn't because i didn't know enough. x8 = 9 out of 10 though.
Closest recreation/reissue I have heard so far. Any differences in sounds I suspect would be the same when comparing two different OBX synths... Great job Marcus! Loved the brass and string sounds in particular.
The new OB-X8 module fed into a Thermionic EarlyBird with Pullet EQ is simply AMAZING with the Chase Bliss CXM78 (Lexicon 224) reverb. The Tube Preamp/EQ combo adds all the extra tone anyone could ever need. Marcus, building the module version enabled me to buy it as I have no studio keyboard space left! But I can still fit some modules in :). Thank you for a great job!
I own an OB-X and I have heard many clones. The OB-X8 is an excellent spot on recreation of the organic alien tones of the OB-X, and they even recreated the "imperfections" like glide and pulse width variations between voices. Great job to the OB-X8 team.
I got an obx-8. Recognized many Prince’ sounds used on dirty mind, controversy albums. owned long time ago 23 years ago obx/obx-a/ob-8/ SEM. Glad to. Have the obx-8, but I mis, and dream about an OG, OBX. Have 2 SEMs reissue. Know a guy on working on a clone of an FVS Oberheim. ( SEM 4 voice) my dreams one!!!☔️☔️☔️☔️
... And still some people insist that plugins sound the same.... (??) What a lovely sound, please release a module version for those of us who don't have more room. Thanks.
I've noticed that when tweaking the filter knob, there are of course audible steps on the original OB-X but thankfully not on the new OB-X8. That's a huge plus! Also, great choice not to have replicated the "looping" white noise of the dreaded MM5837 chip. 👍
That noise chip was in my Moog Source I used to have, have to agree with you there. The OG Prophet 5 had even worse stepping than the Oberheim. At least in the filter values.
Marcus…thank you for the best video that I have seen yet. And thank you for bringing out this synth. Better in every way to an original OB (better keybed, more reliable, more features, etc. There have been a lot of complaints about the price ($4,995.00)…but it is cheaper than the original OB-X with all 8 voice cards ($5,995). Great job Marcus, Tom, and Dave (R.I.P., Dave). This (if you can afford it) seems like a real no brainer. Can’t wait to get one to go with my Prophet-10 Rev 4. 🏆
Amazing comparison. Was going to order one anyway, but this video makes me want to order two. The mojo, the 80s nostalgia, the SOUND! I still can't believe this is happening. Thanks, Tom , thanks Marcus, thanks Dave (RIP). You are the best.
I have an OB-X software synth that has no presets. All my patches I constructed myself. I'm not comparing the software unit to an actual hardware unit but it sounds incredible and fun to play. The unison mode is my favorite function. I hear no difference between the OB-X and OB-X 8, great demo. Mabey someday I'll visit a music store that has one of these classic synths. I'm not a professional but I love the synthesizer and studied them for many years. I once owned a Cat by Octave hardware unit back in the eighties. The OB-X is an incredible synth and so many professional and famous musicians used it back in the day.
Only one thing.. I wish that the OBX8 was the size of the OBX so that they could have put that large OBX8 graphic on the upper left front panel. That was so awesome on the Oberheims! I'm sure I'm the only one who cares about that. I wonder if Marcus is the original owner of the OBs in his video comparisons?
I used to own an OB-X. Sold it due to never-ending maintenance and no funds to keep it up and running. I never thought I'd ever be able to own one again, but there it is... Amazing!!!
Jesus-freakin'-Christ, this is phenomenally beautiful! With a few of the sounds I noticed some -barely audible- differences. But most, especially the more percussive sounds, sounded identical to me. What an absolute monster -flexibility-wise.
I can’t afford one but I still have to say this was an incredible synth you came up with. The Ob series of synths were legendary and you did them justice so well.
2 года назад
A equipe da Oberheim Sound está de parabéns! O OB-X8 está incrível!
Hi Marcus, Part II and Part III of a comparison could be Turning the Actual Cutoff Knob/Rez Combo. In many of the Vintage P5 versus New P5/10 comparisons, it was pretty hard to tell the machines apart with "static" sounds. In person, however, when I A/B'd the Orig P5 to the New P10, I found that (when turning the Cutoff) the Filter in the New Version was less musical than the Original - to my ears anyway. It was slightly less Organic and Beautiful IMHO. Same with the Rez. When you pushed the Rez on the Original, even when it was feeding back, you could maintain a degree of musicality I didn't quite find with the New one. Also, I've heard that the LFO's/Mods can't be pushed as far on the New P5/P10 as on the Original, although I didn't test this myself. Needless to say, I didn't feel the need to buy the new P5/10 after my test, although the New Prophet is indeed still a great machine. I did, however, buy the New OBX-8. You've clearly done an Amazing Job on it, and I'm very excited to receive mine.
@@SPAZZOID100 Sorry for my insanely late reply. : ) I didn't see your comment. My test was the Rev 4 against the Rev 2. I can't speak for the Rev 3. I did, however, extensively test my OBX8 against the Original OBX, and sadly, it was the same issue.
They sound very close most of the time, some sounds are a little bit sharper on OBX8, some sounds sound slightly fatter on the OBX, and some sounds are more detailed on the OBX8. But overall, im convinced, I will order one :-)
I also found the X8 sounding slightly less ‘vintage‘ as the X in some patches - probably because it *is* less vintage. Anyway, there aren‘t two analog synths that sound 100% identical.
The OB-X8's got sligthly less balls, and sounds sligthly less 3D. Becomes most obvious when he plays the heavy filtered patches. The first factory patches he plays, they're pretty much identical. What still worries me, is the SMT. I hope in the future, more people are able to repair them.
So the electronic keyboard industry came full circle after 40 years, from the OB-X to the OB-X8. I wonder what's coming next, an OB-X8a with blue lines? Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself... I am still in awe with Akiko Yano on the Eight Voice model, and the chord comping on the the Prophet-5... Just can't get it out of my head, and neither I want to get it out of my head. :)
@kamelhamlaoui9983 Yeah, I hear the the new OB-X8 is nearly hollow inside; ditto for the Prophet-5 Rev.4. The electronic components are unlikely to be the same as the OB-X, OB-Xa, or the OB-8. I am hoping I got all the names right, the OB One Kenobi...
Most of the reissued synths, drumcomputers and bass(acid)machines sound slightly different(all analog gear does, even between same units themself) but close enough. I wonder how many of you can tell the difference when used in a mix. Pricewise between the real deal and the reissue, the manufacturers did a great job. For example: would you pay like $3000,- for a Roland TB303 or $200,- for a TB3 or $300,- for a TB03? Let me guess ;-)
15:54 When sounding the low C on _"Slow Glide,"_ I smiled big. I love it, I love it, I love it. Is there a software setting for folks who may desire that original OB-X noise generator?
@11:00 - I wonder if that's where the title of the Bill Bruford song came from on his 1979 album, given that it was written by keyboardist Dave Stewart..
OB-X8 sounds slightly grungier!! how they did that i dunno but it sounds even better to me! That top end sizzle is present....thank god...wow....daym now i just need to find money for this thing which will really hurt
It proves again that subtle differences in sound can make huge differences in feeling. I get much more depth and warmth/organic movement in the sound from the original.
i only hear diff. on 1st organ click...original sounds smoother on that somehow...ahh i see they didn't use the mm5837 noise chip...that makes for better noise patch I see...and a tiny amount more high spectrum on x8 on a few sounds. great vid and awesome product!
💕☔️ my musical hero 4 36 years. Saw him 14 times. First time in 87 sign of the times tour. It changed my life forever. Worked and lived in Minneapolis. Worked at the First Ave… it was the last time I saw him.😢 . His favorite synthesizer was the OBX, back in the days. When he started ( 4 u album) he had 2 SEM 4 voice ( my dream synthesizer…) I had a SEM OG module/ OBX/ xa/ OB-8, LM-1. Sold everything for peanuts years ago. Still crying. I starting all over again! Bought 2 SEM’s ( pro + patch panel) and an OBX-8! But still dreaming about another OBX/ OB-8, and a SEM 4, or 2 v!!!( fvs-1/ tvs-1). By the way you know the song get it up?! So SEM 4 v, OBX???! If someone know?!
I want to hear all the people who said the original sounds better than the new to explain away this demo, ha ha. 😆 Oberheim nailed it. Well done, y’all. 👏
I think that people should really listen and learn from this Legend. When people say the OBX8 does not sound like original, …respectfully this proves that it is ignorance from which they speak. We need to stop worshiping the “original sound” and rather respect it. This is as close as your gonna get to the original sound in modern day times and yet they actually made the “original” better
YES!!! Any slightest microscopic differences are WELL within the same margins as any two vintage units. I’d wager the X8 is even closer, and the “idealized” modern replacement. Not to mention, as soon as you use this in a real-world musical context, any of those insignificant differences will instantly disappear.
Played an OBX8 yesterday in the UK. Absolutely beautiful looking instrument , the presets didnt sound as good as i thought that they would , so i think that they would need some tweaking in order to attain those big Oberheim sounds.
I’ve owned a Jupiter 6, Obx-a, OB8 & a Juno 60 & for the most part, only a handful of presets on each sounded good. Until you tweak them, that’s when the magic comes out!
@@caddood 100% agree , i have owned the OBXA , OB8 , Matrix 12 and dozens of other polyphonic keyboards , and as you say you can use one or two presets in their original form , but the vast majority have to be tweaked. To be fair many manufacturers do say in their keyboard manuals , that the factory presets should only be viewed as a guide , and owners should create their own sounds that are unique and special to them.
Hey Oberheim, my pitch wheels are squeaky after only a day of playing. Is there anyway I can get it smooth again? I’m afraid I’m going to return it unless you know of a fix? It squeaks very loudly
It doesn't matter. Risk of having original is just too big. It can be broken some day and no one would be able to repair that or cost can be huge. Also new one has three filters. That really great! I own original vintage Prophet 5, which is now little bit broken. So far, I have someone for repair, because this is this guy who sold it to me and he is doing professional restoration, but you know, some day it can be hard to repair. Those synths are 30-40 years old, so it is more sense to buy new one, even they not sound identical, but almost 99,9% similar :)
The extremely minor differences do not make one better or worse. And aftertouch plus all added features and flexibility of the X8 make it a no-brainer for me
@@vincewizz8534 Well no. Better or worse is subjective but the video is making a direct comparison which can be measured objectively. That may matter to someone. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyways, on to the subjective. Not that I'd use those presets, well I wouldn't on a normal day, but the difference sometimes was pretty noticeable for whatever reason. I prefer the sound of the OB-X overall but it's unlikely I'll ever have one so it doesn't matter for my purpose. The X8 is plenty synth for me. It has it's own thing going + a lot of advantages and comes close enough to those old classic sounds should I need them. Most importantly I can actually get an X8 if I choose to and that makes all the difference in the world.
8 has more top end, X sounds veiled, I'd say this has to do with the aging of components. You have to listen real hard but it's there, is it really noticeable? Nope.
There is a definite difference between the 2. OBX oscillators or filters more present? Snappier envelopes? One time Oberheim factory drone, OB-8, Xpander era. Brain fried from testing white noise transistors.
