Oberheim OB-8 Demo & Review 

I love this guy who demonstrates these classic synthesizers. He's one warm and fuzzy dude and very talented at that! Take a look:

OB-Xa was used on the album version of "Jump", as was "1984" and "I'll wait" but he used two OB-8 synths on tour. Eddie confirms this in an edition of Keyboard Magazine in july or august 1984.

one of the nicest sounding synths i have ever heard

Woah! This synth seemed to be designed and made by god himself

I could just listen to this dude all day....amazing!!

very good Oberheim sound at 5.02 (and good playing)

The man not only knows how to play,but he knows the synth he is playing. It just doesn't get any better than that! I'd love to have one of these..

I don't understand the things this guy says, but I love his genuine enthusiasm for the synths he demos. He also seems to know how to tweak 'em.

breathtaking synth

One would get the suspicion Mr. Katsunori really loves the classic Oberheims (His Matrix 12 review almost makes him look like a kid with his birthdaypresent)

1:58 and onwards is beautiful as well, and his face at that point in time is priceless

2:28 you wont regret Seriously approaching pipe organ territory

I have no idea what this dude is saying, but what a great demo

TOP

These things sound so much more smooth than my Roland synths. Those strings make me want to drop my JP6 off a cliff.

Thanks for the info...

what a sound!!!!!!!!

@snolan1990 - Doh! I KNEW that and it totally slipped my mind (too much digital synth use destroying it). I also forgot that Gibson actually sold the Oberheim name to an Italian company too. It would be nice if he could get the old company name and logo back.

I must remember to BUY BUY BUY one of these

@arthurkitchen I hear you. it's out of control.

Your the Man!!!!

This guy is nuts

@hung0sowell Because the OB-8 is what was used to record "Jump" on the Van Halen 1984 album. 'Should be obvious...

an OB-Xa was used on "Jump", not the OB-8

I wish Oberheim would remake this model.

5:56 sounds like YMO's "Castalia".

midnights

What a stupid comment....i'm correcting your false statement...its not a personal attack.....to you or Eddie. The recording was actually the older OB-X, they used the Xa live. (The Xa was much more stable due to the inclusion of Curtis SEM chips) search Google if you don't believe me....or talk to Eddie some more... maybe he will set you straight :)

4:08 hahahah

3:46 sound of solo synth queen i want to get free ?

That's the kind of response I would EXPECT from someone who's been OWNED, and has nothing intelligent to say. DO you every get tired of being a Know-It-All?...

Go away.

I really enjoy Mr. Katsunori UJIIE's videos! He has such great enthusiasm and knowledge. His highly skilled playing makes the instruments sound so musical, he truly draws out the good tones. That said, the audio quality of this OB-8 is off the charts, it would be so nice to have one to perform on. What a sound!

OBXa was used for Jump studio version, but Eddie was having constant tuning problems with it so he used OB8 on the 1984 tour, he had also used OB8 on the following album 5150 for Why Can't This Be love, Love Walks In, and Dreams which he MIDIed the OB8 with a 1912 Steinway piano. Ed had used a Kurzweil K250 keyboard on 5150 tour whiched he also MIDIed the OB8 sounds into it... special thanks to his sound engineer Don Landee and his keyboard engineer Alan Fitzgerald

I'd pay good money to see him demo a CS-80

ARRIGATO, Katsunori-San !

@xnonsuchx I guess the Oberheim name and logo are worth more in the business of approving VST emulations of real Oberheims than they are in the business of making and selling real synths. I don't know if there are any plans to remake his polys (I mean he has made the 4 voice SEM but that is a different thing really) I guess he could do it but they would cost an absolute fortune to manufacture faithfully so I guess it's unlikely.

Also the group "The Time" was big on the Oberheim sound of which they of course was a band produced by Prince...it was those years in which Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis used and developed the oberheim sound -example(Jungle Love)- in the group and of course later used the OB8 on many artists songs they produced such as Janet Jackson's "Control" which had Oberheim all over it..all of these guys- were big Oberheim users and played a huge part in the Oberheim sound of the 80's...

@slippast It depends. The D-50 strings are superior - even to an OB-8, but the Oberheim brass is unique, as well as the bass or fx sounds. The JP6 isn´t that bad as you describe it, it ust has different strong sides.

Yes, Prince used oberheim on EVERYTHING in the 80's...from OBX to OBXa to OB8-those synths had alot to do with the prince sound! Just watch the "Purple Rain" movie or any of his 80's stuff and you will see those synths..listen to early stuff like "Uptown, Head,I Wanne Be Your Lover"etc, you can hear oberheim on all of those songs and then later stuff like "1999" is clearly the OB8...yes Prince was one of the big oberheim users and is actually one of the artists who inspired me to get mine!

Katsunori UJIIE for president!

Just wanted to let you know that the OBXa is what you hear on the recording of "Jump"..he took the OB8 on tour to duplicate the sound because the OBXa was no longer being made at that time when he was ready to tour according to edward...that is his quote.

why can't you post a url to another youtube video? That's stupid. "type in OBA vs. OB8 for an interesting comparison... OBA might sound a little better.

Ujiie for president, better for Emperor of Japan!

i hate watching these vids, the lust is so strong! must get one!

Yep! I have dialed in the exact same program on my xa and ob8 and it sounds identical tone wise EXCEPT, the xa IS a slight bit fatter and I say that because Ive played them side by side and most people do agree that the xa is slightly fatter but other than that its the same identical sound with either synth..of course Tom Oberheim went on record explaining the reason for that and it's because the OB8 is "cleaner" sounding..It can do alot more than the Xa plus you can detune each voice on OB8 :)

He told me himself recently the best sounding synth of the 3 was the OBX and was the closest to the original SEM design such as the 2 thru 8voice synths...the Xa and OB8 was a totally different design inside of course using the Curtis Chips ..the OBX is the synth that I wish he could re-issue and bring back with the addition of midi and stable tuning etc, but it would be expensive no doubt. I think that was his point of introducing his recent 2voice synth which is based on the original design...

The guy totally summed up my thoughts. Its like he took the words out of my mouth.

Great Language, Great Synth Great guy, Not a good musical start though :) The VST emulation of this synth is so far off the mark. Sounds nowhere near as fat and warm as this.

I love your demo's! So good with subtitles now! ( I love my OB-Xa)

damn lovely sounds, true warm analog! im a synth freak, and every synth freak should be amazing about how this stuff sounds!

gorgeous sound

greatest synth ever invented

that particular synth is the one you hear in "rockin after Midnight" by Marvin Gaye

@numanuma20 - Talk to Gibson...I think they still own the Oberheim name. With the resurgence of Moog and Dave Smith Instruments (Sequential Circuits, which was bought out by Korg), maybe the could at least license out the Oberheim name to someone else.

@xnonsuchx Tom Oberheim is back in business on his own now, he has already remade the SEM (his first synth) so who knows what will come next.

use a real roland space echo with that it's the paradise of sound ^^ !!!

6:30 his spontaneous chord progressions are really impressive.

Indeed it was the xa. I had the xa and now own the OB8. The OB8 can do Jump 100 percent the same as the xa though.

I'm kinda pissed that a synth from the 80's can get a better organ sound than most keyboards now-a-days. wish I had the money to spend

That is correct but actually he used the OB8 on tour because when he was ready to tour and was going to purchase several OBXa's to use for backup he found out that they were no longer available and was replaced by the OB8 and that is the reason for taking the OB8 on tour with him...those were his quotes..he loved the xa but since they only made them for a few years he had to change to the OB8..he also was on record saying he originally had a prophet5 in his studio but switched to oberheim..

3:31- amazing sweep. That's what this thing is famous for. Well, beside "Jump" which he needs to learn and post.

does anyone know where I can get oneof these worked on? I live in Florida. I have a couple of bad oscillators.

Well, the Jump! bit is a must when doing a demo of an Oberheim OB (X, Xa, 8) synth :-D

Ujiie-san, please make more videos of old poly-synths. すみません、日本語はほとんどわかりません。

Well Ed Van Halen said it was the OB-8. So are you saying he lied??...

This is an excellent demonstration what this synth can do!

i dont know exactly what he is saying, but hes saying it well

amico, il video è bellissimo, ma non si capisce una sega! ciaù!

Lush STRINGS or what guys?! And the PORTAMENTO FX is massive! Does the OB8 PAN on its own, or will that have been done via the mixer? Brilliant demo, thanks.

this guy is a goddamn swiss (japanese) army song knife.

ソフトシンセでコレやると重そう…

Classic Keith Emerson sounds

Of course the first thing he plays is Jump :P

Actually, it should be Maya, not Mayan or Mayans.

Always loved the warmth of Oberheim. Especially Lyle Mays' use of them.

1:13 - Great Bomberman-style sounds! :D (Newer Bomberman only obviously)

I love this guy!! Fantastic demo on the OB-8!!!

i wish this guy would get ahold of a memorymoog

damn, why can't i get my ob8 to sound like that

Man, what a massive sound those Oberheims have. Also, I love this man! :-) Another great demo, Katsunori.

that chord @ 4:30 - Daft Punk - Something About us!

wish I understand japanese ! Nice video.

私はOB12でストリングを使用しています。

I hope the OB-X !

Actually jump was on an OBXa

van halen song jump was on oberheim sound

there's this group called Church you would really like

No se sabe la de JUMP haha

@UnchainTheNight1 Request it then!

OB8-oh ! : D

I love this synth. It's so warm!! Thanks :)

hes such a great soul keyboardist

0:45 leans back 2 much power

BEST PLAYER ON ALL KEYS

Like number 420

i self harmed at the first song

I love your demos !!! the best !!!!!!

OMG!

Bravo!