Yes!!! I've been waiting for a synth like this. The Oberheim sound + DSI / Sequential style engine = lots of freedom in sound design. The sonic flexibility is going to be huge. Thanks!
Obviously, I want all the synths. But, this doesn't give me any buyer's remorse about the Take 5, luckily. I was worried watching this would have me listing my T5 to order this, since I can't really justify two poly's. Amazing video as always. I never thought I'd rewatch synth demo videos, but I regularly revisit yours.
Me too. I'm wondering if the oscillators sound the same or not. I see the difference in waveform selection, but I wonder if these sound bright and buzzy like the OB6's.
lol I just bought a Prophet 10 after wanting one for years. No regrets, though. It was a crazy sale price and demo deal. But I had a feeling with all the sales last month that some major synths were coming.
I know it's a small thing but I'm glad you brought up patch naming. I had a GEM synth in the 90s that "did it right": use that big old keyboard sitting there to enter characters, not 4 cursor keys! White keys == letters (in this case, f0=A, c3=Z). First black keys for Insert, Backspace, Toggle Case, etc. Tap a white key multiple times for variations (a, å, æ, etc). A little weird to describe but after using it a few times it feels very natural.
It's just hard to decide on which is best to buy when you're both a Prophet AND Oberheim kinda guy.... Of course BOTH would be awesome but let's be realistic... :)
It’s got a display! That’s a major improvement over my beloved OB-6, thought it won’t affect the sound, other than allowing you to chose the right patch! 😂
You know it’s a good point now that they are owned by focusrite im sure they would have access to quality companies that could program a nice Vst. Maybe they just don’t want their work confused with someone else’s ?
For me as a OB-6 owner this is a tough one! I like how it has more features than the OB6 (2nd LFO, Through 0 FM, Mod Matrix, a real display), but why did they move essentials like Osc volume to the menu? Thank you for the great review, which covers all the details and gives a good impression of this synthesizer.
@@towersofasia For programming I am totally with you! But I find it hard to organise my sounds, find them later and not overwrite anything by accident when I create new sounds.
How cool is that🙂👍 Finally a new Polyphonic Matrix Oberheim synth at a very reasonable price. Based on the Oberheim SEM with just as much umf and dynamics and just as full and warm as a real Oberhem SEM. As far as I know it's the first polyphonic synth through-zero x-mod fm, Which makes it possible harmonic FM like on a dx7 but with analog oscillators. A user interface that is more hands on than the much more expensive OB-X8. It is very difficult not to be tempted.
A little detail that I find to be killer that you didn't call out is when you are turning the "frequency" knob to change pitch, the screen shows not only the amount of change you've made, but what the resulting note is as well. Very handy.
I find kind of stupid for not having one additional note (which wouldn’t change too much the overall dimensions); by adding a lower E, you could more easily play with Guitarist and Bassist that have instruments that start on an E in standard mode.
But what if the guitarist is tuned drop-D ? Jokes apart, you already have 3 E’s. Other comparable synths only have 3 octaves, so it could have been worse ;-)
There is apparently a point in turning the Osc Mod knob beyond which the oscillators go out of tune. This brings up a suspicion the modulation is NOT a thru-zero FM, but a normal linear FM. Linear FM maintains the symmetry of modulation arround the initial frequency as long as the depth is not too high when the result hits 0Hz. This seems exactly what is happening here. It never happens with a real TZFM, regardless of how deep the modulation is, and it is the main difference between these two implementations of linear FM.
Been Looking forward to this one! mine is on preorder! can't wait! great review as always sir! would love to see a full 61 note, bi timbral 12 or 16 voice version of this Synth format, Take 5 has been one of the best modern architectures from Sequential since the P12.
@@thedarkestrainbow I hated the Take 5 moniker when it 1st came out, I thought it was a representation of the take over. It was explained that this was a Sequential design before and that the name made sense. Take 5, as in Take 5 voices of Sequential easily with you. It makes sense, but I still hate the name lol. Teo 5 is cooler imo.
Appreciate your videos loopop!You're the go-to for unbiased and insightful gear reviews. One question, if you have the time: were you able to confirm whether or not it responds to polyphonic aftertouch via MIDI, like the OB6 and Prophet 6 do? I've heard the Take 5 does respond to external PolyAT but it can be a real trick to get that feature working...
Good grief! What is up with all the beautiful machines coming out? My bank account is unable to manage all the goodness. Love love this...Love the Polybrute...love the Murmux....give me a break.... K. I'm good. Carry on.
And uh... WHY not a TEO-8 with 5 octave board for another grand? Especially since OB-X8 doesn't have the modulation capability and this sounds pretty close to the old legend. I sure like this concept of taking Oberheim back into "Matrix" territory for flexible sound, though.
Great review! Amazing new sound possibilities! I sure miss the Oberheim Pitch/Mod paddles, though. And what about a desktop version that can be poly-chained for 10-voice polyphony?
Question: If the digital FX are unused, are you effectively "bypassing" them and retaining an analog signal path out the back? Why I ask: I recall reading a thread discussing, I think it was the Korg minilogue(?) (Don't quote me) It was some ostensibly analog poly. The point being made was that despite it's analog osc and filter, the signal out the back is always digital even if no FX are used, the signal chain always gets processed through that section. Now don't crucify me. My attitude is, if it sounds good, it sounds good. (The TEO certainly does to my ears) .....But .....I still think it would be cool to know, either way. Thanks and cheers.
The answer is I don't know, and I don't think so, but indeed as you say, I don't think it matters - I judge it by how it sounds and not whether it goes through another ADC-DAC conversion on the way to my ears. I think true bypass is more relevant for guitarists/instruments with impedance issues and effects with significant latency (or if the effects/DAC are really bad!) - the synth is going through another conversion in my/your interface anyway before you hear it, we rarely hear true analog these days unless we plug our headphones/speakers directly into analog synths
Absolutely. I confess my place in Dunning-Krueger land, listening to videos like this via youtube, over my decent, but ultimately limited computer audio set-up... But I feel like, for all the videos on the UB-Xa, the OB-6 and THIS ....The sound on the TEO just jumps out at me, feels more present, more in your face. I read some other comment on one of these videos discussing the potential benefits of gain-staging with fewer voices. Perhaps it's that, but I realize I'm probably just listening with my eyes like any other idiot. Am I? I dunno. I trust nothing! lol ....thanks for the video btw.
Another pros seems to be that the pots are a lot firmer than on the OB6. They should have put in a function button, doing the shortcuts you mention. And that Oberheim detune thing only possible to adjust OSC 2 is quite annoying. Would have been better to have two buttons and let the value rotary do the editing. But maybe they thought it more important to have a hand free for playing.
It’s RU-vid, hard to tell. Seemingly Very impressed by the raw sound of it. How did its sound clarity compare to the ob-x8 and ob-6? I’d pay more for a Teo-8, really hated the workflow and limitations of the ob-x8.
Great part. So if this synth comes onto the market as a 19 inch under 1000 EUR, I would be willing to live with the 5 voices, but until then, soft synths like Obession are equivalent for me.
Mannn…I heard a demo from Daniel Fischer & was all excited until you said 12dB filter😥 I absolutely cannot stand that sound. Great if you want pads only, but absolutely terrible for bass sounds or plucks. I’ve owned several- from the prologue to the argon 8x. Just can’t get along with it. Synth manufacturers should be going the opposite direction! Give me a 48 dB filter! Even if it is oberheim, which I know has a lot of flavor… it’s just limited in what it can do.
So I wont get into a pissing match of the PB12 vs this, but when I did listen to the PB12, it seemed to lack that bottom end that the Teo 5 has. I think the PB12 is almost 3 times as much? Doesn't matter, it's the sound character I am after and the Teo 5 delivers. It's affordable It has a great UI It's compact with splits It has a SEM filter It has usable FX I mean I cannot help but marvel at what they have given us, I love the plucks, I love how it's hands on. I have now 2 synths I need to get, both game changers for me. 1 q, do you know if it is a FATAR keybed like the T5? Great vid Ziv, you had me @ Jump, oh wait, thank god there was no Jump.
Very nice synth looking forward to try it at a store. However, the weight and thickness of the OB8x is noticeable @36:19. The TEO-5 is a nice modern sound able to get close to the other big brothers but not a thick. Wonder if some EQ in the low mids and lows will help some?
@@erwinm187 You are right, it does offer more, but in a sense its just more modulation and digital effects (which arent superb compared to external ones). I enjoy the raw dual osc of ob-6, the build quality is definitely a little better (wood panel sides, oldschool buttons, etc). The hands on and simplicity of the ob-6 is nice also, 4 octave keyboard is nice also. All of these are small things that add up in my opinion. obviously this is a newer product yes, but also ofc they arent going to make a cheaper synth thats better than their more popular ones right? in the end, like I said its just subjective to the user and what youre looking for. Dont get me wrong, this is definitely a powerful and nice synth, I would love to try it, but imo its not better than the ob-6
In terms of feature checklist I believe I covered them all in this video - in terms of sound, while I did not compare them side by side, I think my OB-X8 comment applies too - the difference in sound alone probably doesn't merit the difference in price. But noted if I happen to get my hands on one!
I was considering rebuying my beloved ob6 for months... but this is much much better in almost every aspect the money basically levitated out of my pocket 😢 oscillator mixing knobs and analog VCAs be damned, more modulation options, zero cross FM, better fx and oscillators FTW
Nice, love the Oberheim sound, maybe I will still buy it as an extra addition to my OB-6. It can create completely different and different sounds with the modulation and different oscillators. Oscillators do not seem to be the same after a quick comparison. The filter also sounds more like the Pro-3 2 pole OTA filter. I also have the take 5, so I can see the possibility's in sound design.
So would you say your OB-6 oscillators and filter sound nicer ? I want to get an OB-6 soon, TEO5 looks good but I don't wanna miss out on the sound of the OB6 if it is indeed better. (Better is subjective I know but you understand what I mean)
@@CraigConnellyTV I would buy the OB-6 over the TEO 5. The Oscillater are discreet and gritty, while the TEO 5 has the Sequential chips used for the Pro 3, Take 5, P'08 and REV2. The frequentie range of the OB-6 goes above 20K, while the Take 5 is between 10 and 15, maybe 20K. They say they used the same SEM filter as the OB-6, but it sounds different to me and closer to the Pr 3 2 pole OTA filter, probably because they share the same Oscillator chips, it sounds less crunchy, less distorted. I think that's why they added the overdrive. I might buy the TEO 5 as well, because the Oscillators are different, you can use 3 waveforms on both oscillators and at the same time. If you want you can use 6 waveforms at the same time by pressing them all. The XMOD is overhauled and nicer to the ears and the LFO's are different. Then you have the many Modulation sources and destinations and not to forget way better effects. The OB-6 effects are not good and the Take 5 are better, these TEO 5 effects might be even better then both synths effects. Still, you might have to wait to make a comparison before you buy, because the TEO 5 sounds like a OB-6 and could be more creative then the OB-6 for you. You can at least create sounds that you can't on the OB-6 with it's extra waveform on the first Oscillator and other new features in that oscillator section.
@@CraigConnellyTVAre you gonna use the OB6 for your trance stuff? Im was looking at either OB6 myself, and I keep jumping between synthwave and trance stuff. Now I'm not sure between or OB6 either, scared to make the wrong choice 😬
Great review as always! I have a few questions. Did they update the effects in the Teo 5, or are they the same as in the Take 5? Also, you mentioned that you can assign velocity to both the filter and the amp. What about the pitch? Can velocity be assigned to pitch if the pitch is assigned to the filter envelope? Lastly, regarding the cross-modulation, can X-Mod be assigned to the envelope? Thanks! :)
My pleasure, thanks! I don't know if the effects are the same - I don't have a Take 5, but my guess is they are. The answer to the rest of your questions is yes :)
@@loopop Thank you very much! BTW you inspired me to make a sound of Duduk on VA subtractive synth (emulation of Jupiter 8 and System 100). I’m very close. :) Stay safe and continue with great work!
I really wish Sequential would make less linear envelopes. Whenever I want something snappy, I have to do recursive modulation using the aux envelope, say on Pro 3, Rev 2 etc. I love the envelopes on OB 6 and Prophet 10 tho, these don't bother me. So, as for this synth, it is a really nice entry and budget solution to owning OB synth with the distinctive SEM filter. While it doesn't rock my boat, as I do have OB6, I am sure it will be a hit, just like T5 was. Love they left option to enable multiple shapes on a single oscillator Jupiter style I prefer it to morphing. I am actually surprised screen doesn't follow pot parameters.
i'd say a synth that would fight this is of course the Take 5 and the Novation peak,, see now i'm a bit overwhelmed on what first analog synth since now there's quite serious choices
Good mercy what a sound. But .. can I get another octave and 8 voices? I know this would defeat the purpose of an “affordable” OB. I’d pay 2,500 for 61 keys and 8 voices. The other OBs have less modulation and matrix options.. but this has less voices 😭
It would be a Super Gemini-like TEO-10! It would look a bit silly and make playing in the middle where we spend most of our time a bit odd you could do it ofc
Sold on this. Glad there's an alternative to that other copycat one. But it will have to wait for next year, and maybe second-hand ones to show up here in Europe closer to 1k. Now I need a sticker to rename the terribly named Take 5 as TIA-5. Always liked the sound of the OB-6 and P6, but couldn't justify keeping my P6 since I didn't think the sound was too jaw-dropping, relative to other cheaper synths, and it's quite limited (I enjoy the modulation of the T5, and actually it's sound character more). Similar with this, the TZFM, sequencer make it much more interesting to me.
@@Gjallarhorn84 At that price, they're right, they're a bit dear. In a year or two might get a second-hand one around 1100-1200. I paid about £950 for my second-hand Take 5. But I wouldn't get a Rev-2 (or Pro-6) again. The Rev-2 is a nice synth and powerful/flexible. But I don't like it's sound character as much as the Take 5, OB-6, or this one. It's a bit more thin/plastic/juicy sounding, a little more like a more powerful Alpha Juno in tone character than a Prophet.
Yeah i kinda feel like as long as you’re already paying that kind of money, almost better to just wait and save more and buy a bigger more capable synth. Or sell some old gear you don’t use if you have any. There can be a huge difference in the experience between a smaller synth like this and the full-sized/full-featured models.
@@Gjallarhorn84 For sure, the new prices of almost everything are crazy these days. But second-hand prices are dropping. Like, a new Gibson Les Paul Special is listed as nearly 1800 eur on Thomann. But I got one second-hand for half that. I think the big brand Manufacturers like Gibson, Fender, Moog, Sequential or out-of-whack with reality post-covid buying frenzy and mad inflation. I don't think people are buying this expensive new stuff, like the were 3 years ago. They'll learn...
it's more expensive and usually unneeded, the biggest advantage of balance connection is distance, this will be usually connected with relatively short cables. This can also be an issue if you connect balance output to stereo input (it may cancel itself out). 99% of modern electronic instruments are unbalanced. You can always add a transformer box (decoupler or di) if its crucial.
