Thanks for this excellent comparison. Almost four years later I have the Arturia SEM V2, bx_oberhausen and OB-Xd, and I realise that's more than enough Oberheim sound for me. :)
GREAT VIDEO, man! I got the Diva for other reasons, too, and also got the OB-XTREME 2 because they really focused on getting a lot of growl with it, which is something I need.
I agree, it’s a great bit of software. I hope I made that clear in the video, but it took a bit to draw out with the simple sounds. It does take a bit more effort but that’s because of the tweakability.
loren morgan Great news - I thought. However, three different sizes of the same cluttered GUI plus three rack version sizes aren‘t that great. The OB-Xd is far better in this respect (I have both).
Came here spec ting the virus to be demolish... I got surprise how smooth filtering has, not very analog, but definitely more than diva. Virus to pull this in this way, wow that's the synth that can do it almost all.
OP-X pro II is worth every penny! It might be old but is still the best sound softsynth out there with the exception of Repro, and the free PG-8x. Also, the free OB-Xd is nice as well, nowhere near as advanced as the OP-X pro II though. If you are wanting hardware, just wait for Behringer. They are cloning the sucker, and so far they have had impressive results.
I wonder if my following statement is true. When you hear an oscillator with a brighter top end it "seems" to sound thinner and distract your perception of the lower (not a bad thing). Where as an oscillator that sounds duller has a more perceived bottom end presence. Maybe the fact is the whole spectrum is there but ears pick up the sweeter spots first. Hope that made some kind of sense lol.
Not that strange at all, when I put my head next to my floor speakers it's like I hear deep bass from them and that seems to dissappear a lot when I move my head on front of it in line with the tweeters etc.
I believe this is actually a known fact of psychoacoustics. Don't remember the name of this phenomenon but it's one that mixing and mastering engineers are very familiar with.
Your videos are so freaking good man! (Just wanted to say it out loud) Now, for some weird reason I actually enjoyed the OB-Xd a lot more than the other vst's, maybe im lifeless aswell hahaa
band reject :) Thanks for your video! Im great fan of disco funk and 80's boogie music and i think the OB6 is great for that kind of sound! Best regards!
Aly's stuff is excellent. Very high attention to accuracy and detail and his prices can't be beat. He does take a long time to release software though. Really want that Samplight; it's been a few years or more. I have everything else of his vintage music related.
Hopefully he will move his focus on to other things. In this case Arturia nailed it, which is not something I can say about most of their other synths.
I have a slight aversion to twiddle software synths so I am keenly aware that I am biased towards hardware, I really like to turn that knob. But if you easily do stuff with your VST instruments and master keyboard, well, keeping the OB6 starts getting questionable... But if you got 2grand to spare and nothing else to spend it on, why not :)
Haha it was an in joke in a band I played in at university. The guitar and bass players thought all keyboard players loved it. We played a mix of jazz funk electro and hip hop (we were ambitious) so throwing the jump riff in during rehearsals always went down a treat :) .... not ;)
You got proof, Starsky Carr, that it wasn’t well-liked? I remember well into the 90s people I took music theory class with kept trying and failing to duplicate that riff, plus “Smoke on the Water” and “Ina Gadda de Vida”.
Your videos are great. I’m sitting here with an OB-TVS. If we were looking at what compares best with a SEM, surprisingly it might be a couple of the softies over the OB-6. The smoothness you appreciate in the OB-6 is not how I would characterize the SEM sound, which is big, bold, sometimes brash and maybe a little rough around the edges. It can be smooth of course but tends toward big. That’s not to say they don’t have similarities as well. Obviously the bigger the mix, the less the unique timbre matters. I wish I liked the OB-6 more than the SEM as it’s technically capable of a lot more.
My preference for overall pleasing sound, more musical (not necessarily the most accurate) is the OB6, then the Virus and then probably the OBXD. You made me scratch my head on the OPX...I thought it sounded better then this. Diva sounds good but I felt it was a little thin and it tends to have this fizziness to the sound that bugs me, especially when you layer multiple tracks.
So my question is - did you keep the OB6? Last video you posted on it was a year ago (or more)... I've been considering buying one, for far too long. I have a virus - but I'm not exactly sure what you did to get it 'close' to the SEM sound, other than you used an LP and a BS filter in series and then morphed between them? I've got a bunch of gear beyond that. Too much stuff actually. OB6 has interested me for some reason (although the two times I've played one in person it didn't really do it for me).
@@StarskyCarr You're the man! 2 year old video that I downloaded offsite and still keep listening to. Cheese is great vintage so no need to apologize. Your video's are well done without the unnecessary bling. What software do you use if you mind? Keep it up mate.
Pretty much yes! One has the advantage of being a dedicated controller and uses its own CPU so should be able to cope with everything you throw at it, the other relies on your computers CPU and you can run as many as it can cope with - but you’re right both are digital emulations.
Here the OB6 isn’t a digital emulation - it’s an analog synth so no algorithms except for there fx. All the others are digital. The virus is a digital synth with its own dedicated hardware.
I 2nd Alex's request. I would LOVE to see a breakdown video of your version of Prince's The Beautiful Ones. That song SO demonstrates the glory of the OB/SEM. Stay tuned?
I want to like OP-X because A. lots of other people do, and B. it's cheaper than Diva, but in this video it just seems a little "off" compared to the others, like consistently more muffled and not as bright. Loved the demo at the end, although I'm still upset you didn't compare brass sounds since they're something Oberheim is famous for.
I really like the OPX and was as surprised as anyone how different it sounded here. Not bad, just distinctive. Sorry about the brass sounds - I’m not big on them myself. I used to get annoyed by guitarists thinking I was the backing track! So stuck to electronic noises from then on ;)
This is all great thank you for putting this together, but you are missing the key element here... the original Matrix 6. You can pick one in eBay for $600. It made me return the reissued ob6 because it simply sounded beyond better. Check it out ✌🏻
I’ve been keeping my eye on them on eBay. How do you get on with programming it? I hear it’s a bit laggy when using controllers? Is the white version better for this??
I used some Linndrum and LM1 samples from various sample packs, Wave Alchemy and the Tempest. He used LinnDrum or LM1 originally (whichever is the rarer) and pitched he samples a few semitones down which I replicated, then added some Fx that I think we’re available at the time. There’s a screenshot of the FX strip up for a couple of seconds and while I’m talking in the intro. It was fun to make, quite interesting and very delicate (the FX changed dramatically with the smallest tweak). I may do a short video to show what I did - I was pleased it sounded so close in the end tbh.
Would love to see a breakdown video for what you did here. Don't know if you have the Arturia Spark drum machines but the LynnDream works fairly well for that Prince LinnDrum/LM1 sound.
The difference with the hardware is very minimal and can be solved to inaudible with some more stereo separation/widening and EQ/Tube emulation. And then considering all this costs nothing and a real OB these days costs an arm and a leg... and sometimes a testicle. Plug ins have come a long way.
the Behringer model D is not as good a the real deal (lower bass issue, fully tested here), also not too convinced of the OB 6, but fingers crossed for the Behringer OB Xa :-)
@@SPAZZOID100 I know, I have 9 and some modules. But some soft-synths are simply more versatile. And some do sound extraordinary. Old hardware synths are just not worth 6000 or more for those few % they are still better than software versions. A good MIDI controller gives similar joy on a soft synth.
It is band reject -- but you know how it is once you’re recording something. You can’t go back once you remember. Presenting is odd as it’s not like a conversation where if you forget a word or can’t quite place something others will jump in. You’ve just got to rock on
It’s really difficult as they’re all so good it depends on what’s most important. For me the Synapse wins, but the Arturia additional features and modulation routing might be more important if you want to design more complex patches.
Thanks for this excellent comparison. Almost four years later I have the Arturia SEM V2, bx_oberhausen and OB-Xd, and I realise that's more than enough Oberheim sound for me. :)
GREAT VIDEO, man! I got the Diva for other reasons, too, and also got the OB-XTREME 2 because they really focused on getting a lot of growl with it, which is something I need.
That 'Beautiful Ones' recreation was SICK!!😮👍🏽
Another awesome comparison mate, I can't wait for you to compare the Repro 5 like you did with the Repro 1. Keep e'm comin.
OP-X Pro II still kicks major ass after so many years
Its amazing and still worth every penny I paid!
I agree, it’s a great bit of software. I hope I made that clear in the video, but it took a bit to draw out with the simple sounds. It does take a bit more effort but that’s because of the tweakability.
Amused 2Death It kicks ass soundwise, but the GUI is horrible.
They released a new GUI three days ago!! And its awesome!
loren morgan Great news - I thought. However, three different sizes of the same cluttered GUI plus three rack version sizes aren‘t that great. The OB-Xd is far better in this respect (I have both).
My vote goes for DIVA - that's damn thing always blows my mind....may not crush every category but always there with a solid effort.
Came here spec ting the virus to be demolish... I got surprise how smooth filtering has, not very analog, but definitely more than diva. Virus to pull this in this way, wow that's the synth that can do it almost all.
So... I WAS saving for an OB-6. I don't use software synths, but I'm seriously reconsidering after this.
OP-X pro II is worth every penny! It might be old but is still the best sound softsynth out there with the exception of Repro, and the free PG-8x. Also, the free OB-Xd is nice as well, nowhere near as advanced as the OP-X pro II though.
If you are wanting hardware, just wait for Behringer. They are cloning the sucker, and so far they have had impressive results.
Lawrence Vaughan software is temporary at best.
even the $13 iSEM on your ipad is a good stop gap..
I've seen also your Moog videos, i love your teenage creativeness of editing videos, subtitles! How you opened up a filter of your mind) It's rare.
I wonder if my following statement is true. When you hear an oscillator with a brighter top end it "seems" to sound thinner and distract your perception of the lower (not a bad thing).
Where as an oscillator that sounds duller has a more perceived bottom end presence. Maybe the fact is the whole spectrum is there but ears pick up the sweeter spots first.
Hope that made some kind of sense lol.
Not that strange at all, when I put my head next to my floor speakers it's like I hear deep bass from them and that seems to dissappear a lot when I move my head on front of it in line with the tweeters etc.
I believe this is actually a known fact of psychoacoustics. Don't remember the name of this phenomenon but it's one that mixing and mastering engineers are very familiar with.
Your videos are so useful. Too may channels are sponsored these days. Also, I blame you for my purchase of the OB6.
Haha oh dear ... expensive but worth it :)
Your videos are so freaking good man! (Just wanted to say it out loud) Now, for some weird reason I actually enjoyed the OB-Xd a lot more than the other vst's, maybe im lifeless aswell hahaa
Saved yourself a few thousand £$€ then :)
A few would be an understatement :P Can wait for your next video!
BR is Band Reject FIlter the exact opposite of Band Pass. It is also called a Notch Filter
band reject :) Thanks for your video! Im great fan of disco funk and 80's boogie music and i think the OB6 is great for that kind of sound! Best regards!
Thanks.
Aly James Lab OB-Xtreme. it costs 15 bucks, sounds huge. sound demos on Aly's site.
Aha there’s always another I missed! I’ll have to check it out.
Aly's stuff is excellent. Very high attention to accuracy and detail and his prices can't be beat. He does take a long time to release software though. Really want that Samplight; it's been a few years or more. I have everything else of his vintage music related.
Samplight took too long to arrive. Arturia now did it with their CMI V
Yes they did. I was very excited.
Hopefully he will move his focus on to other things. In this case Arturia nailed it, which is not something I can say about most of their other synths.
in Jump though, OB-Xd destroyed the other plugins I thought!
Do you sell the patches for the beautiful ones?
I have a slight aversion to twiddle software synths so I am keenly aware that I am biased towards hardware, I really like to turn that knob.
But if you easily do stuff with your VST instruments and master keyboard, well, keeping the OB6 starts getting questionable... But if you got 2grand to spare and nothing else to spend it on, why not :)
MIDI controllers have knobs ;)
As long as there’s always going to be someone on this planet that digs “Jump”, what you did at 30:00 is perfectly fine.
Haha it was an in joke in a band I played in at university. The guitar and bass players thought all keyboard players loved it. We played a mix of jazz funk electro and hip hop (we were ambitious) so throwing the jump riff in during rehearsals always went down a treat :) .... not ;)
You got proof, Starsky Carr, that it wasn’t well-liked? I remember well into the 90s people I took music theory class with kept trying and failing to duplicate that riff, plus “Smoke on the Water” and “Ina Gadda de Vida”.
Your videos are great. I’m sitting here with an OB-TVS. If we were looking at what compares best with a SEM, surprisingly it might be a couple of the softies over the OB-6. The smoothness you appreciate in the OB-6 is not how I would characterize the SEM sound, which is big, bold, sometimes brash and maybe a little rough around the edges. It can be smooth of course but tends toward big. That’s not to say they don’t have similarities as well. Obviously the bigger the mix, the less the unique timbre matters. I wish I liked the OB-6 more than the SEM as it’s technically capable of a lot more.
I might be biased, but I liked the OB 6 best overall. :D
Awesome! Great video !
My preference for overall pleasing sound, more musical (not necessarily the most accurate) is the OB6, then the Virus and then probably the OBXD. You made me scratch my head on the OPX...I thought it sounded better then this. Diva sounds good but I felt it was a little thin and it tends to have this fizziness to the sound that bugs me, especially when you layer multiple tracks.
Great vid, appreciate the work involved.
I am lucky to have the Ob6, just need the SEM now :-)
I agree that I found the Diva to have less bottom end.
You should do a video of omnisphere vs real thing.
So my question is - did you keep the OB6? Last video you posted on it was a year ago (or more)... I've been considering buying one, for far too long. I have a virus - but I'm not exactly sure what you did to get it 'close' to the SEM sound, other than you used an LP and a BS filter in series and then morphed between them? I've got a bunch of gear beyond that. Too much stuff actually. OB6 has interested me for some reason (although the two times I've played one in person it didn't really do it for me).
Thanks, the OB6 is still here... :)
@@StarskyCarr You're the man! 2 year old video that I downloaded offsite and still keep listening to. Cheese is great vintage so no need to apologize. Your video's are well done without the unnecessary bling. What software do you use if you mind? Keep it up mate.
Slime Sound Productions cheers . I use Logic with Final Cut Pro.
Could you please share those wav files? Please!
Thank you for doing this! What was the sample rate used in the session?
I can’t remember but either 44.1 or 48kHz
Hi! Which one would you recommend to a beginner?
I’d say they’re both similar, but the obsession might be a little simpler due to the lack of the Arturias matrix
Cool! I already bought The Legend and I love it.
Slightly off topic... But what is the difference between a vst and a VA/digital synth that has its own dsp. Arent they the same thing
Pretty much yes! One has the advantage of being a dedicated controller and uses its own CPU so should be able to cope with everything you throw at it, the other relies on your computers CPU and you can run as many as it can cope with - but you’re right both are digital emulations.
Here the OB6 isn’t a digital emulation - it’s an analog synth so no algorithms except for there fx. All the others are digital. The virus is a digital synth with its own dedicated hardware.
Nyakz one lasts 6 years. The other for a lifetime.
I 2nd Alex's request. I would LOVE to see a breakdown video of your version of Prince's The Beautiful Ones. That song SO demonstrates the glory of the OB/SEM. Stay tuned?
Maybe - just got to find the time.
Pro video. Starsky is ace!
Hey hey... if only I got paid for them ;)
BR stands for band reject filter.
I want to like OP-X because A. lots of other people do, and B. it's cheaper than Diva, but in this video it just seems a little "off" compared to the others, like consistently more muffled and not as bright. Loved the demo at the end, although I'm still upset you didn't compare brass sounds since they're something Oberheim is famous for.
I really like the OPX and was as surprised as anyone how different it sounded here. Not bad, just distinctive. Sorry about the brass sounds - I’m not big on them myself. I used to get annoyed by guitarists thinking I was the backing track! So stuck to electronic noises from then on ;)
Thumbs up for the opening alone. That was pretty decent.
This is all great thank you for putting this together, but you are missing the key element here... the original Matrix 6. You can pick one in eBay for $600. It made me return the reissued ob6 because it simply sounded beyond better. Check it out ✌🏻
I’ve been keeping my eye on them on eBay. How do you get on with programming it? I hear it’s a bit laggy when using controllers? Is the white version better for this??
the ob6 sounds less like the 'jump' sound than the opx8.....i'll stick to my ob8 hardware and opx8 vst. lol
23:13 I dunno why but this reminds me of Ninja Gaiden for the NES.. and that's not a bad thing :)
Haha.. now you say it ...
What is used to make these Prince-style percussion sounds?
I used some Linndrum and LM1 samples from various sample packs, Wave Alchemy and the Tempest. He used LinnDrum or LM1 originally (whichever is the rarer) and pitched he samples a few semitones down which I replicated, then added some Fx that I think we’re available at the time. There’s a screenshot of the FX strip up for a couple of seconds and while I’m talking in the intro. It was fun to make, quite interesting and very delicate (the FX changed dramatically with the smallest tweak). I may do a short video to show what I did - I was pleased it sounded so close in the end tbh.
Aly James Lab has exclusive Linndrum and Simmons drums emulations, and OB-Xtreme for Prince style synths. Check out his site. He's a major Prince nut.
Would love to see a breakdown video for what you did here. Don't know if you have the Arturia Spark drum machines but the LynnDream works fairly well for that Prince LinnDrum/LM1 sound.
Br is Band Reject!
I love hardware but gosh... Diva rules.
Ob-6 costs 3000€ and Diva 180€...
JemenJ software is supported only a few years.
And hardware is only supported until the warranty runs out. Lol
DickBurns my prophet-5 from 1981 still works.
James Reeno there will always be Windows and Macs to run this software on. Always.
The beautifull ones always hurts the most.
That intro
man this intro sounds so prince
Check out The Beautiful Ones from the Purple Rain album😉
@@StarskyCarr lol damn it i knew it lol
OMG, SAM is great on pulse bass. Looks like on moog sound.
Baby baby baby
Well they are the beautiful ones
BR = Band Reject. Opposite of Band Pass.
not opposite, inverse
True enough...
The RRRR-Reject ...
Ah - like the R R Reflex
Exactamundo ;)
The difference with the hardware is very minimal and can be solved to inaudible with some more stereo separation/widening and EQ/Tube emulation. And then considering all this costs nothing and a real OB these days costs an arm and a leg... and sometimes a testicle. Plug ins have come a long way.
Let’s hope the potential Behringer version sounds as good along with their pricing!! I should’ve waited before buying the OB6 and Model D !! Haha.
the Behringer model D is not as good a the real deal (lower bass issue, fully tested here), also not too convinced of the OB 6, but fingers crossed for the Behringer OB Xa :-)
Lawrence O hardware synths offer a very different experience.
johanz westerman OB6 is the warmest sounding new poly on the market.
@@SPAZZOID100 I know, I have 9 and some modules. But some soft-synths are simply more versatile. And some do sound extraordinary. Old hardware synths are just not worth 6000 or more for those few % they are still better than software versions. A good MIDI controller gives similar joy on a soft synth.
BR = Band Reject
Hardly sounds like an OB , Matrix 6 owner and fixer of countless other oberheims here
Cedric Crow OB6 sounds like the OBX. VERY close!!!
OB6 is very close to the OBX sonically.
Doesn't seem like like it to me. I'm sure some of the sounds do.
Ow my ears
Br band reject?
Virus then Diva
Interesting... is that from an OB perspective or as an overall studio tool?
denoiser OB6
band reject bro0 ;)
br = maybe band reject.
It is band reject -- but you know how it is once you’re recording something. You can’t go back once you remember. Presenting is odd as it’s not like a conversation where if you forget a word or can’t quite place something others will jump in. You’ve just got to rock on
@@StarskyCarr lol yes i totally get it.
band reject
Chill out the talk!
Never got soft synths? Thankfully most synths lovers are still (or switching back) using hardware. 🕶
There’s nothing like having a tempting bank of buttons, knobs and sliders to get those creative juices flowing
so what is the consensus on the best overall software emulation? I can't tell and am in the market to buy one!
It’s really difficult as they’re all so good it depends on what’s most important. For me the Synapse wins, but the Arturia additional features and modulation routing might be more important if you want to design more complex patches.
@@StarskyCarr Thank you!