# Synapse Audio OBSESSION OB-Xa Synth Released !



## muziksculp

Synapse Audio *OBSESSION OB-Xa* Synth Coming Soon !


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## vitocorleone123

Been waiting for this for a loooong time to finally come out. It's an instabuy for me as long as it's <$200.

I'd gotten excited about Saturn, but... meh. Maybe some day. I don't really need more effects. More amazing synths, though... yes!


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## EvilDragon

I can tell you first-hand: it's just amazing!


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## THW

This is intriguing. I see that Arturia has just released. The V collection 7 is as well on sale for $299 and includes this instrument.


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## vitocorleone123

To date, Synapse > Arturia on quality.


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## THW

That’s good to know (fairly new at this and learning). I went down a rabbit hole yesterday and not having the V collection was blown away by how much you get, but IMO not worth it to have a collection that will sit unused. The current price tag seems pretty attractive, then again they just had a sale right?


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## TheUnfinished

Fascinating to have two OBXa emulations coming out at roughly the same time.

Will be fun to compare them.


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## vitocorleone123

If you’re starting from nothing, and want to start with a bang, Arturia collection is a great way to do that.

If you already have specific synths you love and know what you want, and always try to get the “best” (for your ears anyway), Arturia is often not the best way to spend your money. They do seem to be slowly improving, however, and most included are, at worst, merely “decent”.


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## muziksculp

I have the Arturia V Collection 6 , I'm not a fan of any of their synths. I won't be getting their version of the OB-Xa. 

Synapse Audio's DUNE 3 is one of my favorite synths, I'm confident that their upcoming OBSESSION OB-Xa Synth will sound amazing. I will buy it as soon as it's released.


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## EvilDragon

Arturia did nail the digital stuff very very well. Also Buchla Easel is terrific sounding, and actually does nail it pretty closely. Out of their analog emulations, SEM and Matrix 12 are probably the best.


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## muziksculp

EvilDragon said:


> Arturia did nail the digital stuff very very well. Also Buchla Easel is terrific sounding, and actually does nail it pretty closely. Out of their analog emulations, SEM and Matrix 12 are probably the best.



Interesting, I will re-visit these instruments to check them more carefully, I actually like using the Arturia Farfisa V Organ sometimes for pads. But their analog synth emulations i.e. Jupiter 8, Prophet V, CS 80 are very weak.


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## José Herring

Was about to get the Arturia version but even the trailer video of the Synapses version sounds better than the demos of Arturia's. 

Curious though if the are still working on it. One thing that kind of bugs me about all softsynth clones and even all hardware clones is they never seem to quite nail the filters. In this case it starts to zipper as it opens up.


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## vitocorleone123

Yes, Synapse OB-Xa, called Obsession, has been in beta testing for many months and is still being worked on as far as I know. I wasn't one of the lucky ones to be a part of that beta, though. No release date or price has been announced.


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## EvilDragon

muziksculp said:


> But their analog synth emulations i.e. Jupiter 8, Prophet V, CS 80 are very weak.



That's because, as somebody at KvR eloquently put it, the DSP code in those particular few that you listed, dates back from when Bill Clinton was in the office. 



vitocorleone123 said:


> No release date or price has been announced.



It's coming soon and will be priced to compete.


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## muziksculp

EvilDragon said:


> That's because, as somebody at KvR eloquently put it, the DSP code in those particular few that you listed, dates back from when Bill Clinton was in the office.



Wow.. that's some ancient DSP code. I can't believe they haven't re-coded them, and they are still sold as new collections.


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## EvilDragon

Some did get new code, like their Minimoog did get (quite much) improved filter and oscillators (but IIRC this was before Monark and The Legend). And I hear they ARE working on updating other older ones, bit by bit.


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## gussunkri

EvilDragon said:


> Some did get new code, like their Minimoog did get (quite much) improved filter and oscillators. And I hear they ARE working on updating other older ones, bit by bit.


Zebra 2 sounds very good despite being ancient though. Still my favourite synth.


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## Erick - BVA

If The Legend is any indication, this will be a brilliant synth. 
The Legend really does deserve more attention than it gets, especially at the asking price. 
I haven't really been in the mood for purchasing lately, but I may reconsider that.


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## peladio

OP-X Pro II is old and still sounds great and better than Arturia to my ears..Zebra is even older iirc..I'm no DSP programmer but if it sounds good, age doesn't matter to me..


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## EvilDragon

Zebra IS old but it DID get newer modules and DSP improvements added with time.


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## jules

peladio said:


> OP-X Pro II is old and still sounds great and better than Arturia to my ears..Zebra is even older iirc..I'm no DSP programmer but if it sounds good, age doesn't matter to me..


Absolutely. In the same vein, arturia cs80 v1.0 was way better than v 2.0, don't know what happens inbetween. Same for their jupiter 8. Same for Airmusictech Hybrid synth. I bought it when it was protools only and it sounded really great. The v2, not so, don't know why.
Sometimes it sounds great from the start.
High hopes for Obsession !


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## EvilDragon

jules said:


> In the same vein, arturia cs80 v1.0 was way better than v 2.0



Sure, if you wanted to lose your eyesight


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## jules

EvilDragon said:


> Sure, if you wanted to lose your eyesight


True, unworkable gui. But some of the presets were just second to none and what a sound ! Loved it.


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## EvilDragon

For CS-80, Memorymoon's take is much better/more accurate than Arturia's.


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## greggybud

EvilDragon said:


> It's coming soon and will be priced to compete.



Compared to say.... u-he stuff how much resources on a PC?

I agree with comments about Arturia. Bang-for-the-buck, it's Arturia. But their older stuff still does need updating. And contrary to above, I prefer the later versions. Ill never use CS-80v1 again. Actually I use MemoryMoon and feel it's closer, even though I have never owned a CS-80 so I could be jaded.

If you are big into Roland Jupiter 8, Juno, JX3 I feel the purchase of a System 8 is the best bang-for-the-buck synth purchase I have ever made. And I own a lot of hardware synths.

If you are a purist, love shoot-outs, and believe a VST lacks mojo, then buy from different 3rd party developers, and in a lot of cases pay a lot more than the Arturia collection.

Finally, I have never seen Arturia discounted more than at BF. That applies for individual plugs, and the collection.


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## greggybud

jules said:


> True, unworkable gui. But some of the presets were just second to none and what a sound ! Loved it.



So when you ran the old presets through the presets importer they or some sounded different? Arturia I think admits this, but I guess I haven't paid that much attention, probably because I use some pretty bread n butter type presets.


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## jules

greggybud said:


> So when you ran the old presets through the presets importer they or some sounded different? Arturia I think admits this, but I guess I haven't paid that much attention, probably because I use some pretty bread n butter type presets.


Yes, unfortunately they just don’t sound the same at all ! Some sound closer than others, though.


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## Lode_Runner

I hope Synapse will offer a bundle including Obsession and the Legend as I've been meaning to get the Legend for some time and I have a feeling I'll want this as well if it's as good as the Legend. Really looking forward to further news on release.


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## José Herring

Has "soon" come yet?


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## muziksculp

josejherring said:


> Has "soon" come yet?



No not yet, it looks like Soon is taking his/her time.


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## vitocorleone123

Sound clips appearing on KVR suddenly today from beta testers/preset makers. A release is probably coming as soon as next week? (Conjecture)


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## muziksculp

Here is Richard of Synapse Audio commenting on KVR about the release of Obsession :

Quote: 

_" Getting very close




Beta testers have been incredible, responding to new versions lighting fast so we could make rapid progress and pretty much finish the plugin. Some work is left to do on the factory library and manual. Hard to estimate how long this will take exactly, but roughly 1-2 weeks should be realistic."_


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## Malieus

I literally purchased Arturia OB the day it came out and now this! OMG! I wish I would have waited! I can't wait to see how this will sound in comparison to Arturia.


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## vitocorleone123

Malieus said:


> I literally purchased Arturia OB the day it came out and now this! OMG! I wish I would have waited! I can't wait to see how this will sound in comparison to Arturia.



Not much to go on yet, but, based on what’s posted online, I’m glad I held off on the Arturia. The Synapse snippets are sounding a lot like a hardware synth. Having both would certainly cover most of your Oberheim needs!


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## Erick - BVA

I may be repeating myself, but if their previous releases are any indication then this will likely be one of the best emulations of the hardware synth counterpart.


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## Gerbil

The Legend is straight up brilliant. I used to have a Model D and bought The Legend to work parts out quickly in the DAW with a view to replacing them with the real thing. But it was so good and so much more flexible (and less hassle) I decided to get rid of the Moog. I very occasionally miss turning it on and playing it, but the many sample libraries I bought with the cash more than compensated for the loss.


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## muziksculp

Synapse Audio's DUNE 3 is my favorite VST Synth, I don't have The Legend, but I have the Moog-D, I also have an OB-6 desktop model, so it would be interesting to see if Obsession can emulate the sonic character of the OB-6.


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## José Herring

Gerbil said:


> The Legend is straight up brilliant. I used to have a Model D and bought The Legend to work parts out quickly in the DAW with a view to replacing them with the real thing. But it was so good and so much more flexible (and less hassle) I decided to get rid of the Moog. I very occasionally miss turning it on and playing it, but the many sample libraries I bought with the cash more than compensated for the loss.


I hear you. I'm using The Legend to add some bass to an adventure track. I was amazed at how fast my traditional adventure track turned into a hybrid slammin' cue. My only problem is to not over use it, it sounds so good. I've never had a plugin that could support an entire orchestra like this one does. The only part about the Legend is it doesn't do polyphony well so I keep it as a mono and unison synth. 

If The Legend is any indication then Obsession is going to be brilliant and it will be finally good to have a very convincing analog poly emulation.


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## vitocorleone123

muziksculp said:


> Synapse Audio's DUNE 3 is my favorite VST Synth, I don't have The Legend, but I have the Moog-D, I also have an OB-6 desktop model, so it would be interesting to see if Obsession can emulate the sonic character of the OB-6.



I went with Hive 2 over Dune 3 because I thought it was easier to use and sounded better, but I do have The Legend (but I also have an SE-02). I also have an OB-6 desktop. The OB-6 is a unique instrument that fully belongs in the Oberheim family in terms of sound. It's largely unique because of Dave Smith's influence. An OBXa will sound familiar (and does, based on videos of the actual synth as well as Arturia and Obsession clips) to an OB-6 owner, but they are different, and have different strengths and weaknesses. In other words, Obsession + OB-6 seems like it will be an incredible combo for those who love the Oberheim family of sound.


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## Judoludo

news?


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## vitocorleone123

Judoludo said:


> news?



Still waiting, "cash in hand"


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## EvilDragon

It's NKS approved, should be any day now.


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## sostenuto

Treading water until release .... some OB-Xa sound sources in Omni2.6 but have not found search to identify them ....


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## AmbientMile

While reading this thread, I remembered that when I switched from all hardware gear and decided to try virtual gear, my first go (not counting Sonic Foundry's Acid) was with Synapse Audio's Orion. For fun, I logged into Synapse and sure enough, I could download my OLD version of Orion. Loaded it into my PC laptop (modern Win 10) and fully expected it to not work. It works perfectly. Pretty impressive for something I bought nearly 20 years ago!!


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## Lode_Runner

Just found this:
https://*new*.synapse-audio.com/products.html - looks like it's available and is $99.

Note - while it looks legit and is most likely a temporary website before they launch it on the usual website, Synapse Audio's website URL is normally https://*www*.synapse-audio.com/products.html, so I wouldn't click on the add to cart button just yet in case this "new" website is a scam.

Edit: I'm 95% sure it's a pre-launch test website. There's screen shots of the various pages of the UI, oh and the manual is up there: https://new.synapse-audio.com/obsession/ObsessionManual.pdf
Unfortunately the demo video is currently for the Legend.

Edit 2: I decided to click on the add to cart button after all. It took me to a My Commerce Digital River checkout. I then added Dune to my cart from the regular website and they were both in my cart. It looks like it's available for purchase.


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## vitocorleone123

Definitely staging. It's gone now - but the manual is still currently there.


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## muziksculp

Looking forward to the official release of Obsession.


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## José Herring

Has it been "soon" yet?


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## Lode_Runner

Not yet, but it will be soon soon. 

In the meantime we know how much money to put aside and we have a manual to read so we can start saving and cramming for the official release.


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## José Herring

Lode_Runner said:


> Not yet, but it will be soon soon.
> 
> In the meantime we know how much money to put aside and we have a manual to read so we can start saving and cramming for the official release.


Yeah, I finally found my virtual analog poly synth of my dreams. Can't wait. I have The Legend RE and love it to pieces. I'm sure they nailed this one too.


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## Azeroc

It's released! 99$


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## sostenuto

Demo installed. Got User Manual. Now to sort vs Legend.


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## José Herring

sostenuto said:


> Demo installed. Got User Manual. Now to sort vs Legend.


Vastly different. Legend being a minimoog emulation excels at mono and unison modes. It's poly mode is weak. 

Obsession should excel at the poly mode. Because that's what it was modeled after.


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## José Herring

The demos sound glorious.


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## sostenuto

THX ! Have Analog 4 OB-Xa content and Omni2's ?? 
Will experiment now with individual analog synths.
No history to lean on, so will roll dice on first few. 

(oops ...do have bx-oberhausen)


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## José Herring

sostenuto said:


> THX ! Have Analog 4 OB-Xa content and Omni2's ??
> Will experiment now with individual analog synths.
> No history to lean on, so will roll dice on first few.


There is a free OBXa vst. It would be cool to compare it to that. I'm sure that Synapses is way better and at $99 it might as well fall into the free category. 

I think when I get Synapses Obsession and do a shootout between the two.






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## muziksculp

Synapse-Audio Obesession Released !


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## vitocorleone123

It's a steal at $99. It's very beautiful. I didn't even demo - just purchased. The Arturia one made me go "meh". This one almost brought tears to my eyes it sounds so good. Without a doubt - to my ears at least- the best Oberheim emulation to date. By far.

Just do yourself a favor and buy it.

I am experimenting with disabling the onboard Delay and Reverb (and eventually Chorus) and using 3rd party effects. The additional functionality Synapse added really opens up new realms even though they seem pretty simple, both in terms of effects, but also things like the LFO x2 step functions.

EDIT: The LFO step function seems to open up a bit of "cinematic exploration" and functionality that I think puts this very much into the realm of soundtrack/trailer design.


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## Allegro

Don't know how close it sounds to the real thing but just tried out the demo. Really good! Not a fan of this mod destination list though. Hoping an update merges it into categories.


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## Lode_Runner

Holy moly, that demo video sounds way better than I was expecting and I already expected it to be amazing. I can't wait for payday on Thursday.

@SoNowWhat?


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## ElectricFrog

Here is a no talk walkthrough of the factory presets, its a good sounding synth:


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## Yury Tikhomirov

I want to like it, but it just doesn’t sound better than Repro-5 to me based on the demo. Even Arturia OB-Xa represents brass and signature Obi poly patches that I do like a bit better, although it might sound not as warm. Was waiting for it, and somehow not really impressed now. But it is just me. Enjoy it!


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## José Herring

Yury Tikhomirov said:


> I want to like it, but it just doesn’t sound better than Repro-5 to me based on the demo. Even Arturia OB-Xa represents brass and signature Obi poly patches that I do like a bit better, although it might sound not as warm. Was waiting for it, and somehow not really impressed now. But it is just me. Enjoy it!


It's been out all day and nobody has uploaded a shootout video on youtube of Arturia OB-XA vs. Synapses Obsession. Tsk...people are getting slow.


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## José Herring

vitocorleone123 said:


> I think Obsession is the best OB emulation to date. By a large amount. So glad I skipped the Arturia one - it did nothing for me. Obsession almost brought tears of joy to my eyes on a patch it’s so bea
> 
> it’s easily as good as Repro. Just different. I’ll use it more than Diva, for example.
> 
> Turn off the effects and listen to the oscillators.


I agree. Just ran through the demos of Arturia on the site and Obession just seems like you'll be able to get more out of it. That's kind of what I look for in a synth. Can I take it to the max and it still sound good. For the basic sounds any synth out there even free ones can handle that, but when you want to squeeze the ever living daylights out of a synth, only a few can handle it. Synapses The Legend is one of the few. So I have no doubt that Obsession will be a winner. Even though I can hear the Synapses sound in it. It has some similarity soundwise to Antidote RE and The Legend by Synapses. Very faint but I can hear a signature sound in there. 

In the end, why not just get both. I actually think the Arturia one has a nice polished sound to it. It sounds very warm to me. 

Can't have too many synths.


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## EvilDragon

josejherring said:


> There is a free OBXa vst



OB-XD doesn't try to emulate OB-Xa in detail at all, it's more of an "inspired by certain Oberheim concepts" but it doesn't hit the mark if you want an actual OB-Xa. Obsession does.


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## Gerbil

It's superb. A+. I didn't expect anything less after The Legend.

When you can't stop playing something and ideas pour out of you you know you've got a winner. I really appreciate the time they've spent with the presets as well, which are a great springboard for further exploration (anybody here have a hand in them?). Top job again.

I love grabbing a cappuccino and watching a good shoot-out (it's a form of sport, isn't it?) so look forward to watching a few videos...


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## SoNowWhat?

Lode_Runner said:


> Holy moly, that demo video sounds way better than I was expecting and I already expected it to be amazing. I can't wait for payday on Thursday.
> 
> @SoNowWhat?


Hey mate. If you were asking me I’m a bit behind on this one, sorry. Will have to check it out and give some feedback. I have The Legend and Dune. Both excellent. Also have some free and paid OBX emus (like above). Very interesting.

Edit - I’m wondering if anyone knows if U-he have any plans to release an Oberheim model? Re-Pro is so awesome I’d be hard pressed to look past anything they release. Can you have too many Oberheims?


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## Sunny Schramm

I like the FREE OB-Xd very much - check it out: 









discoDSP OB-Xd


OB-Xd is based on the Oberheim OB-X. It attempts to recreate its sound and behavior, but as the original was very limited in some important ways a num




www.discodsp.com





There are a lot of soundbanks @kvr.


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## Judoludo

Sunny Schramm said:


> I like the FREE OB-Xd very much - check it out:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> discoDSP OB-Xd
> 
> 
> OB-Xd is based on the Oberheim OB-X. It attempts to recreate its sound and behavior, but as the original was very limited in some important ways a num
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.discodsp.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There are a lot of soundbanks @kvr.


I have this issue: with some patches, when I save and re-open Cubase, OB-Xd forgets the sound. And, I cant' just reload the patch, I have to reload first the VST itself. Anyone having this problem? Thanks


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## Sunny Schramm

I dont but I also dont have the newest version installed. maybe I should wait with installing 1.5? Which Cubase Version do you use?


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## Lode_Runner

SoNowWhat? said:


> Hey mate. If you were asking me I’m a bit behind on this one, sorry. Will have to check it out and give some feedback. I have The Legend and Dune. Both excellent. Also have some free and paid OBX emus (like above). Very interesting.
> 
> Edit - I’m wondering if anyone knows if U-he have any plans to release an Oberheim model? Re-Pro is so awesome I’d be hard pressed to look past anything they release. Can you have too many Oberheims?


Not so much asking, just tipping you off to the release in case you hadn't seen it as I've had a few chats with you about virtual analogue soft synths. This one sounds amazing to me.


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## Judoludo

Sunny Schramm said:


> I dont but I also dont have the newest version installed. maybe I should wait with installing 1.5? Which Cubase Version do you use?


Cubase 10.0.60 Pro


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## Sunny Schramm

I have 10.5.20


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## ElectricFrog

Here is a side by side comparison.

Synapse Audio Obsession VS Arturia OB-Xa


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## sostenuto

ElectricFrog said:


> Here is a side by side comparison.
> 
> Synapse Audio Obsession VS Arturia OB-Xa




X-cool ! New HDFones _ DAC _ AMP Side-by-side really helps


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## José Herring

ElectricFrog said:


> Here is a side by side comparison.
> 
> Synapse Audio Obsession VS Arturia OB-Xa



It's been two days. What took so long?


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## method1

ElectricFrog said:


> Here is a side by side comparison.
> 
> Synapse Audio Obsession VS Arturia OB-Xa




Nice thanks! I'm hearing a subtle but nasty digital "chirping" on both of these, is that part of the emulation or just youtube compression doing it's thing?


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## sostenuto

josejherring said:


> It's been two days. What took so long?



Great 'compare' but not surprised that both sound and operate well. Existing OB-Xa owners are surely experiencing this differently from purely VSTi reviewers ? Oscillating between choosing as Analog Lab 4 User or leaning toward reactions from Hardware owners/users. OTH 'serious' early adopter critiques will have their effect.


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## José Herring

They both sound great. I got to give to Arturia though. The inclusion of a MSEG for a modulation source is an excellent addition. But....at the same time I admire Synapses more traditional sequencer style modulation. 

Either way I'm getting both.


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## sostenuto

THX ! Good to note  

Obsession + Legend for same $$ as Arturia OB-Xa V. (Arturia owner and NO )


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## gsilbers

just tried it w repro5 and lucklily two fo the patches i used where very close. and obsession sounds great .

i like the step lfo.


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## vitocorleone123

method1 said:


> Nice thanks! I'm hearing a subtle but nasty digital "chirping" on both of these, is that part of the emulation or just youtube compression doing it's thing?



There’s something off about the video...


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## gsilbers

method1 said:


> Nice thanks! I'm hearing a subtle but nasty digital "chirping" on both of these, is that part of the emulation or just youtube compression doing it's thing?



thank goodness.. i was having issues with pro tools and digital distortion and thought this was part of it.. 

i still could hear both sounded cool...


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## ElectricFrog

Try downloading the HD version of the video and listen to that.
Its possible youtube did some heavy compression on the SD version which could cause that issue.
Tried it here on 4 comps, no chirping (except for my parrot who wont shut up).


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## SoNowWhat?

vitocorleone123 said:


> There’s something off about the video...


I was hearing a high pitched artefact in there too. No matter, I've downloaded the demo and will test on my setup to see what I think. Thank you to all devs who offer a demo option.


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## Wes Antczak

Or you could download the demo and give it a spin for yourself.


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## Sunny Schramm

Checked the demo-version last night and was blown away from its heavily inspiring sounds and character. I´m interested mostly in basslines and arps and the ones in the demo were amazing. Can somebody tell me how much more of that are in the full version or take a screenshot of the preset-list for me please? Cant find something like that on their productpage...


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## RogiervG

josejherring said:


> There is a free OBXa vst. It would be cool to compare it to that. I'm sure that Synapses is way better and at $99 it might as well fall into the free category.
> 
> I think when I get Synapses Obsession and do a shootout between the two.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Félicitations ! Votre domaine a bien été créé chez OVHcloud !
> 
> 
> OVHcloud accompagne votre évolution grâce au meilleur des infrastructures web : hébergement, nom de domaine, serveur dédié, CDN, Cloud, Big Data, ...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.vst4free.com


free doesn't mean bad. according to many tests, the free one is a very precise emulation.
https://obxd.wordpress.com/


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## José Herring

RogiervG said:


> free doesn't mean bad. according to many tests, the free one is a very precise emulation.
> https://obxd.wordpress.com/


The one you linked I think is a different one. That one cost $50. 

I'll still do my shootout with the free one though. Time permitting.


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## RogiervG

josejherring said:


> The one you linked I think is a different one. That one cost $50.
> 
> I'll still do my shootout with the free one though. Time permitting.




edit: no its the right link. the binaries are now being maintained by discodsp. the sourcecode is still free, read it up on their page. so if you dont want to pay for prebuild binaries, compile it yourself.

maintained sourcecode is here:
https://github.com/reales/OB-Xd


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## José Herring

RogiervG said:


> edit: no its the right link. the binaries are now being maintained by discodsp. the sourcecode is still free, read it up on their page. so if you dont want to pay for prebuild binaries, compile it yourself.
> 
> maintained sourcecode is here:
> https://github.com/reales/OB-Xd


I will try, but when people start throwing around words like "source code" and "prebuild binaries" I instantly rather pay $50 so I don't have to do that.


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## RogiervG

josejherring said:


> I will try, but when people start throwing around words like "source code" and "prebuild binaries" I instantly rather pay $50 so I don't have to do that.


i understand, and agree. I just wanted to point out that free isn't bad per definition. But it might take some hoops to get it working.


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## José Herring

RogiervG said:


> i understand, and agree. I just wanted to point out that free isn't bad per definition. But it might take some hoops to get it working.



Understood. Believe me, very few people have used more free stuff than I have. I think that's why I'm a freebee snob. I mean seriously, if they can't even be bothered to put it in a nice little installer for me, I can't be bothered to download it.


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## method1

josejherring said:


> Understood. Believe me, very few people have used more free stuff than I have. I think that's why I'm a freebee snob. I mean seriously, if they can't even be bothered to put it in a nice little installer for me, I can't be bothered to download it.



You don't have to buy it, just click the download link for your platform on this page:









discoDSP OB-Xd


OB-Xd is based on the Oberheim OB-X. It attempts to recreate its sound and behavior, but as the original was very limited in some important ways a num




www.discodsp.com





The nightly builds are here:









discoDSP OB-Xd synthesizer 2.10 Nightly Builds






www.discodsp.net





No compilation needed, it's already packaged in an installer.


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## José Herring

I will do the shout out between the three starting tonight.


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## Stevie

Disturbing, no one mentioned OP-X II Pro for a comparison. 
To me that’s still THE OB-X(A) emulation to date.


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## José Herring

Stevie said:


> Disturbing, no one mentioned OP-X II Pro for a comparison.
> To me that’s still THE OB-X(A) emulation to date.


Downloaded the demo. Will give it a shot.


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## Stevie

Awesome, thanks José!


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## José Herring

OMG, I forgot the free IK multimedia freebee!


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## doctoremmet

josejherring said:


> OMG, I forgot the free IK multimedia freebee!


Is the shootout available somewhere already? Very curious, as I have access to the real deal and know the OB-Xa well.


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## doctoremmet

josejherring said:


> OMG, I forgot the free IK multimedia freebee!


It’s nice but sample based. Not necessarily a bad thing, but in my world that doesn’t really count. I’m sure UVI has one like that in their Vintage Vault as well, if we’re going to include sample based solutions. So I can live with a shootout excluding those. Hope that made you feel better haha


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## Stevie

Yeah, I don't think the IK one fits here. It's too limited, because sample based.


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## vitocorleone123

Stevie said:


> Disturbing, no one mentioned OP-X II Pro for a comparison.
> To me that’s still THE OB-X(A) emulation to date.



I think it’s been surpassed in terms of analog sound quality. I look forward to trying the next version, however.


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## José Herring

doctoremmet said:


> Is the shootout available somewhere already? Very curious, as I have access to the real deal and know the OB-Xa well.


Would love a shootout between the real deal and the Synapses Obsession.


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## José Herring

Stevie said:


> Yeah, I don't think the IK one fits here. It's too limited, because sample based.


Yeah, I realized that as I was trying to download it. It might be interesting but then I was like Nah.


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## dcoscina

Why oh why oh why did I download the demo for Obsession and DUNE? Damn damn damn damn. As much as I like Obsession, I LOVE Dune.... thanks a lot Synapse....like I needed another synth plug in...


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## José Herring

dcoscina said:


> Why oh why oh why did I download the demo for Obsession and DUNE? Damn damn damn damn. As much as I like Obsession, I LOVE Dune.... thanks a lot Synapse....like I needed another synth plug in...


OH why did you mention Dune! I don't have it and always thought it was cool. Now it's on my list again.


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## EvilDragon

RogiervG said:


> according to many tests, the free one is a very precise emulation.



It's not really a precise emulation of an OB-Xa. It's an "inspired by", but no, comparing it to an actual OB-Xa, it doesn't come close, as OBsession does.


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## doctoremmet

josejherring said:


> OH why did you mention Dune! I don't have it and always thought it was cool. Now it's on my list again.


Every time I watch a Guy Michelmore video and I see him firing up Dune (oh and Iris 2 for that matter) I’m always like: damn, me wants...


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## woafmann

Anyone who's licensed both "Obsession" and "OP-X PRO-II" wanna' chime in as to which sounds more organic, lush and closer to the original hardware? The OP-X PRO-II comes with over 2500 patches and sounds pretty amazing to me. I've never played the real thing though so have no reference. All advice welcome!


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## EvilDragon

Obsession wins that one.


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## muziksculp




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## lychee

Today again a Starsky Carr video with a sound comparison of Synapse Obsession, Arturia OB-XD V, DiscoDSP OB-XD, SonicProjects OP-X:


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## vitocorleone123

There's a reason I paid for Obsession (and a little for bx_oberhausen on sale), not the alternatives.

I feel that Obsession is also closest, as far as Curtis vs SEM goes, to the sense of using my OB-6. That said, Obsession has some UX usability issues that largely seem self-inflicted. I still chose it for the sound.


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## muziksculp

vitocorleone123 said:


> Obsession has some UX usability issues that largely seem self-inflicted.



Interesting, like ... ? 

I haven't purchased Synapse Audio's Obsession Synth yet, mainly because I have been buying more sample libraries lately, but will be buying Obsession in the near future. I also have the OB-6 HW-Synth desktop model, and love the way it sound. A real beauty.


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## vitocorleone123

The form factor (shape and layout) is
1) Selected for business reasons rather than user reasons
2) Different than the hardware (that’s ok by me if it’s an improvement)

The form factor forces a lot of mouse movement to switch from the main view to one of two other pages (effects or voice tweaking). The pages are modal, which is especially egregious in the case of voice editing, where it looks similar and is easy to tweak and then start adjusting the next parameter only to remember you’re still in voice editing mode and have to move the mouse way down left to switch out of the mode.

Excellent sound. Happy to have spent the $100. Lower than expected usability. Not bad, but not great, either. I wish Obsession had Arturia’s UX, as that’s the better of the two on that front. If someone bought the Arturia for $50 they should still feel satisfied as that’s a good one, too. 

(spoken as a UX designer and user researcher for over 20 years)

Edit: I also have the desktop OB-6.


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## muziksculp

vitocorleone123 said:


> I also have the desktop OB-6.


 

Thanks for the feedback regarding the Obsession UX.


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## José Herring

lychee said:


> Today again a Starsky Carr video with a sound comparison of Synapse Obsession, Arturia OB-XD V, DiscoDSP OB-XD, SonicProjects OP-X:



Yay, now I don't have to do one.


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## José Herring

They seem all great to me. I personally think that the only one I didn't like as much was OPx pro II. Surprised at how well the Ob-xd stood up to the others and that's a freebee. I like the control that Synapses gives which makes it worth the $$. But, also it can be a PIA when the voices are out of tune causing me to either just mute that one problematic voice or dig underneath and tune it up a bit. So, I think I'll keep the Ob-xd handy if I just want to dial up the sound quickly and not worry to much with the under the hood programming.


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## method1

While the comparisons are going on, let's not forget about the venerable DIVA, shown here against an actual OB-8. 



I know it's not an OB-X like Obsession but DIVA is up to the challenge. 
I spent some time comparing the 2 myself, trying to recreate an Obsession patch in DIVA & got pretty close. I think they're both incredible sounding synths, good times!


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## vitocorleone123

Diva is good, of course, but it’s not the same sound as an OB-Xa. Flexibility and quality, but not a direct emulation.


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## muziksculp

I love *DIVA* , it's like a Swiss Army Virtual Analog Synth


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## EvilDragon

vitocorleone123 said:


> I wish Obsession had Arturia’s UX



Kind of unrealistic considering Arturia's version doesn't have nearly the same possibilities as far as per-voice tweaking. It's quite gimped in that regard, especially since many parameters across its board are simply carbon-copies between the voices except a few - which fundamentally misses the point of being an OB-Xa emulation to me... This is what Synapse got right. And I have a few ideas for improving the UX there, which I'll propose to Richard and Marcin. What if, as an addition, you right-click a parameter and choose an option to show all trimmers for that parameter across all voices? Then it doesn't break modality and you can keep on tweaking the main page parameters instead of flipping back and forth. Another one would be being able to multi-select voice edit buttons to do an absolute or a relative trimmer tweak for the parameters across those chosen voices. Etc.


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## vitocorleone123

EvilDragon said:


> Kind of unrealistic considering Arturia's version doesn't have nearly the same possibilities as far as per-voice tweaking. It's quite gimped in that regard, especially since many parameters across its board are simply carbon-copies between the voices except a few - which fundamentally misses the point of being an OB-Xa emulation to me... This is what Synapse got right. And I have a few ideas for improving the UX there, which I'll propose to Richard and Marcin. What if, as an addition, you right-click a parameter and choose an option to show all trimmers for that parameter across all voices? Then it doesn't break modality and you can keep on tweaking the main page parameters instead of flipping back and forth. Another one would be being able to multi-select voice edit buttons to do an absolute or a relative trimmer tweak for the parameters across those chosen voices. Etc.



Yeah - to get voice tweaking, Arturia would also have a UX challenge in terms of how to implement it in a usable way. Again, I definitely DO prefer the core sound of Obsession.

I think that your idea(s) are worth considering on the UX. Even a ctrl/cmd-click rather than right click with a pop-over that goes away if you click anything outside of it (ideally without losing that other click if it was on something else) without requiring an explicit dismiss action, in addition to the full modal I'm-gonna-tweak-me-some-knobs existing implementation, could be an improvement.

Also, the envelope knobs just don't seem right - they're hard to use and sort of impart a vague, not sure what's going to happen or how far to move them feeling. Maybe they're accurate emulations of the unit Synapse has, but, to me, it seems like an opportunity to right a wrong rather than impart "character" on the plugin. Improve the predictability and learnability.


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## Pier

muziksculp said:


> I love *DIVA* , it's like a Swiss Army Virtual Analog Synth



Diva sounds fantastic but whenever I use it I always wish I could have more modulation options. It's the same with Repro. I love its sound and UI, but I find the workflow so restricting. I totally get the idea of replicating the experience of hardware synths with German precision, but I've been spoiled by learning synthesis on Zebra 2 and having used it for so many years.

Hive is similar in this respect. I fire it up, start playing with it, and then I want a third LFO, or an MSEG, or the modulation mapper from Zebra. Hive 2 is better but still...

Man, I wish Uhe just added all filters and all oscillators from all their synths into Zebra 3 with a new UI. It would basically be the synth to end all synths 

I got the Dark Zebra basically to get Zebra 3 for free when it comes out but was super disappointed because the Diva filters in it are *mono*.

Dune 3, while not modular, seems like it would be the more powerful Hive 2 I've been looking for. A workhorse synth with a more modern sound than Zebra 2.


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## vitocorleone123

I don't understand that about Hive2: you have 12 modification slots with 2 paramaters per slot, plus the shape sequencer.

But, then, I bought a hardware polysynth with 1:1 controls and only 1 dedicated LFO because I have Omnisphere if I want to modulate to oblivion. I think Repro is great as it is. If you want more LFOs, just drag and drop then on in your DAW (or get a DAW that lets you do that, I suppose). In the DAW I use, I can just drag any number of LFOs or other modifiers like that onto any softsynth or effect to modify any parameter. It's not exactly the same for some things, I know.


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## Pier

vitocorleone123 said:


> I don't understand that about Hive2: you have 12 modification slots with 2 paramaters per slot, plus the shape sequencer.



The mod matrix is fine, but there are still only 2 LFOs + 2 envelopes for modulation. The shape sequencer was a great addition but still very limited compared to the MSEGs of Zebra or Dune.



vitocorleone123 said:


> If you want more LFOs, just drag and drop then on in your DAW



Sure, if you're using Bitwig, but that's far from an ideal solution like having it everything inside the synth.


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## vitocorleone123

Pier said:


> The mod matrix is fine, but there are still only 2 LFOs + 2 envelopes for modulation. The shape sequencer was a great addition but still very limited compared to the MSEGs of Zebra or Dune.
> Sure, if you're using Bitwig, but that's far from an ideal solution like having it everything inside the synth.



Interesting. Very different views of synthesizers. To me, software is software - if there’s a perceived shortcoming in features there’s often one or more tools to overcome it with little issue. Heck, I do the same thing for my hardware synth by adding software LFOs as desired. Admittedly, I don’t use a ton of modulation, as I’d generally select or creat a different sound instead. The PC is the synth, not Diva or whatever.

side note: it’s Waveform, not Bitwig... or my iPhone can do it as well


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## EvilDragon

Pier said:


> Hive is similar in this respect. I fire it up, start playing with it, and then I want a third LFO, or an MSEG, or the modulation mapper from Zebra. Hive 2 is better but still...



Hive 2 is modulation wonderland. Function generators FTW!



Pier said:


> but still very limited compared to the MSEGs of Zebra or Dune.



Not every synth needs to be every other synth. Hive's main points are: low CPU, fast workflow, and easily accessible modular-like features. Not to mention one of the best sounding wavetable engines out there.

Shape sequencers are COOL and DIFFERENT. It is worth exploring them rather than just wanting MSEGs in each and every synth, IMO.


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## Pier

EvilDragon said:


> Hive 2 is modulation wonderland. Function generators FTW!



It's a nice feature, but IMO the function generators would have worked better in a synth like Zebra or Bazille which are more geared towards experimentation than Hive. Personally I would have preferred to see more filter types, more LFOs, and MSEGs.



EvilDragon said:


> Not every synth needs to be every other synth.



I don't see it as copying another synth but rather providing fundamental tools much like regular envelopes, LFOs, filters, etc. It's all subjective of course.

Anyway, I'm going to get Dune 3 which aligns better with what I expected Hive 2 to be (although I admit Hive's UI is lightyears ahead ).


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## muziksculp

Synapse Audio *OBSESSION*, *Update 1.1 Released* ! 

VST3 version.
Support for Big Sur and Apple M1 Macs.
Chorale mode added to the Reverb effect.
Double-X mode added to the Delay effect.
Line tool added to the LFO steps control.
Soften parameter for the LFO steps.
Arrow keys can rotate LFO steps.
Support for polyphonic aftertouch (pressure).
Extended mod matrix to 12 slots.


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## vitocorleone123

Haven't used the synth in a couple months. Time to dust it off!


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## muziksculp

vitocorleone123 said:


> Haven't used the synth in a couple months. Time to dust it off!


Same here. I have too many Synths, so.. some get ignored, and dusty.


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## grabauf

Any recent opinions on Obsession? I'm tempted to buy it.


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## doctoremmet

Only OB-Xa emulation I have is the Arturia one - just recently graduated to V8. Have to say it sounds great. And I believe the Synapse attempt is generally considered to be even slightly better… @José Herring didn’t you get Obsession soon after release?


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## José Herring

doctoremmet said:


> Only OB-Xa emulation I have is the Arturia one - just recently graduated to V8. Have to say it sounds great. And I believe the Synapse attempt is generally considered to be even slightly better… @José Herring didn’t you get Obsession soon after release?


Yes. I got the VST version and they also sent me a coupon to get the RE version for the Reason rack. Not sure if they still include the coupon. It's a tremendous emulation. I'm not familiar with the original or the Dave Smith version of it but as a soft synth Obsession is remarkable. Highly recommended and a steal at the offering price.


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## vitocorleone123

José Herring said:


> Yes. I got the VST version and they also sent me a coupon to get the RE version for the Reason rack. Not sure if they still include the coupon. It's a tremendous emulation. I'm not familiar with the original or the Dave Smith version of it but as a soft synth Obsession is remarkable. Highly recommended and a steal at the offering price.


There is no Dave Smith version of the Xa 

There's the original hardware by Tom Oberheim, and there's a hardware clone being worked on by the clone factory company that shall no be named. There's also an Arturia software emulation and the Synapse Audio emulation.

A hardware synth called OB-6 was developed by Dave Smith/Sequential based on the Prophet 6 that integrates a SEM filter (which isn't part of the Xa) with Tom Oberheim's input and approval - he is/was also financially compensated for his consultation and use of his name. The OB-6 is more like an OB-X, but still unique because of it's Prophet DNA.

There is a rumored/wished for OB-X by Sequential with Tom's input again based on the Prophet 10.


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## Snoobydoobydoo

Pier said:


> It's a nice feature, but IMO the function generators would have worked better in a synth like Zebra or Bazille which are more geared towards experimentation than Hive. Personally I would have preferred to see more filter types, more LFOs, and MSEGs.


We are sailing in the same boat here, but mind this.. Emulations like Repro are not only 
made for nostalgic reasons, but for their distinctive Sweetspots.
*Here is one rare video* explaining those of the Prophet 6.
Its not always only about the filter though.

You wont achieve this kind of magic in Zebra, unless you work hard / invest much more time.
Then, Repro comes into play 

The lack of modulation possibilities in emulations, ie. Diva, compared to allrounders like Zebra, 
is made up with character.

When i reach for the Legend, im expecting that kind of raw brutality, which is just there without 
modulating something first. But if i wanted to achieve that in Zebra, i would have to recreate it
not by just distorting, wrapping or something quick. Possible, but time consuming.
Hive gives fast results, lacks some flexiblity in comparison to Z2.

If you could Inter-modulate all U-HE Synths together.......wet dreams...


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## grabauf

Can't wait to hear the new Obsession soundset by @Kevin Schroeder .


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## richmwhitfield

Not sure if I am allowed to do this or not, but I created a preset pack for Obsession (quite a while back) - feel free to check it out - https://www.resonatesounddesign.com/evoke


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## hoxclab

Had Obsession for a while but ended up selling it. It does have an incredible sound.


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## dcoscina

Holy crap… I love this synth!!! Totally worth the $129 CAD. Every patch is inspiring and amazing. Synapse is fantastic


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## kgdrum

I was hoping for a sale on Obsession during BF……….I’m still hoping Santa might help cure my obsessive GAS predilection for Obsession!


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## muziksculp

dcoscina said:


> Holy crap… I love this synth!!! Totally worth the $129 CAD. Every patch is inspiring and amazing. Synapse is fantastic


Yes, Synapse makes some of the best VST Synths. 

Do you have their DUNE 3.5 Synth ? 

If not, check it out. It's my favorite VST Synth


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## vitocorleone123

hoxclab said:


> Had Obsession for a while but ended up selling it. It does have an incredible sound.


I'm also finding I never use it. It could end up on my to-sell list in 2022, as well (same as The Legend).


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## dcoscina

muziksculp said:


> Yes, Synapse makes some of the best VST Synths.
> 
> Do you have their DUNE 3.5 Synth ?
> 
> If not, check it out. It's my favorite VST Synth


Oh yeah, I bought that last year. 

I'm building a template for a feature film that is calling for a Jerry Goldsmith *Legend* kind of vibe so I need a bunch of synths. Sampled orchestra will be replaced with a real group.


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