I love the sounds of the Ob-Xa, always have, but I find them quite difficult to sit in a mix. I tend to use it for intros and the more cinematic side of things. Cool vid, grazie.
I’m mind blown. I can finally start to put words on what I DEEPLY LOVE since I’m a very young boy in the early 80’s… I already found previously that the Prophet5 is one of the synths who touched me deeply during my childhood, and now I can add the OB-Xa…………………. Thank you so much…… This is very important to me, very important.
@@SynthManiaDotCom oh yes !!!! Even if I don’t have those I still enjoy a lot listening what they are capable, that lets me dreaming more to own them one day…. Thank you for your videos !! Big salut 🫡 from France ViNZ.
That would be a stupid move for a guy like you who does "instrumental covers of '80s hits", because these presets were widely used all over hits of the '80s. Read this en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
@@ElectroPanPipes I agree that some of these presets could be heard as 'cheesy' by modern standards, but you can still assess a how the synth sounds/its character from the patches. You just have to know what subtractive polysynths are like and have experience making patches w/ them. (which tbf a 1st time buyer would not)
@@SynthManiaDotCom A big selling point/use of a synthesizer is the ability to craft the sound you want imo. If the factory patches don't fit a need or the producer has a specific sound in mind then of course the custom patch that does fit that need will be better for that situation. If the 'amateur' thinks their patch is better then it is. (but I guess 'tasteless' is subjective) 'You can use any preset'.. really? If the preset sucks or isn't what the song calls for then probably not.. & also the synth itself must be a factor.. 'you can use any gear' seems like it contradicts being motivated to make a video about a specific piece of gear.. surely it has a unique quality
Fantastic classic, thanks for showing all the sounds in proper musical fashion, thank you for that.. I have seen in other comments (and tbh.. some of the comments here are highly stupid, wth is wrong with people..) that you have sold it.. Just making room / getting rid of instruments you dont use much? Hope all going well out there for you. All the best, have an awesome day!
You sure this ain’t the Sonic Projects Opx Pro? I worked with an OBXa before getting my JP8 in the 80’s, this sounds muddy .. like the OB plugins 🤔 Nice Jan Hammer style solo chops btw 👍
a couple OBX-a classics.... When its over ruclips.net/video/I9z989hPqes/видео.html Separate Ways ruclips.net/video/uH64qV71uUQ/видео.html I had an OBX-a in the early 90s but I never really learned how to use it, and I'm not a piano / keyboard player (bass guitar). I used it for a short while out playing clubs across western canada and for the few songs we used it for it was always a joy to hear the roar out the PA.... 🙂 I wish I had been more diligent because it had the original manual and I spent quite a bit of time trying the pre sets and altering them, etc... When I came off the road, I couldn't bear to just stuff it into a closet, so I laid it on the floor in front of the fireplace (which I never used). It was such a waste to have a serious piece of gear acting as a piece of furniture..... Eventually a friend of a friend in Winnipeg got wind of the fact I had one. He was a keyboard player so I was happy to sell it to him (for what now is a ridiculous / embarrassing price) and as far as I know, it remains in his possession and has had a happy life. In the same vein, I got a set of Taurus pedals (the originals) in 89 for $275 and they remain with me and always will. Years ago I got a call out of the blue from Kim Mitchell's road manager, they were doing a corporate gig -- just fly in with their guitars. He had phoned everyone he knew in Western Canada to see if they had a set in the store. The store here was his last desperate attempt to find a set to rent. Coincidentally, for the first time in a few years I had popped into HEL Music to get a can of contact cleaner for them...and so the salesman shocked him into silence by saying 'yeah, I know a guy here has a set' ....🙂 So I drove up to the gig and Peter Fredette was overjoyed when he saw me walk in the door (more for the pedals than me, I am sure....😛) The Taurus pedals on their own made many stages shake and light trusses vibrate.... 🙂
Nop, it's just the standard Left + Right settings from the voice boards of the Oberheims of that era. I could have panned them more narrowly in the center (or used the Mono Out), but decided to leave the voice spread out as they come from each of the two stereo channels
These aren't the original factory patches, because the 120 program expansion came later. The first OB-Xa's only had 32 patches. I used to have an OB-Xa and I remember having to buy the upgrade to 120 programs and have it installed.. and the dealer put the "120 programs" badge on the front of it.
Right, but aren't the original 32 the first 32 and then the expansion added the others? Or are you saying that the original 32 are completely different from the first 32 in this video?
I'm pretty sure the original 32 memories model had simply the banks "A, B, C, and D". Eight patches per bank, = 32 patches. Then, when they upgraded the memory, they had to come up with some sort of way to call up more memories using the same buttons on the existing chassis, so that's why they started implementing "AB", "ABC", "CD" combination of button presses etc. in typical computer multi-function style, i.e. now you could have A B C D AB AC AD BC BD CD ABC ABD ACD BCD ABCD which gives 16 banks instead of the original four. 16 banks x 8 programs = 128 memories, which was plenty for the 120 patches updated models.
@@SynthManiaDotCom You are correct.. when they upgraded it, they had to come up with a scheme whereby a user could hit multiple buttons at a time. 4 buttons give 16 possible combinations, except for one, which is all zeros, which is impossible for a user to enter. Therefore, 15 combinations times 8 memories is 120 total memories. From what I remember, the OB-Xa uses an Intel 8048 microcontroller as it's CPU, and there always was enough NVRAM in the system to support that much memory. What the upgrade does is change the software so that instead of assigning buttons A, B, C, and D to the first 4 slots of memory that each hold 8 patches, it assigns the buttons in "binary order", i.e. A, B, AB, C, AC, BC, ABC, D, AD, BD, ABD, CD, ACD, BCD, and ABCD, to make 15 slots. See how each of the letters corresponds to the first, second, third, and fourth order binary bit. So then your original 4 patches would be the 4 at the beginning. I should also comment that the upgrade I purchased was NOT sold by Oberheim, it was an aftermarket mod. I am unaware if Oberheim actually sold 120 patch versions of the unit directly from the factory. If they did then who knows how they loaded the patch memory. You should check your serial number to see if you have an early or later one.
Yes, good point, funnily enough I came up with fifteen "real life" combinations as well in my calculation, but was thinking about all the possibilities of 2^4 = 16. I work in I.T. so I'm familiar with binary math and the idea of not being able to use certain addresses, didn't think about the fact that the zero couldn't be entered by the users, good point. I guess in theory they could have used all memory slots by making the "blank" starter (all bank buttons set to off at startup and being able to select eight programs) and put the 16th bank in there, but maybe that would have been confusing. I'm thinking about newer models that came out in the later '80s, such as the Roland D-50, JV-1080, which also worked in banks of 8 / 16/ 32 / 64 /128 programs, in those synth you were able to access all 128 programs. I don't know if it some of the updates were third-party, but there's an official revision of the Oberheim manual in which the 120-program model is listed (with all the patches), so it looks like at least at some point, they endorsed it. Mine I'm pretty sure came with the Oberheim one www.synthfool.com/docs/Oberheim/Oberheim_OBXa/
6:25 that Trumpet Ensemble with the mod wheel Vibrato is pure Minneapolis and Prince!
0:00 Intro
0:04 001 A1 Brass Ensemble
0:46 002 A2 Clavinet
1:04 003 A3 Low Strings
1:29 004 A4 Electric Piano
1:46 005 A5 Rotary Organ
2:03 006 A6 Flutes
2:24 007 A7 Harpsichord
2:41 008 A8 Rock Unison
2:58 009 B1 French Horns
3:14 010 B2 Celeste
3:31 011 B3 High Strings
4:02 012 B4 Electronic Piano
4:17 013 B5 Pipe Organ
4:50 014 B6 Xa Chorus
5:29 015 B7 Harp I
5:48 016 B8 Calliope
6:04 017 AB1 Trumpet Ensemble
6:31 018 AB2 Harmonica
6:54 019 AB3 Strings I
7:23 020 AB4 Accordion
8:04 021 AB5 Filter Drone
8:36 022 AB6 Bag Pipes
9:06 023 AB7 Banjo
9:22 024 AB8 Rush Rezz
10:21 025 C1 Trumpets
10:50 026 C2 Mellow Wow
11:16 027 C3 Slow Strings
11:50 028 C4 Resonance Sweep
12:09 029 C5 Combo Organ
12:37 030 C6 Double Reed
12:55 031 C7 Farr's Funk
13:23 032 C8 Pizzicato
13:38 033 AC1 Modern Horns
13:56 034 AC2 Bass I
14:21 035 AC3 4-Pole Strings
14:47 036 AC4 Reed Piano
15:16 037 AC5 Perc Organ
15:46 038 AC6 Sax
16:06 039 AC7 Harp II
16:22 040 AC8 Orient Unison
16:39 041 BC1 Tropical Horns
17:00 042 BC2 Rubber Clav
17:19 043 BC3 Strings II
17:51 044 BC4 Edge Piano
18:16 045 BC5 Hymn Organ
19:00 046 BC6 Recorder
19:17 047 BC7 Long Chimes
19:32 048 BC8 Unison Fear
19:52 049 ABC1 Comp Horns
20:15 050 ABC2 Bells
20:34 051 ABC3 Strings III
21:04 052 ABC4 Soft Piano
21:23 053 ABC5 Reed Organ
21:39 054 ABC6 Vocal Wow
22:05 055 ABC7 Marimba
22:27 056 ABC8 Terror
23:16 057 D1 F-Env Horns
23:32 058 D2 S-H Fifths
23:49 059 D3 Poly Port
24:25 060 D4 Steel Drums
24:47 061 D5 Square Mod
25:22 062 D6 Comp Synth
25:40 063 D7 Unison Port
26:32 064 D8 Delay Mod
26:48 065 AD1 Tenth Decay
27:08 066 AD2 Sitar
27:27 067 AD3 Fiddle
27:52 068 AD4 Pulse Comp
28:10 069 AD5 PW Rezz
28:36 070 AD6 Comedy Comp
28:59 071 AD7 Jazz Solo
29:17 072 AD8 Earthquake
29:45 073 BD1 S-H Port Rezz
30:29 074 BD2 Conga
30:32 075 BD3 Strings IV
31:08 076 BD4 Funk Keys
31:29 077 BD5 Organ
31:49 078 BD6 Tremolo Rezz
32:09 079 BD7 Box O' Pups
32:24 080 BD8 Martian Hop
32:43 081 ABD1 Claps
32:59 082 ABD2 Carillon
33:22 083 ABD3 Solo Strings
33:42 084 ABD4 Tuned Bees
34:00 085 ABD5 Rezz Reeds
34:13 086 ABD6 Three Way
34:31 087 ABD7 Percussion
34:43 088 ABD8 Chopper
35:14 089 CD1 lo
35:42 090 CD2 S/H PW
36:09 091 CD3 Strings V
36:33 092 CD4 Clarinet
37:05 093 CD5 Bright Drone
37:28 094 CD6 Solo Unison
37:52 095 CD7 Claves
38:04 096 CD8 Jet
38:35 097 ACD1 Water Wiggle
38:45 098 ACD2 Water Piano
39:08 099 ACD3 Slower Strings
39:32 100 ACD4 Flanged Piano
39:54 101 ACD5 Space Bugs
40:15 102 ACD6 Taped Voices
40:31 103 ACD7 Thunder
40:44 104 ACD8 Pong
41:10 Outro
My ears got a nice massage with that voice panning
?
A beast! I remember Paul Schaefer from Late Nite had an OB-X. Always loved the sound.
I love the sounds of the Ob-Xa, always have, but I find them quite difficult to sit in a mix. I tend to use it for intros and the more cinematic side of things. Cool vid, grazie.
Another great video, Paolo! Thank you so much for the inspiration
Glad you liked it!
My favorite synthesizer! Thank you for showing us these amazing analog presets! Saludos desde Sur América :)
Glad you enjoy it!
I’m mind blown.
I can finally start to put words on what I DEEPLY LOVE since I’m a very young boy in the early 80’s…
I already found previously that the Prophet5 is one of the synths who touched me deeply during my childhood, and now I can add the OB-Xa………………….
Thank you so much…… This is very important to me, very important.
Very welcome - Prophet-5 rev.2 patches coming shortly as well
@@SynthManiaDotCom oh yes !!!! Even if I don’t have those I still enjoy a lot listening what they are capable, that lets me dreaming more to own them one day….
Thank you for your videos !!
Big salut 🫡 from France
ViNZ.
For factory patches this blows away the Prophet
Excellent!
This synth sounds like the early 80s because it IS the early 80s. So many outstanding hits.
Thanks for listening!
Nice its been a while since you did this style of video. Thats my Sunday sorted whilst the roast is in the oven cooking.
Hope you enjoy- doing Prophet-5 rev.2 next
Thnx a lot... love these classic videos!
Glad you like them!
If I didn't already know what this synth can do and I could only judge it from its presets, I would simply pass.
That would be a stupid move for a guy like you who does "instrumental covers of '80s hits", because these presets were widely used all over hits of the '80s. Read this en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
Indeed, these presets are a huge part of the 80s. 😍
If you didn't already hear countless 80s hits in those presets, try listening again until you hear them because they're there.
@@ElectroPanPipes I agree that some of these presets could be heard as 'cheesy' by modern standards, but you can still assess a how the synth sounds/its character from the patches. You just have to know what subtractive polysynths are like and have experience making patches w/ them. (which tbf a 1st time buyer would not)
@@SynthManiaDotCom A big selling point/use of a synthesizer is the ability to craft the sound you want imo. If the factory patches don't fit a need or the producer has a specific sound in mind then of course the custom patch that does fit that need will be better for that situation. If the 'amateur' thinks their patch is better then it is. (but I guess 'tasteless' is subjective)
'You can use any preset'.. really? If the preset sucks or isn't what the song calls for then probably not..
& also the synth itself must be a factor.. 'you can use any gear' seems like it contradicts being motivated to make a video about a specific piece of gear.. surely it has a unique quality
The brass machine that Yamaha tried to dethrone with their DX series.
24:26 was apparently used on "What Have You Done For Me Lately" by Janet Jackson (prod. Jam & Lewis)
Great Video my dear Friend ❤ Warmest Regards 😊 Marcus 🕊️🎹🙋♂️👍
Thanks for listening!
Fantastic classic, thanks for showing all the sounds in proper musical fashion, thank you for that..
I have seen in other comments (and tbh.. some of the comments here are highly stupid, wth is wrong with people..) that you have sold it.. Just making room / getting rid of instruments you dont use much? Hope all going well out there for you. All the best, have an awesome day!
Going super well
@@SynthManiaDotCom Thats awesome news, im glad. And yeah, makes perfect sense like this then.. Looking forward to upcomming music.
Belissimo
Extremely curious what these presets gonna sound like in the UB-Xa!!! The ultimate test!
You sure this ain’t the Sonic Projects Opx Pro? I worked with an OBXa before getting my JP8 in the 80’s, this sounds muddy .. like the OB plugins 🤔 Nice Jan Hammer style solo chops btw 👍
I'm quite sure it's an OB-Xa
a couple OBX-a classics....
When its over ruclips.net/video/I9z989hPqes/видео.html
Separate Ways ruclips.net/video/uH64qV71uUQ/видео.html
I had an OBX-a in the early 90s but I never really learned how to use it, and I'm not a piano / keyboard player (bass guitar). I used it for a short while out playing clubs across western canada and for the few songs we used it for it was always a joy to hear the roar out the PA.... 🙂 I wish I had been more diligent because it had the original manual and I spent quite a bit of time trying the pre sets and altering them, etc...
When I came off the road, I couldn't bear to just stuff it into a closet, so I laid it on the floor in front of the fireplace (which I never used). It was such a waste to have a serious piece of gear acting as a piece of furniture.....
Eventually a friend of a friend in Winnipeg got wind of the fact I had one. He was a keyboard player so I was happy to sell it to him (for what now is a ridiculous / embarrassing price) and as far as I know, it remains in his possession and has had a happy life.
In the same vein, I got a set of Taurus pedals (the originals) in 89 for $275 and they remain with me and always will.
Years ago I got a call out of the blue from Kim Mitchell's road manager, they were doing a corporate gig -- just fly in with their guitars. He had phoned everyone he knew in Western Canada to see if they had a set in the store. The store here was his last desperate attempt to find a set to rent.
Coincidentally, for the first time in a few years I had popped into HEL Music to get a can of contact cleaner for them...and so the salesman shocked him into silence by saying 'yeah, I know a guy here has a set' ....🙂 So I drove up to the gig and Peter Fredette was overjoyed when he saw me walk in the door (more for the pedals than me, I am sure....😛)
The Taurus pedals on their own made many stages shake and light trusses vibrate.... 🙂
Fire 0:37
Sorry for my ignorance, I can't help but to ask has the panning anything to do with avoiding copyright strike?
Nop, it's just the standard Left + Right settings from the voice boards of the Oberheims of that era. I could have panned them more narrowly in the center (or used the Mono Out), but decided to leave the voice spread out as they come from each of the two stereo channels
@@SynthManiaDotCom Thank you!
What is that awful ticking sound noticable on some patches?
DESCRIPTION
@@SynthManiaDotCom there is a ticking sound that seems to be one hit on every beat
Where did all the offensive messages go?
Hey, I heard some jazzy chords around 4:00. That's illegal! 🤣
Sorry! I'll be back to regular 3-note pop chords on the next video!
C'è qualcosa in questo suono che mi ricorda il Crumar Bit99
These aren't the original factory patches, because the 120 program expansion came later. The first OB-Xa's only had 32 patches. I used to have an OB-Xa and I remember having to buy the upgrade to 120 programs and have it installed.. and the dealer put the "120 programs" badge on the front of it.
Right, but aren't the original 32 the first 32 and then the expansion added the others? Or are you saying that the original 32 are completely different from the first 32 in this video?
@@SynthManiaDotCom I seem to recall something weird being the case, like "A", "B", "AB", and "C" being the original banks.. It's been a while.
I'm pretty sure the original 32 memories model had simply the banks "A, B, C, and D". Eight patches per bank, = 32 patches. Then, when they upgraded the memory, they had to come up with some sort of way to call up more memories using the same buttons on the existing chassis, so that's why they started implementing "AB", "ABC", "CD" combination of button presses etc. in typical computer multi-function style, i.e. now you could have
A
B
C
D
AB
AC
AD
BC
BD
CD
ABC
ABD
ACD
BCD
ABCD
which gives 16 banks instead of the original four. 16 banks x 8 programs = 128 memories, which was plenty for the 120 patches updated models.
@@SynthManiaDotCom You are correct.. when they upgraded it, they had to come up with a scheme whereby a user could hit multiple buttons at a time. 4 buttons give 16 possible combinations, except for one, which is all zeros, which is impossible for a user to enter. Therefore, 15 combinations times 8 memories is 120 total memories. From what I remember, the OB-Xa uses an Intel 8048 microcontroller as it's CPU, and there always was enough NVRAM in the system to support that much memory. What the upgrade does is change the software so that instead of assigning buttons A, B, C, and D to the first 4 slots of memory that each hold 8 patches, it assigns the buttons in "binary order", i.e. A, B, AB, C, AC, BC, ABC, D, AD, BD, ABD, CD, ACD, BCD, and ABCD, to make 15 slots. See how each of the letters corresponds to the first, second, third, and fourth order binary bit. So then your original 4 patches would be the 4 at the beginning. I should also comment that the upgrade I purchased was NOT sold by Oberheim, it was an aftermarket mod. I am unaware if Oberheim actually sold 120 patch versions of the unit directly from the factory. If they did then who knows how they loaded the patch memory. You should check your serial number to see if you have an early or later one.
Yes, good point, funnily enough I came up with fifteen "real life" combinations as well in my calculation, but was thinking about all the possibilities of 2^4 = 16. I work in I.T. so I'm familiar with binary math and the idea of not being able to use certain addresses, didn't think about the fact that the zero couldn't be entered by the users, good point. I guess in theory they could have used all memory slots by making the "blank" starter (all bank buttons set to off at startup and being able to select eight programs) and put the 16th bank in there, but maybe that would have been confusing. I'm thinking about newer models that came out in the later '80s, such as the Roland D-50, JV-1080, which also worked in banks of 8 / 16/ 32 / 64 /128 programs, in those synth you were able to access all 128 programs. I don't know if it some of the updates were third-party, but there's an official revision of the Oberheim manual in which the 120-program model is listed (with all the patches), so it looks like at least at some point, they endorsed it. Mine I'm pretty sure came with the Oberheim one www.synthfool.com/docs/Oberheim/Oberheim_OBXa/
So kitsch