It's hard to believe what a fortunate time we live in now given the return of Tom, Oberheim synths and Marcus's renewed association with them. Like many, I was too young and poor to get an Obie back in the 80's. This really is a dream come true!!!!! Thanks so much to Tom, Marcus and the Sequential team.
I’ll say this much. You did a good job of matching up the X8 against the Xa. If the endeavor was to create a palatable 2020s follow up to the classic that could be had more easily (for those in the market for one), this model definitely makes the mark. Nice touch at the end.
It's pretty dang convincing. Looks like they really did the old classics justice. I have to save up and upgrade a lot of computer and audio gear in my studio but this looks like a great investment. The old stuff is awesome but I still have to get work done to my OB-8 once in a while. Add in reliable midi operation, modern build quality, velocity, AT and all the additional filter and envelope options of the X8 and I think it's a compelling instrument.
Damn....each time the real pro presents this synth, I am blown away. I was contemplating skipping my pre-order because I need to buy some other rather pricey gear in order to make my recording sessions easier, plus Im still paying off the Taurus 3 that I grabbed recently, but I guess I'll just put extra hours into my already hour rich job, pit my head down and bulldozer my way through it. Oberheim was always my biggest dream synth to have and play, and here we have it. I guess my 6 days next week off will shrink to 2...
Nice. Been looking forward to this one. Again amazing how close the OBX8 gets to a 40-year-old OBXa. I guess if time travel was possible and a new OBXa had been brought here from the 80s, the two might have been even indistinguishable. I must say that for me this reimagined/refined/combined reissue has reached a level of accuracy that I couldn't be bothered with overpriced vintage synths anymore and just be happy with my brand new Oberheim.
Thanks for doing another one Marcus & co. - much appreciated. I find myself running to the window every time I hear a UPS truck outside my studio, despite tracking telling me I have another few days to wait. These excellent videos aren't helping that particular issue, but they ARE putting to rest any early skepticism that this wouldn't be a full recreation of past OB glory. Ignore the cork sniffers and bask in your well-earned success ;-)
Even though there are differences mainly the temperature settings of the components causing a different reaction, the sonic clarity of the newer OBX8 is spot on and amazing. I wish there wasn’t such a dystopian gap on the pricing structure. However I guess if you make limited supply of this product you can charge a higher price because you have a reduced market size because of the inflated price. So it makes sense that you have an audience that could purchase this synthesizer. In reality $2995.00 would’ve been perfect. At the same time it’s very refreshing that this is happening in the first place. We are so interested at the studio to see what is the next move for this company. The XP-2? ;-) The XP one is your next most favorite Event a Synthesizer. It’s next iteration should have double the voicing architecture ;-). Thank you for the good video Marcus.
I went to Sweetwater few days back. Amongst the all the synths and keyboards on display, there was the OB-6 there as well. I bought that thing about a year ago for $ 3,000.00 brand new. The sticker on this OB-6 was $ 3,600.00. 20 % price increase due to inflation. I dont know exactly where you live but by displaying your train of thoughts, it seems to me you haven't been out much lately and/or, you are still comfortably sleeping in you cacoon. Dollar is taking huge beating, don't you know? Yes, the instrument is $5,000.00 Pretty reasonable to me. Korg OASYS cost new $8,000.00, $10,000.00 in all upgrades. That was in 2005. To make it more affordable, in the $3,000.00 range or less, they literally stripped the OASYS of everything that made it what it is - a super high quality instrument, and they sold it as Kronos. Yes, it was a big seller because people thought they are buying just little bit cheaper OASYS. But once you owned OASYS, and you tried Kronos, it became painfully obvious what a piece of clunky shit Kronos is. Night and day. EVERYTHING was fucked with, including the intestines. In music gear, you get what you pay for. Oberheim doesn't attempt to be everything for everyone, it is Oberheim, with some technological limitations. But it's intended for actual keyboardists who are not obsessed with millions of options. Keyboardist who want to play and hear that rich, unique sound no other synth can even come close to. I want to be able to play my instruments for as long as I live, so I buy OASYS like stuff. I want to enjoy playing it, not to be aggravated by it. Oberheim certainly stands in that category, and if you don't look at things from cheap perspective like most do, all of sudden that thing doesn't look that expensive anymore. You always get what you pay for. For cheap people, there is always Behringer alternative
@@mitsanut5869 Just ignore him, he has posted and gloated else where that he is some famous engineer and has released albums with famous artists, something about his friends in Nashville. Someone who has success would not be complaining about the price, so it seems they're trying to inflate their own ego whilst telling a manufacturer what they should be selling their gear for, all because they can't afford it.
To the guys who prefer software: I have an OB-Xa . Be honest with yourself if u can t afford it . No one on earth who has the money would buy a software clone of it . First because software CAN T sound close to an OB-Xa ( you are not listening an obx8 or ob-xa but a sampled obx8 then through Utube compression. It s not like being in front of the synth) and even if they could sound the same ( which is impossible for now ) software are not musical instruments. Yes they make sounds like a can thrown on the concrete floor make sound .
I’ve played the OB-Xa and have my own opinion of it versus my OB-8 … I’ll be interested to see/hear some good comparisons of it out in the wild, in due course …
Excuse my anticipation, Marcus... I know all the team must be still busy and concentrated on the OB-X8 marketing and shipping, but... What's next in the Oberheim agenda...? PS.- Let me start a joke: A mass-produced 'Christmas edition' of the SEM module with red body and golden knobs would be appreciated on this post-pandemic world...
@@RayyMusik I've just suggested something 'affordable enough' to be a present for Xmas... But there must be a lot of wives out there that can afford 5k € presents for their husbands... lol
Same as most reissues- sounds incredible but of course there’s something sweeter and smoother about the originals. Same with the prophet rev 4, isla s2400, vc340, many other recreations. They sound insanely good but there’s something special about old machines smoothness, warmth, and sweepability
I have the Prophet-5 rev 4 sitting next to my rev 3...they really can sound identical, but I use the 4 more--Fatar, midi, both sets of filters, AT, Velocity....
@@SPAZZOID100 That is a very valid point. But dice is actually right. Even my poor-mans Matrix 1000s do have.. well.. this little extra to them which I cannot get from my OB-X8. I have no clue why this is so.
OBXA has a thicker and creamier sound. For some reason that tonal quality is really hard to emulate with new hardware. The OBX8 sounds great nevertheless.
Maybe. I find the OBXa having a slight difference to the OBX8 while the OBX was amazingly similar to the OBX8. Athough, as always, best way to really know if to blind test. Difficult without help but if you have a friend that can play the video for you... there you go. When done please comment and see how many times you guess it right.
I'm not hearing that per se. I do notice the voice-to-voice variations on the OB-Xa are ever so slightly more pronounced, but perhaps that could remedied with a tweak of the vintage knob. Overall, you're not going to hear any difference in a mix, so the 99.9999% accuracy here is cause for celebration.
Oh, so you can hear the "thicker and creamier" sound.... from You Tube. Congratulations, you're now in the club of Mozart, Franz Liszt, Chopin and other greats who heard sound colors no other human could... I never realized that RUclips can provide such crystal like sound quality. I will happily "settle" for less creamier a less thicker sound of the OB-X8. My unsophisticated ears will love it just fine.
I agree, to me the X8 is kinda "stiff" sounding, compared to the originals. However, the character is there, and it sounds good. Just not as "alive". 40 year old components, bla bla, I know... Anyway, the originals sound better, to those who can hear it.
So pricey, but so good at the same time! In Denmark the Moog One 16 had gone from 64 thousand to almost 80 thousand Danish Krones! That’s like a over 10% increase. This is much cheaper than the One, and is better for my ears specifically. Let me know why you guys like this synth!😀 Opinions on recommending synths and why are more than welcome! I’m looking for a big big synth👍
Wrong move by Moog increasing the price of the One, especially now 🤷🏻♂️ The OB-X8 feels like a better investment than the Moog One 8, however the Moog One 16 opens up more possibilities. Difficult choice if they would the same, but they don’t.
The One can get really close to most classic sounds, including OB sounds, if you make good use of its double SVF filter. But it sure requires much more time investment that the P10 or OB-X8 because of the multitude of additional parameters you have to handle/master. OTOH it can take much further sonically that both those classic synths. Cheers
It's hard to believe what a fortunate time we live in now given the return of Tom, Oberheim synths and Marcus's renewed association with them. Like many, I was too young and poor to get an Obie back in the 80's. This really is a dream come true!!!!! Thanks so much to Tom, Marcus and the Sequential team.
So authentic. The OB-X8 should have the blue pin stripe.
I’ll say this much. You did a good job of matching up the X8 against the Xa. If the endeavor was to create a palatable 2020s follow up to the classic that could be had more easily (for those in the market for one), this model definitely makes the mark.
Nice touch at the end.
Fantastic job ! Congratulations to the whole Sequential-Oberheim team!
Love it! It sounds perfect and I could barely hear any difference at all. Adore the sound of this new OB-X8 synth!
Great video. Thank you! OB-X8 is an incredible instrument no doubt.
It's pretty dang convincing. Looks like they really did the old classics justice. I have to save up and upgrade a lot of computer and audio gear in my studio but this looks like a great investment. The old stuff is awesome but I still have to get work done to my OB-8 once in a while. Add in reliable midi operation, modern build quality, velocity, AT and all the additional filter and envelope options of the X8 and I think it's a compelling instrument.
can't wait to make a whole song with box o' pups
Damn....each time the real pro presents this synth, I am blown away. I was contemplating skipping my pre-order because I need to buy some other rather pricey gear in order to make my recording sessions easier, plus Im still paying off the Taurus 3 that I grabbed recently, but I guess I'll just put extra hours into my already hour rich job, pit my head down and bulldozer my way through it.
Oberheim was always my biggest dream synth to have and play, and here we have it. I guess my 6 days next week off will shrink to 2...
Nice. Been looking forward to this one. Again amazing how close the OBX8 gets to a 40-year-old OBXa. I guess if time travel was possible and a new OBXa had been brought here from the 80s, the two might have been even indistinguishable. I must say that for me this reimagined/refined/combined reissue has reached a level of accuracy that I couldn't be bothered with overpriced vintage synths anymore and just be happy with my brand new Oberheim.
Yep, I have zero interest in an OBX anymore, this does it better. Can't wait to get my holiday bonus this year, it's going straight to Tom
Congratulation to this fantastic product and thank you for your personal engagement in explanation!!
My dog went nuts when she heard box o’ pups! It must be authentic!
Thank you very much for doing that! Very appreciated! the X8 sounds amazing!!
Thanks for doing another one Marcus & co. - much appreciated. I find myself running to the window every time I hear a UPS truck outside my studio, despite tracking telling me I have another few days to wait. These excellent videos aren't helping that particular issue, but they ARE putting to rest any early skepticism that this wouldn't be a full recreation of past OB glory. Ignore the cork sniffers and bask in your well-earned success ;-)
Even though there are differences mainly the temperature settings of the components causing a different reaction, the sonic clarity of the newer OBX8 is spot on and amazing.
I wish there wasn’t such a dystopian gap on the pricing structure. However I guess if you make limited supply of this product you can charge a higher price because you have a reduced market size because of the inflated price. So it makes sense that you have an audience that could purchase this synthesizer.
In reality $2995.00 would’ve been perfect.
At the same time it’s very refreshing that this is happening in the first place. We are so interested at the studio to see what is the next move for this company. The XP-2? ;-) The XP one is your next most favorite Event a Synthesizer. It’s next iteration should have double the voicing architecture ;-).
Thank you for the good video Marcus.
I went to Sweetwater few days back.
Amongst the all the synths and keyboards on display, there was the OB-6 there as well.
I bought that thing about a year ago for $ 3,000.00 brand new.
The sticker on this OB-6 was $ 3,600.00.
20 % price increase due to inflation.
I dont know exactly where you live but by displaying your train of thoughts, it seems to me you haven't been out much lately and/or, you are still comfortably sleeping in you cacoon. Dollar is taking huge beating, don't you know?
Yes, the instrument is $5,000.00
Pretty reasonable to me.
Korg OASYS cost new $8,000.00, $10,000.00 in all upgrades. That was in 2005.
To make it more affordable, in the $3,000.00 range or less, they literally stripped the OASYS of everything that made it what it is - a super high quality instrument, and they sold it as Kronos.
Yes, it was a big seller because people thought they are buying just little bit cheaper OASYS.
But once you owned OASYS, and you tried Kronos, it became painfully obvious what a piece of clunky shit
Kronos is.
Night and day. EVERYTHING was fucked with, including the intestines.
In music gear, you get what you pay for.
Oberheim doesn't attempt to be everything for everyone, it is Oberheim, with some technological limitations.
But it's intended for actual keyboardists who are not obsessed with millions of options. Keyboardist who want to play and hear that rich, unique sound no other synth can even come close to.
I want to be able to play my instruments for as long as I live, so I buy OASYS like stuff. I want to enjoy playing it, not to be aggravated by it.
Oberheim certainly stands in that category, and if you don't look at things from cheap perspective like most do, all of sudden that thing doesn't look that expensive anymore. You always get what you pay for.
For cheap people, there is always Behringer alternative
@@mitsanut5869 Just ignore him, he has posted and gloated else where that he is some famous engineer and has released albums with famous artists, something about his friends in Nashville.
Someone who has success would not be complaining about the price, so it seems they're trying to inflate their own ego whilst telling a manufacturer what they should be selling their gear for, all because they can't afford it.
Use an inflation calculator up against what these cost in the 80’s and you will stop talking lol.
The originals cost $14,000 in 1983 dollars.
Two great synths, as all the Oberheims. Listening on my highend studio monitors, I must admit that I like the OB-Xa better.
It all sounds great, but I was really surprised with the Flanged Piano preset!
It's just a instrumental joy. 👌 10/10 for me.
I would say all is a matter of taste. ;)
btw You use the Vintage Knob of the X8 in the comparison vids?
F
Thx Marcus. Great comparison!!
To the guys who prefer software:
I have an OB-Xa . Be honest with yourself if u can t afford it . No one on earth who has the money would buy a software clone of it .
First because software CAN T sound close to an OB-Xa ( you are not listening an obx8 or ob-xa but a sampled obx8 then through Utube compression. It s not like being in front of the synth) and even if they could sound the same ( which is impossible for now ) software are not musical instruments. Yes they make sounds like a can thrown on the concrete floor make sound .
Hey Marcus thanks for this in depth info. I find the history fascinating and the new OB-X8 a well deserved home run!
Thanks for the Video! Would love to see a comparison with the 4 Voice ...
No connection.
Thank you, The love shows!
Please release an OB-X8 desktop that has the same black and blue look as the OB-Xa.
Who needs OB-X8 presets and comparisons when we can get Luna's barking instead?
I’ve played the OB-Xa and have my own opinion of it versus my OB-8 … I’ll be interested to see/hear some good comparisons of it out in the wild, in due course …
can we have a 4-voice re-issue next, please? :)
Did the OB-X have a state variable filter? I thought that was only on the SEM based synths...
No, but it WAS totally discrete anyway.
watching this even tho i have my X8 sitting next to me 🤔
You already got it? Lucky you.
How does the “4 Voice” compare with the X, Xa, and X8?
Totally different osc/filter topology.
@@SPAZZOID100 And so when will there be a 'new' 4-Voice? :-)
Excuse my anticipation, Marcus...
I know all the team must be still busy and concentrated on the OB-X8 marketing and shipping, but...
What's next in the Oberheim agenda...?
PS.- Let me start a joke: A
mass-produced 'Christmas edition' of the SEM module with red body and golden knobs would be appreciated on this post-pandemic world...
I like your suggestion - but why not a Xmas edition of the 8-voice?
@@RayyMusik you mean OB-Xmas...?
@@kaiwetronic Your assumption is only SEMi-correct. ;)
@@kaiwetronic si, necesito mas
@@RayyMusik I've just suggested something 'affordable enough' to be a present for Xmas...
But there must be a lot of wives out there that can afford 5k € presents for their husbands...
lol
How much smaller is it than the OB-Xa?
Another nice upload. Thanks, Marcus! Phenomenal synth, the OB-X8 🎹🤍
Has anyone received news of their OB-X8 being shipped. ???
Sounds convincing enough to me!!!
9:02 Lol
Informative
Identical!!
7:53 Synthwave on demand
That ship could not be in better hands
Absolutely!
Same as most reissues- sounds incredible but of course there’s something sweeter and smoother about the originals. Same with the prophet rev 4, isla s2400, vc340, many other recreations. They sound insanely good but there’s something special about old machines smoothness, warmth, and sweepability
...with tuning instabilities, fragile components, insane used prices and utter unroadworthiness. The OBX8 is a bargain.
Absolutely. I buy the reissues for that reason. Spent enough in the shop.
I have the Prophet-5 rev 4 sitting next to my rev 3...they really can sound identical, but I use the 4 more--Fatar, midi, both sets of filters, AT, Velocity....
@@SPAZZOID100 That is a very valid point. But dice is actually right. Even my poor-mans Matrix 1000s do have.. well.. this little extra to them which I cannot get from my OB-X8. I have no clue why this is so.
OBXA has a thicker and creamier sound. For some reason that tonal quality is really hard to emulate with new hardware. The OBX8 sounds great nevertheless.
Maybe. I find the OBXa having a slight difference to the OBX8 while the OBX was amazingly similar to the OBX8.
Athough, as always, best way to really know if to blind test. Difficult without help but if you have a friend that can play the video for you... there you go. When done please comment and see how many times you guess it right.
I'm not hearing that per se. I do notice the voice-to-voice variations on the OB-Xa are ever so slightly more pronounced, but perhaps that could remedied with a tweak of the vintage knob. Overall, you're not going to hear any difference in a mix, so the 99.9999% accuracy here is cause for celebration.
@@oberday It certainly is. Amazing considering old part vs new parts.
Oh, so you can hear the "thicker and creamier" sound.... from You Tube.
Congratulations, you're now in the club of Mozart, Franz Liszt, Chopin and other greats who heard sound colors no other human could...
I never realized that RUclips can provide such crystal like sound quality.
I will happily "settle" for less creamier a less thicker sound of the OB-X8. My unsophisticated ears will love it just fine.
No
You can hear how the new obx8 doesn’t sound as “full” as the original. It can do the same patch but the obxa sounds rounded and less harsh.
yep..
I am not hearing that at all. Sounds pretty much identical in most cases.
No
I agree, to me the X8 is kinda "stiff" sounding, compared to the originals. However, the character is there, and it sounds good. Just not as "alive". 40 year old components, bla bla, I know... Anyway, the originals sound better, to those who can hear it.
Great. Now, to sacrifice an arm and a limb.
So pricey, but so good at the same time! In Denmark the Moog One 16 had gone from 64 thousand to almost 80 thousand Danish Krones! That’s like a over 10% increase. This is much cheaper than the One, and is better for my ears specifically. Let me know why you guys like this synth!😀 Opinions on recommending synths and why are more than welcome! I’m looking for a big big synth👍
Wrong move by Moog increasing the price of the One, especially now 🤷🏻♂️ The OB-X8 feels like a better investment than the Moog One 8, however the Moog One 16 opens up more possibilities. Difficult choice if they would the same, but they don’t.
The One can get really close to most classic sounds, including OB sounds, if you make good use of its double SVF filter. But it sure requires much more time investment that the P10 or OB-X8 because of the multitude of additional parameters you have to handle/master. OTOH it can take much further sonically that both those classic synths. Cheers
Obx8 sounds muffled to me by comparison.
Sounds incredible but the price is feckin ridiculous, INSANELY overpriced
Use an inflation calculator on the prices in the 80’s. This is a deal comparatively.
These cost $14,000 in 1983 dollars.