DSI OB-6

[Faldoe]

Someone has the desktop for sale near me and I'm a bit curious. Anyone play or own one? Good addition to a setup? Current synths: Moog Grandmother, Novation K-Station 25, Kilpatrick Audio Phenol - selling this but may keep. An analog poly synth is intriguing to me.

[echorec]

I love mine. The filter is great and it kind've ruined the Prophet~6 for me. After playing the OB-6, it became impossible to switch immediately over to the P~6. Their architecture is similar and there is some sonic overlap, but the filter is superior. Eventually I let a friend take the Prophet off my hands, because of the filter discrepancy.

I've seen multiple people on IG/YT who use the Sub-37 & an OB-6 as live companion synths, so you might be happy pairing the Grandmother & the Oberheim.

These were the demos I listened to repeatedly, before making up my mind. If you don't like these demos, though, you're not going to like the synth.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OAPGVAJQ3A[/youtube]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OAPGVAJQ3A

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFndmSO7OFo[/youtube]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFndmSO7OFo

It's also kept several other potential synths away, because I just felt like they'd be overshadowed and underutilized next to it. I will say the common complaint with Oberheims is that they're not as diverse as some synths----the color/timbre is somewhat static. I feel the initial honeymoon period was fairly short---I kind of a hit wall in a short time, but then I took a day or two off and came back & was happier than ever with it.

It's not just a brass/pads/80s synth. On the OB-6, you can randomize the LFO & add the DSP ring mods for more experimental sounds. One of my favorite things to do is make it sound like a polyphonic digital modular. With enough tweaking, you can do bright, broken piano/bell types of sounds. It's just a matter of how comfortable you get with it (or you can cheat and go through 500 factory presets until you find the shortest routes to your ideal sounds). Most of my banks are just unrecognizable permutations of factory templates.

Eventually I'll get the Yorick expander. https://www.facebook.com/yoricktech

As far as build quality and feel, they're top-notch. I've never experienced a single hiccup. Mine was purchased around April/May of 2018 and I've never done any updates via USB. I can't imagine ever parting with mine.

[kbit]

[youtube][/youtube]

Wow the arpeggiated sounds at 10:30 here sound crazy cool.

Do you feel like the on board effects add a lot to the overall sound?

[echorec]

[youtube][/youtube]

Wow the arpeggiated sounds at 10:30 here sound crazy cool.

Do you feel like the on board effects add a lot to the overall sound?

Yes, for me it was a big selling point to be able to plug in headphones and just play without having to grab pedals, cables, and an amp or multi-track recorder. I have the KB version, and it's really convenient to play without needing anything else.

To actually address the sound---I tend to go light or heavy. The OB-6 uses SHARC chips (same platform as Strymon). Setting chorus/reverb/delay around 15-25% will really give sounds depth without making you too reliant on them. Of course I also go with stacked delays or reverbs and push everything near max for thick, washed-out pads. For ambient soundscapes, they're really useful. I will say it can be a little disappointing when you disengage the FX and realize how much smaller your sound becomes. The OB-6 is my favorite hardware synth that I've owned (vs Sub-37, P~6, Minilogue), but it's not got the raw girth of a 70s Oberheim. Part of it is 40 years of capacitors darkening making everything sound wider and warmer, but I think we lost something when gear became less likely to give you cancer.

If I were to nitpick the FX, the biggest thing missing is a huge, epic modulated reverb. The Peak & the Prologue have better modern, cinematic reverbs. The FX, overall, are solid (8.5 out of 10)---you get vintage-modeled phasers (3), flangers (2), chorus, reverbs (hall/plate/spring), delay (BBD or digital), & RM. They really do enhance the overall sound and diversity of the instrument. My other small gripe is that you can't run reverb into other FX. It always comes last. If you assign reverb to slot one, then slot two will always be a second reverb.

Back to that demo, the bank beginning at 15:23 was one of my favorite sounds that drew me in. Around 17:47 really showcases the delay.

my favorite parts of the OB-6:

overall sound (obviously)
the SEM filter
no menus, everything is on the surface
random LFO
the arpeggiator (especially set to random/slow tempo/hold engaged)
DSP FX
aftertouch
mod matrix (it's limited, but useful)
interactivity of the filter with the mod wheel or matrix section
onboard poly sequencer
designing faux modular sounds (especially with some delay, ring mod, random arp)

[01010111]

I own the P-6 module, and while it’s not sonically identical, the interfaces essentially are. It’s really easy to dial in good sounds. The arpeggiator’s excellent and the sequencer’s decent. It fits in nicely with my workflow (no DAW setup with an SE-02, Volca FM, and a Volca Beats).

Assuming the effects are similar to the OB-6, I agree with echorec. They’re good, but I wish the reverbs were more extreme. They do a good job of filling out the sound, but I wish the on board reverbs were bigger.

Outside of that, it’s a surprisingly heavy synth.

[$harkToootth]

So @Faldoe did you get this? Or are you holding out for a Behringer synth?
If this was me... I think I'd just get their pro 1 and OB-XA knock off whenever that comes out.

[Faldoe]

Yeah I passed on the DSI.

That OB clone looks cool so I’ll hold off on any bigger purchases.