OB6 vs REV2

[discorules]

In a nut shell. The Rev2 can make lots of similar voices to the OB6, and vice versa. It’s a question, and an exercise, to determine if the voices you struggle to get on the Rev2 are indigenous to the OB6 by virtue of its unique parameters.
As for the price vs. voices and programming, that's down to you.

And FINALLY watch this Casio do an OBXa patch and question life itself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKuT0UpAxIc
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Lol nice video ! In a couple of months 'll have the opportunity to play the OB6 in a store. Think this is the best way to make the right decision.

[shmuelyosef]

Something that I learned recently is the P6 oscillators seem to be naturally driving the filter hard If they are fully cranked. The trick is to decrease them to roughly 50 to 70 percent and then decrease the amp envelope to about 60. Bring up the master volume and adjust the overall volume. I’ve noticed a considerable difference by doing this. The sound is warmer and a bit more full sounding. It eliminates the harshness and makes the overall tone more akin to the P5. In fact a lot of the Prophet 5 presets John Bowen programmed into the P6 actually have the oscillators and amp envelope down!

On both my Nord and my OB-6, I keep the Master Volume at maximum and use an external keyboard mixer (Mackie 1202-VLZ) for level control in phones or monitor. This way I keep the levels inside the keyboard low so the effects, etc, are never close to being overdriven. The difference is definitely audible.

[LoboLives]

Something that I learned recently is the P6 oscillators seem to be naturally driving the filter hard If they are fully cranked. The trick is to decrease them to roughly 50 to 70 percent and then decrease the amp envelope to about 60. Bring up the master volume and adjust the overall volume. I’ve noticed a considerable difference by doing this. The sound is warmer and a bit more full sounding. It eliminates the harshness and makes the overall tone more akin to the P5. In fact a lot of the Prophet 5 presets John Bowen programmed into the P6 actually have the oscillators and amp envelope down!

On both my Nord and my OB-6, I keep the Master Volume at maximum and use an external keyboard mixer (Mackie 1202-VLZ) for level control in phones or monitor. This way I keep the levels inside the keyboard low so the effects, etc, are never close to being overdriven. The difference is definitely audible.

I wonder if a lot of people claiming the P6 or OB6 "sounds too harsh" are unintentionally overdriving everything.

[shmuelyosef]

I wonder if a lot of people claiming the P6 or OB6 "sounds too harsh" are unintentionally overdriving everything.

That's my take...

[dthree]

I have both. Pretty much everything sounds great on OB6, whereas REV2 can sound harsh (filter) and has a narrow sweet spot. My REV2 is now for sale. I've never used a Prophet 8, but I found some interesting comparison videos where the P8 sounded sweeter than REV2. Go figure.

[AlainHubert]

I have both. Pretty much everything sounds great on OB6, whereas REV2 can sound harsh (filter) and has a narrow sweet spot.

That is exactly what I think, too.
If it weren't for the 16 voices of polyphony and Mod Matrix, I'd probably sell my REV2 also.

It's really a shame that the Behringer DeepMind 12 (which I also own but thinking of selling) doesn't have 2 full oscillators per voice, because it's really sweet sounding (better than REV2 IMHO) and also offers a Mod Matrix. Unfortunately, in order to get 2 full oscillators per voice, the polyphony drops down to 6 voices only, and those oscillators are not completely independent.

I had thought of getting a second OB6 Module and polychain them, but in reading in another thread that there are some serious bugs in that system, I've put that on ice for the moment.

[Sleep of Reason]

Excuse my rant, but I've got a different perspective than the usual narrative spun about these kind of forums. Granted I've not heard the OB6 or P6 in person; however, I have played wtih the Deepmind 12 for example, which sounds nowhere near as high quality as the REV2.

For starters, I actually prefer the stability of DCOs over VCOs. If I want to dial in drifting Boards of Canada type tones, I can nail that perfectly with my REV2. This is not something I've been able to achieve convincingly with my digital synths. The REV2 still sounds just as analog. The oscillators are not as precisely defined as NCOs, which has its pros and cons. Digital synths are much better at percussive attacks for one thing, especially when combined with attack samples of other instruments. Furthermore, the warm vs cold debate is the oddest one for me. If I want cooler/lusher tones with greater complexity, I'd lean towards a digital synth and if I want warmer tones with greater 3D separation between aspects, I'd lean towards an analog synth. One is not better than the other, they're simply different.

As for the OB6 or P6 vs REV2 debate, again I'd like to note that I've only heard the REV2 in person. All I know for certain is that the REV2 is extremely dynamic. With a little work you can get it to sound just as good in a mix as any other analog synth in all but one area. When I see people complaining about the filter, I just think they haven't really taken the time to dial in what they're looking for. People seem to want instant gratification and despite being extremely flexible, the REV2 is still extremely simple. The only thing I really see in the OB6s favor is that the filter does thinner/fizzier sounds much better from what I've heard. The SEM has a more plastic tone in those settings, which is less abrasive than the more metallic, again in those settings, Curtis (or SSM based P6 filter). I've not been able to find a workaround for this, so many on here will find that a good reason to own both. Perhaps someone has some hinters for me there...

[Paul Dither]

I wonder if a lot of people claiming the P6 or OB6 "sounds too harsh" are unintentionally overdriving everything.

Probably, yes. It's something that takes a while to realize, but it definitely makes a difference.

As for the DCO vs VCO debate: I won't say one is better than the other. There's one limit to the DCOs though, and that's FM, or rather no FM option.

[AlainHubert]

Granted I've not heard the OB6 or P6 in person...

Then you should have stopped right there until you do.

I own a REV2, an OB6, and a DM12. I can tell you that the DM12 can sounds every bit as good as, and sometimes even better than, a REV2 when carefully programmed and at the cost of reduced polyphony.
A perfect example of this would be this demo that I made when I first got the DM12 over a year ago (half way point is where the synth really shines):
https://soundcloud.com/thealien666/deepmind-exploration

But the OB6 outshines them both in instant gratification and richness of sounds, thanks in part to its great SEM multi mode filter.
But that's only my personal opinion based on my personal preferences, but also based on real life use, not just speculation.

[Sleep of Reason]

Then you should have stopped right there until you do.

The synth industry isn't exactly a booming business where I'm from. The most you see in stores is a Deepmind 12, MS20, or Subsequent 37 if you're lucky. The Ob6 is one synth I don't own that I would buy if I can ever justify it.

But the OB6 outshines them both in instant gratification and richness of sounds, thanks in part to its great SEM multi mode filter.

As I alluded to, I'm sure it does outshine the REV2 in instant gratification. Also I was pretty clear that I was commenting on how it sounds in a production, which is not "speculation." Aside from the cross/poly mod sections of the VCO synths, there's far too many interesting sounds that the REV2 does make that those can't possibly do. That's probably why I think the REV2 sounds much cooler overall in most of the clips around.

[Sleep of Reason]

Alright, so I caved and sold some gear in order to fund the OB6 module. Not that it's justified, but I have a sickness. 

All I can say is it better rock my world... 

[AlainHubert]

Alright, so I caved and sold some gear in order to fund the OB6 module. Not that it's justified, but I have a sickness. 

All I can say is it better rock my world...

Buying something without trying it first is always a gamble. But I hope that the OB6 will satisfy you nonetheless. I know that I'm very satisfied with mine. But then again, there are those who prefer a different sound and that's perfectly all right too.
No, it doesn't have a Mod Matrix, no it doesn't have more than one LFO, no there is no dynamic unison mode, no you cannot individually control the amount of modulation from the LFO sent to different destinations, it only has 6 voices of polyphony. But what it lacks in control, it more than makes up for it with the sounds. Especially the multimode SEM filter.
If such a filter is something that one likes.

As always with any modern electronic product, just make sure that it has the latest firmware installed. If not, upgrade it right away.
 

[Hymy]

Alright, so I caved and sold some gear in order to fund the OB6 module. Not that it's justified, but I have a sickness. 

All I can say is it better rock my world...

Buying something without trying it first is always a gamble. But I hope that the OB6 will satisfy you nonetheless. I know that I'm very satisfied with mine. But then again, there are those who prefer a different sound and that's perfectly all right too.
No, it doesn't have a Mod Matrix, no it doesn't have more than one LFO, no there is no dynamic unison mode, no you cannot individually control the amount of modulation from the LFO sent to different destinations, it only has 6 voices of polyphony. But what it lacks in control, it more than makes up for it with the sounds. Especially the multimode SEM filter.
If such a filter is something that one likes.

As always with any modern electronic product, just make sure that it has the latest firmware installed. If not, upgrade it right away.

Commenting on the part I bolded. I use LFO/Envelope CV from other synths to modulate the Filter freq and/or Amp through pedal sockets to get more out of the single LFO and filter envelope of OB-6. That really widens the possibilities.
One other thing I've been experimenting with is using polyphonic aftertouch to modulate VCO2 frequency as a X-mod source.

On paper the OB can seem to be a bit "limited" but he possibilites are pleasantly surprising when you dive into it, even without external gear helping with modulations.

[Sleep of Reason]

Especially the multimode SEM filter. If such a filter is something that one likes.

What can I say ... phenomenal.

[Calaverasgrande]

I really wanted to get the Rev2. It seems to have the best feature to price ratio of current Sequential products. The OB6 was on my radar, but only 6 voices? And all the little 2 digit displays littered all over the fascia. What an odd interface design.
Well I made it down to the local retailer and checked out the Rev 2, The P12 and the OB6. They all sounded really good on various patches. The Rev 2 was a breeze to get around on. Very easy to figure out the various ways you can sculpt the timbre.
The OB 6 I found a bit more difficult to grok at first. But eventually was able to get things moving in a direction I wanted.
After a couple more trips to the music store it was really clear. I am going to be paying off an OB 6 for the next few months. It just has a more 3D sound to the OSC and filter before you even turn the effects on or start modulating things.
The REV2 and P12 have their own strengths. Mostly in terms of complex modulation. But with how flat the basic tone is in comparison I wonder how good that will sound?
It really has me wondering if the difference in sound is not something more basic than OSC, filter or VCA. Possibly the OB6 has a more robust output amp, better able to deliver the basic tone?
I know I've improved the sound of some of my gear by upgrading op amps or adding a transformer balanced output.
(and I do wish the OB6 had balanced outs for the price!)

[Sleep of Reason]

I think you're making the right choice and considering my prior involvement with this thread, I feel I should give an update. I've already made at least four times the amount of patches in less than a quarter of the amount of time with the OB than I did with the REV2. It takes quite a bit more creativity to coax interesting sounds out of, but it's also capable of an insane variety of timbres by tweaking what's there. The main thing is it always sounds pleasing to my ears, whereas the REV2 def takes some dialing in. I just wish it had more LFOs... I would trade the sequencer, arpeggiator, and even the effects for some more.

[AlainHubert]

...After a couple more trips to the music store it was really clear. I am going to be paying off an OB 6 for the next few months...

Congratulations on a well thought of choice. I'm sure that, like many other people who forked that much money into it, you'll be very satisfied with it. I know I am. It's almost like having an Oberheim Son Of 6-Voice, in a compact form factor. ;-)

[Soundquest]

I really wanted to get the Rev2. It seems to have the best feature to price ratio of current Sequential products. The OB6 was on my radar, but only 6 voices? And all the little 2 digit displays littered all over the fascia. What an odd interface design.
Well I made it down to the local retailer and checked out the Rev 2, The P12 and the OB6. They all sounded really good on various patches. The Rev 2 was a breeze to get around on. Very easy to figure out the various ways you can sculpt the timbre.
The OB 6 I found a bit more difficult to grok at first. But eventually was able to get things moving in a direction I wanted.
After a couple more trips to the music store it was really clear. I am going to be paying off an OB 6 for the next few months. It just has a more 3D sound to the OSC and filter before you even turn the effects on or start modulating things.
The REV2 and P12 have their own strengths. Mostly in terms of complex modulation. But with how flat the basic tone is in comparison I wonder how good that will sound?
It really has me wondering if the difference in sound is not something more basic than OSC, filter or VCA. Possibly the OB6 has a more robust output amp, better able to deliver the basic tone?
I know I've improved the sound of some of my gear by upgrading op amps or adding a transformer balanced output.
(and I do wish the OB6 had balanced outs for the price!)

Congrats on your OB6 Calaverasgrande.   I agree about other factors besides oscillators and filters influencing sound of any particular synth.  I'm convinced that the Amp itself has a key in quality of sound.   Remember back a few decades ago when stereo systems were bought and sold based on speakers and amp components, not just the source of the sound (CD, tape, or turntable)?   The OB6 excels in this amp realm.  One VA synth I own has some nice bells and whistles, but the sound when compared to the DSI line, just has a somewhat hollow sound.  We could get into that whole VA vs analog realm discussion, but after looking at oscilloscope comparisons and looking at the both the VA synth and OB6 with filters wide open, there is no visual difference at least that I can spot.  On it's own I would not detect this difference perhaps, I like that particular VA, but, side by side with like my OB6 or PO8, it becomes obvious.   I've noticed this issue on a couple VA's I had owned.  But I don't think it's just a VA thing.  For example, I had a Novation K-station VA that sounded really good.

[cornonthecob]

...After a couple more trips to the music store it was really clear. I am going to be paying off an OB 6 for the next few months...

Congratulations on a well thought of choice. I'm sure that, like many other people who forked that much money into it, you'll be very satisfied with it. I know I am. It's almost like having an Oberheim Son Of 6-Voice, in a compact form factor. ;-)

Love my OB-6 the sounds it creates just brings back memories of the 1980s.

Where is this Sone of four voice? I built my own using 4 SEM modules and dedicated eurorack to do the MIDI to Cv, voice allocation etc. but that looks like some new model I never seen.

[AlainHubert]

Around 2011, Tom Oberheim announced a four-voice SEM called "Son Of 4 Voice" also known as SO4V. It started shipping in 2014. Only a very limited number of units were actually produced and shipped, since they were all made by hand one at a time, before being discontinued soon after the DSI OB6 was announced, for which Tom has designed the voice cards (VCOs/VCF) replicating his SEM modules circuitry.