Owning Ob6 and P6

[Trakun]

So i have an OB6 and i'm loving it ... and i heard some demos with the P6 and i like it too.. do you think its a waste of money to pair the Ob6 with the P6? 

[LoboLives]

<Moderator edit>

If you're inclined to comment please contribute something helpful and/or thoughtful to the discussion, regardless of your answer.

[Tarjeijazz]

As with all synths, it depends on what you want to achieve, but if you had both you would have doubble the power you currently have, with some differences like the filters.

You can polychain them too which is great. I have an ob6 and a p12 (and a pro 2 hihi (brag)) and that works for what i want. For my purposes i wouldnt need a p6 and an ob6 combo (altho i wouldnt mind), but they are both REEEALLY hands on and eternal sweetspot, so whatever you do with either or both of them is bound to be good. So having both gives you the ability to be:

-super hands on and easy to use
-get amazing sound across the board
-one synth can relieve the other one, in terms of modulation.

Many ppl say that a weakness of the ob6 is the fairly basic lfo. If you had a p6 also, you could use that lfo for one purpose, and the ob6 lfo for smth else.


Idk. They are expensive, but man, the sound they make!! THE SOOOUND!!! And think if you had two?!

[LoboLives]

It really comes down to how you want to use each one. I would say it's a waste of money. It just depends on what you plan on doing with each one. Each has similar functionality and user interface so at the end of the day it really depends on what you are using them for.

[Benzebub]

I have both. They maxed out my synth budget for both years when they where released but worth it in my opinion.
Feature-wise they are quite similar with the obvious difference being high-pass and low-pass filter vs state variable filter.
Sound-wise they have different characters and what I usually do is create similar patches on both and get them as close as possible and then record both panned. Works well for rich strings and pads.

If you can afford both and you think it's worth it, go ahead.

[DaveP6guy]

So i have an OB6 and i'm loving it ... and i heard some demos with the P6 and i like it too.. do you think its a waste of money to pair the Ob6 with the P6? 

I was replying to another thread but I remembered that someone said the OB6 was a waste of money if you already had a P6. This user had a Prophet6 and a Prophet X to name but two, very different machines I guess so the P6+OB6 would be much less diverse than that and they are not cheap.

I guess it would depend on what kind of sounds you prefer to make and hear. I'm really into the analogue (I'm English!) synth type sounds and I'm not bothered about sampled sounds. I couldn't afford anything like a Proplhet X anyway.

I got a P6 on a swap deal in January 2018 and I can't leave it alone. Previously, I was leaning towards an OB6 because I thought the presets sounded better in the demos but I think the Dave Smith team had more time to get the OB6 ready for NAMM 2016 compared to the P6 for NAMM 2015. So the OB6 got better presented at the outset in my view.

Now I have the P6, it has its imperfections or limitations but it is meant to be a constrained design as Dave said, like the original Prophet-5. I keep finding sounds that I love when I play it. The modern additions, especially the arpeggiator, effects and inverted envelope amount capability (which is a never mentioned addition but I think it's great) seem to make the instrument much easier to play. I would rather have had 5 octaves though. That said, the wonderful feel of the controls and the proportions of the P6 fit perfectly to a 4 octave instrument which is compact and neat, much less bulky than a P5 let alone and OB8, JP8, etc.

I have limited funds so maybe I will go for some recording gear instead of another synth - but I will add an OB6 if I can, because I love the sounds that I have heard from the demos and I am highly accustomed to the P6, which is its sister machine.

Someone on another thread wrote of an P6/OB6 combination as being like a 2 manual instrument. I prefer this to a poly chain since I hate using cables and just love to play the things. Having the two as stand alone completely independent units is attractive to me.

As for staged comparisons between the OB6 and P6, you have the limitation that you can really compare only kind of vanilla synth sounds that are common to many machines and is that really so useful? It's where they diverge that is more interesting. I mean a much better comparison would be for someone to create and play sounds on the OB6 that you in no way can do on the P6 - and vice versa. That would be a better guide as to which instrument to choose first. There is a French speaking comparison video that does this nicely:

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

Also see:

https://forum.davesmithinstruments.com/index.php/topic,327.0.html
Re: OB6 vs Prophet 6

[Igglethorpe]

I have both.  A Prophet 6 keyboard and an OB-6 desktop.  I pair them together all the time.  Like it was mentioned before, this has the benefit of 2 different synth engines that you can stack on top of each other.  Can't recommend the combination enough, really.

[LoboLives]

They have similar functionality but have two distinctive flavors. Prophet is more known for soundtrack work or is found in more UK based music (Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tears For Fears) while the Oberheim has a distinctive American rock sound that’s more known for being part of an overall rock band (Van Halen, Bob Jovi, Prince).

[Shaw]

I have both and they are quite different sounding.  I don’t feel the need to “justify” them. I mean, in terms of modern analogues, what are the alternatives?

[LoboLives]

You know I was thinking the other day...could the P6 and OB6 be the last VCO analogs Sequential do? They seem to be back to DCOs and digital oscillators now which are great (and more flexible in terms of the type of synthesis you can do) but it kind of makes me wonder if then P6 and OB6s are Dave’s last “nod to the past” and there will be more focus on the future going forward (MPE, Multitimbrality, Wavetable, FM etc).

[blewis]

 Nah. They’ll do what they want when they want. But, why spend that time making a new VCO design and temperature control and never use it again?

[mildwest]

I have both and they are quite different sounding.  I don’t feel the need to “justify” them. I mean, in terms of modern analogues, what are the alternatives?

I just bought Shaw's module as he upgraded to the P6 keys and I agree quite different. I do agree with Lobos though that when I play with my buddies in a traditional rock band setup I feel like the OB-6 just shines in that light.

Thanks again Shaw. Loving the P6.

And both go great with the X 😉

[Shaw]

You know I was thinking the other day...could the P6 and OB6 be the last VCO analogs Sequential do?

As I stated elsewhere, I would love to see Dave do new version of the Matrix 12.

[LoboLives]

You know I was thinking the other day...could the P6 and OB6 be the last VCO analogs Sequential do?

As I stated elsewhere, I would love to see Dave do new version of the Matrix 12.

I mean other than multitimbrality I can’t see what else adave can do in the analog realm. He sure isn’t going to be doing a double keyboard version of an upgraded Prophet 10. Nor is he going to do anything that sort of crosses over with the other synths in his catalogue. Even the Matrix 12 is a bit similar to the REV2.

[LoboLives]

Nah. They’ll do what they want when they want. But, why spend that time making a new VCO design and temperature control and never use it again?

I just don’t know what else they can do that wouldn’t overlap with what’s already on their catalog. I’d love a new Prophet 10 but there’s no way it’s going to happen outside of me having it custom made.

[DaveP6guy]

You know I was thinking the other day...could the P6 and OB6 be the last VCO analogs Sequential do? They seem to be back to DCOs and digital oscillators now...

I wonder that too. I wonder how many technical queries the guys at DSI get from owners of each synth. There have been some DSI forum posts mentioning tuning problems with the P6 and OB6 for instance. My P6 ceertinly does sometimes miss a little on the tuning of one voice or more. Sometimes it's enough to sound sweet, very sweet and sometimes is a little sour if it drifts too much. It's a difficult thing to catch and probably isn't more than you would get with most acoustic instruments. However, after playing the P6 for 8 almost months, I quite often find its sound difficult to resist.

It occurred to me that if the VCO based P6 and OB6 had many more technical issues than the other DSI synths (that are DCO or digital oscillator based) then maybe they might stop making them and leave them as rare second generation vintage instruments, especially as some big companies are now intruding into the VCO based analog space. It's a bit reminiscent of the 1983-87 era in that way. I hope that DSI doesn't get screwed over like Sequential did in the 80s. I would suspect that it is a much more robust outfit this time around- also because Dave is recognized by all as a real mega guru of the synth business.

However, I haven't heard any other recent instrument demos that sound like my Prophet-6 on a good day, not for sheer beauty and charm of the timbre of the instrument. (Except for a few early OB6 demos).


 

[Sleep of Reason]

I just recently bought the OB-6 and got a chance to play the P6. I'd say they're both as good as it gets to my ears. I certainly wouldn't mind owning both, yet don't feel any great need to.

Prophet is (Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tears For Fears) while Oberheim is (Van Halen, Bob Jovi, Prince).

The weird thing is I listen to those Prophet bands and not the Oberheim ones, but still went with the OB-6 for some reason...

[Shaw]

I just recently bought the OB-6 and got a chance to play the P6. I'd say they're both as good as it gets to my ears. I certainly wouldn't mind owning both, yet don't feel any great need to.

Prophet is (Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tears For Fears) while Oberheim is (Van Halen, Bob Jovi, Prince).

The weird thing is I listen to those Prophet bands and not the Oberheim ones, but still went with the OB-6 for some reason...

While that is certainly, generally true, I wouldn't pigeon-hole the Oberheim sound too quickly.  A truncated list of artists recording with the OB-8 or OB-X/XA would include:


Art of Noise, Depeche Mode, Prince, Simple Minds, The Police, KLF, Soul II Soul, Pet Shop Boys, Van Halen, Thompson Twins, Christopher Cross, Earth, Wind & Fire, Eurythmics, Electric Light Orchestra, Bruce Hornsby & The Range, Japan, Billy Joel, Chaka Khan, Jean-Michel Jarre, Kool and the Gang, Madonna, Nena, Olivia Newton-John, Robert Palmer, Queen, Rush, Styx, Tangerine Dream, Yellowjackets, Miles Davis, Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart


... and I'm quite certain the Prophet 5 / 10 / 600 list would be as impressive.  And both lists would have considerable overlap.  They are both quite versatile synths.

[Sleep of Reason]

Yeah, I mean there are certainly some bands I listen to that use OBs. The thing is, Oberheims are usually used as auxiliary elements, whereas I can think of many tracks built around the Prophet 5. Even more recently I remember Steven Wilson talking about how much the P6 was an inspiration for writing his most current album. Btw, Dave really should contact SW if he hasn't done so already...

Though it does seem more of a coincidence. Like I said in another similar thread, they're both just as capable. 

[LoboLives]

You know I was thinking the other day...could the P6 and OB6 be the last VCO analogs Sequential do? They seem to be back to DCOs and digital oscillators now...

I wonder that too. I wonder how many technical queries the guys at DSI get from owners of each synth. There have been some DSI forum posts mentioning tuning problems with the P6 and OB6 for instance. My P6 ceertinly does sometimes miss a little on the tuning of one voice or more. Sometimes it's enough to sound sweet, very sweet and sometimes is a little sour if it drifts too much. It's a difficult thing to catch and probably isn't more than you would get with most acoustic instruments. However, after playing the P6 for 8 almost months, I quite often find its sound difficult to resist.

It occurred to me that if the VCO based P6 and OB6 had many more technical issues than the other DSI synths (that are DCO or digital oscillator based) then maybe they might stop making them and leave them as rare second generation vintage instruments, especially as some big companies are now intruding into the VCO based analog space. It's a bit reminiscent of the 1983-87 era in that way. I hope that DSI doesn't get screwed over like Sequential did in the 80s. I would suspect that it is a much more robust outfit this time around- also because Dave is recognized by all as a real mega guru of the synth business.

However, I haven't heard any other recent instrument demos that sound like my Prophet-6 on a good day, not for sheer beauty and charm of the timbre of the instrument. (Except for a few early OB6 demos).

Well the VCOs on the DSI synths certainly are more stable than on any vintage one. However, they are still subject to frequency drift and sometimes need to be recalibrated, again far more easier to do with this than on any vintage instrument.

Interesting to note that I think the REV2 actually has more recorded problems than either the P6 or OB6 but just not in the tuning area but in other areas. There was a video comparing the P6 and REV2 and the demonstrator said this was his third REV2 and he has to take it back. Perhaps I’m being ridiculous but maybe in the analog realm, less is more? Look at the Andromeda for a good example of “more features means more than can go wrong with the thing”

I’d like to see Dave continue with VCOs on a few more synths but realistically...what else can he really do in the analog realm where VCOs would be a better choice than DCOs? Even multitimbrality would likely warrant DCOs just from a practically point of view.