I agree, the Prophet Rev 4 additions were well thought out and with stacks, 10 voices, pu2 etc were 'vast' improvements over the originals while the OB-X8 (great as it is) is LIKE the originals but all in one (obv with velo/aftertouch and patch naming + some nice new toys).
It seems the features are a little higher on the OBX8 but the overall 'wow' factor for me remains with the Prophet 10 rev 4, partly because it's still the best looking polysynth of all time but mainly the overall tone, richness and depth of sound (even vs old OBIES).
I mean nothing touches the Prophet 5/10 for all time classic good looks, and OB-X8 does kinda look a bit rudimentary (if retro and cool itself) by comparison. I do wonder if they'd have been better going with the Blue-stripes look which became the iconic OBIE style, even IF they were trying to mainly potray the more desirable sound of the original OB-X. It still looks good but it lacks the flair of the Prophet rev 4s visually, and I think Blue stripes would make sense if it was technically an OB sucessor 4 - post blue stripes phase with all the bits from the 3 synths instead of a straight OB-X re-issue.
Now the new OB-X8 sounds great, definitely has the vintage thing in spades and makes the OB-6 sound more mushy and flat (which is kind of what I thought about mine in the end anyway - esp next to my Prophet 10), but the OB-6's features + tone are still great if you can find a cheap one (MSRP now is stupid on it).
OB-X8 tone wise? It's there.. but I guess I just prefer the Prophet 5/10 sound because I can hear similarities in some demos but when, for example, the OB-X8 is trying to do bass - the prophet rev 4 blows it away (it sounds more hollow on the OB-X8 but that could be down to programmer error not using 4 pole mode on the CEM?), other sounds all kinda sound a bit samey (like the OB-6 does too) in that it's less varied and dynamic sounding vs the Prophet rev 4... there were sounds in the new demos I know for sure would sound better on the Prophet 10, with more warmth, more clarity between notes, more richness and possibly emotion.
Conversely the OB-X8 will excel at stuff the Prophet doesn't do, bandpass sweeps and lighter frothy pads, it may also sound a touch duller than the prophets but more watery... smoother (this can be good or bad but in that respect I think the Prophets sound more 'analog' at least). OB-X8 may sound more vintage but less powerful/analog vs Prophet 10.
Factor in 2 more voices and classic beautiful looks and to me at least the Prophet 10 (or 5) remain king of the hill, esp for expensive synths where it may be your main / only 'go to' workhorse. More than that, from what I've heard so far, I just prefer the Prophet rev 4's overall tone, depth and power.. something about how the voices are more clearly defined and esp the SSM (SSI) 2040 filter giving a tone I just love to the Prophet. I guess with both in CEM 3320 mode they could be similar, VCO diffs aside... so it comes down to a degree of flavours... and do I really need it to go with my Prophet? hmmm...
I didn't need my OB-6 so in reality I doubt I NEED this but it would be nice, for under £4k I'd have probably JUMPED (pun intended) but at nearer £5k It's not grabbing me as much as the Prophet 10 did for a lot cheaper.
Also I love PU2 and stack mode on the Prophet 10 now, it's not just about 2 diff sounds layered - like we could multitrack - but coming up with weird mixes between them like a 4 osc synth (or 3 + sub) and the way the velocity interacts on the layers... its an art in itself and a massive strong point of the Prophet 10 rev 4 over the old Prophet 5 (which couldn't do it) and the new prophet 5 (cos of limited polyphony) so with OB-X8 I can't help but feel that 'loss' of those 2 extra voices... 4 note poly is pushing it a bit too much for me, in layered mode, esp for such an expensive synth I'd want it to be an 'everything' machine. 12 voices for this price might have been cool, but 10 would have at least matched the P10 if you're charging £1k more.
Not having a go, I think it's a wonderful machine and I'd love one, but with the Prophet 10 already out there... I honestly believe it's a more powerful SOUNDING and powerful workhorse synth that can sound just as beautiful and epic but also darker, punchier, more evil, more brooding and far more varied in tonality and types of sounds.
This is not a knock on the OB-X8 more a vote for how awesome the Rev 4 Prophet 10 is. You could get an OB-6 module used + a Prophet 10 new for LESS than the OB-X8 which really puts it in perspective too. Not that I really need an OB-6 back again.
Either way, congratz on the new synth Tom & Dave. Can't wait to see what other Oberheim toys we get!
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