OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8

OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« on: May 10, 2022, 10:04:35 PM »
I would like to know is it possible to transfer my patches from my OB-8 into the OB-X8 through sysex or any other way?

Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2022, 02:44:14 AM »
Same here!

drew_n

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Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #2 on: May 11, 2022, 11:16:57 AM »
I would like to know is it possible to transfer my patches from my OB-8 into the OB-X8 through sysex or any other way?

Yep! You can also load from cassette, if you have that format.

Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2022, 05:33:03 PM »
Thanks Drew!

Got hundreds of them to load.

Have you checked for consistency between the two?


drew_n

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Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2022, 11:42:26 AM »
Thanks Drew!

Got hundreds of them to load.

Have you checked for consistency between the two?

It's identical, e.g. f you're loading an OB-8 library, it should be pretty much dead on. Marcus and the team did incredibly deep analysis of the 4 other ancestor synths--OB-SX, OB-X, Xa, and 8. I did spectrum plot comparisons between the X8 and 8 and I couldn't spot any difference. I also A/B'ed the OB-8 factory presets and couldn't hear any difference.

Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2022, 03:02:03 PM »
How do you load your OB-8 sounds into the OB-X8? I don’t see any cassette interface inputs on the OB-X8.

drew_n

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Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2022, 10:17:32 AM »
How do you load your OB-8 sounds into the OB-X8? I don’t see any cassette interface inputs on the OB-X8.

Either through sysex or cassette/mp3/audio. I'm not sure which jack it is offhand, but one ALSO serves the purpose of an input for audio data.

Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2022, 12:25:00 PM »
Thanks Drew!

Got hundreds of them to load.

Have you checked for consistency between the two?

It's identical, e.g. f you're loading an OB-8 library, it should be pretty much dead on. Marcus and the team did incredibly deep analysis of the 4 other ancestor synths--OB-SX, OB-X, Xa, and 8. I did spectrum plot comparisons between the X8 and 8 and I couldn't spot any difference. I also A/B'ed the OB-8 factory presets and couldn't hear any difference.

So it is possible to hear comparisons of those OB-X8/OB-8 patches?

In another forum cbmd posted two audio clips of OB-X8 horns played in low and mid registers. In both cases I liked the OB-8 mode much better whereas the other two sounded very tame and indifferent in comparison. Does anyone know why is that?

Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #8 on: July 09, 2022, 09:16:39 AM »
Many times it’s due to slightly volume differences - louder/brighter always sounds better in a comparison. Accurate LUFS measurements (except the ears and level meter) are necessary.

Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #9 on: July 17, 2022, 09:05:21 AM »


In another forum cbmd posted two audio clips of OB-X8 horns played in low and mid registers. In both cases I liked the OB-8 mode much better whereas the other two sounded very tame and indifferent in comparison. Does anyone know why is that?
[/quote]

I used to own an OB-8 and it was my go to synth for years. I got to play an OB-XA at NAMM and was excited how good the OB-8 sounds are. I found that having the option to tweak those sounds with other filters and envelopes led to some great alternatives, too. I never owned any other Oberheim (until last year, when I bought an OB-6), so I was most comfortable with the OB-8 patches on the OB-XA. But I spent some time with the other patches and they sounded beautiful to me. I could tell as I auditioned them that I will need to go up a learning curve to find the sweet spots when performing or altering these other patches. But I don't think anyone's going to be disappointed with the OB-XA. It is amazing.
Prophet 10 Rev4, OB-X8, Moog One, Rhodes Mk8, Osmose, OB-6 desktop, Trigon 6 Desktop, Kawai VPC-1, Steinway D

Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #10 on: August 08, 2022, 11:58:23 AM »
I have been comparing my 1983 OB8 with the OB-X8 over the last few days. The OB-X8 is almost dead on. Really the only differences are the slightly noisier output on the OB8 and my OB8’s right output is a bit duller than the left, probably due to an aging op-amp in there. Otherwise, they are the same. The OB-X8 is just slightly brighter (not in a bad way… just more ‘fidelity’), something easily remedied with gentle EQ in mixing if it bothers you. I’m splitting hairs here. They are so close that I wouldn’t be surprised if the differences are smaller than the difference between to OB8s.

LPF83

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Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #11 on: August 08, 2022, 04:18:53 PM »
I have been comparing my 1983 OB8 with the OB-X8 over the last few days. The OB-X8 is almost dead on. Really the only differences are the slightly noisier output on the OB8 and my OB8’s right output is a bit duller than the left, probably due to an aging op-amp in there. Otherwise, they are the same. The OB-X8 is just slightly brighter (not in a bad way… just more ‘fidelity’), something easily remedied with gentle EQ in mixing if it bothers you. I’m splitting hairs here. They are so close that I wouldn’t be surprised if the differences are smaller than the difference between to OB8s.

Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate these updates from those who are able to do comparisons between vintage units and the OB-X8.
Prophet 10, OB-X8m, Prophet 6, OB-6, 3rd Wave, Prophet 12m, Prophet Rev2-16, Toraiz AS-1, Pro 2, Virus TI2, Moog SlimPhatty, Hydrasynth desktop, Korg Minilogue XDm, Roland JP-8080, Roland System-8, Roland SPD-SX SE / Octapad, Maschine, Cubase/Ableton/Akai MPC

Dan Chat

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Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #12 on: September 10, 2022, 09:12:58 AM »
Ok I’m gonna say what everyone is thinking. Yes the obx8 is the best of all worlds for the ob series. Simply cause it is the original sounds of the ob. And yes I owned an ob8 as well. You get what you pay for lol. Although true.
Dan Chatterton

Re: OB-8 sounds in the OB-X8
« Reply #13 on: September 10, 2022, 12:46:35 PM »
Owner of a FVS, OBX, and OBSX, happy OB-X8 owner since early August.

Bottom line: if you want the vintage Oberheim sound in a modern package, they don't come any better than this.  The ability to mix features across different legacy models is a huge plus.

PS it receives polyphonic aftertouch from an external MIDI controller.