New OB-X8 owner! Anything you wish you knew about when you first got yours?

[PolyBrute]

I'm gonna puruse the manual and make sure the FW is updated.

Curious if you have any tips you can share of things you wish you knew when you first got your OB; secret menu functions, good template-worthy presets, mistakes to avoid, etc.

Thanks!

[deflep44]

First thing is definitely to set the global pot mode setting to "jump". The default behavior is not intuitive for most people.

[LPF83]

First thing is definitely to set the global pot mode setting to "jump". The default behavior is not intuitive for most people.

Totally agree with that one, as simple as it is, it threw me for a while because I'm so used to jump as a default setting.

- Hold the Page 2 button while scrolling to jump to specific sections; this is an important one because it is a nice fix for one of the main complaints, menu divey-ness.

- Learn the patch compare function right away (on edited program, press Write then Global, the display indicates Compare mode).

- Know that you can modify the pulse width for each oscillator by holding down the Pulse button for that osc and turning the dial... faster than Page 2.

- This one is a combination of me being daft, moving too fast and interpreting the manual too literally (not the manuals fault), but just know that renaming a patch isn't finished just by pressing Page 2 again after dialing in the name; you still want to press the appropriate program number button to save.  I accidentally overwrote a user patch by relying on manual text instead of my intuition and how most synths work.

All of these are of course pretty much a result of wanting to jump straight in and hear the synth in action before reading the manual it's entirety... but does ANYONE do it any differently?   

[PolyBrute]

First thing is definitely to set the global pot mode setting to "jump". The default behavior is not intuitive for most people.

Ah, good call. Yeah, that's one of my niggles with modern digitally-controlled analog synths. It's not really WYSIWYG, since the knob position might differ. Still, great advice and I will definitely do that.

Totally agree with that one, as simple as it is, it threw me for a while because I'm so used to jump as a default setting.

- Hold the Page 2 button while scrolling to jump to specific sections; this is an important one because it is a nice fix for one of the main complaints, menu divey-ness.

- Learn the patch compare function right away (on edited program, press Write then Global, the display indicates Compare mode).

- Know that you can modify the pulse width for each oscillator by holding down the Pulse button for that osc and turning the dial... faster than Page 2.

- This one is a combination of me being daft, moving too fast and interpreting the manual too literally (not the manuals fault), but just know that renaming a patch isn't finished just by pressing Page 2 again after dialing in the name; you still want to press the appropriate program number button to save.  I accidentally overwrote a user patch by relying on manual text instead of my intuition and how most synths work.

All of these are of course pretty much a result of wanting to jump straight in and hear the synth in action before reading the manual it's entirety... but does ANYONE do it any differently?   

Great; thank you! I'm sure the Page 2 function will become quite familiar. I think that's one of the main complaints I've seen/read about this unit; they were so insistent on recreating the vibe of an original Oberheim that they wasted a ton of panel real estate. Despite all the buttons and knobs it DOES have, it does seem like one of the least busy panel of any modern digitally-controlled analog poly synth. I'm sue I'll get used to it.

Interesting note on the "Compare" function. Why would I want to use this? My PolyBrute has it, too, but I've never used it. Is it just to jump back quickly to the saved settings in case you get too far off track or what? I normally just reload the preset if I venture too far into messing up a perfectly good preset...

Thanks for the responses

[LPF83]

Interesting note on the "Compare" function. Why would I want to use this? My PolyBrute has it, too, but I've never used it. Is it just to jump back quickly to the saved settings in case you get too far off track or what? I normally just reload the preset if I venture too far into messing up a perfectly good preset...

Just to compare changes to a patch against the original.  Depending on individual workflow and how one uses their synth this may not be a must-have, for example the same thing could be accomplished using a software editor.  For me the process of A/B testing parameter changes against a baseline is just a normal part of incremental sound design, assuming I'm sitting down with a specific goal in mind as opposed to fishing for happy accidents (which can be fun too).

Just as a simple use case, let's say you create a sound you like but want to see how it sounds with an alternative filter type.  If you're always only listening to the newly modified version, it's easy for your ears to adapt to the new tone and lose the waypoint on the original tone.  Being able to quickly compare to the original helps remedy that.

Not essential for everyone but definitely something I wish I knew in the first 15 mins of use, because it helps me learn my way around the synth faster.

[Quatschmacher]

Yeah, that's one of my niggles with modern digitally-controlled analog synths. It's not really WYSIWYG, since the knob position might differ.

Have you seen the Melbourne Instruments NINA? It (mostly) solves that.

[deflep44]

The compare function is amazing for seeing and hearing what patch you want to overwrite. If you are looking for a spot to save a preset. Let's you keep your edited patch while you browse sounds to find one (or a blank spot) to overwrite.

First thing is definitely to set the global pot mode setting to "jump". The default behavior is not intuitive for most people.

Ah, good call. Yeah, that's one of my niggles with modern digitally-controlled analog synths. It's not really WYSIWYG, since the knob position might differ. Still, great advice and I will definitely do that.

Totally agree with that one, as simple as it is, it threw me for a while because I'm so used to jump as a default setting.

- Hold the Page 2 button while scrolling to jump to specific sections; this is an important one because it is a nice fix for one of the main complaints, menu divey-ness.

- Learn the patch compare function right away (on edited program, press Write then Global, the display indicates Compare mode).

- Know that you can modify the pulse width for each oscillator by holding down the Pulse button for that osc and turning the dial... faster than Page 2.

- This one is a combination of me being daft, moving too fast and interpreting the manual too literally (not the manuals fault), but just know that renaming a patch isn't finished just by pressing Page 2 again after dialing in the name; you still want to press the appropriate program number button to save.  I accidentally overwrote a user patch by relying on manual text instead of my intuition and how most synths work.

All of these are of course pretty much a result of wanting to jump straight in and hear the synth in action before reading the manual it's entirety... but does ANYONE do it any differently?   

Great; thank you! I'm sure the Page 2 function will become quite familiar. I think that's one of the main complaints I've seen/read about this unit; they were so insistent on recreating the vibe of an original Oberheim that they wasted a ton of panel real estate. Despite all the buttons and knobs it DOES have, it does seem like one of the least busy panel of any modern digitally-controlled analog poly synth. I'm sue I'll get used to it.

Interesting note on the "Compare" function. Why would I want to use this? My PolyBrute has it, too, but I've never used it. Is it just to jump back quickly to the saved settings in case you get too far off track or what? I normally just reload the preset if I venture too far into messing up a perfectly good preset...

Thanks for the responses

[LPF83]

The compare function is amazing for seeing and hearing what patch you want to overwrite. If you are looking for a spot to save a preset. Let's you keep your edited patch while you browse sounds to find one (or a blank spot) to overwrite.

That's a great point and another benefit of it.

[LPF83]

Question, does anyone find the Page 2 Panel+Display setting indispensible? 

I liked the idea of it at least....when I watched one video that suggested switching from the default of Display Only to Panel+Display, but the first 10 mins of getting to know the mode did not feel intuitive to me.  I saw a YT video where it was suggested changing to Panel+Display is one of the first things to do.. yet it feels to me more like something that would make sense to someone who already owns an OB-8 specifically and is familiar with the button mappings (maybe)?

For me and at the moment at least, Display Only seems to make more sense.  I wasn't able to find where the keys enabled by the mode were listed in the manual.

Would appreciate any suggestions, I'm always open to having my opinion changed