OB-6 Sound/Connection Issue

[Jonny Strinner]

It's like the unit loses connection/power somehow, sometimes this occurs switching between projects or when it's idle for a short while. Or when I reboot my DAW or even changes DAWs.

It seems the only workaround is powering off the unit and powering back on again, which oddly sometimes requires a second attempt, sometimes the unit doesn't power back on initially, the lights flash on for split second then go off, and the synth emits a strange crackling noise instead of normal audio.

Sequential thought it was a power supply issues, and recommended I purchase a replacement power supply (£40) and fit it. This didn’t resolve the issue - annoyingly. So it must be something else.

The advice received from Sequential support after that was to send to the UK Repairs partner, Audio Related. But thought it was worth mentioning on here before shipping it to them - according to the Audio Related terms, the charges will be over £100 (including shipping, VAT, etc) even if they can’t help, and if they can surely I’m looking at £200-£300 (or more?).

The fact that switching between projects or leaving it idle or even rebooting/switching the DAW is what triggers this, it leads me to believe that possibly it’s a computer communication issue rather than a technical fault with the synth.

If anyone has any suggestions or ideas or has experienced this issue, please let me know! Been trying to get to the bottom of this for months now. Thanks in advance.

Btw, I’ve tired all the troubleshooting - connecting via USB or MIDI, upgrading Synth OS, factory reset, different plug, etc.

[Julienne Fractals]

It's like the unit loses connection/power somehow, sometimes this occurs switching between projects or when it's idle for a short while. Or when I reboot my DAW or even changes DAWs.

It seems the only workaround is powering off the unit and powering back on again, which oddly sometimes requires a second attempt, sometimes the unit doesn't power back on initially, the lights flash on for split second then go off, and the synth emits a strange crackling noise instead of normal audio.

Sequential thought it was a power supply issues, and recommended I purchase a replacement power supply (£40) and fit it. This didn’t resolve the issue - annoyingly. So it must be something else.

The advice received from Sequential support after that was to send to the UK Repairs partner, Audio Related. But thought it was worth mentioning on here before shipping it to them - according to the Audio Related terms, the charges will be over £100 (including shipping, VAT, etc) even if they can’t help, and if they can surely I’m looking at £200-£300 (or more?).

The fact that switching between projects or leaving it idle or even rebooting/switching the DAW is what triggers this, it leads me to believe that possibly it’s a computer communication issue rather than a technical fault with the synth.

If anyone has any suggestions or ideas or has experienced this issue, please let me know! Been trying to get to the bottom of this for months now. Thanks in advance.

Btw, I’ve tired all the troubleshooting - connecting via USB or MIDI, upgrading Synth OS, factory reset, different plug, etc.

Are you using Logic?
https://forum.sequential.com/index.php/topic,8086.msg70264.html#msg70264

[Jonny Strinner]

It's like the unit loses connection/power somehow, sometimes this occurs switching between projects or when it's idle for a short while. Or when I reboot my DAW or even changes DAWs.

It seems the only workaround is powering off the unit and powering back on again, which oddly sometimes requires a second attempt, sometimes the unit doesn't power back on initially, the lights flash on for split second then go off, and the synth emits a strange crackling noise instead of normal audio.

Sequential thought it was a power supply issues, and recommended I purchase a replacement power supply (£40) and fit it. This didn’t resolve the issue - annoyingly. So it must be something else.

The advice received from Sequential support after that was to send to the UK Repairs partner, Audio Related. But thought it was worth mentioning on here before shipping it to them - according to the Audio Related terms, the charges will be over £100 (including shipping, VAT, etc) even if they can’t help, and if they can surely I’m looking at £200-£300 (or more?).

The fact that switching between projects or leaving it idle or even rebooting/switching the DAW is what triggers this, it leads me to believe that possibly it’s a computer communication issue rather than a technical fault with the synth.

If anyone has any suggestions or ideas or has experienced this issue, please let me know! Been trying to get to the bottom of this for months now. Thanks in advance.

Btw, I’ve tired all the troubleshooting - connecting via USB or MIDI, upgrading Synth OS, factory reset, different plug, etc.

Are you using Logic?
https://forum.sequential.com/index.php/topic,8086.msg70264.html#msg70264

I am using Logic!! Though as the problem was persisting in Ableton, I'd assumed it wasn't DAW based. Though whenever I would have tested in Ableton it would have been straight after shutting down Logic Pro. I'll give this a go, thanks!

[Jonny Strinner]

After looking into this further, I think the problem may have been caused by two separate issues. The situation with the OB-6 losing connectivity seems to have been resolved, it was either a case of connecting via USB rather than MIDI and/or changing MIDI reset messages in Logic Pro.

That said, the restart issue is still happening. If the synth has been off for a while, it powers on normally. But if I turn it off and then try to switch it back on right away, the lights just blink briefly and it won’t fully start up.

This doesn't happen all the time, just occasionally.

[kpatz]

That said, the restart issue is still happening. If the synth has been off for a while, it powers on normally. But if I turn it off and then try to switch it back on right away, the lights just blink briefly and it won’t fully start up.

How quickly are you power cycling the synth?  Leave it off for a few seconds before turning it back on, otherwise the power supply won’t fully drop to 0V and the power-on-reset circuit won’t trigger to tell the CPU(s) to boot up.

[Jonny Strinner]

That said, the restart issue is still happening. If the synth has been off for a while, it powers on normally. But if I turn it off and then try to switch it back on right away, the lights just blink briefly and it won’t fully start up.

How quickly are you power cycling the synth?  Leave it off for a few seconds before turning it back on, otherwise the power supply won’t fully drop to 0V and the power-on-reset circuit won’t trigger to tell the CPU(s) to boot up.

Ok so it might not even be a fault then? Needs to be off for at least 5 seconds otherwise it wont boot up