Originally Posted by Synth61 ➡️

Shall I or not !! I won't be selling anything and I know there will be some over lap but..............any thoughts? Please talk me out of it.

Originally Posted by Synth61 ➡️

I like messing around with one oscillator. I'm covered with modulated and complex patches, so starting from the raw OB6 tone might be a good limiting factor and treating it like 'it's own section' of my set up. It'll work.
I'll get the module, the Virus Ti2 keybed has no competition in my eyes(fingers).
Very close to pulling the trigger.

Originally Posted by Synth61 ➡️

I like messing around with one oscillator. I'm covered with modulated and complex patches, so starting from the raw OB6 tone might be a good limiting factor and treating it like 'it's own section' of my set up. It'll work.
I'll get the module, the Virus Ti2 keybed has no competition in my eyes(fingers).
Very close to pulling the trigger.

Originally Posted by adydub ➡️

If you want to be talked out of it, there are a ton of negatives:

Very limited in terms of number of mod sources. e.g. if you use xmod to change the envelope curve you can't really use xmod for anything else. And if you are like me, you will want to change the envelope curve for anything vaguely blippy or percussive.

Global LFO (not per note). You can sacrifice OSC2 for LFO duties, but this can be tricky if you already want to use the xmod for anything else.

OSC2 doesn't even go very low when being used as an LFO

Hard to dial in subtle amounts of modulation - the knob range goes from off to way too much with a tiny slither of usable range at the beginning of the travel.

Hidden functions - you have to remember some arcane key combinations for basic functions like running calibration, initialising a sound, adding rests and ties in the sequencer, comparing edits to the original sound etc etc.

Tuning can be a bit temperamental.

Hall reverb doesn't sound great. Room reverb is much better to my ears, but you'll need something external for big, long and lush reverbs.

Inescapable character to the sound limits flexibility, as does the limited modulation.

Originally Posted by Clbraddock ➡️

Most of the negatives with mod sources can be overcome by adding a Yorick LFE Expander. It really expands what you can do modulation wise. That adds another $800ish to the synth investment though, so it is pretty expensive. In my case the OB6 is my only hardware synth, so I wanted to be able to use it as much as possible, and the extra modulation is worth it to me. If someone already has other synths with lots of modulation options then they might be better off just using the OB6 stock for what it is though.

Originally Posted by vitocorleone123 ➡️

Having had the OB-6 for barely under 2 years and having spent quite a bit of time learning how to use it, I have to say: I rarely wish I had another LFO and, when I do, most of the time adding an external LFO via my DAW or other device does the thing I wanted (e.g., moving the filter, etc.). At least some of this is due to having gotten to know the synth and what it can and can't do.

On the same note (har har har), I feel the same about the other minor negatives listed. In other words, a likely course of thinking over time will be something like:

"OMG OMG OMG!" after buying it

"This has quirks and limitations" a month later

"I now know the synth AND all the things not shown on YT or discussed on forums about it" a year later

"I know and love my OB-6 for what it is, and it's really something special" after a year

Your timing may vary.

Originally Posted by vitocorleone123 ➡️

Having had the OB-6 for barely under 2 years and having spent quite a bit of time learning how to use it, I have to say: I rarely wish I had another LFO and, when I do, most of the time adding an external LFO via my DAW or other device does the thing I wanted (e.g., moving the filter, etc.). At least some of this is due to having gotten to know the synth and what it can and can't do.

On the same note (har har har), I feel the same about the other minor negatives listed. In other words, a likely course of thinking over time will be something like:

"OMG OMG OMG!" after buying it

"This has quirks and limitations" a month later

"I now know the synth AND all the things not shown on YT or discussed on forums about it" a year later

"I know and love my OB-6 for what it is, and it's really something special" after a year

Your timing may vary.

Originally Posted by Culturedslob ➡️

I shoulda got the module. It’s not big enough to be a good master keyboard. Now I just have less room for the next splurge :(

Originally Posted by Sam Marks ➡️

I have several synths, but I noticed that when I use the OB-6 in a track, it gets far more plays, attention, possitive feedback, comments and likes on social media and streamming platforms. I call it the OB-6 magic touch. No other synth in my arsenal has this touch. The OB-6 is unique in this sense, people in general love its organic sound, even konwing nothing about synths or electronic music. For me, the OB-6 and my Prologue 16 are my best analog synths.

Regarding the mod sources, I can use up to 15 LFOs and/or envelopes to control my hardware synths at the same time via MIDI in my DAW, but I rarely use this option with the OB-6 or the Prologue 16, as they sound very good with their internal sound control options. I use more mod sources for my digital synths (opsix, TG77) or plugins.

Originally Posted by Sam Marks ➡️

I have several synths, but I noticed that when I use the OB-6 in a track, it gets far more plays, attention, possitive feedback, comments and likes on social media and streamming platforms. I call it the OB-6 magic touch. No other synth in my arsenal has this touch. The OB-6 is unique in this sense, people in general love its organic sound, even konwing nothing about synths or electronic music. For me, the OB-6 and my Prologue 16 are my best analog synths.

Regarding the mod sources, I can use up to 15 LFOs and/or envelopes to control my hardware synths at the same time via MIDI in my DAW, but I rarely use this option with the OB-6 or the Prologue 16, as they sound very good with their internal sound control options. I use more mod sources for my digital synths (opsix, TG77) or plugins.

Originally Posted by adydub ➡️

I kind of view my OB6 as a bit like a Juno with a much less versatile character. Meat and potatoes with the meat having a strong, slightly gamey flavour.

Of course, there are all sorts of external workarounds for the deficiencies of the OB6, but each one reduces the point of a standalone instrument by a little.

That said, I'd be interested in if you are using MPE to address each voice independently - what DAW are you using and how do you have it set up to generate data in real time in response to note on and velocity etc? If you are just sending global MIDI CC then that's not so interesting tbh.

Originally Posted by TJe ➡️

Wow,great track here!I wish I have your talent.That's what I consider music, and not only a pile of noises.
What method have you studied for such nice chord progressions and composition,would you care to share some useful books or online piano lessons?

Originally Posted by Sam Marks ➡️

Thank you for your comment and nice words! I tried to recreate the sound of a synthetic symphonic orchestra in this track with my OB-6, mainly. Regarding the method that I studied, I have studied at the conservatory, composition, piano and orchestration.

A big part of my inspiration and possible ideas come from various sources, for example the sound of a certain synth patch, a space documentary, some progressions that I create while improvising at the keyboards, some video or film, etc.

To improve the composition skills I could recommend some of the things that I normally do, such as, listening to a lot music of the great masters (modern and classical), reading some books on music improvisation (classical music improvisation if possible), watching youtube videos and tutorials on music creation, composition and harmony, playing with synths (such as the OB-6, or softsynths), practising the improvisation or experimenting with some new combinations of chords and harmonies taking into account your musical style, among other strategies.

Originally Posted by Sam Marks ➡️

Thank you for your comment and nice words! I tried to recreate the sound of a synthetic symphonic orchestra in this track with my OB-6, mainly. Regarding the method that I studied, I have studied at the conservatory, composition, piano and orchestration.

A big part of my inspiration and possible ideas come from various sources, for example the sound of a certain synth patch, a space documentary, some progressions that I create while improvising at the keyboards, some video or film, etc.

To improve the composition skills I could recommend some of the things that I normally do, such as, listening to a lot music of the great masters (modern and classical), reading some books on music improvisation (classical music improvisation if possible), watching youtube videos and tutorials on music creation, composition and harmony, playing with synths (such as the OB-6, or softsynths), practising the improvisation or experimenting with some new combinations of chords and harmonies taking into account your musical style, among other strategies.

Originally Posted by TJe ➡️

Thank you for your advices.I haven't the musical education,I have learnt alone since years and I know some rudimentary things about music theory,harmony anyway but I find chord progressions the most difficult.I feel like I am not improving anymore.
I will look at some of your recommendations,thank you.

Originally Posted by RobustAmerican ➡️

My theory teacher once told us that chords with common notes tend to sound most pleasing and blend into each other nicely. Knowing some chord inversions helps immensely.

Simple example with 4 chords:
C/G - F - D#dim/F# - Gmin

The 1st and 2nd chords above have a "C" in common.
The 2nd and 3rd chords have an "A" in common.

Originally Posted by Leighty ➡️

so my 'F Freq' LFO destination button doesnt seem to work , and the 'F Mode' button on X-Mod is very intermittently working. Both mods functionally work on a saved patch where by they have already been switched on, but pressing the button doesnt switch the mod off. Assuming this sounds broken, but checking if anyone else has had this issue? Its a 2 month old OB-6 module. Pretty disappointed (again) with Sequential's quality control for such an expensive instrument. I had knob quality issues with my Prophet 6 which I eventually sold. Hate to say it, but this is the last time i buy something from them. Hopefully it can be resolved easily here in Australia :( .

Originally Posted by kpatz ➡️

Hit the offending button a bunch of times and it should start working again. The contacts in the switches they use tend to oxidize.

Originally Posted by floeezy ➡️

I've spent some time searching through this thread, but haven't found much information. I'm looking to purchase either the Soundtower PlugSE VST editor or the Codeknobs VST editor to integrate my OB-6 into Ableton.

Which one would you recommend? I've demoed both, but can't do any extensive testing from demo restrictions. I've heard that the Soundtower PlugSE is buggy (much more than the standalone Soundtower editor), but there have been numerous updates after the comments detailing the buginess were posted on the Sequential forums. Is it stable and mostly bug-free now?

The Codeknobs editor appears to be more stable, but I much prefer the librarian in the Soundtower PlugSE over the Codeknobs one.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! =)

Originally Posted by gjharrall ➡️

For me I use both.

The Soundtower is the better editor / librarian standalone and the Codeknobs is the better VST.

Originally Posted by floeezy ➡️

Thank you for your feedback!

Which one do you think is most likely to be updated in the nearish future to address its shortcomings?

Redoing the librarian in the Codeknobs plugin seems like a lot of work, while fixing the bugs in the Soundtower VST appears to be more manageable, but I may be wrong.

Originally Posted by Stormchild ➡️

For those who are thinking about buying an OB-6, I only needed to hear the filter section of this review (starting around 7:30) and I was sold.



And that was before the update that added the vintage knob, which gave this great synth even more character.