![]() The Prophet-6 is really no different than the Ob-6 in this department. While certainly fine for what the OB-6 aims to provide its customers, just note that if you’re a piano player coming to the world of synthesizers for the first time, this potentially may either turn you off initially, or require a bit more time to adjust to the keys’ touch and feel. Coming from the world of piano, I am used to playing on fully-weighted keybeds. When I went to touch the keys, I felt they too were a bit cheap-but at least they are not “squishy” and have pretty good action. This is where it kind of brings the keyboard brings me back down from my initial high of excitement. They feel cheap, mostly because they are made of plastic. However, the buttons themselves are a bit of a disappointment. ![]() The knobs and the pitch wheels are smooth and feel high quality. My first impression of the OB-6 is that it looks and feels very modern. I like the red LED lights, as I think it is much easier to read than blue LEDs on some other instruments I have demoed. Both use the same kind of knobs and pitch wheels, as well as having red LED lights to display what program you are currently on. Both have wood panels and black-coated steel exteriors. When you first approach the OB-6 and the Prophet 6, they look very identical. Many have flocked to the OB-6 because they appreciate Oberheim’s ability to make quality instruments, on top of the connection with Dave Smith.īut what makes the OB-6 special? And does it really stack up to something like Dave Smith’s Prophet 6? These are the main questions we will be answering in this review, delving into notable features, sound quality, and much more.Īnd, in order to better help you, please use the interactive table below to directly compare the Dave Smith OB-6 to other notable keyboards: Once rivals back in the 70’s when synths started coming onto the scene, they have now joined forces to produce this beast of an instrument. This analog powerhouse is packed into a four-octave, semi-weighted keyboard with velocity and channel aftertouch, making it perfect for stage or studio.The Dave Smith OB-6 is a synthesizer connoisseurs dream, a collaboration of two legendary names-Dave Smith and Tom Oberheim. In this state, what you see is what you hear. ![]() Turning on the Manual button enables live panel mode, in which the sound of the OB-6 switches to its current front panel settings. Included are 500 permanent factory programs and 500 rewritable user programs. The knob-per-function front panel puts virtually all OB-6 functions at your fingertips. Unison mode features configurable voice count (1-6 voices), chord memory, and key modes. The full-featured arpeggiator can be synced to external MIDI clock as well. You can create sequences polyphonically, with rests, and sync to an external MIDI clock. The polyphonic step sequencer allows up to 64 steps and up to 6 notes per step. Destinations include oscillator 1 frequency, oscillator 1 shape, oscillator 1 pulse width, filter cutoff, and filter mode. Modulation sources are filter envelope and oscillator 2, both with bi-polar control. X-Mod and Poly Step SequencingĪlso present is X-Mod, which expands the tonal palette and makes it easy to create dramatic and unconventional sounds. While the effects themselves are digital, with 24-bit, 48 kHz resolution, a true bypass maintains a full analog signal path. The dual effects section provides studio-quality reverbs, delays (standard and BBD), chorus, flangers, and faithful recreations of Tom’s original phase shifter and ring modulator. Voltage-controlled amplifiers complete the all-analog signal path. The classic Oberheim-inspired 2-pole, state-variable, resonant filter provides low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, and notch functionality. It features two discrete voltage-controlled oscillators (plus sub-oscillator) per voice with continuously variable waveshapes (sawtooth and variable-width pulse, plus a triangle wave on oscillator 2). The OB-6 sound engine is inspired by Tom’s original SEM, the core of his acclaimed 4-voice and 8- voice synthesizers. No other modern analog poly synth can boast such a pedigree or such a massive, in-your-face sonic signature. ![]() The OB-6 takes the classic bold Tom Oberheim sound - with its true voltage-controlled oscillators, 2-pole filter, and amplifiers - and adds modern enhancements such as studio-quality effects, a polyphonic step sequencer, an arpeggiator, and more. The OB-6® is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between the two most influential designers in poly synth history, Dave Smith and Tom Oberheim. ![]()
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