NEW REAL OBERHEIM! Don Buchla! Dave Smith! Roger Linn!

[otto]

Stop trying to prove you're not me.

I don't think our little "issue" would be a problem with the doc, if we got along all of the time.

[steveman]

Nobody is asking the really important question here:

Will this be analogue or mostly MIDI?

Err, I didn't realise they were mutually exclusive.

I'm with Otto and Sir Ruff on this, making the interfacing CV only would be crazy in this day and age. That'd limit it to a niche of a niche market... A built in MIDI interface should be no different than connecting via an external CV convertor, shouldn't be any compromising of sound there.

Of course having CV control in addition to MIDI would please everyone

[redchapterjubilee]

It would have to be MIDI-capable, but probably with some CV control for you modular dudes too. Kinda like the Little Phatty design. Patch memory would be nice but not necessary. If you wanted something analog with memory there would be other options.

I'm totally excited by this! I doubt I'll be able to afford one, but as a synth geek it's really an exciting time.

[steveman]

Nobody is asking the really important question here:

Will this be analogue or mostly MIDI?

Err, I didn't realise they were mutually exclusive.

I'm with Otto and Sir Ruff on this, making the interfacing CV only would be crazy in this day and age. That'd limit it to a niche of a niche market... A built in MIDI interface should be no different than connecting via an external CV convertor, shouldn't be any compromising of sound there.

Of course having CV control in addition to MIDI would please everyone

Oops. just noticed the joke...

[mao]

I'm asking myself why all these things against midi... The Voyager, Andromeda, Prophet 08, just to say a few are all midi with patch saving... and sounds "analog enough" to my ears.

Why the h**l this new analog beast need to be no-midi at all? I can understand that the voyager have some stepping using more than one knob at a time... but the A6 with NRPN doesn't have this problem. Are we all octopus moving 5 knobs at a time?

I can understand if he want to do a remake of the original. But... c'mon... midi is must.

[kayvon]

The Oberheim SEM and Xpander are about the only Oberheims that really interest me so i'd love to see a new SEM.

Anyone know what the deal is with the originals ADS envelopes? Can you not have any release or is the release the same value as the decay as per Minimoog? Can you turn off the release if needs be? That should find its way in there imo or full ADSR envs.

[elmacaco]

Patch memory is where it would get tricky and perhaps expensive, and it does take a layer of direct control away from a synth, but it can be done well. personally, I just hope he makes it how he wants it and it doesn't end up with those terrible encoders DSI uses. 3 turns for full range? no thanks! the rest can stay as it is/was. I wonder if he see's people pairing it with their voyagers like the SEM was designed to be an expander for the minimoog? the SEM was patch storage for the minimoog, just switch off your oscillators and noise and switch on the external input and you have a different patch not exclusively that, but pretty kickin. hence the similar envelopes.

[aeon]

well, if u get four SEMs, vintage ones, or these new ones, if they come out, it is fairly easy to setup a four-voice sytem... you just buy a midi controller keyboard and DIY a Modulus Electronic POLYDAC (or buy a finsihed one from Elby Designs), i 've just made PCBs for three of those for my cv/gate isntruments, and future modular... each Polydac features FOUR CV/GATE channels with additonal AUX CV per ch, among other things for midi cc, and most importantly, besides working in "standard" separate mode, it can do 4-voice POLYPHONIC operation 8)

Nice tip, thanks!

One thing I have considered too is that Tom Oberheim could re-release the SEM, and if there is sufficient demand, make a Four-Voice frame with MIDI and perhaps programmer.

so all you gotta do is hook it up to four SEMs. and of course set all four of them to aproximately same patch sound.. heheh...which was a time-consuming issue to consider on original OB Four-Voice as well.

Time well-spent IMHO, and the fact it was never exact made for magic.


cheers,
Ian

[otto]

Without providing anything unique above and beyond the original, I think it would have to be relatively cheap to viable. The closer you get to the $1k mark you start to enter MEK, Moog LP and Future Retro XS territory. And let’s face it, because this will be newly produced and a couple things are likely to change, people will say it doesn't sound exactly the same anyway. Thus they will infer it is less desirable than an original.

Seriously in my mind this is great opportunity, if he jumps in with both feet and does it right. I think a lot of people would be open to the following:

a) a “desktop” SEM module with midi and patch memory
b) a modern day OB-1 similar to the little phatty (yay!!!)
c) a modular SEM
d) a relatively affordable replica of the original (I highly doubt many people would be willing to pay too much considering what's available and what this would be lacking for a "modern" synth)

Otherwise I’m not sure if he would offering anything that wasn’t already available

OB-1! OB-1! OB-1!

[Automatic Gainsay]

And let’s face it, because this will be newly produced and a couple things are likely to change, people will say it doesn't sound exactly the same anyway. Thus they will infer it is less desirable than an original.

Well, yeah... people said the Voyager wasn't like the original Minimoog, and therefore less desirable... but the good news was it was a great enough product on its own that it didn't NEED to be like the original Minimoog... so that situation is always a possibility!

[gd]

I just hope that it does make it to market and at an affordable price (in the $2k range like the P'08), no need for fx to be built in but would like patch storage and midi. If it is to the OBXa as the Voyager is to the miniD sound wise I would be very happy. I liked my Voyager but just did not use it enough while still owning my miniD to justify keeping it that being said I kept them together for over 3 years and it was not an easy decision to let it go. While I am excited about this announcement I almost wish that Tom had of done what Dave did when he just unleashed the P'08 on us with no prior notice.

[otto]

I just hope that it does make it to market and at an affordable price (in the $2k range like the P'08), no need for fx to be built in but would like patch storage and midi. If it is to the OBXa as the Voyager is to the miniD sound wise I would be very happy. I liked my Voyager but just did not use it enough while still owning my miniD to justify keeping it that being said I kept them together for over 3 years and it was not an easy decision to let it go. While I am excited about this announcement I almost wish that Tom had of done what Dave did when he just unleashed the P'08 on us with no prior notice.

You might be confused. We are talking a monophonic SEM module here. not a new OBXa. If the price is remotely near $2k he would be lucky to sell 1...

[gd]

You might be confused. We are talking a monophonic SEM module here. not a new OBXa. If the price is remotely near $2k he would be lucky to sell 1...

I realized this just after I logged off but I am hoping that with this new module he will go ahead and build an OBx(a) as well.

[Stab Frenzy]

I just hope he makes it how he wants it and it doesn't end up with those terrible encoders DSI uses. 3 turns for full range? no thanks!

Have you ever used a DSI synth? The encoders are velocity sensitive so you can actually get the full range in half a turn if you spin the knob fast. I can understand if you're just playing around with it in the shop you might not realise this cause you're spinning the encoders slowly to see what they do.

[Joey]

I just hope he makes it how he wants it and it doesn't end up with those terrible encoders DSI uses. 3 turns for full range? no thanks!

Have you ever used a DSI synth? The encoders are velocity sensitive so you can actually get the full range in half a turn if you spin the knob fast. I can understand if you're just playing around with it in the shop you might not realise this cause you're spinning the encoders slowly to see what they do.

whenever I spin the knobs on my p08 too fast the knobs jump to all sorts of random values, usually to the opposite of the way i'm turning

i've learned to apply a bit of downwards pressure and turn at a medium rate, but I do agree that it is kind of a pain

I've seen this with a few evolvers and poly evolvers that I have used as well