New OBERHEIM OB-X8 Announced!

[mate stubb]

I paid $4200 for my Chroma in 1982. That's $12,618 today.

[timwat]

Couldn't you just pass this off to your better half as "Oh, that's just an old synth from the 80's I salvaged..."

[The Real MC]

"But can it play Jump...?"

[TommyS]

Hmmmmm....... Let's see...... I'll need at least the $5000 for the OBX8 , then anothher $5000 for the divorce attorney downpayment.........

[felis]

A bit too rich for my blood.  It's a good thing I'm easily pleased and happy with my OB vsti's.  🤣

[Adam C.]

Here’s a better look at the top of the Synth.

 

 

[Franz Schiller]

It's gorgeous!

[ksoper]

It certainly is.  

 

Damn it.  

[Bill H.]

The keys are not hinged too close! And yeah... I always check  

[Jim Alfredson]

Is it wrong that I own an OB8 and I still want this?

[HammondDave]

6 minutes ago, Jim Alfredson said:

Is it wrong that I own an OB8 and I still want this?

Absolutely not!!!  I have two B3’s and two Mellotrons. You can never have too many. 

[HammondDave]

8 hours ago, Adam C. said:

Here’s a better look at the top of the Synth.

 

 

What I really want is that red jacket. 

[Iconoclast]

Wow this sounds awesome...but $5k is enough to give me pause.

[Adam C.]

More Detailed Photos…

 

 

 

[Tom Fiala]

Looks fantastic.... where & when do we get to hear it?

 

[Bill H.]

Osc Mod switch is selectable between OBX style cross-mod and Xa/8 filter envelope for sync sweeps. Cool. 

Filter choices on the front panel are X, Xa 4, and Xa but...

There's a Page 2 switch - maybe where you access the SEM filter. 

 

Osc 1, 2, and noise are just on-off switches - maybe addressable in Page 2 as well. 

 

Interesting!

[CyberGene]

So, is this a Nord Stage killer? 😛

[o0Ampy0o]

A qualified gorgeous. I have considered the OBXa to be the most aesthetically beautiful synth. Far superior to the OBX. I certainly loved the OBX due to the association with its sound. I made my UHE Diva interface look like an OBXa. There was a sound set that came with some visual options but I changed the UHE logo to the Oberhiem standard appearance.

 

 

 

[allan_evett]

8 hours ago, CyberGene said:

So, is this a Nord Stage killer? 😛

  Tempting, isn't it?

For looks and construction, it appears to be in the same league as my Stage 3, which a bandmate once described as 'crafted like a fine guitar'.  After 40 years of owning synths, I think of the OB-X8 as the Pontiac Firebird Formula my dad once owned (which he liberally shared with me): specialized to do a few things superbly, but not practical as an only vehicle (Great for dates, but not so good at moving my CP70 or OB-Xa).  

I've thought about what a combined instrument from Oberheim would be like, similar say to the Prophet X. Would be fun to hear what they'd come up with, especially using OB filters, etc. But that would be quite an undertaking, and I respect Tom's focused approach in capturing the soul of his original designs.  

 

If I had a working studio (read, steady $$ coming in), this one could be on my short list. In the meantime, Diva's models do more than enough.  And live, my Stage 3 and Nautilus do a ridiculous amount of stuff and sound fantastic.

[CyberGene]

15 minutes ago, allan_evett said:

specialized to do a few things superbly, but not practical as an only vehicle

Indeed. When you think about what current expensive keyboards one can use as their only instrument, well, you can make an entire solo recital with a Steinway, you can probably fill up an entire hour of solo Rhodes or even better, a jazz trio or a fusion band. Ditto regarding a Hammond. But how long can you play only OB-brass swells (even in a band) without being booed 😀😛 (it’s a tongue in cheek comment!).

[DJkeys]

9 hours ago, CyberGene said:

So, is this a Nord Stage killer? 😛

I don't see how.  The Nord Stage has Sampled Piano and modeled Organ along with a synth.  This is an analog poly synth.  Two completely different types of instruments.

 

-dj

[CyberGene]

1 hour ago, DJKeys said:

I don't see how.  The Nord Stage has Sampled Piano and modeled Organ along with a synth.  This is an analog poly synth.  Two completely different types of instruments.

 

-dj

I was kidding of course 😀 This forum seems like a place where real musicians discuss practical gigging topics. And out of a sudden there’s a ridiculously priced OB reissue that’s often been considered specialized even in the synth world context… Hardly a gigging instrument, let alone a practical one. Just trying to make sense of it. 

[David Emm]

I wonder if we might eventually see a more compact OB along the lines of the Prophet-6? The OB-6 has its own nice aroma as a synth, of course. I'm thinking more like an OB-X7, between the other two. Maybe something in the mere $2K+ range? Its a slightly GAS-y dream and premature until this beauty lands, of course. Oddly, when I saw the first clear picture of it, I thought "Elka Synthex." It has a similar look, with form following function. I was sure dazzled by my one brief encounter.

 

That's where my view takes a sharp left into the kitchen to do dishes, because the closest I've come to a real Obie outside a music store was a friend who had a pair of Matrix-1000s ganged up. He was chewing on nails, trying to program them from the front panel, but when he simply panned the presets L & R, the magic sure kicked in.

[ProfD]

9 hours ago, CyberGene said:

I was kidding of course 😀 This forum seems like a place where real musicians discuss practical gigging topics. And out of a sudden there’s a ridiculously priced OB reissue that’s often been considered specialized even in the synth world context… Hardly a gigging instrument, let alone a practical one. Just trying to make sense of it. 

Slow down mayne.🤣

 

The forum is equal parts former and currently gigging musicians and also KB and synth hobbyists and enthusiasts and the middle.

 

There's quite a few folks around here who were broke with pockets on E flat when Keyboard magazine ran full page color ads for Prophets and Oberheim synths.

 

Fast-forward to present, those same folks have enough disposable income to indulge in fits of nostalgia, er, collecting old and reissued KBs.

 

Neither the OB-X8 nor Rhodes MK8 would make for a practical gig rig. But, rest assured that someone around here will have both set up in their music room, studio or man cave.😁😎

[David Emm]

9 hours ago, CyberGene said:

I was kidding of course 😀 This forum seems like a place where real musicians discuss practical gigging topics. And out of a sudden there’s a ridiculously priced OB reissue that’s often been considered specialized even in the synth world context… Hardly a gigging instrument, let alone a practical one. Just trying to make sense of it. 

 

What is this "sense" of which you speak? It has "impulse buy" written all over it, if you have that level of disposable income. At this point, even the BBC would be unlikely to buy more than one Colossus. Serious pro studios most likely consider new synths even more carefully these days. I'm sure it can be a great tax write-off, with the right bookkeeper. Besides, if someone makes 50 of a mega-synth, how many wind up in someone's basement studio with three cats laying on it? Even money says "At least 25." 🤨 Full disclosure: I took my sample from a realm known as "thin air."

[Stokely]

I could see gigging something *like* this depending on your songs and depending perhaps on another keyboard.  I have two "do almost everything" keyboards I've been gigging with, I am waffling on whether to replace one with a Summit, which while perhaps a bit more versatile than this Oberheim is still mainly "just" a synth.   My MODX is making this decision hard with every gig that B-3X and the ipad work flawlessly though   I've had the same internal argument on whether to replace it with "just" a clonewheel.  Once again it's that age old "The ideal rig for me is three keyboards but I don't want to bring three" 

As an aside, speaking of the MODX and ipad, anyone have any favorite Oberheim or good poly synth apps they like?   There's no doubt that various Oberheims have been my favorite synth sounds since...forever.  I reckon my best one is Zeeon, it seems to be a bit more toward a Roland sound but it does sound good.

Problem here is this is too costly for me to ever want to bring out to some bar or club where who knows if people are even hearing keyboards in the mix.  Not to mention the elements, I have been doing more outdoor gigs where blowing misty rain has been landing on my gear.  No likey.

I'd already have gotten a NS3 by now and be done with it if I'd known they'd be cranking their prices up, probably will never happen now.  

[xp50player]

A Nord Stage 3 costs more than this OBX8 and will never be worth more than it is now. The OBX8 looks like a solid investment and may go up quite a bit in value, depending on how many are produced. 

[dazzjazz]

On 5/6/2022 at 11:58 PM, Franz Schiller said:

It's gorgeous!

 

yes it is! I wonder if I'd prefer the blue lines though - not that it matters, it's an Oberheim that WORKS!

[The Real MC]

23 hours ago, ProfD said:

Neither the OB-X8 nor Rhodes MK8 would make for a practical gig rig.

 

Just what personal experience with the OBX8 led you to this profound conclusion that the rest of us were not privy to?

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, The Real MC said:

 

Just what personal experience with the OBX8 led you to this profound conclusion that the rest of us were not privy to?

Projected OB-X8 cost and average gig pay. 🤣😎