New Free Oberheim OB-X Emulation Plugin, More: Synth Journal
The best of the rest of this week’s synth news.
The team behind Surge drops a free Oberheim OB-X emulation, there’s an affordable new analog sequencer from VAEMI, and more!
Synth Journal
New Free Oberheim OB-X Emulation Plugin
One of the best analog soft synths around is OB-Xd. The Oberheim OB-X emulation first appeared thanks to developer 2Dat and was then taken over by discoDSP, which kept a free version but also added a $99 option for commercial uses. Now the team behind the freeware super synth Surge has made a new fork of the original called the OB-Xf, and it’s 100% free again.
The new OB-X emulation will offer a number of improvements and additions compared to the original, including 64 voices, a new multimode noise color, separate pitch bend ranges, a unison voices parameter, and a new GUI, among many other things. The filter is getting its share of upgrades, too, including a 4-pole model and Xpander filter modes. There will also be a second LFO plus pulsewidth control over the LFO.
The new OB-X emulation will not be compatible with presets from the OB-Xd, given the number of changes, although it will get a new preset browser.
This is exciting stuff indeed. If you know Surge and how amazing it is, you likely already have high hopes for this new Oberheim OB-X emulation. I know I do.
OB-Xf is currently only in an early alpha/beta stage, but you are welcome to download the Oberheim OB-X recreation from Github (link below).
Of course, if you’d rather have hardware, there’s always the Oberheim OB-X8, which is available at Thomann*.
VAEMI Analog Sequencer
I love this. Turkish company VAEMI (whose name stands for Volt Age Electronic Musical Instruments, doncha know) got in touch to let us know about Analog Sequencer, an all-analog eight-step standalone hardware sequencer.
Built entirely with through-hole components (important to know as this is also available as a DIY kit), the Analog Sequencer offers 8V CV and 5V gate outputs, and each step has its own CV knob and On/Off Gate switch. There are also dual gate outputs (short/long), an internal analog clock, external clock synchronization, and reset and hold functions. Additionally, the knobs are stepless, meaning you get completely unquantized functionality, which is great for microtones.
VAEMI is currently taking presale orders for the Analog Sequencer and plans to start shipping them on 6 October. If you buy before then, you get a 20% discount, bringing the assembled version from $220 to $176, and the kit from $150 to $120. Soldering irons at the ready!
Wavy Industries Monkey Update
Monkey from Wavy Industries is a wild, tiny, and very affordable Bluetooth MIDI controller. It’s got all kinds of fun stuff in it, from MIDI effects to an internal battery that lasts for months (no, really, months!). The people at Wavy have just released an update, and it’s significant enough that I thought I would mention it.
The crux of the update is on the DRM, or drum, MIDI effect. Whereas the original firmware only gave you 15 MIDI rhythm loops, the update expands the number of loops considerably, giving you 150 total. That’s 15 loops per page.
The other new element is the sample manager. If I’m understanding this correctly, these are not audio samples but custom MIDI drum loops that you manage on a special website. Here you can import MIDI files of rhythms that you’ve made and even edit them in-browser via the onboard piano roll. Pretty cool.
The firmware (version 1.2) is available now on the Wavy Industries device utility page.
Imaginando VS 2
Here’s something a little different. Most of the synthesizers that we cover are audio synthesizers, but there are also visual ones. Instead of audio signals, visual synthesizers manipulate video. Imaginando, a company with a number of clever audio instruments and effects under its belt, has just released VS 2, the second version of its Visual Synthesizer.
Aimed at VJs and content creators, it’s a creative way to create visuals for your music, as it reacts to MIDI and audio. You can “play it” with your keyboard, triggering visuals, and adjust them as you would a synth that you’re familiar with via parameters like envelopes and LFOs. I’ve played with the first version and really enjoyed it. Version two includes a new design for the UI and better performance.
Imaginando VS 2 is available now for €99.
Imaginando products are available at Thomann*.
Puremagnetik Etches
You may know Puremagnetik as a plugin company. Last year, the developer released its first hardware device, LAPS, a hardware looper with granular and pitch shift effects in a stomp box pedal format. Puremagnetik head honcho Micah Frank recently announced the company’s first synthesizer on his Instagram page. Called Etches, it looks to be just as unique and unusual as their plugins.
While there isn’t much information available yet, what we do know is that Etches has touchpads for melody and articulations, several scales and key quantization, a lap looper from the pedal, an “awesome reverb,” tape-style delay, and more.
More information is “coming soon,” according to Micah.
More Information
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