Why I Love My Oberheim OB-Xa

The Oberheim OB-Xa is my perosnal favorite vintage poly synth of all time. In this video, I tell you and show you why.

00:00 Introduction
00:51 My personal introduction to the OB-Xa
02:45 Brief history of the OB-Xa and Tom Oberheim
06:04 The beauty & quirks of the OB-Xa
17:33 Patch creation
31:33 Final Thoughts
32:14 Outro

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(c) 2021 Julian "J3PO" Pollack

[jbooks]

I bought an OB Xa way back in 1983, when they were the latest greatest thing. I was the bass player in a band and I played a few chords on keys here and there (the guitarist played bass pedals to fill in.) At first all the guys said I was mad for spending $6, 300 on a synth but when they heard it they were all blown away.

[MattJohnsonJamiroquai]

Fantastic video mate! You get great tones out of it

[AlexBallMusic]

Absolutely stunning. Such a perfect sound.

I've played the Eight Voice, OB-8 and Xpander but never this is or the OB-X. They remain on the bucket list.

[rccc]

Even through tiny speakers, after making it clear what you mean with the "sound", I could hear it. It's like it's alive.

[buttersstoch]

So hearing the Oberheim's in a concert hall is other worldly. The thick rich sounds of the Monster Oberheim synth's that Geddy Lee used in the late 70's to early 80's were to me the most wonderful synth sounds in the world! Thank you for sharing your Ob-xa with us!

[mirkocaserta]

Who needs asmr videos when you have 33 minutes of Julian playing an OB-Xa?

[MelloCello]

Everything that youve said expressed everything that I felt as a classical cellist and pianist getting into the world of Synthesis, and I too discovered that I gravitated towards the Oberheim sound. In particular, the Ob Xa and the Eight voice are by my favorite analogue synths to ever hit the market, and I very much appreciate your incredibly in depth loving approach to explaining why this instrument is so cherished to us. I appreciate it almost as much as I do your playing!
Hearing you play, I know that this instrument is in the right hands


Keep being a legend Julian🙏

[PelicanMultimedia]

Great video! I actually reverse-engineered my OBXa back in 1984-85 to add features that were missing in the original Z-80 microprocessor assembly code, most notably programmable volume per patch. This was needed because (for example) a flute patch was much, much softer than the loudest horn patches, and switching from one to the other during live performance required a panic reach for the master volume control. In the process I discovered a number of software "bugs" that existed in the original XaC0 EPROMS. I was able to fix some of them, but not all. The one you point out, that the voices retrigger when pressing the HOLD button, was one I had noted but could not fix easily. Another one was how voices were erroneously assigned to the next note played in Split and Double modes. But stepping back. the subtle variations that came out of those analog voice cards (each of which had 8-10 adjustable potentiometers) were extraordinary, and you are right, this sort or randomization would be painful to duplicate in a full digital recreation. I also wholeheartedly agree that the OBXa was the sweet spot of the OB-X/OBXa/OB 8 line. Oberheim got too digital in the OB-8; portamento for example was now digital rather than analog. By the way, the companion DSX sequencer, the forerunner to all things MIDI, was programmed by Marcus Ryle, who later moved on to Alesis and then eventually founded Line 6. His name is in the source code of the DSX!

[jamesmeeker]

My two favorites were always the Prophet 5 and OB-Xa. Great polysynth team. Very complimentary sounding.

[GradyBaby]

Your presentations, knowledge, audio, incredible! Thanks for all your hard work.

[VintageSynthesizerSolutions]

Fantastic video! Both you and Matt Johnson consistently impress with your incredible talent for getting the best sounds out of a synthesizer!

...and just listen to the sound of those tact switches!

[ModePhaser]

I typically can't sit through these sorts of videos, but this beautiful synth sounds so amazing and it's in very capable hands which made sitting through this an absolute joy. Thank you.

[raffaelesantabarbara]

Very glad Oberheim is back. The OB sounds are just magical.

[TonySway]

OB XA sound is Undeniable!! Great chords man!, Prince knew what was up!

[xntricity]

Enjoyed your presentation thanks. I'm hopeful the Ub-Xa will be on par, I think it will to be fair.

[Gordon]

Probably the best OBX-a demo out there. I have been Educated, Entertained and Impressed. Brilliant!

[midnightsocean]

What a beautiful sound. Very well said. Very chill and enjoyable video. Most people I know who love analog synths, fell in love with them when they heard them in person.

[lnerell]

Watching your video I have to correct one thing. Oberheim was not acquired by Gibson in 1985, I should know as i was an employee at the time. Oberheim electronics became Oberheim ECC, a new company set up and run by Tom's lawyers. Gibson did not take over Oberheim until 1989/90 after the second bankruptcy. Tom left before the second bankruptcy, around 1987/88.

[jordanrattanavong]

Haha I bought one of your preset packs earlier and when I installed them I realized I had already purchased them. They’re so good though I’m not even mad.

[chrisstrobel]

In the 80’s I had an OBXa on loan from a friend who worked at Sightsinger music in So.Cal. Took it to a restaurant gig at the Orange Hill in Orange, CA in its Anvil ATA case and it worked fine the whole night, took it home and the next day popped it out of the case and set it up in the living room and it wouldn’t power on, it blew its power supply for no apparent reason, cost me $400.00 in 1980’s dollars to replace it. I gave it back and bought a Jupiter 8 which never gave me problems. That experience has always soured the OBXa for me. No way would I pay the ridiculous prices these days for an OBXa OR Jupiter 8, to these 60 year old ears my plugins sound just as good if not better with their modern digital effects. Everybody who’s anybody in the LA studio scene I know who is still alive and working, who still owns Oberheim, Roland, Sequential, etc. synths has them packed away in storage and uses plugins or modern hardware. I do enjoy watching videos like this though and reminiscing of the old days so thanks 👍