Oberheim OB-X8 hardware synth vs GForce Software OB-X

While Dave Smith was working on his version of a polyphonic synth, fellow US synth developer Tom Oberheim was also upping the polyphonic stakes. He’d already released the SEM, a single voice synth, way back in the ’70s and putting multiple versions of those together, could lay claim to the early polysynth plaudits.

But it would be his OB-X synth that, like Dave’s Prophet-5, would put everything in one basket, so to speak, and be the all-in-one synth that captivated players throughout the world.

And while Kraftwerk and Gary Numan might have been making headlines over here with monosynths in the late ’70s and early ’80s, it would be American players with American keyboards like the Prophet-5 and OB-X that would spread the word. Michael Jackson and Madonna used the Prophet-5 on Thriller and

Like A Virgin respectively, while the OB-X was used by both in the early ’80s. If you didn’t know you could play more than one synth note before this time, then those big(gest?) names certainly brought polyphony to pop.

All of these extra voices came at a cost, though, and while OB-X had voice options (four, six, or eight), even the basic version cost well over $4000, so it would only be elite keyboard players who would buy it. The synth would quickly become the OB-Xa (think Van Halen’s Jump) and eventually the OB-Xb, machines that brought a more compact internal design less prone to instabilities, and used by everyone from New Order to Prince.

The hardware OB-X8 we’re using in this comparison is the latest Oberheim OB incarnation, a monster £4,500 synth with an analogue engine based very much on the OB-X, ‘a’ and ‘b’ architecture.

As MusicRadar said in its review, this is “a beautiful synth and destined to be a classic in its own right. But there’s no escaping the fact that it won’t be affordable for many”. Which is where GForce’s OB-X emulation comes in, very much a tribute to the original OB-X synth and even made with Tom Oberheim’s seal of approval, but available for just £99.99 plus tax. A real bargain for the quality of the sonics.

If ever there was going to be a close run match, then, you’d think it would be this one. A Tom Oberheim (bank-breaking) monster synth vs (far cheaper) Tom Oberheim-endorsed software. Let’s go!