Whats a fair price for a OBX?

[louis.b]

Since i've read that the new sofv shouldn't be used as a poly synth i've been considering spending my money on a vintage obx... How much should i expect to pay for one?

What's the price difference on 6 and 8 voice?

[The Real MC]

I paid $1200 for a handyman's special four voice OB-X that needed a lot of repairs, another $1200 on voicecards and motherboard to expand to eight voice.

A full working excellent condition eight-voice OB-X will easily sell for $5000. There was a pristine condition one recently out of the UK but I don't think it sold for the BIN of US$7000.

Keep in mind that extra voicecards are really hard to come by. If you find a four voice and want to expand then you need the motherboard to support extra voicecards which is even rarer. I was in the right place at the right time when I landed them.

[louis.b]

Ok thx. Any price differences between US and Europe btw?

Also btw the OBX do have patch memory right?

[maisonvague]

Originally Posted by louis.b

Since i've read that the new sofv shouldn't be used as a poly synth i've been considering spending my money on a vintage obx... How much should i expect to pay for one?

Difficult to say. $5000 for a working 8-voice? Like the Jupiter-8, the OB-X has been hyped to the extreme... but that's largely because it's an extremely excellent sounding synth!

I hardly ever see them for sale around here.

In any case, don't believe everything you read. The SO4V (like its ancestor the FVS) can most certainly be used as a polysynth, albeit with a bit more effort than most people are used to.

[maisonvague]

Originally Posted by louis.b

Ok thx. Any price differences between US and Europe btw?

My experience is that almost everything is more expensive in Europe!

Originally Posted by louis.b

Also btw the OBX do have patch memory right?

Yes. 32.

[The Real MC]

Oh if you want MIDI then your options are limited. The best MIDI retrofit was from Encore Electronics but they are out of stock and not likely to be made again.

[Mardi Gras]

why shouldn't the so4v be played as a poly? doesn't that defeat the purpose of making a multi voiced synth?

[The Real MC]

Either of them can be played as a poly.

The SOFV can be multitimbral, the OBX can't.

The OBX can store every parameter of a patch, the SEMs on the SOFV can only have some parameters stored.

Pick your poison.

[oldgearguy]

Originally Posted by Mardi Gras

why shouldn't the so4v be played as a poly? doesn't that defeat the purpose of making a multi voiced synth?

mainly ease of adjustment (assuming all 8 VCOs on the SOFV are calibrated).

Change filter cutoff on OBX = 1 knob; SOFV = 4 knobs.

You can get close quickly after some practice, but I found when adjusting pulse width or modulation amounts, I had a hard time getting them all them same on an original 4V. You can do it, and in a studio setting if you have time, you can finely tweak to make them exact, but for me, the OB X was simply faster and I never lost inspiration/momentum in dealing with changes x4 (or x8)

[louis.b]

i got another question. how reliable really is the obx? i read a few posts saying its need a lot of maintenance???

also if anyone have any .wav sound examples i would love to hear them :p

[The Real MC]

A stock one is high maintenance. The beancounters put cheap parts in them.

Replace the dodgy trimpots, aging electrolytic caps, short-prone tantalums, DIP switches, put in new CMOS (the original 1st generation CMOS did not have reverse voltage protection on the input pins), put in new TL084 quad opamps (1st generation tended to blow), put in bridge rectifiers with higher current handling, calibrate and tune, and it will be a much better machine.

Well, that's the price of admission for owning a vintage synth.

[Don Solaris]

...and to replace molex connectors.

I still haven't found a local supplier. Don't want to order across the globe and pay for shipping more than they're worth.

[dougt]

Originally Posted by The Real MC

Keep in mind that extra voicecards are really hard to come by. If you find a four voice and want to expand then you need the motherboard to support extra voicecards which is even rarer. I was in the right place at the right time when I landed them.

Hmm and where'd you get those voice cards? Shoulda kept em...

Anyway I got 2 more recently and have enough now for a 4-voice and an 8-voice. I still plan to slightly mod an OB-Xa some day to accept X voice cards so you'd get split and layer modes with the sound of a X.

[joshuag]

perfect circuit audio recently sold an 8 voice with encore midi for 6500 USD.