Have had my eyes on the SEM for quite some time now, but always resisted the temptation on the grounds that I already had an Oberheim (stupid, I know, given all the differences). Not a problem anymore.
As for original v. reissue, well, as much as I've developed a taste for vintage--partly to do with aesthetics, partly to do with the fetishization of those old units (I must admit), but mainly to do with the SOUND--on this one, I'll probably opt for convenience, reliability, and built-in MIDI. I also very much like the idea of supporting Mr. O's current work. He seems like one of the genuinely good peeps in our little synth world
You have an OB-8 right? I think I remember you mentioning it in thread. I have an OB-8 too and I got a new SEM. Trust me, if you like Oberheim, you will not regret getting a new SEM. And yes, it is nothing like OB-8. If Tom builds a new poly synth (SO4V) with the same internals as the new SEM, I think it will be crazy sick.
Oh and Tom is super cool. I sent my SEM to him for what turned out to be a non-problem (I am an idiot and don't want to get into details) and we spoke on the phone about general synthesizer stuff for a little while. I could tell that he really enjoys his work. I asked him to sign my SEM before he sent it back, which he did. He even told me he was going to give me some money back for shipping that I paid, which made absolutely no sense to me. He said he would put the cash in the box before he shipped it back. I told him not to, but he insisted. It was like when your grandmother gives you five dollars for your birthday and insists you take it. Turned out that he didn't put any money in anyways. I would like to meet him in person and talk about his days with Oberheim and what he thought about Roland, Yamaha, SCI and Moog at the time.
You have an OB-8 right? I think I remember you mentioning it in thread. I have an OB-8 too and I got a new SEM. Trust me, if you like Oberheim, you will not regret getting a new SEM.
Had one, and liked it a lot, but traded it (with a CS-15) for a Prophet 5 (3.1). I'm quite happy with the trade, but yes, I do want that Oberheim sound, and I do want a multimode filter somewhere in my setup, so SEM seems like the obvious solution!
Quote:
Originally Posted by BM0
I asked him to sign my SEM before he sent it back, which he did. He even told me he was going to give me some money back for shipping that I paid, which made absolutely no sense to me. He said he would put the cash in the box before he shipped it back. I told him not to, but he insisted. It was like when your grandmother gives you five dollars for your birthday and insists you take it.
I LOVE this story. That's a guy I want to support.
Still awesome. Reliable, well made, classy, sensible, useful. The Volkswagen of synths, in all the right ways. I've owned a Lead 3 before but foolishly sold it, still regrets. However, even more than the 3 I can look at the panel and 'get' this synth instantly. Exactly the sort of studio workhorse I'm looking for.
Is this stand alone or needs a VSTi supporting DAW?
It works either way. Typically I build ensembles in stand alone first, then test it as a plugin, simply because you can't resize the plugin window (at least in Live).
Had one, and liked it a lot, but traded it (with a CS-15) for a Prophet 5 (3.1). I'm quite happy with the trade, but yes, I do want that Oberheim sound, and I do want a multimode filter somewhere in my setup, so SEM seems like the obvious solution!
I've thought about the same for a Prophet 5 once because of the x-mod. After I thought about it more, I prefer having extra voices with split/double modes and all the extra modulation. I don't think any other "big poly" from that era touches OB8 when it comes to modulation. Its arpeggiator with programmable transpositions is also fun to play around with. I'd still like a Prophet 5 and maybe one day I'll have one, but I don't think I'll ever give up the OB8.
Get a SEM. You won't be disappointed. I don't care what anyone says about new SEM vs old SEM. Getting a new SEM is like getting a "vintage synth" in sound but with brand new parts.
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