I've never noticed... crap. Now I'll have to pay attention!

Oh no! It's the red flash of death.

Unfortunately, you need to send it back to the factory at your own cost and they will fix it. Eventually. You see, when I say 'factory', I really mean garage. And there's only 2 people who work there. And one of them doesn't always come in if they 'don't feel like it' on that day. Which is most days.

Just kidding.

But not really. It gets worse. That flash means that the filter chip is probably about to die. Sadly, they have run out of a 1:1 replacement chip. But there is a new version. But the new version does not sound as good. It sounds like somebody put a blanket over the monitor. And that's if you're lucky. If you are unlucky, it means your synth will cut out during a gig. Don't do gigs? Well, it will cut out mid youtube video while you're trying to influence, or whatever the hell you people do these days.

Just kidding, etc.

Baffling. Mine does not display such behavior.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss. And once you know you can not unknow you know

Finally took the plunge and woowwwww. I also snagged a Volante and a Nightsky and I'm pretty sure I won't have to leave my apartment ever again.

Speaking of running it with those pedals: it seems to come in real hot in my interface. Seems to work best if I engage the -20DB pad (Motu 8pre). Does the pad alter the sound? Am I doing something wrong if I'm needing to use it?

I have an Acidbox3 and will get a Polymoon for the holidays. I'll connect them from delay->distortion in series and they're connected to my interface as an outboard effect chain rather than to any synth.

The OB-6 is still amazing me.

I do watch and listen to the P5/P10 videos as well, and some of them make my heart beat a little faster. That's more of a reaction than the P6 ever gave me, but I've yet to get chills, like when hearing the OB-6 the first times.

In other words, my OB-6 desktop is VERY safe. I've not yet heard anything I like better.

Thanks for sharing the document. It really helps!

Gordon

Trying to decide If I need one of these.....

Im running out of "shelf space", and need to choose wisely to cover bases.

I have an RD2000 as a weighted board, and a Fantom 7 as a synth action. Between them they cover all the traditional sounds (orchestral, Pianos, EPs, etc) Fantom has a decent VA, but is quirky. Offers things other synths dont but doesnt do things they do. Not a bad thing.

My live rig is completed with a 2rd tier - holding a Legend EXP Organ module (as neither of the Rolands do that well), a Virus Ti2 for a fully fledged VA (which may bet replaced with either a Kyra of Iridium once/if a couple of issues are fixed in FW).

I recently managed to build a 4th tier for home use only. currently Ive added a Deep Mind 12D - so thats Analogue DCO sorted. Chosen over a Rev 2 for a couple of reasons. firstly the control sequencer - and the fact its transposable WITHOUT having to do finger gymnastics holding button down. Secondly its pretty much a Juno Clone - and as I play a lot of 80s music it just fits. Its single main Osc is quite unique sounding (that is DM/Juno).

So - I have another 740 mm width and 400mm deep of space. OB6 is calling to fill the Analogue VCO role..... BUT I dont have a sequencer (well theres one on fantom but I dont particularly like it) AND i dont have a drum machine (again I can do tracks on Fantom - but its not TR8s real time manipulatable). I also dont have a Monosynth (though in truth not sure I really NEED one of those for my style).

There isnt space for a TR8s AND an OB6...... There is room for a TR6 and OB6, but thats not as real time.... There is room for an OB6 and a Digitakt. I also like the Pyramid but that wont fit with the OB, and I also like the Keystep pro but again wouldnt fit with an OB.

so - I have choices to make and much as Ive always wanted a Dave Smith instrument, the times Ive had the possibility for one, something else just fits the bill a little better..... Thjis would be the last time as I really couldnt find any more space, but unsure as to which way/gear makes more "mind" sense rather than "heart" need.

Don't look at it as DSI. Just being made by Dave Smith is not good reason to buy this synth IMHO. If you want VCO poly synth, specifically for being VCO and to feel that you are playing VCO synth, I would go for Korg Prologue - it has better sounding VCOs, for my taste at least (and I know few people, who share this notion). Buy OB-6 only if you want THAT sound, that comes from THAT filter. To be honest, you will find DSI influence in interface design and as logo, but beside that - look at it as separate instrument with its own sound. What a sound it is! But as VCO poly? I gave my recommendation for that.

It actually doesn't have to be so in your face as you make it sound in your description (it can even sound like a generic synth with a 12db filter). I think the OB-6 has better sounding VCOs than the Korgs, which sound nice to me, but "glassy" in comparison. The OB-6 is my one and only VCO poly, and it functions very nicely in that role.

But it's true that you should spend the time to research (online at least, in person if safe) all the synths to find the one that speaks to you most. For many people, as clearly evidenced with the reply above, it isn't the OB-6.

Finally, the OP posted that he has about 2.5 feet of width available. If there was a Prologue module that could be a contender, but, there isn't. So, no matter what, he has to look at other synths than the Prologue. Blame KORG for that silliness.

I had a prologue 16 and sold it for the ob6 no regrets. like i miss the prologue but honestly the ob is an ob.... its just sounds alot buzzier.
Do like the generic synth sounds the prologue makes, like a choir sound or string but the ob can sounds dark asf even tho the filter makes it sound bright when using it in bandpass/hp. I use it for dark DNB surprisingly.
but all in all i almost love my pro3 se more.... ive had them both for about the same amount of time so its not really that long but if sequential made a poly pro3 id probably jump on that.

for now my ob stays put :P

Yep. Had mine for over a year now and still love it. Been playing with xmod more lately (especially with VCO2 as the source) and getting lots of fruit from that tree.

Also some of the effects are really good and should not be overlooked.

Just for curiosity, how do you use them as outboard effects? Is your workflow mainly ITB? And do you connect them with your synths through your DAW or is there a "detour" in the middle?

Yes, mainly ITB. My "grand plan" is almost complete. I have a Clarett4pre - didn't want a secondary mixer. OB-6 and SE-02 go in, Digitone will also go audio in, though I'll play with Overbridge as an interesting wrinkle (same as the SE-02 will also go into the Digitone because I have the ExtBox that has 2 outputs). I have the Acidbox3 (soonish also the Polymoon, which will be the first connection to the Clarett and then output into the AB3 which then connects back to the Clarett) connected on a stereo out and then stereo back in on the Clarett. I use them as an insert - doesn't work as well as a send, though I just got Studio One Pro and it works better than the other DAW I've been using.

Adding complexity, I use an audio out from the Clarett into a USAMO as my MIDI out and clock, into a Kenton 5-way MIDI Thru, which then goes out to the synths. The SE-02 currently has the CV trig into the Acidbox3 for tempo sync. The Polymoon will be synced via a Meris MIDI I/O (unfortunately, it couldn't take over the sync on the AB3 - just not strong enough pulses - so I just ordered a tiny MIDI to CV unit for <$50 to see if that will work when connected from the Kenton). MIDI in will likely be from the Digitone so I can also use it as a sequencer, but if Overbridge ends up working well for that, I might use the MIDI in on the Clarett from the Meris so I can automate the Polymoon.

Simple, right?

All this with just a handful of hardware. I simply can NOT imagine the nightmarish complexity of a large studio full of it.

Prologue is a non starter - if you look at the space I have I cant fit a keyboard, has to be a module.

Honestly, apart from OB6 and P6 - ARE there any other decent VCO Poly Desktops???? Polybrute in desktop would be attractive, and yes even prologue.

The things holding me back are really

1. Only 1` LFO...... (which is the same as prologue). However with so many other options if I need mad modulation - having a basic great sounding base tone is appealing.

2. Having a VCO JUST to have a VCDO?? is that a wise thing because nothing else does that - or is it not really needed with drift/divergence/slop ect on DCO, Hybrids and VAs doing a decent job of simulating it...

The Polymoon is awesome. I use it with an OB-6 and Prophet 08. The stereo field it creates is phenomenal.

Anyone else using external effects with the OB-6?

It's quite simple, actually. But I imagine that you have to deal with some latency compensation when you want to add some of your hw effects to a track.

I have a plan to do something similar, but I'm thinking about trying something crazier. I wanted to have the option to change from a tracking workflow, like yours, to a live stream environment without having to re-route many things. I'm thinking about adding a mixer (maybe one of those summing mixers) between my synths and the interface and a patchbay after the mixer to be able to add effects in the middle. I'd send some audio out from the interface to the mixer, if I wanted to add effects to some track, and then back to the interface. Then I could use individual channels out to do tracking and the master out to live streams.

It's quite crazy, and I'm not sure about it yet.

That's probably because the OB-6 has balanced outputs,and your pedals have probably unbalanced inputs/outputs.
Just lower the volume of your OB-6.
I don't know any of these devices as I don't know your Motu audio interface.It your pedal has balanced outputs,check if you can set +4dBu (=balanced) on your audio interface,because some audio interface have various input impedance options.

If your get one, look at the Yorick Low-Frequency Expander, which adds three more global LFOs via midi, with a lot of nice integration — if you have room, of course.

There are a ton of folks using external effects with their OB-6. One wildly great pairing, is the Strymon BigSky. In fact - if you search this thread for BigSky, you'll see a bunch of us posting it's praises. In my case, I what put me over the top, for purchasing a BigSky was this vid -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNA5PSOlV7U

I run a BigSky out an effects loop on my (small keys) mixer, which allows me to use it's Reverbs/effects with other synths I have. Anyway - yes. External effects with the OB-6 FTW..

Joe

I think I considered that, as well. But for me I'm trying to also save desk space, etc. and have a very modest setup of gear.
Yes, there's latency compensation, which is solidly good in S1 Pro. I was looking at the Radial Key Largo mixer, for example. Good luck! And it'd be interesting to hear what you try vs end up with.

The BlueSky is to blame for my current pedal obsession / addiction. Chase Bliss Audio is also to blame, with just about their stuff being awesome…Mood + OB-6 is amazing.

Where in the chain are you using the BigSky? I use a patch bay + Mackie 1604-VLZ3, going out of the patch bay, into the pedal chain and then back in again. I adjust the gain on the mixer to accommodate the hot signal. My music is for fun, and I’m not a pro, so a bit of latency is fine

Anyone using a DI box? I just saw a YT demo with someone using a Radical X Amp and was curious if there was a cheaper alternative.

didn't see this mentioned: https://www.sequential.com/2020/11/o...rb-easter-egg/ ?

works on mine

Modules work, too.

The Minilogue XD Module... although only 4-voices. Fortunately, it can be polychained with a 2nd module. It sounds awesome.

My latest synth circle strategy is to grab an XD pair for a beefy 8-voice poly, controlled with a 5-octave, beefy 6-voice PolyBrute.

So, let's say I'm on patch 661 and I made a cool sequence/modified the sound and want to save it. How do I do so? When I've saved single digit patches it seems easy but I don't think I quite understand how to save patches in the 100's. I'm dumb, sorry!

I usually nav to a blank patch or init and then save. Otherwise you just hit write and then enter the patch number the same as switching to a patch - it’ll save as soon as you finish entering the number so be careful. You can also do a compare function but I forget how. Also I might have said to wrong above as I don’t think anymore I just do, so could be misremembering 😃

Don't think you can save anything beyond patch #499 . You'll have to save the patch to a number less than that.

I think there's a way to bypass the write protection and replace the factory presets (500-999), but 500 user slots is plenty (and I like a lot of the presets), so I haven't tried.

Is this normal behavior if portamento doesn't always work correctly if I'm not in unison mode?
https://youtu.be/vZO1VwJ3vlc