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This page: The Good, The Bad; Blue Steel Beauty
The Good
The aforementioned Motion Recorder can capture up to two minutes of filter sweeps, oscillator waveform blends, and anything else you do with the front-panel controls, letting you create some great dynamic texture evolutions. I wish you could save motion sequences with each program (instead you can save a total of two), but this is still fabulous for live performance. Ditto for the Phrase Recorder. The eight irregular arpeggiator modes make for some potentially magic randomized patterns.
The OB·12's 49 keys respond to velocity and aftertouch. (click for larger image) |
With L/R main and two auxillary outputs, there is an analog out for each multitimbral part -- perfect for processing each part separately. In addition to the analog outs, there's a coaxial S/PDIF output that lets you stay in the digital domain.
I particularly enjoyed the rhythmic possibilities provided by the Link feature, which allows you to lock effects parameters -- chorus rate, reverb depth, and delay time, for example -- to either the LFO1, arpeggiator, phrase recorder, or external MIDI clock.
Cool stuff, but the OB·12's best features are its sound and user interface (see Sonic Preview). I'd have harsher things to say about the presets if it weren't so easy to roll my own sounds. The presets include more outer-space oddities than you can shake a photon torpedo at, but the thundering basses, lush pads, sharp leads, and one-finger-does-it-all rhythmic wonders could find their way into a number of varied compositions.
The Bad
Many of the factory presets are so bizarre, they would seem more at home in a head shop than a music studio. There aren't too many instantly usable instrument sounds among the bevy of sound effects. No matter how easy it is to program a synth, you shouldn't have to dig too deep to see what it can really do.
Perhaps a vertical ribbon would be more ergonomic. (click for larger image) |
And though the OB·12 is extremely expressive, one key tool -- the ribbon controller -- is awkward to use. I admit that I've never seen this on any synth, but I'd suggest placing ribbon controller vertically, (rather than horizontally), next to the pitch and mod wheels along the left edge of the front panel: A vertical motion is easier on the thumb and more in line with the motion of the pitch and mod wheels.
Audio inputs for routing external audio through a synth's filters and effects have become somewhat standard on the latest digital analog synths, but sadly the OB·12 has none. It wouldn't be too much to ask for at this price. Some synths have audio inputs at a much lower price point.
The manual offers decent information but lacks an index and is plagued by poor graphic layout, severe typos, and grammar problems that make some critical passages confusing. When the heading of a chapter in 36-point type reads 'How To Be OB·12 Is Organised,' it doesn't inspire much confidence in English-speaking users.
OB·12's helpful LCD responds to the knobs' and sliders' every move. (click for larger image) |
Blue Steel Beauty
Black knobs and a 240 x 64-pixel LCD contrast nicely with the OB·12's blue and gray chassis, making the unit especially pleasant to work with over a long session. The rotary knobs are well built, and the sliders have a nice-feeling indent where you grab them. The ribbon controller responds to even the lightest touch and is assignable to a number of parameters. Best of all, the LCD responds to every single button, knob, or slider move: Grab the filter attack slider, and the filter's ADSR envelope appears onscreen, displaying the move; let go, and the screen returns to the main interface. If you prefer, you can keep looking at the filter after you let the control go by hitting the Display Hold button.
From the front panel, you can control LFO amplifier and filter envelopes, tweak the auto-pan settings, and route the dual low-, band-, or high-pass filters in serial, parallel, or split modes. The EQ has buttons for switching between graphic and parametric modes (or bypass). The four effects knobs can be assigned to control any effect parameter.
The back panel has L mono/R main, headphone, and two auxiliary 1/4" outputs; MIDI in/out/thru ports; two expression pedal inputs; and two switch pedal inputs. The aforementioned S/PDIF coaxial output is a nice touch.
Next Page: Vital Stats, Sonic Preview....
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