GForce Software’s latest software instrument recreates the world’s first programmable monophonic synthesizer, the Oberheim OB-1. Once again, the emulation has been developed alongside the legendary company themselves, faithfully reproducing the sound of the original while enhancing its functionality with some handy modern features.
The company say that they suspect the instrument’s rich and aggressive sound will see it become a firm favourite among techno and electro producers, while composers and vintage analogue fans will appreciate its character and expansive feature set. It’s described as striking a balance between a Minimoog and the more angry-sounding MS-20, covering everything from deep bass lines to soaring lead sounds.
A pair of VCOs offer some unique waveshaping capabilities along with hard sync and some versatile modulation options, and are fed into the mixer alongside sub and noise, the latter of which is equipped with a Color control for blending between pink and white noise. A VCF section houses a switchable two- or four-pole resonant filter, and the modelled OB-1’s envelopes have been augmented with a Loop feature that offers Free and Retrig modes.
Alongside the enhancements to the signal path — there are new waveforms, waveshape modulation, LFO sync and retrig functions and much more — the instrument boasts a Unison mode and up to 16-voice polyphony, while GForce’s X-Modifier feature and a set of four macro controls offer significantly improved real-time control and modulation possibilities. There’s also a selection of onboard chorus, delay and reverb effects, as well as a built-in arpeggiator and sequencer, the latter of which features individual step length and probability settings along with a dedicated track for sequencing one of the macro controls.
Compatibility
Oberheim OB-1 is supported on PCs running Windows 7 and above, and Macs running macOS 10.13 and higher. VST, VST3, AU and AAX plug-in versions are available, along with a standalone application.
Pricing & Availability
Oberheim OB-1 is available now, and is currently (9 July 2024) being offered for an introductory price of £59.98, reduced from its full cost of £119.98. Prices include VAT.
