2DaT has released OBXD, a freeware virtual instrument for Windows which emulates the legendary Oberheim OB-X analogue polyphonic synthesizer.
OBXD is an emulation of famous OB-X, OB-Xa and OB-8 synthesizers. While not copying originals , some of the features were taken to a better point.
OBXD is available for free download via KVR Audio (2.71 MB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit & 64-bit VSTi plugin format for Windows).
The beta version was released several months ago and several updated versions of the instrument have been released in the meanwhile. The latest version of the plugin features a nice looking custom GUI interface designed by a KVR Audio memeber. The plugin used the host program’s default GUI in previous versions.
The instrument was very well received by the users who tested the early beta versions. I installed the plugin today and was more than pleasantly surprised by the sound! The filter sounds fantastic and the overall sound comes pretty close to what I’d expect to hear from a hardware synthesizer. I was able to create several decent string patches and a couple of cool bass patches during the first test.
OBXD emulates the vintage Oberheim OB-X synthesizer (as well as the OB-Xa and OB-8 versions), introducing some improved features over its hardware counterparts. The plugin features 8 note polyphony, a great sounding unison mode, a mod matrix, and several other cool features. It is also possible to add a bit of variation to each of the 8 available voices. The voices can be panned separately which leads to a nice stereo effect. It is also possible to add slight filter and pitch variations, resulting in a more organic sound.
The current version of OBXD doesn’t include any factory presets, however several KVR Audio members have already provided user made sound banks. You can download free OBXD sound banks by albertodream (contains 36 patches), Breeze (contains 64 patches), and cool set of presets from the OB-Xa patch book provided by fmr.
Audio Demo
Check out the OBXD audio demo:
Links
Download OBXD: click here
3 Comments
John
onThis free VST puts its paid counterparts in their place. As a frequent OBXd user, I highly recommend this.
Atme
onExcellent sounding softsynth! I can’t believe this is free!
Atme
onThis is a wonderful sounding freebie!