Dave Smith Instruments

FM VERDICT
9.1
These new modules
sound stunning, with that
authentic Prophet/Obie
tone, and can add additional
voices to your P6/OB-6.
EFFECTS Onboard the OB-6/P6 are
a plethora of great sounding effects
including reverbs, chorus, fl angers/
phasers, ring mod, digital and tape
delays, plus an analogue distortion.
X-MOD (OB-6) POLYMOD (P6) Both
modules/synths feature polyphonic/
cross modulation facilities in addition
to the single LFO onboard, greatly
expanding the sonic possibilities.
SEQUENCER AND ARPEGGIATOR
The P6/OB-6 modules/synths feature
the same basic 64-step polyphonic
sequencer which can be sync’d to
MIDI clock, transposed and swung.
PRESETS/USER SOUNDS Each
module features a plentiful 500 user
presets and 500 permanent presets
which are selected via the patch/bank
selection buttons on the front panel.
applied to the OB-6 module too).
Well, it does what it says on the box!
It’s quite literally the P6 (or OB-6)
without the keyboard, made for
desktop use, so the sound and all
onboard facilities are 1:1 matched
with the keyboard version(s), except
for no wheels or keyboard! The build
quality is universally high, with metal
chassis/panel, solid dials/switches
and wooden end cheeks (and wooden
front trim on the P6M). Having a
desktop version obviously takes up a
lot less space than the keyboard
version (though the unit itself is still
pretty sizeable) and it’s a lot more
portable too, so more viable for
travelling/touring. The only downside
is that the module is frustratingly just
over an inch too wide to rack mount,
even with the wood ends removed. I
guess it would have meant making
completely new internal boards and
moving the connections (which would
have bumped the cost even more).
The OB-6 module is built into the
same size desktop enclosure as the
P6 but with the styling, features,
sound engine and knobs taken
directly from the OB-6 keyboard (like
the P6 I refer you back to my review
in FM307/www.musicradar.com for
the deeper details). It sounds exactly
the same as the OB-6 (ie superb; like
a modern Oberheim) and it works in
exactly the same way too. Simply take
a MIDI output from any controller
board into the MIDI input and you’re
off. What’s great is that, as both of
these modules are internally and
feature-wise the same as their
keyboard counterparts, whatever
changes you make on a P6 or OB-6
keyboard will be refl ected exactly on
the modules (you’ll need to dump any
custom patches over to the module
fi rst in the exact same location(s) as
on your keyboard, otherwise you’ll
end up tweaking a different patch on
the module). Thankfully patch
dumping is easy, either straight over
MIDI via bulk dump, or via MIDI-OX
or Sysex Librarian.
If you’re after the poly-Oberheim
sound, then the OB-6 module is
currently the cheapest way to get a
6-voice poly happening, otherwise it’s
down to buying an old Obie or linking
several SEM modules together which
would be way more costly (as they are
around 1,400 euros each for a single
voice SEM-Pro). So the OB-6 module
(while still a signifi cant outlay) is the
most affordable current option for the
polyphonic Obie sound. Yes, it’s a
more modern/refi ned Obie sound than
the Two Voice Pro I recently reviewed
but with six voices, patch memory, a
poly-sequencer and arp, plus the dual
effect engines, it’s a very well-
thought-out, nicely-specifi ed and
great-sounding machine that’s hard to
argue with! It does sound gorgeous
and signifi cantly different to the P6
and P6 module, with the main
differences being the slightly more
drifty sounding oscillators, the square
wave sub-oscillator and, more
importantly, the distinctive state-
variable 2-pole SEM-based, non-self
oscillating fi lter which sounds juicy,
gnarly and wiry, with a resonance
control that can be pushed to
maximum without losing too much
low-end power. As a contrast, the
Prophet’s fi lter goes way more crazy at
higher resonance settings.
To conclude, after testing both
synths extensively, for me it’s the
Prophet that has proven to be more
mouldable and versatile (as it slots
into my mixes more easily), while the
Obie oscillators/2-pole fi lter deliver
more distinctive, edgy sounds which
make the OB-6 stand out in any
track/mix. Importantly, it’s genuinely
hard to make either synth or module
sound bad and the modules will
please anyone who already has a
packed studio (or is building a new
set-up) but who wants that authentic
Prophet or Oberheim polyphonic tone
in a desktop unit. There’s very little to
fault here and either module will have
you grinning from ear to ear like a
Cheshire cat. Great stuff again!
EFFECTS
Onboard the OB-6/P6 are
X-MOD (OB-6) POLYMOD (P6)
Both
SEQUENCER AND ARPEGGIATOR
PRESETS/USER SOUNDS
Each
DSI OB-6 and Prophet-6 Modules | Reviews
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FMU313.rev_dsi.indd 93 30/11/2016 16:31