Dave Smith Instruments OB-6 User Manual
Operation Manual
Operation Manual
Version 1.0
March 2016
Dave Smith Instruments LLC
1527 Stockton Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94133
USA
©2016 Dave Smith Instruments LLC
www.davesmithinstruments.com
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to
the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesired operation.
This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian
Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations.
Cet appareil numerique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du
Reglement sur le materiel brouilleur du Canada.
For Technical Support, email: support@davesmithinstruments.com
Table of Contents
A Few Words of Thanks ...............................ix
Getting Started ........................................1
Sound Banks ...........................................2
Selecting Programs ......................................2
Editing Programs ........................................3
Comparing an Edited Program to its Original State ..............3
Creating a Program from Scratch ............................ 4
Live Panel Mode ......................................... 4
Saving a Program ........................................ 5
Canceling Save ..........................................6
Moving to the Next Level ..................................7
Connections ..........................................8
Global Settings ......................................10
Globals - Top Row ......................................11
Globals - Bottom Row .................................... 12
Oscillators ..........................................15
Oscillator Parameters ....................................16
Detune .............................................18
Mixer ...............................................19
Filter ...............................................20
Filter Envelope .......................................22
Changing the Filter Envelope’s Response Curve ...............24
Loudness Envelope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Effects Parameters ......................................29
Distortion ...........................................33
Low Frequency Oscillators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
X-Mod ..............................................36
X-Mod Parameters ......................................37
Arpeggiator Parameters ..................................40
Sequencer ..........................................41
Programming the Sequencer ..............................41
Sequencer Parameters ................................... 43
Portamento ..........................................47
Unison .............................................48
Using Chord Memory ....................................49
Write ...............................................51
Canceling Save .........................................52
Comparing Before You Save ..............................52
Globals .............................................53
Manual .............................................54
Pitch and Mod Wheels ................................55
Pitch Wheel ............................................ 55
Modulation Wheel ....................................... 56
Aftertouch ..........................................56
Exporting Programs and Banks .........................59
Calibrating the OB-6 ..................................60
How and When to Calibrate the Oscillators and Filters ..........60
Calibrating the Pitch and Mod Wheels .......................61
Resetting the Global Parameters ...........................61
Using USB ..........................................62
Appendix A: Alternative Tunings ........................63
Appendix B: Troubleshooting and Support ...............67
Troubleshooting ........................................67
Contacting Technical Support ..............................69
Warranty Repair ........................................70
Appendix C: MIDI Implementation .......................71
MIDI Messages ......................................... 72
NRPN Messages .......................................76
Control NRPN Data .....................................80
Sysex Messages ........................................80
Packed Data Format ....................................83
Credits and Acknowledgements
Sound Design
Cyan Assiter-Clark, Daniel Davis, Peter Dyer, Peter Gorges, Tim Koon, Kurt
Kurasaki, Kevin Lamb, Peter Mahr, Cord Mueller, Drew Neumann, Bob Oxley,
Robert Rich, Matia Simovich, James Terris, Mitch Thomas, Taiho Yamada,
Lorenz Rhode
The DSI Crew
Fabien Cesari, Bob Coover, Carson Day, Chris Hector, Tony Karavidas, Mark Kono,
Justin Labreque, Andy Lambert, Andrew McGowan, Joanne McGowan, Tracy Wadley,
and Mark Wilcox.
Special thanks to Tom Oberheim. Thanks also to Robert Rich for the alternative
tunings content.
A Few Words of Thanks
Thank you for purchasing the OB-6. It’s an awesome-sounding synthesizer and
we’re very proud of it, and I’m very proud to have been able to co-create it with
my old friend, Tom Oberheim.
I’ve known Tom since the late 1970’s when we both shared the heady experience
of creating and selling some of the very rst polyphonic synthesizers through
our respective companies, Sequential Circuits and Oberheim Electronics. Back
in those days, people were typically in either the Prophet or the Oberheim camp,
and though we were competitors, we were always friendly competitors, and have
remained good friends ever since.
Now, many years later, with the analog synth revival, Tom and I are again
making the instruments that we love. After I reacquired the Sequential brand and
released the Prophet-6 — and saw how much people liked it — the DSI gang and
I thought it would be fun to work with Tom to help bring back his classic SEMbased polyphonic sound in a modern format. So we did. And the result is the very
synth that you’ve just unboxed.
The OB-6 takes the best qualities of Tom’s classic SEM-based synths and adds some
nice touches that the originals never had, such as stereo outputs, velocity and aftertouch sensitivity, dual digital effects, a polyphonic step sequencer, an arpeggiator, and
of course, MIDI. The result is a modern classic: Pure vintage analog tone with the
reliability of a state-of-the-art, modern instrument.
Working together to bring you the OB-6 has been a real pleasure. We hope you
enjoy it and make some great music with it!
Cheers,
Getting Started
The OB-6 is a six-voice, polyphonic analog synthesizer with voltage-
controlled oscillators, lters, and ampliers. It was designed to provide
all of the warmth, punch, and presence of a classic, SEM-based Tom
Oberheim synthesizer, with the added convenience and stability of a stateof-the-art, modern instrument.
All of the sound-shaping controls of the OB-6 are accessible on its front
panel, packing a tremendous amount of power and versatility into a
compact, easy-to-use format.
Each of the OB-6’s parameters are explained in later sections of this
manual. But don’t hesitate to dive right in and start turning knobs and
pressing buttons before you begin reading. You can always get back to
where you started, even if you have no idea what you’re doing. So start
exploring and keep your ears and mind open!
USBMIDI INMIDI OUTMIDI THRUPHONES LEFT RIGHT LP FILTER VOLUME SUSTAIN SEQUENCER
MODULATION
X-MOD LFO
AFTERTOUCH
FILTER ENV
AMOUNT
VCO 1 SHAPE 1VCO 1 VCO 2
LFO AMT LOUDNESS
PW 1
FILTR FREQ
FILTR MODE
FILTR FREQ FILTR MODE
WHL RANGE KEY MODE
0
ARPEGG IATOR SEQUENCERCLOCK
OCTAVESVALUE MODETAP TEMPO BPM ON/OFF PLAYRECORD
SINE
SHAPEFREQUENCYVCO 2
SAWTOOTH
REV SAW
SQUARE
RANDOM
INITIAL AMTLFO SYNC
VCO 1 VCO 2 PULSE WIDTH
1 2
AMP FILTR FREQ FILTR MODE
HOLD UNISON
PORTAMENTO
RATE DETUNE GLOBALS
OSCILLATORS MIXER ENVELOPES OUTPUTFILTE R
VCO 1 VCO 2
SYNC
FREQUENCY
FREQUENCY DETUNE
PULSE WIDTH
PULSE WIDTH
BANK
SELECT
1
2
3
LOW FREQ
KEYBOARD
SUB OCTAVE
TENSBANKPR OGRAMTRANSPOSE
SELECT
FREQUENCY
VCO 1 VCO 2
NOTCH
NOISE
LP HP
TransposeIncrementDecrement Master Tune MIDI Channel MIDI Clock Clock Port Param Xmit Param Rcv MIDI Control MIDI SysEx MIDI Out
Local Ctrl Seq Jack Pot Mode Sustain +/- Alt Tuning Vel Response AT Response Stereo/Mono Pgm Dump
10 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
ON/OFF EFFECT CLK SYNCTYPE
RESONANCE ATTACK DECAY SUSTAIN RELEASE AM OUNT
ATTACK DECAY SUSTAIN RELEASE AM OUNT
BP
TRACK
HALFFULL
A B
FILTER ENVELOPE
LOUDNESS ENVELOPE
EFFECTS
MIX
1
PAN SPREAD PRGM VO L
VELOCITY
MASTER VOLUME
VELOCITY
WRITE MANUAL
2
PITCH MOD
OB-6 front panel
OB-6 Operation Manual
Getting Started
1
Sound Banks
6 7 8 9
Vel Response AT Response Stereo/Mono Pgm Dump
Param Xmit Param Rcv MIDI Control MIDI SysEx MIDI Out
The OB-6 contains a total of 1000 programs. 500 are permanent and
500 can be overwritten. Banks 0-4 are User Banks that can be overwritten. Banks 5-9 are Factory Banks that are permanent. You can edit the
programs of either bank, but you can only save them to Banks 0-4. As
shipped from the factory, presets 000-499 are identical to 500-999.
TransposeIncrementDecrement Master Tune MIDI Channel MIDI Clock Clock Port
BANK
TENSBANK PROGRA M
Local Ctrl Seq Jack Pot Mode Sustain +/- Alt Tuning
SELECT
Program bank, tens, and number selectors
SELECT
10 2 3 4 5
Selecting Programs
Use the bank, tens, and program selector buttons to select and recall
programs.
To choose a program:
1. Press a program selector button (0-9) to specify the “ones” digit of the
program.
2. Hold down the tens button then press a program selector button (0-9)
to specify the “tens” digit of the program.
3. Hold down the bank button then press a program selector button (0-9)
to specify the “hundreds” bank of the program.
To choose program 123, for example:
1. Hold bank and press 1. Then release the bank button.
2. Hold tens and press 2. Then release the tens button.
3. Press program selector button 3.
Holding down the decrement button and pressing the increment button
advances the program number by 1 value. Conversely, holding down the increment
button and pressing the decrement button decrements the program number by 1 value.
This is especially useful for going between Tens, as you can wrap around to the next
set.
2 Getting Started
Dave Smith Instruments
It’s not always necessary to enter all 3 digits of a program number to
recall it.
For example:
• If the current program is 100 and you want to recall program 101,
simply press “1.”
• If the current program is 100 and you want to recall program 110, hold
down the tens button and press “1.”
• If the current program is 100 and you want to recall program 115, hold
down the
tens button and press “1.” Then release the tens button and
press “5.”
Pressing the globals button three times in a row saves the current program as
the default program that appears when you turn on the OB-6.
Editing Programs
Because all of the sound-shaping controls of the OB-6 appear on its front
panel, editing an existing program is simple: just turn a knob and listen to its
effect. Keep turning knobs and pressing buttons and if you like what you’ve
created, save the program. (See “Saving a Program” on page 5.)
The rotary controls on the front panel are a mixture of “endless” rotary encoders
and potentiometers or “pots.” You can choose between three different modes that
determine how the synth reacts when parameters are edited with a pot. For details,
see “Pot Mode” on page 13.
Comparing an Edited Program to its Original State
When editing a program, it’s often useful to compare its edited state to
its original state to evaluate your edits. Alternatively, before saving a
program to a new location you may want to check the program in the
target location before you overwrite it.
To compare an edited program to a saved version:
1. Edit a program.
2. Press the write button. It starts ashing.
OB-6 Operation Manual
Getting Started
3
3. Press the global button. Both LEDs on the button light up, indicating
compare mode.
4. Play the keyboard to hear the saved version of the sound.
5. To disable the compare function and return to the edited sound, turn off
the global button. Programs can’t be written while in compare mode.
6. If you want to save the edited sound, the write button is still ashing and ready to save, so enter a location with the program selector
buttons. The sound is saved.
7. Alternatively, if you want to cancel saving and continue editing, press
the write button. It stops ashing and saving is canceled.
When you’re editing a preset, the OB-6 has a convenient way of indicating the
programmed (saved) value for any knob parameter: Whenever you turn a knob and
reach the saved value of the parameter, an LED dot in the main OB-6 display will
illuminate.
Creating a Program from Scratch
An existing program can be very useful as a jumping off point for new
sounds. But it’s also useful (and educational) to create a new sound from
scratch. The OB-6 makes this easy by providing a “Basic Preset” that
you can quickly recall at any time. This preset is very simple, with a
single oscillator as its basis.
To recall the Basic Preset:
1. Hold down the manual button.
2. Press the write button.
4 Getting Started
Dave Smith Instruments
Live Panel Mode
The OB-6 also features a “live panel” mode in which its sound switches
to the current settings of its knobs and buttons. In other words, the current
preset is ignored and what you see on the front panel is what you hear. This
is a great mode for learning, experimentation, and instant gratication.
To enter live panel mode:
• Press the manual button to toggle it on. Note that you can’t change
programs or banks with manual on.
To return to preset mode:
• Press the manual button again to toggle it off.
MANUAL
Toggling on the manual button enables “live panel” mode
Be aware when entering live panel mode that the current settings of the OB-6
knobs and switches may be such that no sound is produced. This could be because
the Mixer levels are all set to zero, or some other reason. See Appendix B: Trouble-
shooting and Support for a checklist that can help you identify the cause.
Saving a Program
If you’ve created a sound that you like, you’ll probably want to save it.
Saving a program overwrites a previously saved program. Sound designers often save many incremental versions of a program as they continue
to rene it. These intermediate versions often make good jumping off
points for new sounds.
To save a program to the same preset location:
1. Press the write button. Its LED begins blinking.
2. Press a program selector button (0-9) to specify the “ones” digit of the
program.
3. The write button LED stops blinking and the program is saved.
OB-6 Operation Manual
Getting Started
5
Be careful when write is enabled. You can change banks and tens without
executing write, but once you press a program selector button (0-9) for the “ones”
digit, the
To save a program to a different bank location:
write command is executed and the program at that location is overwritten.
1. Press the write button. Its LED begins blinking.
2. Hold down the
bank button then press a program selector button to
specify the “hundreds” bank of the program. You can only save to
Banks 0-4.
3. Hold down the
tens button then press a program selector button (0-9)
to specify the “tens” digit of the program.
4. Press a program selector button (0-9) to specify the “ones” digit of the
program.
5. The write button LED stops blinking and the program is saved.
Canceling Save
Sometimes you may want to cancel saving a program before you
commit.
To cancel the Save process before you commit:
• If the write button LED is ashing, press it again. The LED stops ash-
ing and saving is canceled. You can return to editing if you want.
6 Getting Started
Dave Smith Instruments
Comparing Before You Save
Before saving a program to a new location, it’s a good idea to listen to the
program in the target location to make sure you really want to overwrite it.
To evaluate a program before you overwrite it:
1. Get ready to save by pressing the write button. It starts ashing.
2. Press the global button. Both LEDs on the button light up, indicating
compare mode.
3. Use the program buttons to navigate to the sound you want to compare
and play the keyboard to hear the sound.
4. To disable the compare function and go back to the edited sound, turn
off the global button. Programs can’t be written while in compare
mode.
5. If you want to save the edited sound, the write button is still ashing
and ready to save, so enter a location with the program buttons. The
sound is saved.
6. Alternatively, if you want to cancel saving and continue editing, press
the write button. It stops ashing and saving is canceled.
Moving to the Next Level
Before you start exploring the sound creation capabilities of the OB-6
we’d like to point you toward a few things that will help you tailor the
instrument to your needs.
First, check out the Global Settings section of this manual. Read about
Pot Modes and determine which works best for you when you’re editing
sounds. You’ll also nd information about MIDI setup. Read this to more
effectively integrate the OB-6 into your MIDI rig. To get the most out of
the OB-6’s live performance capabilities, read up on using a footswitch
or expression pedal.
And nally, be on the lookout for tips and notes scattered throughout
this manual to gain a better working knowledge of the OB-6. The better
you know it, the more you’ll get out of it. We wish you many hours of
musical exploration!
OB-6 Operation Manual
Getting Started
7
Connections
5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4
1. AC Power Connector—Accepts a standard, grounded IEC power
cord. Operates over a range of 100 to 240 volts and 50 to 60 Hz.
2. USB—For bidirectional MIDI communication with a computer. The
OB-6 is a Class Compliant USB device and does not require additional
drivers when used with Mac OS or Windows. See Using USB on page
62 for more information.
3. MIDI In, Out, and Thru—Standard 5-pin MIDI DIN connectors.
4. Footswitch-Sequence—Accepts a momentary, normally open or
normally closed footswitch to turn the sequencer or arpeggiator on and
off. Alternatively, an audio signal connected to this jack can be used to
either control sequencer/arpeggiator playback, or to gate the lter and
loudness envelopes while notes are held. See “Seq Jack” on page 13
for more information about choosing the appropriate mode for these
behaviors.
Audio signals used to drive the arpeggiator/sequencer should not exceed 5
volts peak-to-peak.
5. Footswitch-Sustain—Accepts a momentary, normally open or
normally closed footswitch to control sustain. See Sustain” on page
14 for more information.
8 Connections
Dave Smith Instruments
5 6 7 8 9
6. Expression Pedal-Volume—Accepts a standard expression pedal
that has a variable resistor on a TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) ¼ inch phone plug.
Once connected, you can use the pedal to control volume to add expressiveness and dynamics to live performance.
7. Expression Pedal- Filter—Accepts a standard expression pedal that
has a variable resistor on a TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) ¼ inch phone plug.
Once connected, you can use the pedal to control the cutoff frequency of
the lter to add expressiveness to live performance.
8. Audio Outputs—Unbalanced, ¼ inch audio outputs. The OB-6
sounds great in stereo, but can be switched to mono if needed. See
“Mono/Stereo” in Global Settings on page 14.
9. Headphones—A ¼ inch stereo headphone jack. Headphone volume is
controlled by the master volume knob on the front panel.
OB-6 Operation Manual
Connections
9
Global Settings
5 6 7 8 9
Vel Response AT Response Stereo/Mono Pgm Dump
Param Xmit Param Rcv MIDI Control MIDI SysEx MIDI Out
Global settings are parameters that affect all programs. These include
settings such as Master Tune, MIDI Channel, MIDI Clock, and others.
Global parameters are printed above the numeric program selector
switches (0 - 9). Use the Globals switch to choose between the two sets.
The red LED indicates that the upper row is active. The yellow LED
indicates that the lower row is active
GLOBALS
The Globals button
Transpose Master Tune MIDI Channel MIDI Clock Clock Port
Local Ctrl Seq Jack Pot Mode Sustain +/- Alt Tuning
10 2 3 4
Globals 0-4
Param Xmit Param Rcv MIDI Control MIDI SysEx MIDI Out
Vel Response AT Response Stereo/Mono Pgm Dump
5 6 7 8 9
Globals 5-9
IncrementDecrement
BANK
SELECT
Use the Bank and Tens buttons to scroll forward and backward, respectively, through parameter settings
10 Global Settings
TENSBANK PROGRAM
SELECT
Dave Smith Instruments
To set a Global parameter:
1. Press the globals button. Pressing it once activates the upper set of
parameters. Pressing it a second time enables the lower set of parameters.
2. Press the program selector button (0 - 9) that corresponds to the desired
parameter. The parameters are printed above each switch.
3. Use the bank and tens buttons as decrement and increment buttons to
step through available settings.
4. Once you’ve chosen the desired setting, press the
globals button again
to exit.
Globals - Top Row
0. Transpose: -12…12—Master Transpose control, 0 is centered. Steps
in semitones up to one octave up (+12) or down (-12).
1. Master Tune: -50…50—Master Fine Tune control; 0 centered. Steps
in cents as much as a quarter-tone up (+50) or down (-50).
2. MIDI Channel: All, 1…16—Selects which MIDI channel to send and
receive data, 1 to 16.
3. MIDI Clock: Sets the OB-6’s ability to send and receive MIDI clock
messages:
• Off: MIDI Clock is neither sent nor received
• Out: MIDI Clock is sent, but not received
• In: MIDI Clock is received, but not sent
• Slave Thru (i-0): MIDI Clock is received and passed to MIDI Out
• In, No Start/Stop (n55): Receives MIDI Clock but does not respond to
MIDI Start or Stop commands.
all receives on all 16 channels.
When set to in or slave thru, if no MIDI clock is present at the selected input,
the arpeggiator and sequencer will not function.
OB-6 Operation Manual
Global Settings
11
4. Clock Port: MID, USB—Sets the ports, MIDI or USB, by which MIDI
clock signals are received.
5. Param Xmit: Off, CC, NR—Changes to the values of front panel
controls are transmitted via MIDI as Continuous Controllers (CC) or Nonregistered Parameter Number (NR). Transmission of parameters can also be
turned off. You could, for example, turn the lter frequency knob on the
OB-6 and have it affect the cutoff frequency of another synthesizer. For a list
of OB-6 CCs and NRPNs, see Appendix D.
NRPNs are the preferred method of parameter transmission, since they cover
the complete range of all parameters, while CCs are limited to a range of 128.
6. Param Rcv: Off, CC, NR—Sets the method by which parameter changes are
received via MIDI. As with transmission, NRPNs are the preferred method.
7. MIDI Control: Off, On—When On, the synth will respond to MIDI
controllers, including Pitch Wheel, Mod Wheel, Pedal, Volume.
8. MIDI Sysex: MID, USB— When set to MIDI (MID) it will receive
and transmit them using the MIDI ports/cables When set to USB it
will receive and transmit them using the USB port/cable. MIDI SysEx
messages are used when sending and receiving a variety of data including, programs, alternative tunings, system updates, and more.
9. MIDI Out: MID, USB—Sets the port by which MIDI data will be trans-
mitted (MIDI or USB).
Globals - Bottom Row
0. Local Control: Off, On—When on (the default), the keyboard and
front panel controls directly affect the OB-6. When off, the controls are
transmitted via MIDI but do not directly affect the “local” synth (that is,
the OB-6). This is primarily useful for avoiding MIDI data loops that can
occur with some external sequencers.
12 Global Settings
Dave Smith Instruments
1. Seq Jack: NOR, Tri, Gat, T-g (Normal, Trigger, Gate, T-G)—Selects
the mode for signals received on the rear-panel Sequencer jack.
• With normal selected, a footswitch will start sequencer playback.
• With trig selected, an audio signal connected to the sequencer jack will
step the sequencer when the sequencer’s
play button is on.
• With
gate selected, an audio signal connected to the sequencer
jack will trigger and gate the envelopes while you hold a note or
chord. Additionally, turning on the sequencer or arpeggiator will add
sequencer or arpeggiator playback—but controlled by the OB-6’s clock
bpm and value settings and not the audio trigger.
• With
t-g (trigger+gate) selected, an audio signal connected to the
sequencer jack will trigger and gate the envelopes while you hold a
note or chord. Additionally, pressing the sequencer’s play button will
also add synchronized sequencer playback.
For best results when triggering the sequencer with an audio signal, use a loud
signal with a sharp attack/decay and little or no sustain.
2. Pot Mode:
on the front
Rel, Pas, Jup (Relative, Passthru, Jump)—The rotary controls
panel are a mixture of “endless” rotary encoders and potenti-
ometers or “pots.” The pots are identiable by their lined knobs and the
fact that they have about 300° of travel. There are three pot modes to determine how the synth reacts when the programmable parameters are edited.
(Master volume is not programmable, so these modes don’t apply.)
In Relative mode, changes are relative to the stored setting. In Relative mode, the
full value range is not available until either the minimum or maximum value and
the respective lower or upper limit of the pot’s travel is reached.
For example,
the resonance parameter has an internal value range of 0 to 127. Let’s
say the physical position of the resonance pot is the equivalent to a
value of 100. If you switch to a program that has a stored Resonance
setting of 63 and turn the pot all the way up, it will only go to 90. To get
to the maximum value of 127, you rst have to turn down until the value is
at the other extreme and the pot is at the limit of its travel (in this case, 0
and fully counter-clockwise, respectively).
In Passthru mode, turning the pot has no effect until after the edited
value equals the preset value (that is, until the edited value “passes
through” the stored value).
OB-6 Operation Manual
Global Settings
13
Jump mode uses an absolute value based upon the position of the pot
when edited: turn a pot and the value jumps immediately from the stored
value to the edited value.
3. Sustain +/- : Nor, Rev, n-r, r-n (Normally Open, Normally Closed,
Sustain Normally Open/Sequencer Normally Closed, Sustain Normally
Closed/Sequencer Normally Open)—The Sustain pedal polarity param-
eter affects both the sustain pedal and sequencer jack input ports. There
are two types of momentary footswitches, normally open and normally
closed. Either type can be used with the OB-6. Not sure which type
you have? If the behavior of the footswitch is the opposite of what is
expected — that is, down is off and up is on — changing this setting will
correct that.
4. Alt Tuning: Nor, 1…16 (Normal, 1…16)—Selects one of the OB-6’s built-
in tunings. Set to normal, the tuning is standard, chromatic tuning. Choosing
1 through 16 selects an alternative, non-chromatic, non-Western scale that can
be used to emulate ethnic instruments or in other creative ways.
See “Appendix A: Alternative Tunings” on page 63 for a description of
each tuning. Additional tunings can be imported into the OB-6 as a SysEx
message. For more information, see Appendix A.
5. Vel Response: 0-3 (Curve 0, Curve 1, Curve 2, Curve 3)—Sets one of four
velocity curves to adjust the keyboard’s velocity response to your playing style.
6. AT Response: 0-3 (Curve 0, Curve 1, Curve 2, Curve 3)—Sets one of
four pressure curves to adjust the keyboard’s aftertouch response to your
playing style.
7. Stereo/Mono: Ste, Mon (Stereo, Mono)—The OB-6 defaults to stereo
operation. When set to Mono, this parameter defeats all pan settings and
modulation, effectively making each of the outputs a mono output.
8. Pgm Dump: Prg, Ten, Ban, usr, All (Program, Tens, Bank, User
Banks, All)—Transmits the current program, ten programs from the
currently selected bank and tens location, the current bank, all user
banks (0-4), or all banks (both user and factory) in SysEx format via the
selected MIDI port. (See: “MIDI Sysex.”) Dumped programs will load
back into the same bank and program location in memory when received by
the OB-6 via MIDI.
14 Global Settings
Dave Smith Instruments
Oscillators
Oscillators provide the raw building blocks of the OB-6’s sound by
producing waveforms, each of which has its own inherent sound character based on its harmonic content. The OB-6 has two oscillators, plus a
sub oscillator and a noise generator per voice. Level controls for each of
these are located in the Mixer section.
Oscillator 1 is capable of generating sawtooth, and variable-width pulse
waves. Oscillator 2 generates triangle, sawtooth, and variable-width
pulse waves. These waveshapes are continuously variable and smoothly
transition from one shape to the next as you turn the
provides a variety of “in-between” waveshapes.
shape knob. This
The oscillators on the OB-6 are extremely stable. To emulate the random pitch
drift and oscillator instability of vintage instruments, use the
the
unison button) to dial in as little or as much drift as you like.
detune parameter (next to
OSCILLATORS
VCO 1 VCO 2
FREQUENCY
Oscillators 1 and 2
SYNC
PULSE WIDTH
FREQUENCY DETUNE
PULSE WIDTH
LOW FREQ
KEYBOARD
Oscillator 1 can be hard-synced to Oscillator 2 for complex, harmonically-rich sounds when modulated.
Oscillator 2 features a
detune knob for detuning and thickening sounds,
a low freq switch that allows it to function as an LFO for modulation
purposes, and a keyboard switch that disables keyboard control over its
pitch (useful when used as an LFO, or for drones and other effects).
OB-6 Operation Manual
Oscillators
15
Oscillator Parameters
Frequency: Sets the base oscillator frequency over a 9-octave range from
16 Hz to 8KHz (when used with the Transpose buttons). Adjustment is in
semitones.
The global Master Tune settings affect the pitch of all oscillators. See “Globals -
Top Row” on page 11 for more information.
Detune: Fine tune control with a range of a quartertone up or down. The
12 o’clock position is centered. Steps are in cents (50 cents = 1/2 semitone).
Shape: Sawtooth, Pulse (and Triangle on Osc 2) —Used to select the
waveshape generated by the oscillator. Waveshapes are continuously
variable and smoothly transition from one shape to the next as you turn
the shape knob. This provides a variety of “in-between” waveshapes.
Pulse Width: Changes the width of the pulse wave from a square wave
when the pulse width knob is at center position, to a very narrow pulse
wave when the pulse width knob is full left or right.
Applying pulse width modulation using X-mod or the low frequency oscillator
is a great way to add movement and thickness to a sound, especially when creating
pad or string-like sounds.
Sync: Off, On—Turns Oscillator 1 hard sync on. Sync forces Oscillator
1 (the slave) to restart its cycle every time Oscillator 2 (the master) starts
a cycle. This provides a way to create more complex, harmonically rich
shapes from simple waveforms—especially when the frequency of Oscillator 1 is set to a different interval than Oscillator 2.
16 Oscillators
Dave Smith Instruments
Oscillator 1
Oscillator 2
Oscillator 1
synced to
Oscillator 2
Oscillator hard sync
Use X-Mod to sweep the pitch of Oscillator 1 when it is synced to generate the
classic, hard-edged sync sound.
Low Frequency: Off, On—Turns Oscillator 2 into a low-frequency
oscillator, essentially providing another LFO source for modulation
using X-Mod. The frequency, detune, shape, and pulse width controls
still apply and will affect the character of any low-frequency modulation
applied using Oscillator 2.
Keyboard: Off, On—When off, the Oscillator 2 ignores the keyboard
and note data received via MIDI and plays at its base frequency setting.
Oscillator 2 pitch can still be affected by modulation from other sources
when in this mode.
OB-6 Operation Manual
Oscillators
17
Detune
Detune (next to the unison button) adds randomized detuning to the
oscillators to emulate the tuning instability of vintage analog oscillators.
This tuning instability is a big part of what made vintage instruments sound
characteristically warm and fat.
Because the OB-6 oscillators are extremely stable, small amounts of
detune can help impart a very vintage tone to what is otherwise a very
stable, modern instrument. detune amount is adjustable from subtle to
wildly out of tune.
unison is enabled, detune detunes the unison voices by a xed
When
amount. Using the pan spread feature, if an odd number of voices is
stacked, one of the voices is placed in the center of the stereo eld with
the other voices spread right and left. The higher the pan spread setting,
the wider the stereo spread in unison.
UNISONDETUNE
The detune knob
The global Master Tune settings affect the pitch of all oscillators. See “Globals -
Top Row” on page 11 for more information.
18 Detune
Dave Smith Instruments
Mixer
The Mixer section is where you set the levels of the various sound generators on the OB-6. These include VCO 1, VCO 2, Sub Octave (Oscillator
1 sub oscillator) and the white noise generator. You must turn up at least
one of these in order to make sound with the OB-6.
Rather than limit the OB-6’s outputs to keep the instrument from clipping, we
allow you to adjust levels at various points in its signal path. This gives you the option
to “overload” things in interesting ways, if you wish to do so. If not, try reducing the
levels of the oscillators in the miXer section, the env amount parameter in the Loudness
Envelope, or the resonance parameter in the lter.
MIXER
VCO 1 VCO 2
SUB OC TAVE
The Mixer
NOISE
VCO 1: Sets the output level of Oscillator 1.
VCO 2: Sets the output level of Oscillator 2.
Sub Octave: Controls the level of a square wave oscillator pitched one
octave below Oscillator 1. Adding a sub octave to sounds such as bass are
a great way to increase their low-register presence.
Noise: Sets the output level of the white noise generator.
OB-6 Operation Manual
Mixer
19
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