Oberheim OB-XA - Using the Programmer; Modifying and Creating Sounds

USING
THE
PROGRAMMER
The
programs
on
the
0B-Xe/120
are
divided
into
15
GROUPS
of
8
PROGRAMS
each.
The
15
GROUPS
are
selected
by
pressing
the
four
GROUP
buttons
can,
"BN,
"Cc",
&
"D")
individually
OR
in
any
combination
(vaB",
"AC",
"ge",
"ABC",
"ABCD",
etc.).
The
PROGRAM
within
the
selected
GROUP
is
then
selected
by
pressing
one
of
the
eight
PROGRAM
buttons.
The
PROGRAM
button
may
be
pressed
at
any
time--before,
after,
or
at
the
same
time
as
the
GROUP
button--but
the
GROUP
button
or
buttons
must
all
be
held
down
AT
THE
SAME
TIME,
like
playing
a
chord.
MODIF
YING
SOUND
PROGRAMS
Any
sound
recalled
by
the
programmer
can
be
modified
(edited)
by
changing
the
controls
on
the
front
panel.
The
controls
add
to,
or
subtract
from,
the
settings
stored
in
the
computer
program.
For
example,
the
release
time
of
the
LOUDNESS
ENVELOPE
can
be
made
longer
than
programmed
simply
by
turning
up
the
RELEASE
control
on
the
LOUDNESS
ENVELOPE.
This
feature
allows
quick
yet
smooth
modifications
of
existing
programs.
When
selecting
a
program,
the
front
panel
settings
do
not
affect
the
sound
of
the
instrument.
For
instance,
if
a
sound
had
originally
been
programmed
with
a
FILTER
FREQUENCY
setting
at
12
o'clock,
but
later
the
program
is
recalled
with
the
FILTER
FREQUENCY
control
set
at
9
o'clock,
the
program
sound
will
be
the
same
as
if
the
FILTER
FREQUENCY
control
was
set
at
12
o'clock.
If
it
is
desired
to
further
increase
or
decrease
a
control
setting,
and
the
control
is
already
at
its
maximum
or
minimum
position,
simply
rotate
the
control
all
the
way
in
the
opposite
direction
and
then
meke
your
desired
setting.
The
original,
unmodified
sound
program
can
be
recalled
by
pressing
the
appropriate
GROUP
and
PROGRAM
buttons
again.
The
modified
sound
program
can
be
recorded
into
the
program
memory
as
well.
See
"WRITING
PROGRAMS"
.
CREATING
NEW
SOUNDS
The
OB-Xa
can
be
used
to
create
completely
new
sounds,
rather
than
alter
existing
sounds
as
described
above,
by
using
the
MANUAL
MODE
.
In
MANUAL,
the
OB-Xa
circuitry
responds
to
the
absolute
settings
of
the
controls.
For
instance,
if
the
OSC
1
FREQUENCY
control
is
set
at
11
o'clock,
upon
entering
MANUAL
mode
the
pitch
of
this
oscillator
will
be
one
octave
above
its
base
pitch.
In
general,
when
one
enters
the
MANUAL
mode
from
one
of
the
programs,
the
sound
of
the
instrument
will
change
to
reflect
the
actual
physical
settings
of
the
controls.
The
various
on-off
states
of
the
switches
will
be
those
that
existed
the
last
time
the
OB-Xa
was
in
the
MANUAL
mode.
The
MANUAL
MODE
cannot
be
used
while
in
SPLIT
or
DOUBLE
modes.