AJL OB-Xtreme Mk3, free major update for its OB-X/OB-Xa Synthesizer emulation

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AJL (Aly James Lab) has released OB-Xtreme MK3, a free major update with new features for its beloved OB-X/OB-Xa Synthesizer emulation.

The Oberheim OB-X and OB-Xa from the late 70s and early 80s are legendary analog polyphonic synthesizers. Emulations of these classics are available from various developers. The OB-Xtreme from Aly James Lab is particularly popular.

Initially only available for Windows for a long time, the plugin has also supported macOS since the v2 (Mk2). A unique feature is its combo of OB-X and OB-Xa in one plugin. Many others only emulate one synth; this one recreates both. With the new OB-Xtreme Mk3, a major update is available, and it’s a download for all Mk2 users.

AJL OB-Xtreme MK3

AJL OB-Xtreme Mk3

The OB-Xtreme Mk3 remains an emulation hybrid of the Oberheim OB-X and OB-Xa. The new version, however, offers many new features and improvements.

The first one can be seen directly after installation—OB-Xtreme Mk3 ships with a remade high-resolution, DPI-aware GUI with vector knobs and improved graphics and functionality. In addition to the grey OB-X style GUI, an authentic blue UI represents the OB-Xa.

Yes, the plugin offers more than new graphics to admire. Aly James Lab (AJL) has refined the sound engine and added new features. You can now select polyphony between four and eight voices and configure mono and poly unison modes with two, four, or eight clones.

OB-Xtreme Mk3 now also hosts a better oversampling. The developer refined up to x16 oversampling for optimized CPU performance.

Then, you get new global panning presets, including wide, spread, ping-pong with selectable panning power law. AJL OB-Xtreme Mk3 also benefits from expanded modulation options. Velocity can now modulate the filter or amp envelope decay, and you can patch XMOD into the filter modulation.

AJL OB-Xtreme MK3

Better OTAs

The synth also offers an additional 2-pole highpass output with filter bleed, and the 4-pole automatically applies volume compensation.

AJL also says that they have enhanced the post and pre-OTAs which are emulations of the CA3080 chip for VCA, Filter, and Output Stage. You can now work with a variable distortion (Xtreme factor) that gives a doubled maximum gain compared to the previous version.

Nice. It now also has an envelope scope that visualizes adjustments in real time of the filter and amp envelopes. Further, you get a new keyboard scaling (KBS) feature that allows you to configure the keyboard voltage tracking. This can be assigned to the master volume or LFO modulation depth.

There are also workflow improvements, including a new improved user experience with altGr + click reset on knobs, skin setting recall, and more. And finally, it now comes with native support for Apple Silicon computers. The remaining features are unchanged from the Mk2 version.

Here are some sound demos of the OB-Xtreme Mk2. There are no sound demos of the Mk3 version.

 

First Impression

This is an excellent welcome gift for all OB-Xtreme Mk2 users. It’s good to see that it now also supports Apple Silicon. Thanks, Aly James Lab.

AJL OB-Xtreme Mk3 is available now as a free update for existing users of OB-Xtreme Mk2. The plugin is available now for 51€. It runs as a VST3 and AU plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel) and Windows.

More information here: Aly James Lab 

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