From borch@tsd.itg.ti.com Fri Nov 18 15:58:12 1994 Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 12:34:15 -0600 From: Mark Borcherding To: analogue@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: MSR2 OB-Mx Review Alot of people asked for a review - so here's something .... -mark MSR2 -vs- OB-Mx Mini-Review: Mark Borcherding 11-18-1994 OM-Mx: ------ sound: "not fat, kind of smooth, a little loose, not in your face" specs: 3 LFO, 4 ENV, Moog 4 pole, OB 2 pole, 12 modulation routes, 12 voice max, NO external inputs, individual voice outputs, voice allocation not as good as MSR2. presets: lots of special effectish stuff that isn't great (seems all used MM moog filter - what only a 2 pole OB filter!) midi: mod wheel, pitch wheel, breath, and 4 continous controlers. In/Out/Thru impression: so far not impressed and I probably won't but it, the knobs felt cheap esp. the main data knob. I would rather have a Bass Satan (station). Parameter settings seemed more restrictive than the MSR2. MSR2: ----- sound: "not super fat, real smooth, tight, right in your face" specs: 2 LFO, 3 ENV, 2 Ramps, OB 2/4 pole, 10 modualtion routes, more modulation sources than OB-Mx, 16 voice max, external inputs (25 pin connector), NO individual voice outputs, internal mixer, some EQ, lots of voice allocation settings including RotateRob, presets: lots of good usable "normal" sounds which I used to create some abnormal ones midi: pitch, PED1, PED2, PED3 and 5 continous controllers -but- all of these can be mapped to any controller number. In/Out (no thru), There are 2 midi ins/outs which can be mapped in any combination to the 2 board slots in the MSR2. Midi note overflow from module 1 to module 2 is possible but I am not sure if this works with different modules. impression: I seem to get good sounds out of it and it appears to have more flexible modulation control than the OB-Mx. It has a sound while not super fat analog is appealing to me. Putting in a second ASM module ($500) to get 16 voices total is going to make this a neat box capable of some serious sh!t. other: there is room for a second add in card Ananlog ($500), sample playback, vector synthesis, and others. I bought the MSR2. -mark Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 09:19:10 -0600 From: Mark Borcherding To: MARSHALLR@opsusa.sms.siemens.com Subject: MSR2 vs OB-Mx Cc: borcherding@tsd.itg.ti.com Content-Length: 2134 X-Lines: 45 Status: RO MSR2 -vs- OB-Mx Mini-Review: Mark Borcherding OM-Mx: ------ sound: "not fat, kind of smooth, a little loose, not in your face" specs: 3 LFO, 4 ENV, Moog 4 pole, OB 2 pole, 12 modulation routes, 12 voice max, NO external inputs, individual voice outputs, voice allocation not as good as MSR2. presets: lots of special effectish stuff that isn't great (seems all used MM moog filter - what only a 2 pole OB filter!) midi: mod wheel, pitch wheel, breath, and 4 continous controlers. In/Out/Thru impression: so far not impressed and I probably won't but it, the knobs felt cheap esp. the main data knob. I would rather have a Bass Satan (station). Parameter settings seemed more restrictive than the MSR2. MSR2: ----- sound: "not super fat, real smooth, tight, right in your face" specs: 2 LFO, 3 ENV, 2 Ramps, OB 2/4 pole, 10 modualtion routes, more modulation sources than OB-Mx, 16 voice max, external inputs (25 pin connector), NO individual voice outputs, internal mixer, some EQ, lots of voice allocation settings including RotateRob, presets: lots of good usable "normal" sounds which I used to create some abnormal ones midi: pitch, PED1, PED2, PED3 and 5 continous controllers -but- all of these can be mapped to any controller number. In/Out (no thru), There are 2 midi ins/outs which can be mapped in any combination to the 2 board slots in the MSR2. Midi note overflow from module 1 to module 2 is possible but I am not sure if this works with different modules. impression: I seem to get good sounds out of it and it appears to have more flexible modulation control than the OB-Mx. It has a sound while not super fat analog is appealing to me. Putting in a second ASM module ($500) to get 16 voices total is going to make this a neat box capable of some serious sh!t. other: there is room for a second add in card Ananlog ($500), sample playback, vector synthesis, and others. I bought the MSR2. -mark