Starsky Carr's Studio: Vintage & Modern Synth Setup Explained

video upload by Starsky Carr

"Welcome to a full synth studio tour — a look inside my hardware setup featuring vintage analog synths, modern wavetable instruments, modular gear and classic drum machines.

See how a mix of vintage synths, modern instruments, modular gear and drum machines all come together in one integrated setup. In this video I walk through the studio, explain how everything is connected, and show some of the instruments that regularly appear on the channel.

The studio is constantly evolving as new synths arrive, others get repaired, and different setups are tested for videos. In this walkthrough you'll see how classic gear like the Juno-60, Prophet series, Minimoog, TR-808, TR-909 and Jupiter synths sit alongside modern instruments such as the UDO Super 8, Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave, Waldorf M, Arturia PolyBrute and Roland System-8.

I also explain how everything is routed through the studio — from CV-controlled vintage synths integrated with MIDI, to the AudioFuse interface and Neve summing mixer that handle the audio side of things.

If you've ever wondered how to organise a hardware synth studio, integrate vintage CV instruments with modern DAWs, or just want to see a room full of iconic synths and drum machines, this video gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the setup behind the channel.

You’ll also hear a few stories along the way — including the slightly ridiculous “six degrees of separation” link from my studio gear to Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon through the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack.

Whether you're into analog synthesis, wavetable synths, modular gear, or classic drum machines, this studio tour is packed with gear, ideas and inspiration.

Gear featured (selection)

• Roland Juno-60
• Roland Jupiter series
• Moog Minimoog, Voyager % Sub37
• Sequential Prophet synths
• Oberheim OBX8 and OB6
• UDO Super 8
• Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave
• Waldorf M
• Arturia PolyBrute
• Roland System-8
• TR-808 / TR-909 drum machines
• Analog Solutions Leipzig & Fusebox
• Modular & Eurorack gear"

Ambient loopy live synth work out OB6 (Steps Right)

video upload by Surgeons Girl

"Steps right taken from my new EP on Livity Sound available everywhere but you can buy here.



OB6 seqeunced with ableton Mother 32 playing bass line/lead internal seqeunce - Blofeld playing long pads seqeunced with Digitone. Long live preset 507 (OB6)"

Blue Techno

video upload by itramtal

"Erica Synths DB-01 & LXR02, Nightverb & Zen Delay, Sequential OB-6, Pro2."

Freight Train in Bellingham, WA

video upload by Esk11

"Oberheim FVS-1, Mini Moog model D"

Sequential 02 : Oberheim OB-6 Sound Demo : " Massive Mod " user bank preview by I.H.R

video upload by I Hate Robots

"Sequential Oberheim OB-6 (module) - sound demo of few user programs, this is not a jam, and the video is a loop, not in realtime.

00:00 Duality
04:20 X-Rhodes
08:15 Gate 1
10:05 Lux
12:15 Alien 1
14:06 Sun
15:10 Coma
17:02 Gate 2
18:22 Nop
19:31 Dark Phaz
22:40 Omniarp
25:00 Alien 2
26:25 Berlin Mod
29:35 Crispy Pad

In practical terms, the OB-6 (keyboard or module version) is a modern and refined embodiment of all the experience and expertise of Dave Smith (Sequential) and Tom Oberheim. Its sound engine sits somewhere between the Sequential Prophet-6 and the Oberheim OB-Xa; it's essentially a fusion of the two!

It's high-end, old-school analog in the purest tradition—the sound is big, fat, deep, and powerful—but with modern digital assistance that allows it to fully exploit its capabilities and push its boundaries.

This is precisely the subject and purpose of this preset bank, which I designed entirely myself.

This is my main OB-6 bank, which I use very often for my sound design work in the studio or for my training sessions. User Bank #3 (Massive Mod), it contains a total of 96 custom presets. I'm not presenting them all here, the demo would have been far too long, but I've prepared this short demo with a few of them to give you a sonic preview of the synth and its modulation capabilities!
Sometimes I use a single preset with its modulations, either played directly on the keyboard or sequenced with a keyboard layer on top, and other times I mix two presets together (the OB-6 is monotimbral).

Everything you hear comes from the OB-6; there are no added effects, no post-production processing !

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FREE SYNTH: OB-Xf (Oberheim OB-X Emulation) - No talking demo

video upload by ADL-MusicLab

"Hi, everyone!

OB-Xf is a continuation and modernization of the last open source version of OB-Xd by 2DaT and later discoDSP, bringing together several efforts going on in the audio space and combining them inside the Surge Synth Team infrastructure.

It is an amazing freely downloadable virtual synthesizer inspired by the venerable Oberheim OB-X.

The original Oberheim OB-X is one of the best analog poly-synths ever, used by Rush, Van Halen, Queen, Japan, Eurythmics, Ultravox, Tangerine Dream and many others.

It is a classic synthesizer with a timeless sound that continues to captivate musicians and producers alike. With its rich, full-bodied tones and expansive sound design capabilities, the OB-Xf is the perfect choice for those looking to add a vintage touch to their music.

The OB-Xf is a synthesizer that has been designed to recreate the sound and behavior of the Oberheim OB-X, OB-Xa and OB-8. However, the architecture of the original instruments was limited in some ways, so the OB-Xf includes a number of additional or altered features. Overall, the OB-Xf has been designed to produce a sound that is as good and as rich as the original OB-X.

Also, like many synths of the OB-X's generation, the OB-Xf has no internal effects so its sounds and textures can be greatly enhanced by the use of additional processing like chorus, reverb, delay, etc.

In this demo I will just let you hear what some amazing sound designers have made for this stunning synth simply by scrolling and playing some beautiful presets.

No additional effects or outboard processing here. What you listen is what you get!

More info here:
https://surge-synth-team.org/ob-xf/
https://github.com/surge-synthesizer/..."

Teo 5 Mayhem with Jexus.

video upload by Jexus (sounds-for-synths.com)

"Evil, Brutal, Dark, Moody, Fragile sounds of the Oberheim TEO-5. No talking demo by Jexus. Just sounds recorded straight from the synth."

"See soundsets for all my synths in one place:
► https://payhip.com/jexus"

"My patches come under the name 'WCOG + number' in a soundbank saved as a sysex file. You can use any midi manager (like the free MIDI-OX for example) to import my soundset into your TEO-5. I did not use any external FX in the demo; all the delays, reverbs, noises, crackles and other effects are part of the TEO-5 engine & mod matrix."

0:00 suckerpunch
0:12 altiplano
0:28 ugly swamp
0:47 microshrimp
1:02 typhoon
1:18 bat eaters
1:36 coil
1:54 sven von sidechain
2:04 atomic dynamo
2:21 cryptstatik
2:32 turbine paranoia
2:49 overglow
3:06 murmur of little wings
3:21 deaf blow
3:32 drift
3:49 widowmaker
4:02 ritual of the kinky serpent
4:16 one-legged cyclope
4:27 digital, banal, fecal!
4:42 mr. beaverfart
4:57 mutant gringo chupa cobra
5:13 tapestar ct-5
5:26 pixelatron
5:39 witch has diarrhea
5:51 kako the parrot
6:10 godsend
6:26 warlock's earwax
6:42 chasm
6:59 microbes
7:12 gut bass

Vivarium

video upload by MIDERA

"Here's a new track. I wanted to bring the Tempest back in and use it again... but almost everything about it is just difficult to use... I tried to sequence the beats, but the OS would freeze when doing it that way, so I had to opt to manually change beats. Using the external sequencer kind of ruins half the fun of the Tempest, so I chose to do it all in the box, and it's great for that... but it's extremely hard to put a track together using the Tempest.

Gear used:
Cirklon 2 sequencer
DSI Tempest (drums)
Moog Minimoog (bass)
Roland SH-101 (Bass)
Sequential OB-6 (arp)
Roland JD-990 (initial melodic pad)
Oberheim Matrix 1000 (later pad sound)
Prophet 10 (secondary melody halfway through track)
NI Raum (Reverb)
DAW: Reaper

#sequential #Cirklon2 #rolandjd990 #oberheim"

Oberheim Matrix 12 Multi Patch

video upload by Alex Ball

"Couldn't resist a custom Multi Patch for the marvelous Oberheim Matrix 12.

Each of the 12 voices can have a different single patch loaded and be controlled by a zone on the keyboard or a midi channel.

In this instance, I made three patches and layered two on the right of the keyboard with five voices assigned to each of those two patches. The final two voices are assigned to the left of the keyboard and the voices are then panned around the stereo field.

There's subtle amounts of FM, lag processing, noise modulation etc that add up to give a really big sound.

This is a really stunning synth, especially for 1985!"

OB6 synthesizer song

video upload by Brian Schaft

"A song done using entirely OB6 synth, well, except for the drum machine."

oberheimtwovoicepro@Oberheim @twovoicepro@원영조@국제예술대학교스튜디오작곡과

video upload by Jazz piano YJ Won

Mad Science Lab - Tom's Big O's

video upload by Mad Science Lab

"This Oberheim was custom built for Ronnie Montrose around 1980 and used by him until the early 1990's. This synthesizer has some great sounding Synthesizer Expander Modules. In this video, the two sequencers are driving all four SEM units. I am stepping through the sequencer steps with a foot switch plugged into the step input on the patch panel A. Recorded direct off mixer no effects, compression or eq.
#synthesizer #oberheim"

And one with the "The Wizard - E-Mu Systems Modular Synth":

Mad Science Lab - TechnoSaurus LIVES (2026 Live in Studio)

video upload by Mad Science Lab

"Two 1970's Synths and a Drum Machine in the Mad Science Lab Studio.
A E-Mu Systems Modular Analog Synthesizer is used to play 3 voices, and an Arp-2600 plays another voice along with an XBASE 999 Analog Drum Machine. Recorded direct off mixer into an iPad.

More Music Here - https://madsciencelab.com
INFO on this E-mu Modular Here - https://siliconbreakdown.com/wizard-s..."

Side note: the first post to feature Mad Science Lab was back in 2007 here.

Oberheim Two Voice - Portamento/ Tune control section - Version 2

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via this eBay listing

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Vintage Oberheim DPX-1 Digital Sample Player SN 740468

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via this eBay listing

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Oberheim Xpander 6-Voice Analog Synthesizer

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this eBay listing

"The legend. The Xpander is absolutely one of the Top 10 synthesizers of all time. This machine is the sound of so many amazing records. Depeche Mode. Erasure. Nine Inch Nails. The Chemical Brothers. Orbital. The list goes on. It is also one of the most flexible synthesizers with patch memory ever made. It is truly modular with vast routing possibilities. And then there is the sound. Classic Oberheim attitude.

This machine is in very good condition and passes all tuning tests. Sounds absolutely amazing. Hard flight case included."

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Oberheim Teo-5 Demo I No Talking + Custom Presets

video upload by Alphacode Synth Demos & Custom Presets

"Contact: alphacodesynth@gmail.com"

Oberheim TEO-5 SEM filter

video upload by renlennyren

An Interview with Marcus Ryle: Inventor, Visionary, Entrepreneur

video upload by FerroCity

"Would you believe me if I told you I knew a guy who quit school at 16 and went to work in the Caltech Music Lab. At 18 was handpicked by Tom Oberheim, founder of a leading and pioneering synthesizer manufacturer of the same name, Oberhiem. This “kid” went on to help design Oberheim’s OBXa, then Oberheim’s first sequencer and drum machine.

From there he cofounded a design company that built the first electric drum pads for Dyna Cord. The first affordable sequencer, drum kit and digital tape recorded, ADAT, produced by Alesis.

WANT more! That design company grew into the legendary first guitar amp with digital sound modeling, Line Six Amps and effects pedals.

In this episode Marcus Riley shares not only the secrets of his accomplishments but what you need to know to drive you to accomplish your dreams."

Oberheim TEO 5 / Volca Bass / Circuit Tracks - Dawless Cinematic Electronica

video upload by Scott Nellé - Plague Society

"This is a dawless cinematic electronica track, sequenced on the Novation Circuit Tracks. It features the Oberheim TEO-5 as a pad and the Korg Volca Bass making a couple of bass sounds.

In addition to sequencing the whole track, the Circuit Tracks plays drums with samples from my collection and also a supplemental string lead and pluck. I really enjoy the Circuit. For such an affordable device it's really a powerful centerpiece for a dawless setup. It also handles effects for the Oberheim and Volca Bass on this track.

The Oberheim TEO-5, my newest and biggest synth, plays a pad here with a patch that I designed. The patch uses both oscillators and most of the waveforms, with plenty of modulation to give it some extra analog vibe. The patch is called "Just Swell" and I think it sounds pretty cool. This is a really fun synth to design sounds on. It's super straightforward and there are lots of modulation options. I'm looking forward to exploring it in more depth.

The Volca Bass is used for two sounds here. Initially it plays a very staccato bassline, and later I switch on the sustain an it plays more off a gliding line that almost verges into lead territory.

I sat with this track for a long time, adding more and more stuff until I decided it worked better as a more stripped back arrangement. All of the individual parts ended up really simple, but I hope they play off each other to create something interesting. Let me know what you think!"

Oberheim DX Digital Drum Machine w/ MIDI

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via this listing

Additional Perfect Circuit listings

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