What would be you choice and why?
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P10. The UI is much nicer.
That “all the really good features are on Page 2” puts me off the OB-X8 completely.
In fact, if I could afford the OB-X8, I’d probably get the P6 and OB-6 instead. I think the more expensive ones sound nicer but I value no-screen gear a lot.
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My ideal combo would be P10 and OB6
(I have only OB6 keyboard for now)
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OB-X8.
Even with some imo very dumb interface decisions, the sound is just too good.
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P5 and UBXa.
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P10 is very fun, the fact that you can have two P5 sounds layered is incredible, one with fast attack, the other with a slow attack makes very complex sounds 
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I opted for the P5 and it sounds huge. My take on these vintage synths is treating them like an instrument and doing doubles and overdubs to make the parts really sit nice together, I find that rather than the split/layer stuff more useful in the recording realm and ability to EQ a bit here and there. If you’re doing live stuff/in a band, maybe the p10 is useful to get big voices going on, but for me, I can’t see myself ever lugging one of those things about to gigs. I’d go P5, and a desktop option to complement it
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I grew up as a fan of Prince and Lyle Mays so I do love the Oberheim sound.
OTOH I also love the Prophet 5/10 sound. I have a P5 now and will stick with it as I’m perfectly content with its sound. I figured I could order the voice expansion board to turn it into a P10 but the need for the board hasn’t come up yet.
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Love Lyle Mays… he did use a Prophet as well, but I guess more associated with an Oberheim! He was a bit of a genius though so could make anything sound great I’m sure
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If you want the keyboard, Prophet 10 is more beautiful and less bulky. A little but important detail: no octave switch buttons.
For desktop, both are beautiful and the P10 is slightly smaller.
Soundwise Prophet 10 is overall darker but has a lot of punch and seems more diverse. Its interface is knob per function, except when it comes to performance functions. Tuning takes longer on P10, though OB-X8’s calibration takes a similar amount of time. Also 2 more voices on P10.
OB-X8 sounds smoother at times (eg strings) and seems more flexible in terms of sound temperature (warm to cold). It has the better live performance interface, in particular with dedicated double/split buttons and the LED screen. Btw there is an arp.
Compared in mono mode, both OB-X8 and Prophet 10 sound fat and beautiful. Obviously, P10 has no stereo, but if you drive it through a Strymon Volante it becomes huge. There is some sonic overlap but it is really a difficult choice.
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The Oberheim Four Voice was his first synth. It was Pat Metheny’s idea. In exchange, Pat paid to rent the van and a piano for touring.
I believe was the only synth used on the first two Pat Metheny Group albums. As they started to earn good income, Lyle acquired other gear, including the Prophet 5, and recreated his signature sound as needed, as he moved on through generations of gear. Found this cool vid
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Thanks for this… Cool vid, love that guy’s enthusiasm! I’ll definitely go through that website too
There’s this video also, in which Lyle Mays says you basically need the Oberheim and a Prophet! lol
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I think the two sound quite a bit different primarily due to envelopes. The Prophets envelopes are chunkier and as mentioned earlier provide the synth with more punch.
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this. and personally I’m quite happy with the P5 and OB6. I find them different enough and useful enough for different things to warrant having both. like the Juno 106 and Korg Polysix; both awesome, but different.
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I think this is fair. I feel the same way.
All that panel real-estate, and Osc Level (just an example) is under the hood…
I guess it’s all in what you need from the instrument. I mean, they both sound incredible, there’s no arguing that. But neither have a huge scope, in terms of sound design, so I’m going with the Prophet for being yet more knob-per-function.
And I do find the Prophet’s filters to be slightly more flexible.
Cheers!
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To illustrate how they sound different when they overlap, check out this video:
Btw many Page 2 parameters can be mapped externally, if needed.
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The correct answer to this question is: Super Gemini.
Not that I don’t love a P-10 or OB-X8, but really, if one is searching for this class of instrument, the Super Gemini.
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As a John Carpenter fan it has to be the Prophet.
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OBX8, Gemini, Prophet 10… doesn’t matter really, they’re all great synths, it’s just what you’re gonna do with it in the end! I know that’s a lame opinion in some eyes, but definitely how I feel these days
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