Sonic Projects OP-X PRO-3 v1.0.3 (Win/macOS)

OP-X PRO-3 is a 12-voice semi-modular virtual analog synth based on OP-X PRO-II which includes all sounds and features of OP-X PRO-II and fullfills virtually all requests and wishes from users collected over the recent years.

Due to its massive features and flexibility OP-X PRO-3 is able to emulate the typical sounds of almost ANY analog synth of the late 70s and 80s including OB-X, Matrix-12, Jupiter-8, Prophet-5 and even Minimoog.

The synth offers:
12 independent voices on separate tunable voice-boards.
A newly arranged logically structured interface.
Improved audio quality preserving the beloved character.
10 filter types with seamless morphing.
5 envelopes (4 poly, 1 mono).
4 LFOs (3 global, 1 per-voice, so x12).
Modulation Matrix offering 5 slots (2 poly, 3 mono).
Sample & hold and sampled vibrato.
Hard-wired key tracking for pulse width modulation.
2 Oscillators offering Sawtooth, Pulse, Sine and Triangle.
DCO or VCO behaviour seamlessly blendable.
Sync, X-Mod, Ringmod and Sine-FM.
An inside access to the 12 voice boards and linked units.
Voice-boards resettable on song start.
Reverb and syncable Delay (normal, triolic, dotted).
Modulation unit (Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Ensemble) adopted from Stringer
A new patch browser offering search, favourites and tagging.
Arpeggiator offering 32 modes and a new always on digital display.
Preset Chords, Chord Hold, 8-Step Sequencer.
Switchable off hands-free hold by pedal.
Unison offering last, lowest and highest note priority.
MIDI Learn now offering one source to multiple destinations.
Relative or fetched CC processing for jump-free operation.
Pitchbend interval and mode separatly settable for up/down.
Modwheel modes separatly settable.
Pitchwheel and Modwheel fully detachable for Matrix mapping.
Logically restructured interface and no hidden features.
Switchable GUI size offering reality proven sizes.
Blue and dark skin re-skinning option.
Includes an alphabetic library of 475 famous 80s sounds.
Includes 3'000 first class patches with an estimated value of $600.

The same as its precedessors did since 2006 the synth engine of OP-X PRO-3 exactly clones the inner working of real voltage controlled polyphonic analog synths of the late 70s and 80s in every tiny detail.

This includes that each voice is a completely independend mono-synth sitting on a separate circuit board or in a separate circuit section on a common board and features tuning trimpots to wipe-out the differences caused by device tolerances which usually was done by a technician prior to shipping.

For the user the synths usually offered an autotune function which sent an offset voltage to the voice boards to flatten differences which again could arise caused by warm-up drift and thermal shifting of the trimpots and devices. Early synths only offered this for oscillater pitch, but later synths like Matrix-12 also for filters and other parameters.

This is offered too in OP-X PRO-3 and the same as in the originals you usually manage the tuning only uning the atotune unit and not by tweaking trimpots everytime which would be cubersome, but with the advantage that you can go forth and back (so tune and detune again) and even can tune or detune seamlessly, so seamlessly blend between the tuned and detuned state.

The detuned state (so no autotune offset voltage applied) the same as in the originals is represented by the settings of the trimpots on the boards. In freshly soldered state these all are in 12 o'clock setting since all come in the same setting from the factory. So other than one would suppose 12 o'clock doesn't mean tuned.

For tuning the boards the service technician then had to tweak the trimpots out of their original factory state until the voices sounded even, usually comparing to a reference voice. So after this tuning procedure the trimpots then had various settings.

The great thing in OP-X PRO-3 is that you can save such a base setting with the patch. Which means it can be diferent for each patch which of course wasn't possible in the originals. Normally the implemented standard detuning (12'oclock state of the trimpots) is perfectly usable (it was cloned from an actual synth) and the only thing to do is to use autotune to switch or blend between the detuned and tuned state. But if you like you can edit this base detuning state to your liking by tweaking the trimpots.

This all makes OP-X PRO-3 act exactly the same as real voltage controlled polyphonic analog synths in every tiny detail but with the flexibility and recall options which the digital domain offers. Which probably was a dream in the old days.

Home Page - https://www.sonicprojects.ch/opxpro3/