A free Oberheim OB-X–inspired synthesizer — actively maintained since 2014.
Latest release: 2.19 (December 2025) · Windows • macOS • Linux · AAX • AU • LV2 • VST2 • VST3
Free for everything. Personal use, commercial productions, client work — no restrictions, no registration, no catch.
OB-Xd 2 recreates the sound and character of the legendary Oberheim OB-X. The original was limited in some important ways, so a number of features were added and refined over the original design. It has been developed and maintained by discoDSP since 2014, with regular updates and bug fixes — most recently in December 2025.
- Authentic sound recreation with micro random detuning
- Enhanced multimode filter: continuous blendable HP-Notch(BP)-HP in 12 dB mode, 4-to-1 pole in 24 dB mode
- 8-voice polyphony with per-voice parameter control
- Multiple oscillator modes: Saw, Square, Triangle, and Noise
- Flexible modulation: 2 ADSR envelopes, LFO, and mod matrix
- MIDI Learn for easy controller mapping
- Cross-platform: Windows, macOS, and Linux
OB-Xd 3 is our flagship commercial synth, built on a synthesis engine rewritten from scratch — developed by discoDSP together with original OB-Xd author 2Dat. See the full comparison →
OB-Xd 2 will remain free and maintained regardless — OB-Xd 3 is for those who want to go further.
- 2012–2014 — Original development by 2Dat
- 2014–present — Continued development and maintenance by discoDSP
- December 2022 — Private use license granted by the original author
- 2023–2024 — OB-Xd 3 developed by discoDSP together with original author 2Dat, with a synthesis engine rewritten from scratch
- 2025 — Ongoing active maintenance (latest release 2.19, December 2025)
Source code for versions up to 2.11 is available in this repository under GPL v3.
Requirements:
- JUCE 7.0.3
- A compatible C++ compiler (MSVC, GCC, or Clang)
- Use: OB-Xd 2 is free for any use, including commercial, with no restrictions.
- Source: Versions up to 2.11 are available under GPL v3. Version 2.11 onward is distributed as ready-to-use binaries.
- The original author 2Dat granted discoDSP a private use license in December 2022, allowing for continued development and derivative works. OB-Xd 3 was subsequently developed by discoDSP and 2Dat together under a development agreement.
- Source > Images folder: Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- Other images and resources: © discoDSP — All rights reserved
- Original author: 2Dat — for creating the original OB-Xd
- Development & maintenance since 2014: discoDSP
OB-Xd is an independent project inspired by the Oberheim OB-X. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Oberheim or its parent companies.
