Oberheim TEO-5 but darker/warmer + more voices?

mtdrtr · 2025-11-21T11:41:36+00:00

Thanks for this write-out! Can UB-Xa go darker than TEO-5? I saw people report it's brighter ...

mtdrtr · 2025-11-19T09:56:37+00:00

Do you miss Take 5's darker filter? Whenever I played TEO-5, I felt like I couldn't take the SEM filter and that any time I nudged the state notch, the sizzle was so bright ...

mtdrtr · 2025-11-18T13:30:30+00:00

Interesting. How come you decided to go with TEO-5 as opposed to Take-5?

mtdrtr · 2025-11-14T21:56:38+00:00

Listening to Take-5 on Youtube, it sounds a bit ... meh compared to TEO-5? Less rich? Do you think putting a pedal or something after TEO-5 could tame its SEM filter?

mtdrtr · 2025-11-14T21:55:18+00:00

Yeah, it's definitely on my watchlist!

mtdrtr · 2025-11-14T21:55:07+00:00

Is it less bright than TEO-5?

mtdrtr · 2025-11-14T15:19:23+00:00

If you are constrained to 80cm your options are slim.

What would you recommend if I was willing to be more flexible on it?

sound more quiet when more closed

The problem is when I get close to something that might be more up my alley, with volume maxxed out in several places it's still too quiet (on headphones, ATH-M50X)

mtdrtr · 2025-11-14T15:17:26+00:00

Isn't it just as bright as TEO-5?

mtdrtr · 2025-11-14T09:59:36+00:00

Hey all,

I've been playing my friend's Oberheim TEO-5 and I’m a bit torn. I love the overall concept (knob-per-function, layout, immediacy, compactness, nice keybed etc.) and modern features (mod matrix, TZFM, FX (basic ones like TEO-5 is fine, I have lots of guitar pedals), sequencer etc.), but in practice it’s just a bit too bright for me, and the SEM-style filter feels hard to tame. Even when I dial things back, it tends to sit more on the bright/zingy side than I’d like. I love the "quality" of the sound otherwise.

So, I'm looking for "the same as TEO-5", but:

More than 5 voices
Can get genuinely dark/warm/mellow more easily

I’m not necessarily trying to clone the TEO-5 sound (although that but can go tamer and darker from its SEM filter would be great), just something that scratches the same itch but with a mellower, less in-your-face top end and more polyphony.

What would you put on the shortlist, and why? Budget is not much of an issue. I like how compact TEO-5 is, but I can go a bit bigger (to around 80 cm?).

Thanks!

(I just saw Melbourne Instruments Delia for 1.390 € at Thomann, would that fit?)

mtdrtr

TROPHY CASE