discoDSP releases Discovery Pro 8.5.1, OB-Xd 3.7 and OPL 2.5 synths

discoDSP has announced significant updates to three of their flagship products, bringing enhanced sound quality, improved workflow, and better stability to their popular synthesizer lineup.

Discovery Pro 8.5.1 - Advanced Limiting and Workflow Enhancements

discoDSP has released Discovery Pro 8.5.1, featuring their new Advanced Limiter with multi-band processing capabilities. This professional-grade limiter incorporates adaptive attack and release times, per-band envelope tracking, and harmonic enhancement for more transparent peak control.

The update introduces several workflow improvements, including Quick Stack Edit Mode (accessible via Shift + Layer button) and key modifiers for multi-layer control of the Amp Limiter and Filter Distortion. The new release also includes processor host synchronization for all program change operations and a major framework update for improved stability.

Sound designers will appreciate the updated Alan Marcero bank, which adds 128 meticulously balanced presets including 25 earth-moving basses, 40 versatile leads, 15 lush pads, 44 precision-crafted plucks, and 4 classic acid-inspired sounds.

OB-Xd 3.7 - Core Stability and MIDI Control

The popular Oberheim-inspired synthesizer OB-Xd receives a substantial update focusing on reliability and MIDI functionality. Version 3.7 includes a major core framework update with standalone code improvements and Windows-specific fixes, along with an AAX SDK update for better DAW compatibility.

MIDI control has been significantly enhanced with a new XML MIDI mappings menu implementation and default MIDI CC mappings for critical parameters. The update also resolves several issues, including state handling problems that previously caused preset reset issues when loading older projects.

A notable new feature is the MENU > Program > Panning presets, which provides 8 predefined stereo control configurations. The Export Preset functionality has also been enhanced to include preset name and Presets location by default.

OPL 2.5 - Dramatic Sound Quality Improvements

OPL 2.5 focuses on sound quality with its advanced oversampling system. Users can now choose from 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, and 16x oversampling factors via the new Config.xml file located at Documents > discoDSP > OPL > Config.xml. The default is now set to 16x for optimal sound quality.

The update implements a high-quality polyphase IIR filter for superior oversampling results and addresses critical issues with sample rate handling. Each oversampling octave now correctly shifts MIDI notes for accurate pitch reproduction, resulting in significantly improved audio quality.

Interface improvements include an optimized initial window size of 580p for better visibility on modern displays. The export function now automatically includes the current preset filename for easier organization.

All updates are available now for existing customers through the discoDSP website. For more information, visit www.discodsp.com.