u/IDontUseReddit98 — reddlx

Hello! I’m helping a friend identify and recreate the specific patches and samples used in the demo for Jonathan Larson's song "Sextet" (link below).

We have a good idea of the hardware used (DX7, OB-Xa, Minimoog, Oberheim DX), but we’re hitting some walls with specific sounds and custom samples. Any advice or leads would be amazing!

Link to Track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRJbYaHaLqY

The Gear Breakdown:

"News Flash" (Main Sound): Yamaha DX7. It’s the prominent lead heard right at the start.
Strings: Oberheim OB-Xa. Heard under the "News Flash" track. One challenge we've had - we’re using a Behringer UB-Xa, but the sound keeps coming out too "growly" or aggressive. In the track, it’s much more subtle. Any tips on taming the UB-Xa for this specific texture?
OB Upper: Oberheim OB-Xa as well. This comes in during the "Dear Josh" section (2:22), playing one octave higher than the strings, and stays for most of the rest of the song.
Keys (Middle Section): Likely DX7 or DX7II. Specifically the piano part during the "Dear Josh" bit. We've speculated it might be the ELECGRAND2 patch.
Bass: Moog Minimoog. We’re using the Behringer Model D and it’s pretty close now, but any advice is always appreciated.
Drums: Oberheim DX. This is a big mystery. We know Larson used custom chips in his DX, specifically for the gated snare heard throughout. Does anyone recognize the origin of that snare or the other non-standard percussion samples?
Unknown Chords (3:48): During the "Can't... Quit... Keep going..." section, there are underlying chords that don't match any documentation we have. Any guesses on the synth or patch? He also had a CZ-1000 and Ensoniq Mirage, as well as access to the Roland Juno 106 and MKS-70. Technically the Ensoniq ESQ-1 as well but I think this was recorded before that - does this sound like a specific patch from those?

Thank you so much in advance!

Edit: Cleaned up the post a bit.