Oberheim Electronics

Oberheim Electronics

Industry	Electronic musical instruments
Founded	1969 in Los Angeles, United States
Founder	Tom Oberheim
Successor	Oberheim
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Products	Synthesizers, Sequencers, Signal processing, Drum machines
Website	oberheim.com

Oberheim is an American synthesizer manufacturer founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim.^[1][2]

SEM (1974)

4-Voice (1975)

Tom Oberheim founded the company in 1969, originally as a designer and contract manufacturer of electronic effects devices for Maestro, including the PS-1A Phase Shifter and RM-1 Ring Modulator,^[3][4] and briefly a retail dealer for ARP Instruments.^[3] The company's first product released under its own name was the Oberheim DS-2, one of the first digital music sequencers.

In 1975, Oberheim introduced the semi-modular Synthesizer Expander Module (SEM) to complement the DS-2 sequencer and enable a user to play one synthesizer while the DS-2 played a sequence on another, or to be controlled by and layer with a keyboard synthesizer. The SEM featured a two-pole voltage-controlled filter that could operate as a low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, or band-reject filter, giving it a different sound than the Moog and ARP four-pole low-pass ladder filters popular at the time.

The company later combined multiple SEM modules with a digitally-scanned keyboard and a two-channel sequencer to create a series of polyphonic synthesizers, beginning with the 2-Voice, followed by the 4-Voice and 8-Voice.^[1][5] An optional programmer module, capable of storing and recalling 16 instances of some of the sound settings, was available for the 4-Voice and 8-Voice. These were among the first commercially-available polyphonic synthesizers.

OB-1 (1978/1979)

OB-X (1979)

In 1977, Oberheim introduced the monophonic OB-1, the world's first completely programmable synthesizer. In 1978-1981 it was followed by the polyphonic OB-X, OB-Xa, and OB-SX. The final model of the series, OB-8, was released in 1983. The OB-X and OB-Xa were flagship models available in 4, 6 and 8-voice configurations (with the OB-8 available solely as an 8-voice unit), whereas the OB-SX contained fewer programming options. The OB-series synthesizers replaced the relatively bulky SEMs with internal voice expansion cards which supported digital control of synthesis parameters and also utilized common cabinetry and power supplies.^[6]

Xpander (1984)

Matrix-6 (1985)

Oberheim introduced the Xpander digitally-controlled polyphonic synthesizer in 1984, followed by the Matrix-6 and the Matrix-12. The rack-mounted Matrix-1000, though bearing the Matrix name, was marketed after Oberheim was acquired by Gibson.^[7][8]

Oberheim's DMX drum machine, a staple of early hip-hop music,^[9] lent its name to the Producer Davy DMX, electro musician DMX Krew, and is still used in dancehall reggae music.

DMX (c.1981)^{[citation needed]}

DX (c.1983)^{[citation needed]}

Prommer (1984)

Matrix-1000 (1988) Oberheim / Gibson     Echoplex Digital Pro[10]

Oberheim Electronics declared bankruptcy in 1985 and was acquired by a group of lawyers who changed the name to Oberheim ECC. Following the acquisition, Tom Oberheim was creatively still at the helm of the company for a couple of years, before leaving to found Marion Systems. After a second bankruptcy in early 1988, Gibson Guitar Corporation acquired Oberheim. Gibson, under the direction of Keith McMillen, produced the Oberheim OB-Mx^[11] in collaboration with D.N. "Lynx" Crowe and Don Buchla; the Oberheim Echoplex Digital Pro digital delay and looper in collaboration with Aurisis Research (Matthias Grob, Kim Flint, Eric Obermühlner); and re-released the Oberheim Strummer and Matrix 1000.

The Oberheim trademark was later licensed to Viscount International, an Italian organ company. Viscount developed the Oberheim OB*12 analog modeling synthesizer,^[12] the GM-1000 guitar multi-effects unit,^[13] the MC series of master keyboards,^[14] and the OB3², a virtual tonewheel organ.^[15]

In 2009, Tom Oberheim announced that he was manufacturing a new version of the SEM.^{[16][17][18][19]}

In 2011–2012, Tom Oberheim announced a successor to the 4-Voice called the "Son Of 4 Voice" (SO4V),^[20] as well as an updated version of the classic Two-Voice known as the Two-Voice Pro.^[21] The "Son Of 4 Voice" and the Two Voice Pro started shipping in 2014.^[22]

MIDI-to-CV converter panel for the SEM

EuroModular SEM (2015)

Two-Voice Pro (2015)

At the NAMM Show in January 2016, Tom Oberheim announced the Dave Smith Instruments OB-6, a collaboration with Dave Smith resulting in Tom Oberheim's first voltage-controlled multi-voiced polyphonic synth since the mid-1980s; Tom Oberheim designed the VCO/VCF part replicating his SEM module, while control features, arpeggiator/step sequencer and effects processing were designed by Smith using his Prophet platform.^[23]

In July 2019, Gibson CEO JC Curleigh returned the Oberheim trademark and IP to Tom Oberheim as "a gesture of goodwill to the musical instrument industry."^[24]

In May of 2022, the new Oberheim released the OB-X8, the company's first synthesizer in decades. As with the Sequential-made OB6, the OB-X8 was designed and built in collaboration with longtime friend Dave Smith, and it combines the original Oberheim's three signature OB polysynths-the OB-X, the OB-Xa and the OB-8-in a single unit.

Both Marcus Ryle and Michel Doidic worked for Oberheim as instrument designers before helping develop the ADAT multitrack digital tape recorder for Alesis, (a 'prosumer' grade digital recording multitrack deck designed to compete with the Tascam DA series of digital multitracks) and then moving on to found Line 6 together.^[25]

• Tom Oberheim
• E-mu Systems
• Gibson Guitar Corporation
• Viscount

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oberheim Electronics.

• Oberheim Abbey Synthesizer Discussion Forum
• Oberheim Zone at SynthZone.com
• Oberheim overview at SynthSale
• Viscount Italy main site
• TomOberheim.com The new Oberheim site
• Tom Oberheim Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2005)