 | |
| Industry | Electronic musical instruments |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1969 in Los Angeles, United States |
| Founder | Tom Oberheim |
| Successor | Oberheim |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Products | Synthesizers, Sequencers, Signal processing, Drum machines |
| Website | oberheim |
Oberheim is an American synthesizer manufacturer founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim. [1] [2]
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.
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-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]
Oberheim introduced the Xpander digitally-controlled polyphonic synthesizer in 1984, followed by the Matrix-6 and the Matrix-12. The 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.
 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]
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]
Digital music technology encompasses digital instruments, computers, electronic effects units, software, or digital audio equipment by a performer, composer, sound engineer, DJ, or record producer to produce, perform or record music. The term refers to electronic devices, instruments, computer hardware, and software used in performance, playback, recording, composition, mixing, analysis, and editing of music.
An analogsynthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.
An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument based on keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs and digital audio workstations. In technical terms, an electronic keyboard is a synthesizer with a low-wattage power amplifier and small loudspeakers.
The Yamaha CS-80 is an analog synthesizer introduced by Yamaha Corporation in 1977. It supports true 8-voice polyphony, with two independent synthesizer layers per voice each with its own set of front panel controls, in addition to a number of hardwired preset voice settings and four parameter settings stores based on banks of subminiature potentiometers.
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The Oberheim Polyphonic Synthesizer is a range of analog music synthesizers that was produced from 1975 to 1979 by Oberheim Electronics. It was developed by Tom Oberheim, and was the first production synthesizer capable of playing chords.
The Oberheim OB-X was the first of Oberheim's OB-series polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizers.
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Polyphony is a property of musical instruments that means that they can play multiple independent melody lines simultaneously. Instruments featuring polyphony are said to be polyphonic. Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophonic or paraphonic.
The Oberheim OB-8 is a subtractive analog synthesizer launched by Oberheim in early 1983 and discontinued in 1985. As the fourth product in the OB-series of polyphonic compact synthesizers, the OB-8 was the successor to the OB-Xa. The number of production was about 3,000 units.
The Oberheim OB•12 is a Virtual Analog synthesizer, designed and realised by the Italian musical instrument manufacturer Viscount, in production between 2000 and 2005.
The Oberheim OB-Xa was the second of Oberheim's OB-series polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizers, replacing the OB-X with updated features.
Thomas Elroy Oberheim, known as Tom Oberheim, is an American audio engineer and electronics engineer best known for designing effects processors, analog synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines. He has been the founder of four audio electronics companies, most notably Oberheim Electronics. He was also a key figure in the development and adoption of the MIDI standard. He is also a trained physicist.
Viscount International SpA (Viscount) is a musical instrument manufacturer based in Mondaino, Italy. The brand Viscount was registered in 1969 by Marcello Galanti, but the company was established in the late 19th century by his forefather Antonio Galanti. After 1969 Viscount's primary focus has been on classic organs and digital pianos. Several alternative brands were formed in the 2000s to aim at expanding into other markets: VERSE and Voice Systems, respectively, for the high and low-end Pro-Audio markets and Physis for digital organs using Viscount's physical modeling technology. The company also used the Oberheim brand for several years, to market vintage organs, synthesizers and guitar effects. Currently, Viscount's manufacturing and R&D activity is based in Italy. The company has been continuously owned by the Galanti family since its inception.
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The Oberheim OB-1 was a monophonic, programmable, analog synthesizer introduced by Oberheim Electronics in 1978. It originally sold for $1,895 and was the first analog synthesizer capable of storing patches. The design was a replacement for the previous generation of Oberheim SEM based instruments and intended to be used for live performance.
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The Oberheim Two-Voice Pro is an analog music synthesizer that was produced from 2015-2018 under the Tom Oberheim brand. It is an updated version of the original Oberheim Two-Voice, which was produced from 1975-1979.
Oberheim Electronics 1973 -wikipedia -wapedia.
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