An analog synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.
A digitally controlled oscillator or DCO is used in synthesizers, microcontrollers, and software-defined radios. The name is analogous with "voltage-controlled oscillator". DCOs were designed to overcome the tuning stability limitations of early VCO designs.
Oberheim is an American synthesizer manufacturer founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim.
Ensoniq ESQ-1 is a 61-key, velocity sensitive, eight-note polyphonic and multitimbral synthesizer released by Ensoniq in 1985. It was marketed as a "digital wave synthesizer" but was an early Music Workstation. Although its voice generation is typically subtractive in much the same fashion as most analog synthesizers that preceded it, its oscillators are neither voltage nor "digitally controlled", but true digital oscillators, provided by a custom Ensoniq wavetable chip. The signal path includes analog resonant low-pass filters and an analog amplifier.
The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972.
The Oberheim Polyphonic Synthesizer is a series of analog music synthesizers that was produced from 1975 to 1979 by Oberheim Electronics. Developed by Tom Oberheim, they were the first production synthesizers capable of playing chords.
The Oberheim OB-X was the first of Oberheim's OB-series polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizers.
The Realistic Concertmate MG-1 is an analog synthesizer co-developed by Tandy and Moog Music as a basic, low-priced synthesizer to be sold by Radio Shack under their "Realistic" brand. With estimated unit sales of 23,000 from 1982 to 1983, the MG-1 became the best-selling synthesizer ever manufactured by Moog Music, and is one of the most widely-owned of all vintage Moog synthesizers.
The Roland Jupiter-4 (JP-4) was an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1978 and 1981. It was notable as the company's first self-contained polyphonic synthesizer, and for employing digital control of analog circuits, allowing for such features as programmable memory, voice assignment modes, an arpeggiator, polyphonic portamento and others.
The Korg DW-8000 is a polyphonic hybrid digital-analog synthesizer released in 1985. It blends digital waveforms with an analog filter and amplifier, followed by a digital delay for adding echo effects. It boasts eight-note polyphony and its keyboard is equipped with velocity sensitivity and aftertouch.
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 Korg Polysix(PS-6) is a six-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer released by Korg in 1981. It was one of the first affordable polyphonic synthesizers on the market, and was released as a cheaper alternative to the Sequential Prophet-5 and Oberheim OB-X, priced at approximately a third of the cost of its contemporaries in the polysynth market. It includes one VCO per voice, enhanced by a chorus/ensemble effect for added richness. It also comes equipped with 32 program memories and an integrated arpeggiator.
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.
The Roland GR-500 is a guitar synthesizer. Manufactured by the Roland Corporation and FujiGen in 1977, it was one of the first guitar synthesizers.
The Roland Alpha Juno is a series of analog polyphonic synthesizers introduced by Roland Corporation in 1985. The Alpha Juno 1 and Alpha Juno 2 were released at the same time, and feature the same sound engine but with the latter boasting additional performance features. The Alpha Junos were a departure from their predecessor, the Roland Juno-106, as they replaced the dedicated controls with soft touch buttons and a single dial for programming sounds. One of the factory presets, nicknamed a 'hoover sound', became a staple in jungle and rave music.
The Korg PS-3300 is a polyphonic analog synthesizer released by Korg in 1977. It was released alongside the PS-3100, a more compact variant featuring a complete synthesizer voice board for each of its 48 keyboard notes. The PS-3300 essentially combines three PS-3100 units, triggering all voices simultaneously with each key press and mirroring the PS-3100's overall design, featuring a total of 144 synth voices. The PS-3300 uses the PS-3010, a detachable keyboard equipped with an assignable joystick called the X-Y Manipulator.
The Korg DW-6000 is a six-voice polyphonic hybrid digital-analog synthesizer released in 1985. It blends digital waveforms with analog filters and amplifiers, and has a chorus effect to create a richer sound. The DW-6000 was quickly succeeded by the DW-8000.
The Rhodes Chroma, initially the ARP Chroma, is a polyphonic, multitimbral, microprocessor controlled, subtractive synthesis analog synthesizer developed in 1979-1980 by ARP Instruments, Inc. just before the company's bankruptcy and collapse in 1981. The design was purchased by CBS Musical Instruments and put into production by their Rhodes Division in 1982 as the Rhodes Chroma, at a list price of US $5295. Rhodes also released a keyboard-less version of the Chroma called the Chroma Expander at a list price of US $3150.
