Oberheim

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Oberheim

Oberheim Electronics is a company, founded in 1973 by Tom Oberheim

Thomas E. Oberheim

Thomas Elroy Oberheim , known as Tom Oberheim, is the inventor of the first polyphonic music synthesizer.He has been the founder of three audio electronics companies....
(a former design engineer at Maestro), which manufactured audio synthesizers and a variety of other electronic musical instruments. Originally a manufacturer of electronic effects devices, and briefly an ARP Instruments

ARP Instruments, Inc.

ARP Instruments, Inc. was an early electronic music company founded by Alan Robert Pearlman. Best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s, ARP closed its doors in 1981 for financial reasons....
dealer, Oberheim went on to create several ground-breaking products in the early days of synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequency....
s and electronic music

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology....
including the DS-2 (one of the first analogue music sequencer

Music sequencer

A music sequencer is software or hardware designed to create and manage computer-generated music.Originally, music sequencers did not include the ability to record audio....
s) and the Synthesizer Expansion Module (SEM).

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Encyclopedia

Oberheim Electronics is a company, founded in 1973 by Tom Oberheim

Thomas E. Oberheim

ARP Instruments, Inc.

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequency....
s and electronic music

Electronic music

Music sequencer

Polyphony

In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voice , as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chord s ....
synthesizers, Oberheims Two-voice TVS-1, Four-voice FVS-1, and Eight-voice, which was the four voice frame with an external 4 SEM modules, configurations were based on the SEM.

The Two-voice synthesizer included a two channel voltage controlled sequencer, and the Four-voice and Eight-voice machines included a rudimentary Programmer

Programmer

A programmer is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software....
, capable of recalling sound settings.

Oberheim's later synths like the OB-X

Oberheim OB-X

The Oberheim OB-X is an Analog synthesizer Polyphony synthesizer. It was the first Oberheim synthesizer that was created with internal prewired modules and not with the bulky SEM modules....
and OB-Xa

Oberheim OB-Xa

The Oberheim OB-Xa was Oberheim's overhaul of their first compact synthesizer, the Oberheim OB-X. The OB-Xa was released in 1980, a year after the OB-X was released....
abandoned the relatively bulky SEMs in favor of individual voice cards, and common cabinetry and power supplies. Oberheim continued to make synthesizers until the late 1980s. Other notable Oberheim synthesizers include the OB-1 (monophonic), the OB-8

Oberheim OB-8

The Oberheim OB-8 was an Analog synthesizer launched by Oberheim in 1983 and discontinued in 1985. It featured a 61-note Musical keyboard, LFO modulation filters, external cassette storage, MIDI capability and 120 memory patches, and used the Zilog Z80 CPU....
, the Xpander

Oberheim Xpander

The Oberheim Xpander was an Analog synthesizer launched by Oberheim in 1984 and discontinued in 1988. It was essentially a keyboardless, six-voice version of the Oberheim Matrix synthesizers....
, the Matrix-6

Oberheim Matrix synthesizers

Oberheim Matrix synthesizers are a historic product line of analog synthesizers from Oberheim featuring a method of synthesis which Oberheim called "Matrix Modulation" as a method of defining preset and user Patch es....
, the Matrix-12

Oberheim Matrix synthesizers

Gibson Guitar Corporation

The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is a manufacturer of Steel-string guitar and electric guitars. Gibson also owns and makes guitars under such brands as Epiphone, Kramer Guitars, Valley Arts Guitar, Tobias , Steinberger, and Gibson Kalamazoo Electric Guitar....
, a larger musical instrument manufacturer (who, incidentally, also owned the Maestro brand) who made, in collaboration with Don Buchla

Don Buchla

Don Buchla is a pioneer in the field of sound synthesizers, releasing his first units months after Robert Moog's first synthesizers. However, his instrument was arguably designed before Moog's....
, one of the last true analogue synthesizers, the OBM-X.

The trade mark was later licensed to Viscount International

Viscount (musical instrument manufacturer)

Viscount is an Italy manufacturer of musical instruments, mainly organ . The company was established over 100 years ago by Antonio Galanti in the small Italian village of Mondaino....
, an Italian digital-organ producer. Viscount developed in a few years various instruments that were very innovative for the time and are still requested: the digital synth Oberheim OB12

Oberheim OB12

The Oberheim OB-12 was an Italy synthesizer. It was unlike ther other Oberheim synthesizers not made by Tom Oberheim. It was manufactured by the Italian electronic organ maker Viscount, using technology licensed from Oberheim....
, the guitar DSP GM-1000 with lot of effects, the MC series of master keyboards, and the OB3², a portable and inexpensive imitation of the popular Hammond series of organs.

Oberheim's DMX drum machine

Oberheim DMX

The Oberheim DMX was a programmable, digital drum machine introduced in 1981, which, alongside the Linn LM-1, helped to shape the sound of popular music during the 1980s....
was a staple of early hip-hop music, lent its name to the Producer Davy DMX

Davy DMX

Davy DMX is the stage name of David Reeves, an influential figure in hip-hop music. His career began in his hometown of Queens, New York as a DJ in the late 1970s....
, electro musician DMX Krew

DMX Krew

DMX Krew is the recording name of Ed Upton. He has released 5 full albums on Aphex Twin's label Rephlex Records and numerous singles/EPs for both Rephlex and his own Breakin' Records....
, and is still used in dancehall reggae music.

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