Oberheim
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| Founded | 1969 |
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| Headquarters | Oakland, California |
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Key people
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Tom Oberheim, founder |
| Products | Signal processing, synthesizers, sequencers, drum machines |
Oberheim Electronics, is a manufacturer of audio synthesizers and a variety of other electronic musical instruments. Founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim (a former designer and contract manufacturer for Maestro),.
Originally a manufacturer of electronic effects devices (most notably the Maestro phase shifter), and briefly an ARP Instruments dealer, Oberheim went on to create several ground-breaking products in the early days of synthesizers and electronic music including the DS-2 (one of the first digital music sequencers) and the Synthesizer Expansion Module (SEM).
Oberheim's Two-voice TVS-1, Four-voice FVS-1 in 1975, and Eight-voice in 1977, (which was the four voice frame with an external 4 SEM module) were among the first commercially available polyphonic synthesizers. 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, capable of recalling sound settings.
Oberheim's later synths like the OB-X and OB-Xa abandoned the relatively bulky SEMs in favor of individual or compact 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, the Xpander, the Matrix-6, the Matrix-12, and the Matrix-1000 marketed after the acquisition by Gibson.
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