I still have my TVS that I used on Laupers 'She Bob' and other records. I bought it at Sam Ash on Kings Highway Brooklyn in 1977. It has NEVER failed. Not once in all these years. I have had a lot of gear through the years but this is one instrument I feel in love with and have continued to play for over 35 years.
as analog as it can get .. damn damn damn. the story, the excitement, the sound .. this is just fabulous and an instrument that deserves serious attention and great respect. no tons of presets or zillion fx .. as pure as it can get and it has the capability to generate even more greatness than just adding a reverb or whatever ..it needs nothing .. humble ears..what a machine!
I was fortunate to hear an Oberheim demo in Atlanta at the the NAMM convention in 1979. I was with Dave Berry, kyboard player with a band from Greenville, SC. His band provided entertainment for the event which allowed us into the convention. I can't remember the session player who gave the demo, but we were a captive audience of 2; blown away by the instrument and the demo. Suzanne Cianti came by to check out the instrument. The first album which I remember dominated by the 8 voice was Little Feat's WAITING FOR COLUMBUS. Bill Payne made that instrument SCREAM. I used to love to play "Fat Man in the Bathtub" and rattle the windows with the filtering in the middle section. GOD!!!! Thanks for posting. In the late 70s, if I'd continued to play professionally, I'd have invested in an Oberheim synth.
Don't move it, and keep it in a climate-controlled room between 78.5F and 79F and NO humidity: it won't stay in tune otherwise. I did some roadie work for a prog rock group that had one of these. It road on a bench inside the vehicle and was treated like Nitro: and still gave everyone fits...
I became familiar with this through Lyle Mays' use of the Four Voice and later his custom Eight Voice. Lyle used this mostly for pads and the occasional lead, but he found a way to use it musically and made it sound like an organic instrument. The non-uniformity that you talk about is what gives this instrument life and makes it sound so organic. It's so easy for synthesizers to sound lifeless or one-dimensional, but because of the non-uniform SEMs it can sound like a string section or horn section, where nobody plays *exactly* the same note. It's what gives this instrument life. The SEM is such a musical synth. It seams so easy to get a musical sound out of it. I've watched so many synth demos where people demonstrate all the different sounds their synths can make, but few of the sounds they demonstrate have few musical applications. I love how you show how this instrument can make real music.
Absolutely Superb presentation of this amazing instrument. This and an ARP 2600 changed my course in music and sound. Thank You for putting this together. Inspiring!
So I'm watching this in 2014 and the part at 8:20 gave me goosebumps. No joke it's amazing how this vintage instrument can still move people today. So powerful.
I love this demo so much, i keep coming back to this. I love the words so much. Thanks so much for doing this it's one of the best demos ever. The SEM is one of my favourite synths ever. The two voice has just been released at a cost but 8 SEMS would be awesome ! 14:15 "I've lost entire weekends programming this beast" that did it for me ! So much passion mate.
OMG 8:20 - 8:40 just completely blew my mind. I've heard a few modern EDM producers using this sound and was trying to figure out how they done it because it sounds great.
A beautiful tribute to a remarkable instrument. I am almost tearing up thinking about selling mine- but that was 25 years ago. Thanks for the memories...
What an amazing piece of engineering and craftsmanship for the time. Stuffing eight complete synthesizers using only through hole components into one box was a feat of its own. Awesome sound as well!
I absolutely _love_ how this synth is essentially a hybrid of modular and normalized synths-but, without any of the accommodations both the former and the latter have. It is so radically different from anything else-even the Matrix 12-Oberheim-or dare I say anyone else-has ever done with subtractive synthesis. Now, imagine doing this with a bunch of Arp Odysseys or 2600s. That would be something.
Many years ago, I saw the Stranglers at a small club in NJ. Before they went on, we had to endure about 15 minutes of agonizing screeches, as the roadie tuned Dave Greenfield's 8-voice - which may have been the only keyboard he played that night. But it did sound great when he finally got it in tune.
One of my all time favorite synths! Moog felt the same way about this synth. Even though he never created this one. He said it was one of his favorites. Thanks to GF!
The Vermona Perfourmer MKII is possibly the closest modern equivalent to at least the Oberheim 4-Voice. Lacking in some ways in comparison, gaining in others, it is one hell of a great polysynth for the money. It was this video that inspired me to seek out a polysynth with similar ethics and after a few years of looking, the Vermona is what I found.
Fantastic overview of the 8 Voice from the mystical past of synthesiser mythology. This makes a good video tutorial too. Tom's new Son Of Four looks even more tempting. There is just something about the imperfections between voices on these older machines that adds an X Factor into the character of the sounds.
Chick Corea had an interesting tune on his 1978 album "the Mad Hatter". It's the opening track, "The Woods". Basically an instrumental featuring the 8 voice (the one from this video I assume), mini moog, and eventide harmonizer along acoustic piano and xylophone. Amazing Oberheim sounds!
Oberheim and Kurzweil were above my budget in the 1980s. I now have a Waldorf Iridium keyboard, which is simply incredible. I still love the old analogue synths.
I've heard a 4 voice in action, but not had the pleasure of an 8 voice (unless ive forgotten). They're huge beasts and you need patience in abundance. Still holding out for tom oberheim's redux (no idea where he is on it), which should hopefully fix the niggles. Thank you for the documentary and the sonic joy, Dave. 👍
Normally, when I click the Thumbs Up button, it's because the vid was good enough. This vid, however, had me search for the Repeat A Thousand Times button in addition. Sadly, I couldn't find such a much needed button, so I'm confined to just watching the vid and being grateful. Thanks, Dave Spiers!
Very nice. I am a fan of the Oberheim sound. EVS and FVS are incredible pieces of synth history. The ability to program each individual voice differently and place in unison can lead to some overwhelmingly interesting sounds. I just do what I can with my humble OB-8 :)
I had one of these (the 4 voice minus the expander unit) in 1979. It sounded fabulous, but talk about troublesome. It spent more time in the shop than making music!
Great Vid, great sounds, great synth, there was even one Oberheim 12 voices i believe with 2 keyboards owned by Patrick Moraz (Yes, Moody Blues) who sold it currently, a more rare gem eventually.
To me, the most beautiful use of this instrument is Lyle Mays' extraordinarily subtle string pads on the original song Travels from the Pat Metheny Group Album of the same name.
The award for the best synth overview video of all time goes to: "Oberheim 8 Voice" by GForce Software. I've watched this so many times over the years and plan on watching it many more.
My brother had a 4 voice. It's an awesome sounding synth. I understand how you can lose a weekend playing with the sounds. Nice Video. Thanks for taking the time.
Many thanks for these videos. When I started out trying to make music with affordable synths in the 90s, I could have learned so much so quickly if I'd had access to clear and detailed videos like this. One point to take away from this video for producers on a budget is the power of layering. A single software synth voice will never sound as rich as a SEM, but what you CAN do digitally is use lots of layers of different sounds.
Yes, this is THE Doc Sketchy of Sketchy Labs. I'm always wondering what to build next, and I keep coming back to this wonderful video. I think my next big project is going to be the Sketchy Labs SEM and polyphonic controller (built in 70s style, no microcontrollers, no code, no robots -- just through-hole logic and opamps laid out in Excel as usual). I think I want to make my SEM just a little bit fancier, though... more stuff, smaller knobs.
I absolutely love these old synthesizers, for the very reasons that you have just described. And it frustrates me to no end when people don't understand the point of old synthesizers is to not have a "perfect" sound, but to embrace the imperfections and use those imperfections to make some truly interesting sounds.
I still chuckle when I read video comments on TH-cam emulation videos claiming to get even close to this sound. Even the TH-cam audio on this shows how smooth, warm, and raw and sharp this thing is (a seemingly impossible combination until I heard the real thing!). I bought the new edition Oberheim SEM Pro as my first ever analog, and couldn't be happier. You can keep your emulations people, for those who know, nothing comes close to the real thing. GORGEOUS!
Very clear explaint and what a possibilities und sounds!! Last weekend I had the first time in my life the possibility to play on a Oberheim OP-Xa and a Minimoogthe during the Museum Night in Basel
![เหนื่อยหน่อยนะ (SOMEONE LIKE ME) - GEMINI Prod. by URBOYTJ [ OFFICIAL MV ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/M55XjfhbrNw/mqdefault.jpg)
The start was sampled for Æ space in kasabians new album The Alchemists Euphoria🔥
8:20 gave me goosebumps. So smooth and beautiful.
I still have my TVS that I used on Laupers 'She Bob' and other records. I bought it at Sam Ash on Kings Highway Brooklyn in 1977. It has NEVER failed. Not once in all these years. I have had a lot of gear through the years but this is one instrument I feel in love with and have continued to play for over 35 years.
I presume Joe Zawinul used his on Havona by Weather Report. The sound is very similar.
Great video, amazing instrument. 👍🏼
You probably won't believe how many times I returned to this video just to listen to the sound at 5:35 :)
11:32 is so beautiful to listen to like i truly believe that humanity peaked in 1960-1990
Me too. 1969 perhaps. Or 1976 when Viking landed on Mars or 1979 Voyager at Jupiter and 1982 Voyager at Saturn.
1976 was the year Songs in the Key of Life was Released. Case closed. We peaked in 1976.
As did humidity
Most beautiful sounding Synth i ever heard, so fat & sweet.
this is so warm it melted my speakers
Great video. In the days of minimal presets, I used to do synth programming at studios for the 4-voice, CS80 and Prophet 5.
Rush was at thier hight when they toured with the
Oberheim 8 synth.....I wish I could go back in time
to hear the 1980 Permanent Waves tour.
as analog as it can get .. damn damn damn. the story, the excitement, the sound .. this is just fabulous and an instrument that deserves serious attention and great respect. no tons of presets or zillion fx .. as pure as it can get and it has the capability to generate even more greatness than just adding a reverb or whatever ..it needs nothing .. humble ears..what a machine!
Scary walls of sounds.... A real monster, impressive even today.
And somehow you've managed to capture this magic and bestow us with the OB-E. Respect!
I was fortunate to hear an Oberheim demo in Atlanta at the the NAMM convention in 1979. I was with Dave Berry, kyboard player with a band from Greenville, SC. His band provided entertainment for the event which allowed us into the convention. I can't remember the session player who gave the demo, but we were a captive audience of 2; blown away by the instrument and the demo. Suzanne Cianti came by to check out the instrument. The first album which I remember dominated by the 8 voice was Little Feat's WAITING FOR COLUMBUS. Bill Payne made that instrument SCREAM. I used to love to play "Fat Man in the Bathtub" and rattle the windows with the filtering in the middle section. GOD!!!! Thanks for posting. In the late 70s, if I'd continued to play professionally, I'd have invested in an Oberheim synth.
Don't move it, and keep it in a climate-controlled room between 78.5F and 79F and NO humidity: it won't stay in tune otherwise. I did some roadie work for a prog rock group that had one of these. It road on a bench inside the vehicle and was treated like Nitro: and still gave everyone fits...
I became familiar with this through Lyle Mays' use of the Four Voice and later his custom Eight Voice. Lyle used this mostly for pads and the occasional lead, but he found a way to use it musically and made it sound like an organic instrument. The non-uniformity that you talk about is what gives this instrument life and makes it sound so organic. It's so easy for synthesizers to sound lifeless or one-dimensional, but because of the non-uniform SEMs it can sound like a string section or horn section, where nobody plays *exactly* the same note. It's what gives this instrument life. The SEM is such a musical synth. It seams so easy to get a musical sound out of it. I've watched so many synth demos where people demonstrate all the different sounds their synths can make, but few of the sounds they demonstrate have few musical applications. I love how you show how this instrument can make real music.
Absolutely Superb presentation of this amazing instrument. This and an ARP 2600 changed my course in music and sound. Thank You for putting this together. Inspiring!
It really is a beautiful instrument. Great overview, great demo!
So I'm watching this in 2014 and the part at 8:20 gave me goosebumps. No joke it's amazing how this vintage instrument can still move people today. So powerful.
Right with you on that one. Deep sound there.
Excessive? Yes! This synth sounds beautiful.
I love this demo so much, i keep coming back to this. I love the words so much. Thanks so much for doing this it's one of the best demos ever. The SEM is one of my favourite synths ever. The two voice has just been released at a cost but 8 SEMS would be awesome ! 14:15 "I've lost entire weekends programming this beast" that did it for me ! So much passion mate.
Dan Rossi I've also started to come back to this vid just to de-stress and get back into loving music during a tough week. Amazing!
+Dan Rossi One more here:)
+Dan Rossi +1
OMG 8:20 - 8:40 just completely blew my mind. I've heard a few modern EDM producers using this sound and was trying to figure out how they done it because it sounds great.
A beautiful tribute to a remarkable instrument. I am almost tearing up thinking about selling mine- but that was 25 years ago. Thanks for the memories...
What an amazing piece of engineering and craftsmanship for the time. Stuffing eight complete synthesizers using only through hole components into one box was a feat of its own. Awesome sound as well!
08:21 I met GOD sonically!
I absolutely _love_ how this synth is essentially a hybrid of modular and normalized synths-but, without any of the accommodations both the former and the latter have. It is so radically different from anything else-even the Matrix 12-Oberheim-or dare I say anyone else-has ever done with subtractive synthesis.
Now, imagine doing this with a bunch of Arp Odysseys or 2600s. That would be something.
Dave Greenfield (RIP...) used this synthesizer on Stranglers albums "The Raven" & "The Gospel according to the Meninblack".
Dennis DeYoung made this synthesizer rock! Listen to Pieces of Eight and Cornerstone, this synthesizer is all over those albums!
Many years ago, I saw the Stranglers at a small club in NJ. Before they went on, we had to endure about 15 minutes of agonizing screeches, as the roadie tuned Dave Greenfield's 8-voice - which may have been the only keyboard he played that night. But it did sound great when he finally got it in tune.
Late November 2017 and I'm watching this yet again (must be viewing No. 6 by now). Just love this video.
Bloody hell, the patches you make are simply excellent!! I nearly cried at some of them - positive I wasn't the only one
This is one of my favorite videos on this whole website
One of my all time favorite synths! Moog felt the same way about this synth. Even though he never created this one. He said it was one of his favorites. Thanks to GF!
I have this vid in my favorites and watch it over and over again. It just gives me chills. Such massive sound. Nothing has nor ever will compare.
Great video, thank you. The Lyle Mays pads on all his offerings with Metheny are some of the best ever. As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls!
こういうの好きだなぁ。
シンプルな2VCOシンセだけど、それを複数個スタックすることで全く新たな意味が生じる。
Dream Synth!! This is my favorite sounding Oberheim!!
The Vermona Perfourmer MKII is possibly the closest modern equivalent to at least the Oberheim 4-Voice. Lacking in some ways in comparison, gaining in others, it is one hell of a great polysynth for the money. It was this video that inspired me to seek out a polysynth with similar ethics and after a few years of looking, the Vermona is what I found.
This is the best demo and explanation of the Oberheim 8-voice that I've ever seen/heard. Thanks.
Presenting Lord of the Synths, Dave Spiers...This is One Synth to Rule Them All....
What an amazing sounding Synthesizer.
Fantastic overview of the 8 Voice from the mystical past of synthesiser mythology. This makes a good video tutorial too. Tom's new Son Of Four looks even more tempting. There is just something about the imperfections between voices on these older machines that adds an X Factor into the character of the sounds.
"...and I know it seems excessive, stacking 16 oscillators for a monophonic patch.."
it's not dude, it's not.
I think it's time for a name change...Wendyringus....
"I've lost entire weekends programming this beast" LOL!
So much variety and color in harmony. It's like a synth orchestra.
Chick Corea had an interesting tune on his 1978 album "the Mad Hatter". It's the opening track, "The Woods". Basically an instrumental featuring the 8 voice (the one from this video I assume), mini moog, and eventide harmonizer along acoustic piano and xylophone. Amazing Oberheim sounds!
Oberheim and Kurzweil were above my budget in the 1980s. I now have a Waldorf Iridium keyboard, which is simply incredible. I still love the old analogue synths.
I've heard a 4 voice in action, but not had the pleasure of an 8 voice (unless ive forgotten). They're huge beasts and you need patience in abundance.
Still holding out for tom oberheim's redux (no idea where he is on it), which should hopefully fix the niggles.
Thank you for the documentary and the sonic joy, Dave. 👍
Normally, when I click the Thumbs Up button, it's because the vid was good enough. This vid, however, had me search for the Repeat A Thousand Times button in addition. Sadly, I couldn't find such a much needed button, so I'm confined to just watching the vid and being grateful. Thanks, Dave Spiers!
God this thing sounds so blissful.
Brings tears to my eyes!
That was so beautifully demonstrated!
One day...oh, one day I will get my hands on one of these beasts.
I pretty much return once every few months just to hear 8:20 and 11:32 again.
Something similar to 8:20 is the first sound in the Oberheim OB-E. Powerful stuff!!
I keep coming back to this demo. This is GOD.
This synth sounds awesome, has a very warm and full sound
Incredible! This thing sounds just incredible!
One of my all-time fave synths. Great demo, thanks fora great nostalgia trip!
Brilliant! And a big CONGRATS to you for the OP-E which is incredible!! 👍😀
now that is a truly unique synthesizer. it's a joy to watch you play with that thing :)
This is the single best synth tutorial I've ever seen. You should develop training DVDs for all the classic analogs.
Absolutely fantastic! What a beauty with an enormous sound! GREAT.
wonderful sounds, amazing explanations/narration - this is truly a phenomenal video, great job!
Serge pizzorno sampled this in the interlude Æ space
This is the sexiest thing I've ever seen.
While I'm no software synthesist, I wouldn't complain if GForce could break through and create a software version of this monster.
Thx much. Had a 4 voice on the road in ‘84.
Very nice. I am a fan of the Oberheim sound. EVS and FVS are incredible pieces of synth history. The ability to program each individual voice differently and place in unison can lead to some overwhelmingly interesting sounds. I just do what I can with my humble OB-8 :)
This video is way too good to be free
it's also the sound from the intro to the video.. Maybe that's why you felt it sounded familiar it sounds incredible! I'm blown away by that sound.
Stunning. Dave you did an incredible breakdown of this national treasure. Thank you
It's the variable VCF structure that really makes it unique. It's not fat like a Moog or ARP, more "wide".
This monster sounded just absolutely amazing from 5:40 on.
This is my favorite TH-cam video.
I had one of these (the 4 voice minus the expander unit) in 1979. It sounded fabulous, but talk about troublesome. It spent more time in the shop than making music!
that's why I gave up on vintage and settle with reissues instead. 4 voice is a beast too and quite massive. The new SEM is quite something.
bloggulator I own one, never any problems, fantastic machine.
Thanks for this. Informative and entertaining as always, but as always, I get serious gear envy.
Great Vid, great sounds, great synth, there was even one Oberheim 12 voices i believe with 2 keyboards owned by Patrick Moraz (Yes, Moody Blues) who sold it currently, a more rare gem eventually.
OH MY GOD!!!!! This is outstanding!!!! Blend them all together!!
you could probably spend your whole life in a room with this thing and not regret it
To me, the most beautiful use of this instrument is Lyle Mays' extraordinarily subtle string pads on the original song Travels from the Pat Metheny Group Album of the same name.
The award for the best synth overview video of all time goes to: "Oberheim 8 Voice" by GForce Software. I've watched this so many times over the years and plan on watching it many more.
My brother had a 4 voice. It's an awesome sounding synth. I understand how you can lose a weekend playing with the sounds. Nice Video. Thanks for taking the time.
Dave,
thanks for showing and explaining this marvelous instrument in such detail.
Mat
Many thanks for these videos. When I started out trying to make music with affordable synths in the 90s, I could have learned so much so quickly if I'd had access to clear and detailed videos like this.
One point to take away from this video for producers on a budget is the power of layering. A single software synth voice will never sound as rich as a SEM, but what you CAN do digitally is use lots of layers of different sounds.
Imagine this thing in full beast mode...Mother of mercy!!
Dave, Sir.... You are a Rock Star!! ;)
I seen the past.
I can't afford it.
Yes, this is THE Doc Sketchy of Sketchy Labs. I'm always wondering what to build next, and I keep coming back to this wonderful video. I think my next big project is going to be the Sketchy Labs SEM and polyphonic controller (built in 70s style, no microcontrollers, no code, no robots -- just through-hole logic and opamps laid out in Excel as usual). I think I want to make my SEM just a little bit fancier, though... more stuff, smaller knobs.
FANTASTIC!!!!!TOM YOU ARE THE BEST
This keyboard was Prince's keyboard of choice during the 1999-Purple Rain Albums.
what a rich and creamy sound! Thanks a lot for that detailled demo!
8:23 I did wet myself.
LOL, I was going to make almost the same exact comment (though "poop my pants" was what I would have said)...
UNISON POWAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
same at 11:32
I hope you still have each other. Beautiful engineering. Stack on, sir!
I absolutely love these old synthesizers, for the very reasons that you have just described. And it frustrates me to no end when people don't understand the point of old synthesizers is to not have a "perfect" sound, but to embrace the imperfections and use those imperfections to make some truly interesting sounds.
very good video. finally we can hear an 8voice in detail. thanks!
Thanks for the impressing presentation of your beloved!
I needed a quadruple bypass after hearing this monster! Thank you so much!
I've been listening to those three chords over and over. F-ing beautiful.
I still chuckle when I read video comments on TH-cam emulation videos claiming to get even close to this sound. Even the TH-cam audio on this shows how smooth, warm, and raw and sharp this thing is (a seemingly impossible combination until I heard the real thing!). I bought the new edition Oberheim SEM Pro as my first ever analog, and couldn't be happier. You can keep your emulations people, for those who know, nothing comes close to the real thing. GORGEOUS!
Wonderful stuff - and as usual highly entertaining!
Very clear explaint and what a possibilities und sounds!!
Last weekend I had the first time in my life the possibility to play on a Oberheim OP-Xa and a Minimoogthe during the Museum Night in Basel
Great post, sounds so wonderful.
Best synth under the sun!
Now I understand why your plugins sound so good. There's a lot of love in them:)