Tom Oberheim had been making synths as far back as 1974 when he brought out the diminuitive Synthesiser Expander Module (or SEM). Originally designed to augment the popular MiniMoog, Oberheim deliberately included features that were missing from the Mini such as multi-mode filters and oscillator sync - and Oberheim deliberately chose a 12-pole filter to contrast with the Mini's characteristic Moog filter. The SEM was a staple component of many keyboard players' rigs and Jan Hammer used it famously in combination with his MiniMoog to create his characteristic lead guitar sound.

Oberheim later strapped four of these together to create a monstrous a 4-voice polyphonic keyboard - the world's first true polyphonic synthesiser in fact. the trouble was that each voice was a separate synth that had to be independently programmed. It created a huge sound of course and sounded very 'natural' by way of the fact that each voice could be subtely different (you could tailor one for a contrabass sound, another for a cello and the other two for violins to create a more authentic synthesised string sound) but it was unwieldy and cumbersome (and big!). However, it did establish the Oberheim 'sound'.

Then of course, came the Polymoog then the Yamaha CS80 and the writing was on the wall for this 4-voice beast when the Prophet 5 hit the streets.

Oberheim's OB series evolved over the years and the OBX was superceded by the re-styled blue striped OBXa which added keyboard splits and layering to the equation and a 2/4-pole filter switch amongst other functions and the OB8 featured here represented the pinnacle of the OB range with added memories, an arpeggiator and extra synthesis facilities when it was released in 1983.

Programming was a little non-standard however and unlike other synths of the time, there weren't controls/switches for every function. For example, there were two waveform switches for the oscillators (sawtooth and square) and both waveforms could be active simultaneously on both oscillators. However, by pressing both keys together so that their indicator lights were off, a triangle wave was selected! So, with both switches effectively disabled, you didn't switch off the selection, you selected something else .... errmmm ..... right... clear as mud!

There were also some annoying issues that never changed - for example, the oscillators had no level controls to speak so they couldn't be mixed in the true sense of the word. The closest thing it had to that was a 'half level' switch for Oscillator 2. Other functions were just downright obscure without the manual to hand. For example, there was no dedicated pulse width control for either of the oscillators - something of a serious ommission you'd think on a synth ofthis calibre/price. However, by pressing and holding either oscillators' PULSE wave switch whilst adjusting the PWM DEPTH control, the width of the oscillators' pulse wave could be independently set. Also, some of the OB8's synthesis features (albeit the lesser used ones) were on 'Page 2' which, when enabled, provided many of the panel knobs and switches with a second function. Typically these were modulation facilities, etc., so it was still straightforward to coax some fabulous sounds quickly and easily and the compromises did allow a very simple panel to be designed with just 22 controls.

TheBut regardless of what you might think of its user interface or design, there is no denying that the OB-series had a distinctive sound - bright and brash (think 'Jump' by Van Halen) but also capable of great subtlety (think of the solid bass sounds used by The Thompson Twins) and every model proved to very popular. Of course, there were those who felt the later models didn't sound as good as the earlier models with the adoption of Curtis chips but they were a lot more stable and a lot more capable. The list of users reads like a who's who of the industry of the time and includes the aforemention Van halen and The Thompson twins and also Prince, Depeche Mode, Rush, Jam and Lewis, Simple Minds and many more.

What's on offer here are a selection of sounds taken from Dana Fiorucci's OB8. Dana owns an enviable collection of vintage gear which can be seen if you visit his website at : http://members.cox.net/synths.

I will be bringing more of his generous contributions over time. For now, we have a sound that characterises the OB8 - big, fat and juicy detuned sawtooth waves. Bright and ill-mannered with the filter wide open, using your sampler's synth facilities, these meticulously looped multi-samples are the ideal foundation for any number of synth sounds and strings, pads, basses, etc., to be created. The download contains several program variations for the S5/6000 that do just that.