Tom Oberheim 2 voice?

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1

The original SEM was made specifically as expander module for the MiniMoog (and for Arp) so in a sense, this post is not off-topic.

I have one of the new Midi-SEMs and it’s great.

If you pay attention to the news in Poly Analog land, you would have noticed the announcement of Tom’s Son Of Four Voice or SoFV. There are rendered pics of the ‘product’ on Tom’s site and even at some of the resellers but no product shipping yet.

I heard recent (October/November) news that Tom had put the 4 Voice on the back burner because he was making good progress on a new Two Voice with a new mini-sequencer and keyboard. Now THAT’s exciting. But again, here we are in January and no news.

If you know Tom, you know that he just does this for fun, not for business. I hear stories about how he is sitting at his kitchen table with a scope and soldering iron and I’ve read a few stories from people that have purchased directly from him and in one case, Tom put a twenty dollar bill in with a product to reimburse the owner for shipping or some foul-up. The guy said he felt like his grandpa or great uncle was sending him a $20 spot for his birthday. Hilarious.

I had great interest in the Two voice but am about at the end of my comfortable waiting period now that Minitaur is on it’s way. I figure, I can pick up a Maq 16/3 which I’ve long sought and the Minitaur and get some great utility.

But the point of this posting is really to share these two clips which popped up on YouTube not too long ago. I’ve also added one of the often viewed original Two Voice clips to remind you how massive this thing could be. Enjoy!

Tom demonstrating at end of last year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TXllVdz3wg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAPsUTCKPsw

And of course, the original:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yFMbd1LLYA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nq88mzUY6c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrnrVo7Rnbc

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I hear you White. A few months ago I sent him my MIDI sem for a personalized signature and he returned the return postage I included in the box I sent. He hooked it up, and he helped me troubleshoot a silly problem I was having with it by firing emails at each other over a span of thirty minutes.

If you hold out for a two voice, you wont be alone mac. I’d rather buy the two voice, connect my sem for a third, then buy one more so/LP for my Moog poly. I’m just not interested in a $600 bass machine. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds cool but its not for me I suppose.

Personally I prefer the 2 voice over the 4.

3

I emailed Tom a few months ago and he did say he was working on the new 2 voice, but did not say anything about the keyboard and I did ask. I think I’m just going to get a second SEM PP and not hold my breath. Maybe down the road I’ll also pick up a two voice. I view the Minitar as a completely different beast.

4

the 4 voice/8 voice were not exactly the pinnacle of polyphonic engineering. Cool and great sounding nonetheless though. The 2 voice was the coolest Oberheim ever in my opinion. Best sound, neat little keyboard package. But it needs a pitch bend wheel. I have never really felt the necessity for a mod wheel when you can just turn a knob, but the pitch wheel is crucial. The mini-sequencer is not that cool, maybe he should put a digital sequencer or a patchbay in it place. I hope it comes to fruition, probably my favorite mono/duo synth after the Minimoog and before the early blackface Odyssey. And maybe he should put something forth to compete with the Tempest, though that thing is pretty badass.