Tom Oberheim SEM Designed in the early '70s to inexpensively augment monosynths by ARP and Moog, as well as support the company's digital sequencer, Oberheim's offered a basic feature set with a distinctive sound that has remained popular over the decades. Let's begin with the instrument that has the longest pedigree. Rather, I want to show the differences in design philosophy because, on top of the sound quality of an instrument, the voice architecture and feature set inspires each musician differently. I admit that comparing the features of these instruments is very much an apples-to-oranges-to-bananas affair, but this isn't a shootout to see which synth ranks highest. In this article, I examine three single-voice, analog-synth modules released in the past few months, as well as a related 4-voice module, all of which are priced less than $1,000 (some considerably so). That's where a standalone synth module comes in handy. Sometimes you just need a simple synth voice-an oscillator or two, an LFO, a filter, an envelope generator, and a VCA-in a portable package to put that fat bass line, searing lead, or space-age burbling where you want it. But whether it's a keyboard or a rack of modules, an analog synth can take up a lot of room. The world of modular systems, in particular, is exploding with new products, especially in the Eurorack format. Clockwise from top: Tom Oberheim SEM, Patch Panel edition Dave Smith Instruments Tetra Doepfer Dark Energy and Dave Smith Mopho Photo: Bill Schwob As interest in analog synthesizers continues to increase, more and more manufacturers are getting into the game.
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March 2023
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