Oberheim OB-8

The Oberheim OB-8 is a subtractive analog synthesizer launched by Oberheim in early 1983 and discontinued in 1985. As the fourth product in the OB-series of polyphonic compact synthesizers, the OB-8 was the successor to the OB-Xa. About 3,000 units were produced.^[1]

OB-8
The Oberheim OB-8
Manufacturer	Oberheim
Dates	1983 - 1985
Price	US$4395
Technical specifications
Polyphony	8 voices
Timbrality	Bitimbral
Oscillator	2 VCOs per voice
LFO	3
Synthesis type	Analog Subtractive
Filter	Switchable 12dB/oct or 24dB/oct resonant low-pass
Attenuator	2 x ADSR (one for VCF & one for VCA)
Aftertouch expression	No
Velocity expression	No
Storage memory	120 patches 12 splits 12 dual
Effects	none
Input/output
Keyboard	61-key
Left-hand control	Pitch Modulation
External control	CV/Gate MIDI Cassette Computer interface

Specification

The OB-8 features eight-voice polyphony, two-part multi-timbrality, a 61-note processor-controlled piano keyboard, sophisticated programmable low-frequency oscillation (LFO) and envelope modulation, two-pole and four-pole filters, arpeggiator, external cassette storage, MIDI capability and 120 memory patches, 24 bi-timbral patches, and used the Z80 CPU. The musician's interface also consists of two pages of front panel programmable controls, left panel performance controls and a set of foot pedals and switches.

Notable OB-8 users

• Jack Antonoff^[2]
• Art of Noise^[3]
• Daft Punk^[4]
• Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis^[5]
• Nik Kershaw^[6]
• The KLF^[3]
• Pet Shop Boys^[3]
• The Police^[7]
• Queen^[8]
• Steve Roach^[9]
• Simple Minds^[10]
• Soul II Soul^{[citation needed]}
• Prince^[11]
• Van Halen^{[citation needed]}

Hardware re-issues and recreations

In May, 2022, the Oberheim OB-X8, a new 8-voice analog synthesizer with the voice architecture and filters of four classic Oberheim models: the OB-X, OB-SX, OB-Xa, and OB-8, along with functionality and features not included on the original models, was announced. The new synthesizer is manufactured by Sequential in partnership with Tom Oberheim.^[12][13][14]