SUCH a great story! And he did come back in a BIG WAY! I'm purchasing the TEO 5 this week! Hats off to your dad! Have been a fan since the 70s & now I finally own one!
If anyone read this and like this video, head over to this guy page and watch his take on the history of few other legendary synths (Roland, ARP etc) ! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Amazing that both Tom Oberheim and Dave Smith designed digital sequencers early in their careers. Now it appears they are working in something even more interesting!
Tom is my favorite person of all time. You could make a movie of his life. I named my dog after him “Obie” Tom’s daughter saw it on a oberheim appreciation page and she said Tom was honored that I named my Bernese after him. He then invited us over for dinner because he wanted to meet Obie. This is one of the most genuine humble people that changed the face of music…Tom oberheim is one of the most beautiful approachable people I’ve ever known.
"Pure tweaking, no science involved".. that just about sums up analogue synths and why we love them so much. Excellent documentary, well done Dave and all the team at GForce and of course for Tom to tell us his story 🙂
I'm a professional EE (now manager) for a major corporation, as well as being a synth repair tech. Tom has been an absolute inspiration for me for many years now and continues to be. Not only is he a fantastic engineer - and a hands-on one - but is also a really nice person. He continues to inspire so many young engineers and techs to this day.
oh, this is magnificent! what a story, what a great man, what great products! as if i wasn't already enough of a fan, this just puts it over the top! i laughed, i cried, i wanted to give marcus a superhero's cape. i can't think you enough for making this story available to us all, dave. great job to everybody involved.
I met this man at Synthplex and he was incredibly generous with his time, and is a truly lovely fella. Mind blowingly humble and friendly, especially considering he is a living legend. Thank you, Tom, for all you continue to do for synthesis and music.
This gave me chills. NOTHING GIVES ME CHILLS. But this did... I own many Oberheims, and they all clapped at the end of this. Even they are hoping for _just_ one more brother!
Tom's designs are absolutely enchanting pieces to play on and produce with. The OB6 might be one of the best synthesizers ever made in my opinion. Its great to hear his story and see what experiences shaped his genius!
This was fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing this. Proud to hold a small piece of the Oberheim tech, the OB-6. It is my all-time favorite synth.
I grew up listening to Don Ellis and his big band...so very cool how Tom had been friends with him! Thank You Tom, for all the amazing musical instruments and effects that you have crafted over the years...truly a legend!!! :)
32:56 I love the Tom Oberheim signature on the front of the OB-6 and the huge signature on the rear panel. It's a cool and harmonious signature. Like Tom the man.
What an absolutely wonderful story!! JUST AMAZING!! I wish --though-- how MIDI and later on the Xpander & Matrix-12 came about (how Marcus Ryle came into designing the latter two, etc)... Nevertheless, A VERY PRECIOUS VIDEO!! THANKS FOR THIS JEWEL!! AND MORE POWER TO TOM TO COME UP W NEW AMAZING THINGS!! WE ARE ALL WAITING!! God bless him!!!
This is everything. at 11:23 Tom sheds a little tear recounting a memory of Leonard Rosenman (rip) that was so touching. Thank you so very much for documenting this Dave and all involved, truly an absolute joy to watch. love you guys x and of course... Mr. Tom Oberheim.
I've watched it three times since its release. Each time, I feel such warmth and humanity emanating from Tom. He could be a replacement Dad for me any day. I just hope, HOPE that Tom decides to release more Oberheim products. Such beautiful machines. We need more of them
Thank you for this. How bitter it must have been to see his own company foreclosed, and how lovely to see Tom have the chance to circle back to what will forever be his rightful legacy.
Thank you Dave for making this. This felt like a regular documentary. I only took note at the end that this was mainly based on zoom calls. I am sure, you would have preferred to meet in person. But the end result didn't suffer from that not being possible, really. That's noteworthy. Well done.
What a wonderful story! Tom must be one of the kindest people around! Just look at his eyes when listening to Marcus Ryle. Not to mention that he changed the world of electronic music!
A big THANK YOU for this captivating insight into the career of the wonderful Tom Oberheim, with very welcome comments and input from Marcus Ryle. Tom reminds me of Bob Moog in many ways, a very nice guy, and a great engineer with a passion for everything he does. It's only fitting that he has finally regained the marketing rights to his own name. Again, superb work from the whole team that recorded, edited and produced this 37 minutes documentary.
He is really an idol in many aspects. You do a great service to all synth-geeks on making such great documentaries. Thank you for doing and sharing this with us.🙏
My first synth i ever played was a Oberheim synth in 1979 in a small shop, i never forgot how much i loved the sounds of all the great synths with the funny logo!
What a wonderful addition to the Bright Sparks documentary, well done Dave! Tom just seems like such a nice guy, that created *that* sound at that time. Fantastic he got the name back!
Awesome documentary about an awesome synth maker. I couldn't afford an Oberheim back in the early 80s but rented a couple... Fell in love with the OB-Xa and Matrix 12! I now consider myself spoilt to have fantastic Oberheim software emulations such as the GForce's OB-E and Synapse Audio's Obsession. Hopefully Tom will create some more special instruments (hardware or software) in years to come!
Thank you for this great view behind the history of Oberheim. I really love how it started and played out. Best of Luck to Tom and all the rest of the Band.
28:12 It's strange because it's quite easy to find examples of OB-Xa being used live on old videos. The Police Gateshead 1982, Simple Minds, Van Halen, etc. However, I found some Christopher Cross videos from 1980 with OB-X as a major feature and a 4-Voice on stage. Also OB-X in 1986 on his Japanese gig. Then of course there is Rush with Geddy Lee and his Oberheim serup with embedded Minimoog keyboard on the Exit Stage Left video 1980.
I’m amazed at the motivation and work ethic Tom had to get his career to the place he wanted and to become a legend in electronic instruments. I can’t be arsed to get out of bed before noon on most days, so I’m deeply envious of his energy. It’s such a shame that the chip shortage reduced the number of TVS units Tom could build with his old/new logo back, I was so looking forward to finally getting genuine Oberheim sound in my studio, rather than relying on VST emulations. It’s for this reason I keep holding on to hope that rumour about another Sequential/Oberheim partnership and the OB-X name registration is true and leading to another Holy Grail synth in music stores.
Wonderful to learn more about Mr Oberheim, an important figure in the synthesizer world and a wonderful guy. Natural intelligence and curiosity, very inspiring!
Bloody fantastic. Well done Dave and all at GForce. It's so good to see Tom just tell his story in his own way without any interruption. What a joy of a man. When he kisses his wife in the intro
He seems really easy going...young at heart...and cool! Once you design a synth...it’s there for ever, it’s your imprint and gift to the world and to music. Respect!
Thank you Tom and everyone else involved in this wonderful project in electronics and music. I'm the proud owner of some Oberheim synths. One music magazine of the eighties named the Oberheim synths as the Steinway of synthesizers and I completely agree.
This documentary made my day! Thanks for taking the time to put it together! Mondo props to Tom who agreed to do it! And wow the story of getting his name back with the obie logo is just fantastic! 🎇
Such a worthy addition to the Bright Sparks documentary and more excellent work by GForce to tell the story so well. Thank you for all you do to honor the work of these legendary visionaries.
15:40 Fascinating that both the SEM module and the Minimoog had issues with the signal level into the filter creating distortion and the optimal level gave an optimal sound.
Brilliant. In awe at these regular (albeit extremely bright) people doing extraordinary things that have had such a big impact in music. And good to see a positive conclusion to the name ownership. Thanks for persisting and finally nailing Tom down to tell his story.
Incredible video - thank you so much for putting this together. Have been a massive Oberheim fan my whole life and was so great to see and hear the history of how everything came to be.
Just brilliant! Thank you, GForce Software and Dave Spiers for such an informationally dense, but incredibly enjoyable to watch documentary that had to be made. I'm so glad y'all were the ones to do it! I'm gonna watch it again now!
I’m listening to this as I’m placing myself and where I was, musically, in the timeline and it’s fascinating to think of what was going on behind the scenes of my OBXa and other Oberheim gear. It’s kinda like peeking behind the curtain and finding the great OZ was just a regular guy the whole time. Normal people, normal problems, but great ideas and ambition. Much gratitude to all of them for dreaming up these great tools and toys. My life would’ve been considerably less exciting, without them.
What a pleasant surprise this was! Should be mandatory viewing for any synth enthusiast I feel like. I now look at my OB-6 and honestly all synths with renewed appreciation.
Just a great story to hear - thanks for sharing GForce. I haven't heard a good thing yet about Henry Juszkiewicz from his time at Gibson and that streak continues on. So glad Tom is still going.
This was so AWESOME… and to be clear about what I mean, these Oberheim products were 'magic dream machines' to me beginning about my junior year in high school. In 1982 when I attended Musicians' Institute in Hollywood I was 20 and the Oberheim System was the trifecta of music machine wonderment… and at $10K completely inaccessible to me. Back to this video… such a fantastic STORY filled with the completely human side of having an interest, which leads to a passion, which leads to small opportunities that lead to bigger opportunities that come with challenges to your confidence that need to be overcome… the human side of this music tech story was just so inspiring and satisfying to me… thank you so much for having made this :-)
Very proud of my father. This video is amazing and he did so well. I love daddy!
Your dad changed my life. He is my hero. I would love to see a movie about his life. I still want to pop down with my dog Obie and have them meet
SUCH a great story! And he did come back in a BIG WAY! I'm purchasing the TEO 5 this week! Hats off to your dad! Have been a fan since the 70s & now I finally own one!
So awesome that this story has now been covered so beautifully.
Wonderful stuff guys and hats off to Mr O and Co for the timeless inventions.
Hey it’s my favorite vintage synth guy. Not surprisingly you have great complements for them and this great inventor.
If anyone read this and like this video, head over to this guy page and watch his take on the history of few other legendary synths (Roland, ARP etc) ! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
@@Rwtheking Tom is such a great role model type of person.
Amazing that both Tom Oberheim and Dave Smith designed digital sequencers early in their careers. Now it appears they are working in something even more interesting!
Tom is my favorite person of all time. You could make a movie of his life. I named my dog after him “Obie” Tom’s daughter saw it on a oberheim appreciation page and she said Tom was honored that I named my Bernese after him. He then invited us over for dinner because he wanted to meet Obie. This is one of the most genuine humble people that changed the face of music…Tom oberheim is one of the most beautiful approachable people I’ve ever known.
such cute, sweet people. Goes a long way in today's society. thank you for bringing OB-E to PC!
"Pure tweaking, no science involved".. that just about sums up analogue synths and why we love them so much. Excellent documentary, well done Dave and all the team at GForce and of course for Tom to tell us his story 🙂
As a fan do you make music or play any synths?
Weird crossover moments. Curious Droid is a synth fan?
@@NathanChisholm041 When i get the time i do yes
@@danpreston564 Have been since 1974 when Kraftwerk Autobahn and Tomita's Snowflakes are dancing came out 🙂
I'm a professional EE (now manager) for a major corporation, as well as being a synth repair tech. Tom has been an absolute inspiration for me for many years now and continues to be. Not only is he a fantastic engineer - and a hands-on one - but is also a really nice person. He continues to inspire so many young engineers and techs to this day.
have you seen Synthchaser's videos? he repairs Oberheims along with other synths I learned a lot from his videos.
@@Heathcliff_hensel thanks! I’ve been a repair tech for some 30 years now. Lots of Oberheims under my belt 😊
@@Heathcliff_hensel He fixed my OB-Xa great guy!
Thanks to all involved for putting this together, it's great to hear more from Tom and the history as well as having a new Bright Sparks chapter.
Spot on. Tom Oberheim's contribution is so woefully underrepresented. Gotta love the guy.
oh, this is magnificent! what a story, what a great man, what great products! as if i wasn't already enough of a fan, this just puts it over the top! i laughed, i cried, i wanted to give marcus a superhero's cape. i can't think you enough for making this story available to us all, dave. great job to everybody involved.
Hiya Richard! I totally agree! Wonderful!
Well said
Awesome!!!!!!!!!! So glad you did this! Tom is a gentleman, a great storyteller and a marvelous inventor.
What a legend. Those Oberheim synths are some of the greatest ever made. The OBX would be a desert island instrument for me.
Can't wait to see the Oberheim marque back on Tom's next synth!
This man is an incredible inspiration.
I met this man at Synthplex and he was incredibly generous with his time, and is a truly lovely fella. Mind blowingly humble and friendly, especially considering he is a living legend. Thank you, Tom, for all you continue to do for synthesis and music.
What a cool guy and a great interview. Thanks GForce, you guys are great.
This gave me chills. NOTHING GIVES ME CHILLS. But this did... I own many Oberheims, and they all clapped at the end of this. Even they are hoping for _just_ one more brother!
Tom's designs are absolutely enchanting pieces to play on and produce with. The OB6 might be one of the best synthesizers ever made in my opinion. Its great to hear his story and see what experiences shaped his genius!
What a legend, he deserves it all, we need more Tom's in this world. Such a lovely person.
Tom seems like the grandpa I never had. What a wonderful person.
I salute you, Mr Tom Oberheim. I have used and loved your instruments since the early 1980s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing this. Proud to hold a small piece of the Oberheim tech, the OB-6. It is my all-time favorite synth.
I grew up listening to Don Ellis and his big band...so very cool how Tom had been friends with him! Thank You Tom, for all the amazing musical instruments and effects that you have crafted over the years...truly a legend!!! :)
32:56 I love the Tom Oberheim signature on the front of the OB-6 and the huge signature on the rear panel. It's a cool and harmonious signature. Like Tom the man.
What an absolutely wonderful story!! JUST AMAZING!! I wish --though-- how MIDI and later on the Xpander & Matrix-12 came about (how Marcus Ryle came into designing the latter two, etc)... Nevertheless, A VERY PRECIOUS VIDEO!! THANKS FOR THIS JEWEL!! AND MORE POWER TO TOM TO COME UP W NEW AMAZING THINGS!! WE ARE ALL WAITING!! God bless him!!!
This is everything. at 11:23 Tom sheds a little tear recounting a memory of Leonard Rosenman (rip) that was so touching. Thank you so very much for documenting this Dave and all involved, truly an absolute joy to watch. love you guys x and of course... Mr. Tom Oberheim.
I've watched it three times since its release. Each time, I feel such warmth and humanity emanating from Tom. He could be a replacement Dad for me any day.
I just hope, HOPE that Tom decides to release more Oberheim products. Such beautiful machines. We need more of them
And now he has! The OB-X8 is here. The best news I've had in a long time. But....where are the blue lines?
Thank you for this. How bitter it must have been to see his own company foreclosed, and how lovely to see Tom have the chance to circle back to what will forever be his rightful legacy.
It’s always a pleasure to listen to Tom talk about how he started
This is the greatest story I’ve heard for a while. Loving my OB-6. Thank you Tom!
Thank you for this wonderful documentary and HUGE thanks to Tom Oberheim!
Thank you Dave for making this. This felt like a regular documentary. I only took note at the end that this was mainly based on zoom calls. I am sure, you would have preferred to meet in person. But the end result didn't suffer from that not being possible, really. That's noteworthy. Well done.
What a wonderful story! Tom must be one of the kindest people around! Just look at his eyes when listening to Marcus Ryle. Not to mention that he changed the world of electronic music!
I've been waiting for this for a long time. This is the most comprehensive history of Tom Oberheim I've seen.
A big THANK YOU for this captivating insight into the career of the wonderful Tom Oberheim, with very welcome comments and input from Marcus Ryle. Tom reminds me of Bob Moog in many ways, a very nice guy, and a great engineer with a passion for everything he does. It's only fitting that he has finally regained the marketing rights to his own name.
Again, superb work from the whole team that recorded, edited and produced this 37 minutes documentary.
Wow what a fantastic contribution to all the synth nerds of the world! Obsessed with the obx-a
Great documentation, lovely interview..thank you for bringing this!
This is pure emotion and the fates are smiling down on Toms creative genius yet again. Proof that you can’t keep a humble & great man down.
Love this man, and still sharp as a tack! ❤️🧡💛
Hahahahahahah! So good. I love the way you all put this together! Tom and Jill are family. Much love.
The TVP is a masterpiece. Can’t believe how great it sounds... thanks Tom. 🎛
Big love for Tom Oberheim and his amazing sounding synthesizers! So nice to see this. Thank you for making this documentary.
Awesome story Tom and Marcus! Thanks for sharing.
He is really an idol in many aspects. You do a great service to all synth-geeks on making such great documentaries. Thank you for doing and sharing this with us.🙏
My first synth i ever played was a Oberheim synth in 1979 in a small shop, i never forgot how much i loved the sounds of all the great synths with the funny logo!
I just discovered this Bright Sparks series. It’s all very well done and tells so many great stories. Some of the best stuff on RUclips.
What a wonderful addition to the Bright Sparks documentary, well done Dave! Tom just seems like such a nice guy, that created *that* sound at that time. Fantastic he got the name back!
Another lovely contribution. Thank you Dave and team.
Absolutely wonderful for anybody with interest in synthesizers!
Wonderful! Tom is such an inspiration and so humble.
Thanks for this great educational tribute, Tom is a treasure to the world.
Awesome documentary about an awesome synth maker. I couldn't afford an Oberheim back in the early 80s but rented a couple... Fell in love with the OB-Xa and Matrix 12! I now consider myself spoilt to have fantastic Oberheim software emulations such as the GForce's OB-E and Synapse Audio's Obsession. Hopefully Tom will create some more special instruments (hardware or software) in years to come!
What a wonderful story and Tom is such a remarkable and lovely human being. An actual living legend.
Thank you for this great view behind the history of Oberheim. I really love how it started and played out. Best of Luck to Tom and all the rest of the Band.
28:12 It's strange because it's quite easy to find examples of OB-Xa being used live on old videos. The Police Gateshead 1982, Simple Minds, Van Halen, etc. However, I found some Christopher Cross videos from 1980 with OB-X as a major feature and a 4-Voice on stage. Also OB-X in 1986 on his Japanese gig. Then of course there is Rush with Geddy Lee and his Oberheim serup with embedded Minimoog keyboard on the Exit Stage Left video 1980.
A major star in the Synth Walk Of Fame receives this fitting dedication. Thanks so much for all that went into this brilliant doc!
Thanks so much for this excellent documentary! Tom seems like an absolutely terrific guy and it’s wonderful to hear his inspiring story.
Oh my god it’s the man the legend! Tom Oberheim! What a legend.
I’m amazed at the motivation and work ethic Tom had to get his career to the place he wanted and to become a legend in electronic instruments. I can’t be arsed to get out of bed before noon on most days, so I’m deeply envious of his energy. It’s such a shame that the chip shortage reduced the number of TVS units Tom could build with his old/new logo back, I was so looking forward to finally getting genuine Oberheim sound in my studio, rather than relying on VST emulations. It’s for this reason I keep holding on to hope that rumour about another Sequential/Oberheim partnership and the OB-X name registration is true and leading to another Holy Grail synth in music stores.
Awesomeness!!! 👏😎👍 Such a great life story so far Tom, I loved hearing it and look forward what you might cook up in the future.
Excellent doc! Very pro assembled and very very interesting 🙏🙏🙏 Thank you
Wonderful to learn more about Mr Oberheim, an important figure in the synthesizer world and a wonderful guy. Natural intelligence and curiosity, very inspiring!
Absolutely wonderful, thanks Gforce and Dave for this!!!! And all the best to Tom for the future!
Such an absolutely wonderful video! Thank you to everyone involved!
Bloody fantastic. Well done Dave and all at GForce. It's so good to see Tom just tell his story in his own way without any interruption. What a joy of a man. When he kisses his wife in the intro
thank you - love those kisses Jill
Fantastic story and so happy for Tom he got his rights back .
A lovely video and an important record of Tom's story. He's one of the best.
Awe, I love Oberheim. They all seem like such wonderful people. Great sounding synths.
22:18 Those old 1978 NAMM show pictures! Most of the guys have a jacket and tie!
. .. ... this video chapter about Tom's story is a EXCELLENT addition ! Bravo to all involved in the making !
He seems really easy going...young at heart...and cool! Once you design a synth...it’s there for ever, it’s your imprint and gift to the world and to music. Respect!
These mini-documentaries you guys are making are great.
Keep up the good work 👽👍
What a joyous video! Fabulous stuff! Thanks to all at GForce and a huge thanks to Mr Tom Oberheim for agreeing to do it! Wonderful!
What a fantastic story! Thank you so much!
Respectful and deeply grateful salut to Mr Oberheim. Remarkable great historic video. Thank you all for putting it together and for sharing.
Oh my days, I enjoyed that SO much. Just great.
Tom you are a synth designer legend! We love you man!!
Incredible story! Very glad to see a new Bright Sparks chapter :D
Tom seems as nice a person as his synths sound. I am truly happy to own one of his SEM reissues.
Thank you Tom and everyone else involved in this wonderful project in electronics and music. I'm the proud owner of some Oberheim synths. One music magazine of the eighties named the Oberheim synths as the Steinway of synthesizers and I completely agree.
This documentary made my day! Thanks for taking the time to put it together! Mondo props to Tom who agreed to do it! And wow the story of getting his name back with the obie logo is just fantastic! 🎇
Such a brilliant man. So great to hear the full story, very interesting all the different events that happened. Thank you all!
Such a worthy addition to the Bright Sparks documentary and more excellent work by GForce to tell the story so well. Thank you for all you do to honor the work of these legendary visionaries.
15:40 Fascinating that both the SEM module and the Minimoog had issues with the signal level into the filter creating distortion and the optimal level gave an optimal sound.
I Love this documentary - Tom Oberheim! What a fantastic person! And what synths he invented!
what a hero / legend
Brilliant. In awe at these regular (albeit extremely bright) people doing extraordinary things that have had such a big impact in music. And good to see a positive conclusion to the name ownership. Thanks for persisting and finally nailing Tom down to tell his story.
Incredible video - thank you so much for putting this together. Have been a massive Oberheim fan my whole life and was so great to see and hear the history of how everything came to be.
Excellent video. Thank you, Tom, and everyone else, for all you have given the music world.
Loved this, like the way he credits everyone who helped him along the way. Cool guy!
Just brilliant! Thank you, GForce Software and Dave Spiers for such an informationally dense, but incredibly enjoyable to watch documentary that had to be made. I'm so glad y'all were the ones to do it! I'm gonna watch it again now!
I’m listening to this as I’m placing myself and where I was, musically, in the timeline and it’s fascinating to think of what was going on behind the scenes of my OBXa and other Oberheim gear. It’s kinda like peeking behind the curtain and finding the great OZ was just a regular guy the whole time. Normal people, normal problems, but great ideas and ambition. Much gratitude to all of them for dreaming up these great tools and toys. My life would’ve been considerably less exciting, without them.
Thank you for doing this! Enjoyed every minute of it.
Thank you for this story, I 'm glad we have people like Tom Oberheim
Brilliant, brilliant stuff about a brilliant man. Well done! Have a lovely weekend.
What a pleasant surprise this was! Should be mandatory viewing for any synth enthusiast I feel like. I now look at my OB-6 and honestly all synths with renewed appreciation.
This interview is pure gold.
Thanks for all the innovation and inspiration Tom.
Loving my OB-6.
The OB1 was my first synth! And I loved Tom's design of the Maestro phaser.
Excellent Production!!!! 5 Star!
Just a great story to hear - thanks for sharing GForce. I haven't heard a good thing yet about Henry Juszkiewicz from his time at Gibson and that streak continues on. So glad Tom is still going.
This was a wonderful watch, congrats to all involved. Let's hope for more Oberheims in the pipeline.. the story isn't over yet! :)
This was so AWESOME… and to be clear about what I mean, these Oberheim products were 'magic dream machines' to me beginning about my junior year in high school. In 1982 when I attended Musicians' Institute in Hollywood I was 20 and the Oberheim System was the trifecta of music machine wonderment… and at $10K completely inaccessible to me.
Back to this video… such a fantastic STORY filled with the completely human side of having an interest, which leads to a passion, which leads to small opportunities that lead to bigger opportunities that come with challenges to your confidence that need to be overcome… the human side of this music tech story was just so inspiring and satisfying to me… thank you so much for having made this :-)