Tom Oberheim heads to the factory floor to confirm that the OB-8 desktop synth module is now shipping

OB-X8 desktop module
(Image credit: Oberheim)

Like a proud parent, Tom Oberheim has been photographed holding an OB-X8 desktop module to celebrate the fact that this compact, keyboard-free version of his stunning synth is now shipping.

The shot appears to have been taken in the Oberheim manufacturing facility, where the OB-X8 modules are now rolling off the production line.

Like its keyboard sibling, the desktop version is an eight-voice synth that features an all-analogue signal path with discrete VCOs, VCAs, and filters. You get the same knob-per-function control panel, and the arpeggiator and keyboard split/double functionality is also here, ready to be called on when you plug in a MIDI controller.

“The OB-X8 desktop module provides a great opportunity for musicians with limited studio space to get into the classic Oberheim sound, heard on so many hit records over the past 45 years”, says Taiho Yamada, Head of Marketing for Oberheim. “And the combination of synthesis features from the original OB-series synths means that new sounds can be created that were not possible until now.”

The OB-X8 desktop module is available now priced at $3,499/£3,399. Find out more on the Oberheim website.

OB-X8 desktop module

(Image credit: Oberheim)
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Ben Rogerson
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.