Author: synthchaser

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The First Oberheim Electronics Product from 1974! – Synthchaser #182

The Oberheim DS-2 Digital Sequencer was the first product from Oberheim Electronics, introduced in 1974.

In this video, I take a look at this historically significant instrument, explain how it works, and demonstrate its capabilities. While many sequencers of the era were simple analog step sequencers, the DS-2 was a remarkably advanced digital system capable of recording and playing back sequences of up to 144 notes via CV/gate.

 

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Oberheim Matrix 6R and Matrix 1000 Repair – Synthchaser #177

I pulled a pile of broken rackmount Oberheims out of my storage and got down to repairing them to make them ready for new homes. I’ll show you around the inside of these synthesizers and we’ll troubleshoot and repair a variety of problems… Doesn’t boot at all, boots but no sound, makes sound but has dead voices, and voice is alive but incorrect pitch.

00:00 Intro

00:42 White Matrix 1000 & inside tour

04:30 Black Matrix 1000

18:59 Matrix 6R & inside tour

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Moog Sonic Six Functional Demo – Synthchaser #176

The Moog Sonic Six is a rare, portable analog synthesizer with classic Moog tone and ladder filter, featuring dual VCOs, ring modulation, and a built-in speaker—all housed in a rugged suitcase-style design perfect for studio or stage. Its unique sound-shaping capabilities including X/Y modulation, configurable keyboard modes, and vintage character make it a prized collector’s piece and a powerful tool for experimental or classic analog synthesis.

In this video we take a functional tour and explore exactly how the Sonic Six works and what it can do.

01:32 Direct Output Mixer

02:50 Oscillator A

05:15 X/Y Waveform Generators (LFOs)

09:31 Oscillator B

11:40 Keyboard Modes

15:07 Ring Modulator

16:30 Contour Generator & Articulator (Envelope Gen & VCA)

20:50 Voltage Controlled Filter

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Vintage Oberheim Two Voice Synthesizer TVS-1 Repair – Synthchaser #175

In this edge-of-your-seat exciting installment of the Synthchaser synthesizer repair video series, your host Synthchaser undertakes the repair of a vintage Oberheim Two Voice Synthesizer that is suffering from a dead SEM (Synthesizer Expander Module, or “voice”).

Parts, service and synthesizers available on my website. I buy broken synthesizers!

My multimeter: https://amzn.to/3Ltgqi3

My desoldering tool: https://amzn.to/3PikaEf

Soldering station: https://amzn.to/3rudVF4

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ARP Avatar Guitar Synthesizer Repair – Part 2 – Synthchaser #174

We continue the repair of the ARP Avatar, first repairing a problem with the synthesizer section, and then try out the guitar interface with the special hex pickup. Of course it’s not working, and we track the problem down to the D’ module which converts a guitar string to a control voltage. ARP never published the schematic for this module, but we use some basic troubleshooting skills to figure out the problem and get the Avatar working as a guitar synthesizer.

00:00 Intro & recap

00:48 Troubleshoot & repair of missing VCO 2 Square Wave and Filter LFO modulation

07:21 Controlling the Avatar with a vintage ARP Odyssey

08:15 Testing the guitar interface with the hex pickup

12:56 Troubleshooting and repair of string to CV conversion

20:56 Success!

23:56 Thoughts about the ARP Avatar and conclusion

My oscilloscope: https://amzn.to/3rm6b8d

My multimeter: https://amzn.to/3Ltgqi3

My desoldering tool: https://amzn.to/3PikaEf

Soldering station: https://amzn.to/402LjBh

Parts, service and synthesizers available on my website. I buy broken synthesizers!