Bright Sparks - Tom Oberheim

After the 2015 release of our Bright Sparks Documentary & Album collaboration with I Monster, while we were elated at the critical acclaim the project received, we always felt it would have been enriched by the inclusion of one person in particular, Tom Oberheim.
On the instrumental version of the Bright Sparks album, I Monster had created a bonus track, Beneath The Planet Of The Oberheim and while we'd reached out to Tom Oberheim and asked him to appear in the accompanying documentary, for various reasons it wasn't possible.
Then in Feb 2021, after the release of our OB-E 8-Voice emulation, we got the chance to talk with Tom whereupon our second question was "Can we persuade you to be filmed for a new Bright Sparks Chapter?"
Tom agreed and while covid put our plans on hold temporarily, we carried on communicating, and in October 2021 we sat at the UK end of a zoom call while cameraman Sam Graydon filmed Tom in the comfort of his California home. Additionally, ex-Oberheim engineer (and industry icon), Marcus Ryle, joined us from his studio and imparted his experience of working at Oberheim in the 80s and how, over 30 years later, he was pivotal in Tom regaining the use of his name and logo.
The result is a new Bright Sparks chapter dedicated to Tom Oberheim. A fascinating journey through the life and career of one of the most revered synthesiser pioneers, whose work has graced the tracks of everyone from Joe Zawinul to Stevie Wonder, Lyle Mays, Jam and Lewis and countless others.
Camera - Sam Graydon.
Edit Producer - Jeff Boult.
Executive Producer - Dave Spiers for GForce Software.
Artwork - Jarrod Gosling
Animation - Luke Highet
Photos - Dave Spiers, Ian Legge, Robert Rosen, Marcus Ryle, Tom Oberheim & Sequential Circuits
Music - I Monster (Bright Sparks Instrumental). Jeff Boult. Dave Spiers.
Archive - Internet Archive. Prelinger Archives.
Huge thanks to: I Monster's Dean Honer & Jarrod Gosling, Chris Macleod, Marcus Ryle, Jill Oberheim, Susan Wolf, Hugo Brangwyn, Graeme Rawson, Jerome Meunier, Robert Rosen, Alex Abajian, Ian Legge, Kent Spong, Les Pressure and David Gibbons.
www.oberheim.com
www.gforcesoftware.com
www.imonstermusic.com

[@AlexBallMusic]

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.

[@Rwtheking]

Hey it’s my favorite vintage synth guy. Not surprisingly you have great complements for them and this great inventor.

[@gh0stransist0r]

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.

[@davebellamy4867]

@@Rwtheking Tom is such a great role model type of person.

[@davebellamy4867]

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!

[@emilydewolfe3602]

Very proud of my father. This video is amazing and he did so well. I love daddy!

[@jhschmitty]

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

[@CuriousDroid]

"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 🙂

[@NathanChisholm041]

As a fan do you make music or play any synths?

[@danpreston564]

Weird crossover moments. Curious Droid is a synth fan?

[@CuriousDroid]

@@NathanChisholm041 When i get the time i do yes

[@CuriousDroid]

@@danpreston564 Have been since 1974 when Kraftwerk Autobahn and Tomita's Snowflakes are dancing came out 🙂

[@jhschmitty]

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.

[@Manmademadman]

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!

[@adam872]

What a legend. Those Oberheim synths are some of the greatest ever made. The OBX would be a desert island instrument for me.

[@sarahhey8654]

Can't wait to see the Oberheim marque back on Tom's next synth!

[@DivKid]

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.

[@davidjazay9248]

Spot on. Tom Oberheim's contribution is so woefully underrepresented. Gotta love the guy.

[@AlisonCassidy]

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.

[@Heathcliff_hensel]

have you seen Synthchaser's videos? he repairs Oberheims along with other synths I learned a lot from his videos.

[@AlisonCassidy]

@@Heathcliff_hensel thanks! I’ve been a repair tech for some 30 years now. Lots of Oberheims under my belt 😊

[@muco007]

@@Heathcliff_hensel He fixed my OB-Xa great guy!

[@andytupaia]

It’s always a pleasure to listen to Tom talk about how he started

[@ferry9375]

What a legend, he deserves it all, we need more Tom's in this world. Such a lovely person.

[@hiltoniusmusic]

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.

[@AndyVonal]

Hiya Richard! I totally agree! Wonderful!

[@NineHellHeaven]

Well said

[@AlanRPearlmanFoundation]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!! So glad you did this! Tom is a gentleman, a great storyteller and a marvelous inventor.

[@StayBased1]

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!

[@synthanatomy]

Lovely, thanks Dave making these new chapter possible :) Tom, the legend, Oberheim :)

[@audioillustrator5338]

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!!! :)

[@nonahyobusiness8063]

I salute you, Mr Tom Oberheim. I have used and loved your instruments since the early 1980s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@analogikahamburg]

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.

[@ISLAInstruments]

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.

[@tarkusboy1548]

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

[@therealniksongs]

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?

[@TamarinPamarin]

This is the greatest story I’ve heard for a while. Loving my OB-6. Thank you Tom!

[@MACRONOne]

such cute, sweet people. Goes a long way in today's society. thank you for bringing OB-E to PC!

[@ScottWozniak]

Love this man, and still sharp as a tack! ❤️🧡💛

[@NiElsir]

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.

[@drydessert4198]

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.

[@michaelfeiner]

Big love for Tom Oberheim and his amazing sounding synthesizers! So nice to see this. Thank you for making this documentary.

[@amulpatel]

Wow what a fantastic contribution to all the synth nerds of the world! Obsessed with the obx-a

[@deantiquisetnovis]

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!

[@mikerousepdx]

Hahahahahahah! So good. I love the way you all put this together! Tom and Jill are family. Much love.

[@garryvee]

I've been waiting for this for a long time. This is the most comprehensive history of Tom Oberheim I've seen.

[@jeffjfindley4802]

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.

[@entropybentwhistle]

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.

[@hardcoreherbivore4730]

The TVP is a masterpiece. Can’t believe how great it sounds... thanks Tom. 🎛

[@davidjazay9248]

Tom seems as nice a person as his synths sound. I am truly happy to own one of his SEM reissues.

[@davebellamy4867]

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.

[@speedunknown]

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.

[@AlainHubert]

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.

[@ednasdiscomachine6049]

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

[@alixoberheim9178]

thank you - love those kisses Jill

[@LarsBjerregaard]

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!

[@Rwtheking]

Oh my god it’s the man the legend! Tom Oberheim! What a legend.

[@kevinhartnell2075]

Thank you for this wonderful documentary and HUGE thanks to Tom Oberheim!

[@jacksaidwhat4239]

Fantastic story and so happy for Tom he got his rights back .

[@vivo-audio]

What a wonderful story and Tom is such a remarkable and lovely human being. An actual living legend.

[@axs203]

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!

[@Fluxwithit]

Another lovely contribution. Thank you Dave and team.

[@Phil-1]

A lovely video and an important record of Tom's story. He's one of the best.

[@AndyVonal]

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!

[@flyesenmusic]

Incredible story! Very glad to see a new Bright Sparks chapter :D

[@lab-by-the-sea]

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!

[@markacker3013]

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.

[@embodie_breaks7089]

Awe, I love Oberheim. They all seem like such wonderful people. Great sounding synths.

[@antoinewcaron2132]

Absolutely wonderful for anybody with interest in synthesizers!

[@indietonne]

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.

[@steveg219]

Wonderful to learn more about Mr Oberheim, an important figure in the synthesizer world and a wonderful guy. Natural intelligence and curiosity, very inspiring!

[@blazingday8596]

Oh my days, I enjoyed that SO much. Just great.

[@ThizOne]

These mini-documentaries you guys are making are great. Keep up the good work 👽👍

[@medardfischer]

Thanks so much for this excellent documentary! Tom seems like an absolutely terrific guy and it’s wonderful to hear his inspiring story.

[@illustriouschin]

Thanks for this great educational tribute, Tom is a treasure to the world.

[@gin-sonic]

Absolutely wonderful, thanks Gforce and Dave for this!!!! And all the best to Tom for the future!

[@monx]

What a cool guy and a great interview. Thanks GForce, you guys are great.

[@davebellamy4867]

Wonderful! Tom is such an inspiration and so humble.

[@brittmurray9818]

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 KZbin.

[@EskildTrulsen]

I Love this documentary - Tom Oberheim! What a fantastic person! And what synths he invented!

[@jeffrogers210]

The OB1 was my first synth! And I loved Tom's design of the Maestro phaser.

[@ladyapp-titude]

A major star in the Synth Walk Of Fame receives this fitting dedication. Thanks so much for all that went into this brilliant doc!

[@philmarsh5593]

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.

[@sauce_aux]

Tom seems like the grandpa I never had. What a wonderful person.

[@CRLFNKL]

Such an absolutely wonderful video! Thank you to everyone involved!

[@InkyDaCaT]

Such a brilliant man. So great to hear the full story, very interesting all the different events that happened. Thank you all!

[@angeldc54]

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.

[@theendofeternity4324]

We love you, Tom! 💗❤💙

[@synthesizernews]

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.🙏

[@carriersignal]

Tom you are a synth designer legend! We love you man!!

[@pedroeustache5511]

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!!!

[@drin_earthtales]

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!

[@alphabeets]

I loved this documentary. My only complaint is that it seemed to jump from the Oberheim System to bankruptcy too quickly. I feel like it needed 10-15 minutes more talking about the other products before going there. Otherwise it was perfect.

[@davebellamy4867]

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.

[@MikePensini]

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.

[@mrguillemot]

I first came across the name Oberheim on a Tangerine Dream album sleeve note back in the late 70s. After that I have associated it with the wonderful Lyle Mays. So glad that Tom has the rights back to what is part of electronic music history.

[@ModePhaser]

This man is an incredible inspiration.

[@adrianbrown471]

Loved this, like the way he credits everyone who helped him along the way. Cool guy!

[@erikribeiro5772]

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!

[@leevalasek9251]

. .. ... this video chapter about Tom's story is a EXCELLENT addition ! Bravo to all involved in the making !

[@Wagoo]

This was a wonderful watch, congrats to all involved. Let's hope for more Oberheims in the pipeline.. the story isn't over yet! :)

[@mxfxdlg]

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.

[@stephenanthonythomas3533]

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! 🎇

[@ethannickerson1901]

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.

[@infinaneek]

what a hero / legend

[@brandonm8385]

Love Oberheim synths. I have an OB-8, OB-6, MIDI SEM and Marion Systems MSR-2 w/ 2x ASM. Tom is such an awesome guy. A moment I will always remember is when he called me about my MIDI SEM I sent to him for service. We had a small chat. He seems to really enjoy talking about the synth tech.

[@Robert44444444]

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 :-)

[@dakoiaa]

Respectful and deeply grateful salut to Mr Oberheim. Remarkable great historic video. Thank you all for putting it together and for sharing.

[@Cesiumswimsuit]

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.

[@JohnLRice]

Awesomeness!!! 👏😎👍 Such a great life story so far Tom, I loved hearing it and look forward what you might cook up in the future.

[@devarni]

Thank you for this story, I 'm glad we have people like Tom Oberheim

[@davidsharp3110]

Awesome story Tom and Marcus! Thanks for sharing.

[@soundtaxiproject]

The Matrix 6 was one of my first studio racks ... later on, i could afford a Cooper patchbay. 🎶 Thanks Tom Oberheim !!! -

[@decaystar]

Great documentation, lovely interview..thank you for bringing this!

[@LocaliLLocano]

Good documentary man. Almost had a tear fall at the end

[@NineHellHeaven]

This is a proper historical record. Thank you for making this.

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Brilliant, brilliant stuff about a brilliant man. Well done! Have a lovely weekend.