ARTURIA – Matrix-12 V – USER MANUAL
9
But after becoming the official Los Angeles dealer for ARP synthesizers, Tom set out
to change this. His early discoveries with the ARP 2500 and later modifications of
the 2600 allowed duophonic performance on these synths (i.e., two notes could
be played at once).
After this a “voice race” began, with two, then four, then five or six, and eventually
eight voices becoming the standard for commercially available analog
synthesizers. But the roots of this modern reality trace back to the early days of
Oberheim Electronics.
1.1.3.2
Sequencers
About 1975 Oberheim introduced the DS-2a, a monophonic sequencer with a 144-
note memory. (Well, it seemed like a lot at the time!) The beauty of this device was
that it allowed users to enter notes from a keyboard, in real or step time, as
opposed to dialing them in with a knob. Memory was shared by up to three
sequences, which could be played back individually or chained and played back
one after the other.
Unfortunately, there was no way to preserve the sequences for later use; all
memory would be lost when the unit was powered down.
The Oberheim DS-2a, circa 1975
Another limitation with the DS-2a is that it would “hijack” the synth to which it was
attached, rendering it unplayable by the user during playback. But this limitation
led Oberheim to develop his Synthesizer Expansion Module, the beloved Oberheim
SEM.
And again, the DS-2a paved the way for sequencers with more memory and
polyphonic capabilities, including the Oberheim DSX and products from other
manufacturers.
