Oberheim Two Voice Pro Special Edition First Look

In this video, synthesist J3PO shares his first impression of the 2021 special edition reissue of the famed Oberheim Two Voice Pro.

The original Two Voice synthesizer (1975) was designer Tom Oberheim’s favorite synth from the original Oberheim era. Oberheim recently announced a limited edition reissue of the Two Voice Pro, with each unit now having the original “Oberheim” logo badge, plus Tom Oberheim’s personal signature. Unfortunately, demand was so high that the units sold out in one day. Oberheim is exploring if additional parts can be secured and production started again.

Topics covered in the video:

00:00 Introduction
00:15 Unboxing
01:36 Sound Examples
04:28 Voice Panning
06:48 Various Sounds
12:40 Sequencer
14:28 Conclusion
15:13 End Credits

Check out the video and share your thoughts on “Tom Oberheim’s favorite synth”!

38 thoughts on “Oberheim Two Voice Pro Special Edition First Look

    1. Same here… I wonder how many new owners were selected by the lottery, and how many had an inside path? You know, a phone call here, a phone call there…

  1. Sigh…it’s likely for the best that I missed the offer (didn’t even know it had taken place), because I would have strongly considered it…unless the price was like “Moog One” high or something.

      1. @Nick. Well then…this would have been a little easier to ignore than I realized. I was guessing around $3.5k max. Might as well save up the extra $3k and get the Moog One with 8 times the polyphony (once they clean up the bugs). Geeeez.

        Does sound incredibly nice…not sure it sounds $5k worth of nice though. Oh well. I don’t feel so bad about missing it now.

        1. Yeah, easier to ignore it at this price haha! And although this dude played some cheesy examples, I can’t deny it sounds absolutely beautiful! But if I can afford to spend 5k on a synth it would be only for a poly.

        1. Technically speaking, you are correct – it’s not a mono synth. For me – it’s a mono synth. Anyway, still a very pricey one.

      2. yes 5K IS a lot of money. However the value of this instrument will only increase. X number of years down the road it will be worth twice as much.

        1. It will be worth twice as much immediately because it’s too damn limited, just like the Korg 2600… it’s even a lot more limited. But most people doesn’t buy synths as investment, I want to play it, not resell it so I don’t care what value it would bring me pricewise.

  2. Although way out of my league, I hope it wasn’t sold out to the same kind of people that are now asking triple prices for the Korg 2600.

    1. “sounding good” has unlimited price tag. if it’s exactly what someone want and they can buy it they will spend even more.

  3. Landing one of these in a manufacturer’s lottery is like having a NFT, but also about as silly unless you are serious about its muscle. If you have the casual big $, great, but I think more people are like me. I focused on a couple of flagships and then used them to conduct lesser gear.

    The sound here is classically Oberheim-lush, but with all of those patch points, you’d be nuts to just play it as a solo monosynth. It should be the main brain of a Nick-Batt-type tabletop rig. “Boutique” isn’t always a positive label, but here, it smells pretty good. I know Santa doesn’t love me $5k worth, so I’ll just sniff it.

  4. im fairly sure i would never patch a single extra lead into the top panel of this, i would just open up those filters, select SAW wave and just hold down one key and let it burn into my consciousness until i passed out. ive personally played one of the first editions of this and i stepped out of the shop and regretted not taking it with me ever since

  5. lets face it, it sounds insane and we all want one, but too expensive and not available, so, thanks for dangling the carrot C3PO 😉

  6. Considering I paid US $1995.00 for my Minimoog new in 1978 the price for this seems about in the right ballpark in today’s dollars. Only thing I don’t like on it are those beautiful natural wood side panels .. just don’t feel as right as the old black ones, but moot point since no one can get one now.

  7. Maybe you’re a musician – Instead of comparing synths feature-for-feature as though they’re computer peripherals, you start to listen to the core sound, and realize that this thing is untouchable at any price.

    Just think of the extra thousands of dollars guitarists are willing to pay for subjective, incremental tonal improvements. Maybe you can say that Synth X has more mod routings, and Synth Y has programmability, but in the final analysis, shouldn’t your synth decisions be based on the best-sounding tones you can make?

  8. Unfortunately, Tom Oberheim discloses nothing in terms of how many of these were actually made. For all we know, there were 5 units in total. I totally get the lottery bit.

  9. This synth as well as some others (e.g. Prophet 5 Rev. 4) are targeted for the nostalgia crowd with deep pockets.
    For the millions of average music listeners, can they tell or do they care if a soft-synth version was used vs an expensive nostalgia themed hardware synthesizer? My guess is that, for 99.9% of the listeners, the answer would be no. I’m just sayin’.

    1. And you think millions of average music listeners could tell the difference between a soft-synth and a cheap nostalgia-themed hardware knockoff from Behringer?

      Your comment is an obvious example of what others have pointed out – you only comment to pimp Behringer synths and trash alternatives.

      The point of good instruments isn’t what some rando thinks – it’s whether YOU can tell the difference, get inspired and play at a higher level. Or just have fun playing a great instrument.

      I have yet to see anybody be inspired by cheap nostalgia-themed hardware knockoffs and play at J3PO’s level.

      1. LOL. Who said anything about Behringer? Behringer didn’t cross my mind at all when I wrote my comment !!! My comment has to do with the fact that, in this day and age, you don’t need an expensive synthesizer like you did back in the day. Back in the day, it was all I could do to scrimp and save to buy a used Univox Maxi-Korg (a synth I regret selling some years later). Price is no longer a barrier to making synth music like it certainly was back in the day.

        I have seen plenty of people inspired by soft-synths and play them at J3PO’s level and beyond.

        1. Too bad you’re afraid to address the issues.

          If you’re inspired by the free soft synths, though, why are you always pimping for Behringer? You gotta have deep pockets to throw your money away on gear that won’t keep its value. LOL

          1. LOL. There is no issue that was brought up, except you bringing up Behringer that no one mentioned here.

            As for addressing issues, go back and look at some of the old posts. I responded to every comment. I avoided nothing.

  10. I try to pimp easier approaches or bits of my useful experiences (bad as well as good) so newbies can get up to speed sooner, avoid pointless FOMO and enjoy things more. I’m not a modular type at all, yet I keep learning useful bits from that world that, whaddayaknow, help me with my softsynths & FX.

    There are, what, 7 or 8 ways to generate sound electronically? They’re all cousins. Do you own only one kind of synth? Me neither! IMO, the best real-world route here is to just find an SEM in some form. It’ll scratch the itch without leaving scars.

    When the first Oberheim 8-Voice was actually in local music stores, I fiddled with one enough as a then-90%-clueless noob to be in awe ever since, but I think a soft OB-X with a bitchin’ unison section will be plenty for me.

  11. Question: Is this the same as the original Oberheim PRO TWO or actually a close replica of the original. ( Moog Model D Reissue had a lot of people trolling the synth as not the same as the vintage) Isn’t this scenario the same? And why are there no comparisons to the “Vintage” Oberheim Pro Two? …Your thoughts??

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