Oberheim TEO-5: Affordable Obie in a Take 5 Stylee
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Oberheim TEO-5 · Source: Oberheim
Oberheim TEO-5 · Source: Oberheim
Oberheim TEO-5 · Source: Oberheim
Oberheim TEO-5 · Source: Oberheim
Oberheim TEO-5 · Source: Oberheim
Oberheim TEO-5 · Source: Oberheim
It’s official! Oberheim is releasing the TEO-5, a five-voice analogue poly in a Sequential Take 5 form factor. And the best part? It’s affordable! Read on to find out the price and specs.
Oberheim TEO-5
What was once just a leak is now confirmed: Oberheim is releasing a new synthesizer and it’s called the TEO-5. Oh, happy day!
Just in time for Superbooth24, Oberheim has announced the TEO-5, a five-voice analogue polyphonic synthesizer. And, in a move that recalls the Prophet-6/OB-6 pairing that Oberheim and Sequential did together, the new synth appears to be a Take 5 with Obie VCO and VCF guts.
Oberheim TEO-5: VCOs and That Filter
The Oberheim TEO-5 has two VCOs, each with triangle, sawtooth and variable pulse. Additionally, you can sync oscillator 1 to oscillator 2. What’s more, oscillator 2 is detunable and there’s a dedicated cross modulation control. There is also a sub-oscillator and noise generator.
On the filter side, it features the classic SEM, a state-variable circuit that is continuously variable from low-pass to notch to high-pass. As you’d expect with a SEM, there is also a bandpass mode. The filter envelope value is bipolar too.
Don’t Take 5, Take What You Want
The rest of the TEO-5 seems in line with the Sequential Take 5. This includes two five-stage DADSR (that’s a delay at the beginning) envelope generators, two LFOs with triangle, sawtooth, inverted sawtooth, square and random (sample and hold) waves, an arpeggiator and 64-step sequencer plus digital effects including reverb, delay, chorus, flanger and more plus an overdrive on the master out.
The keybed is a semi-weighted Fatar keyboard with 3.5 octaves with channel aftertouch.
Price, Availability and That Name
In the same way that the Take 5 is an affordable Sequential poly, the TEO-5 looks to be an Oberheim for the masses. Personally, I’ve always wanted an Oberheim. And with those blue pinstripes, it even looks like a classic Tom machine. As for the name, TEO are the initials of the company’s founder: Tom Elroy Oberheim.
TEO-5 is set to release in September 2024 at a price of €1699. Preorders are available now.
More Information
- Oberheim home page
- All about Oberheim
- All about synthesizers
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4 responses to “Oberheim TEO-5: Affordable Obie in a Take 5 Stylee”
I had the Take-5 for a short while. Very nice synth, but i sold it because it wasn’t as ‘vintage analog’ as i expected. I hope this Oberheim harkens back to 80s Oberheims, just in a smaller package, and not a more more modern ‘digital’ type of tone. But, i guess i won’t be surprised if they don’t want to cannibalize sales from their more expensive products.
That’s a prime candidate for a 3rd party overlay. The lines might be traditional, but I can hardly read the controls.
You have to read between the lines. Literally.
it has all the modern features you can expect from an analog synth like this; including a mod matrix; for a somewhat reasonable price; maybe it will deal a blow to the B clone sales (the B clone has 16 voices and is a bit less expensive; yes; but first it’s a clone; and second it has way less features; a rigid architecture; no mod matrix; no effects).