Synth wizard to be awarded by Kansas Music Hall of Fame

MANHATTAN (KSNT) – Manhattan’s very own synth wizard Tom Oberheim will be honored with the Bob Hapgood Award by the Kansas Music Hall of Fame.

The Kansas Music Hall of Fame made the announcement on Jan. 15, 2025. The award is given to deserving inductees, performing or non-performing, often from a less populated area of the state that may not otherwise be recognized or honored by the voting membership at large.

Whether or not you’ve heard of Tom Oberheim, you’ve probably heard his synthesizers. His OB-X8 was used on iconic songs like “1999” by Prince, “Jump” by Van Halen and “Tom Sawyer” by Rush.

“When I was a young electronic engineering student, a friend of mine at UCLA came to me one day needing a ring modulator for his band,” Oberheim said in a 2022 documentary by GForce Software. “I didn’t know what they had to do with music, but I made it for him. Eventually the word got out around L.A. that there was a guy making ring modulators, and before I knew it Leonard Rosenman wanted to use one of my modulators for his movie ‘Beneath the Planet of the Apes.'”

Suddenly, musicians across L.A. were asking for him to make these modulators. After this success, Oberheim founded his company, Oberheim Electronics, in 1969. He began producing equipment like ring modulators and phase shifters for musicians in L.A. and across the country.

Oberheim quickly became famous as an inventor, instrument designer and an electronic music pioneers. He became known as a leading figure in synthesizer design with his inventions, Four Voice and Eight Voice, which were the first commercially available polyphonic synthesizers

Today, his company produces drum machines, polyphonic sequencers and more that have been used by people like Madonna, Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder, as well as on soundtracks like the show “Stranger Things.” The now 89-year-old Oberheim is living in Moraga, California, where he continues to innovate in the world of electronic music/instrument production. 

Oberheim will be celebrated at the awards ceremony at Liberty Hall in Lawrence on November 22.

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