Testament to Oberheim engineering.

So, this summer I spent working hard nearly every day up in the woods of the north to bank some cash so I could take time off for music and purchase some of the hardware that I'd dreamed of having since I was just a wee boy.

Just two weeks ago, the soil sampling season came to an end and I tied up my last few loose ends in Yukon packed my gear in my friends Subaru and we drove down towards my new home in Vancouver.

On a stretch of road just after Carmacks (before Whitehorse) we hit a really shitty patch, the car skidded into the other lane, turned sideways and rolled all the way over in the ditch.

Everyone was just fine, the car was mostly okay-ish. The wheel had come off, the left rear light was smashed and one of the windows gone.

The frame of the vehicle seems to have been cushioned somewhat by the Oberheim Matrix 12 I had tied to the roof, boxed and bubble wrapped.

The entire stretch of the acrobatic interlude of our drive I wasn't thinking "Oh dear my life!" or even sadly, "Oh dear my friends!". What I was thinking was "Good lord my synthesizer!".

We hitched a ride the 2hrs to Whitehorse within 15 minutes and stayed the night in a hotel, leaving everything in the car. I had a poor, drunken sleep that night concerned that everything I had worked these passed months could easily be taken by anyone who cared to stop and inspect the wreck.

The next day we arranged to stay with friends for a few days while we worked out what was to happen with the car and I waited anxiously for the tow truck to get out and back with it and hopefully my gear, which in the end was all aboard.

I gave the synth a quick look and it didn't seem spectacular. The outside bent and contorted, the wood siding chipped and cracked. Although the inside looked strangely okay-ish.

I abandoned my friends the next day, taking a flight so I could arrive in time to meet my girls folks for a late thanksgiving feast.

This week has been frantic getting my life and my new home in order, spending time with the lady and drinking beer, all the while I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the crew so I can do a thorough exam of the Oberheim and finally plug it in.

Today just a few hours ago it was dropped off and I had a go.

And?

It's totally fine. Not beautiful, but completely operational.

Pretty good eh?

amazon

I bet you're counting the days left until you finally list it on ebay.

Speaking of Oberheim, Arturia just released an emulation of the SEM.

  On 10/28/2011 at 9:42 PM, vasio said:

I bet you're counting the days left until you finally list it on ebay.

Yeah, it looks like this one will be a lifetime keeper. I'll never be able to get much for it, unless of course I become hugely successful, in which case it will be worth millions.

I'll check out that arturia emulation Kcinsu, thanks for the heads up.

i think it looks cool like that. +bonus points if you make industrial music.

I would stock up on some AX80s if you can get them cheap. I think they use 3372s and maybe 3374s, I can't remember. Repair place can swap them out for you.

It would be a decent investment if you can get one. Cheaper than paying for the chips and if it starts to act weird it can be taken care of easily.

haha, fuck! days must be getting pretty cold and dark up there now. definitely wouldn't want to be stuck with a totalled car some yukon-road in late october.

as for the matrix12, it's a beast, straight-up.

re: rockthomas, the ax80 is a straight-up beast as well and actually would be a pretty decent replacement now that i think of it.. i have a mx73 and the build quality is TOP NOTCH, heavy and damn sturdy.

edit: mx73, not ax73