Oberheim OB-8 Vintage Synthesizer Repair

VINTAGE SYNTHESIZER REPAIR at BAMMEL TV TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

We had occasion of late to fix up a real classic: the vaunted Oberheim OB-8 synthesizer. Similar synths in the OB-X line by Oberheim defined much pop sound in the early 1980’s, the most notable example being the classic album Moving Pictures by Rush.

The customer brought in his OB-8 with complaint of No Sound. Upon bench diagnostics we found many swollen and leaking capacitors, with many dirty and contaminated control potentiometers. We developed our repair prospectus and estimate for the customer. Our notes indicated:

UNIT NEEDS SIGNIFICANT RESTORATION, POSSIBLY 4-6-8 HOURS OF LABOR, POWER NEEDS TO BE RESTORED AT COMPONENT LEVEL WHICH WILL REQUIRE EXTENSIVE TROUBLESHOOTING  AND RESTORATION OF THE POWER SUPPLY.

UNIT ALSO NEEDS KEYBED CLEANING,  KEYBED ALIGNMENT, CAP REPAIR JOB, and ORIGINAL PATCH RESTORATION.

In the event, restoring the instrument’s original sound patches proved the seemingly-insurmountable barrier to repair completion. In the early 1980’s only comparatively primitive techniques for importation of sound patches existed. We spent far more time than had been originally budgeted, but we eventually solved this issue and repairs were ultimately successful.

Another one bites the dust at Bammel TV. For our main Digital Piano Repair and Synth Repair page, click here. Here, a link to the Youtube video for this repair: