Styx Oberheim 4 Voice Up for Auction?

via this auction

Note the following description and all descriptions are from the seller and not MATRIXSYNTH.

"I have been the proud owner since 1978 of one of the original Oberheim 4 Voices used by Styx. Growing up in Chicago, A musical friend of mine was good friends with one of the rodies from Styx. It was my understanding back then that Dennis DeYoung put this 4 Voice on the side and either purchased or received 2 of the new 4 Voices with the programmers built sometime in 1976. I had heard about this one through my friend and was able to purchase it in 1978. I have been the owner ever since.It is my understanding now that the original models with the sequencers build in, have become the rare finds with these units. Because much fewer of them were actually built this way.

I unfortunately do not know the history of this particular unit as far as if it was used to record any tracks in the albums Equinox (1975), Crystal Ball (1976) or The Grand Illusion (1977), but I would think it had usage on some of the songs on these albums and I was told at the time this was on the road mostly.


The inside is in near perfect condition and can’t be told from new. The graphics on the panels inside are all in perfect condition. The keyboard is in perfect working order and all functions work as new. Cosmetically it is only missing is 4 caps on the top of 4 knobs, I would think these would be available at any electronics surplus store. I have also found that the number 4 LED on the right sequencer does not light but the sequencers work perfectly. I would asume an easy fix by just replacing the LED. As with all analog Oberheims, it take about 20 minutes to “warm up” for the voltage to stabilize and the 4 SEM’s (Synthesizer Expander Modules) to become stable to stay in tune.

I have left the outside case and covering of the unit original from its history, including scratches, mares and cover wear on 2 corners (That someone used markers on to cover up) to preserve its history. Although the covering shows some wear from being on the road, the actual wooden box and framework underneath is in excellent condition.

The Styx logo is painted on the top half, front of the case and was whiter when I purchased it and has yellowed over the years.

This Oberheim is serial number 049. The best information I have is that it was built around the end of 1974 or the beginning of 1975.

All 4 SEM’s were just serviced by Three Wave Music. The keyboard has all new keyboard bushings and the contacts have been cleaned and serviced. The unit has been always kept indoors in a temperature controlled environment and has no corrosion, which can be a problem with these old synths.


The 4 Voice has 4 dual-oscillator SEM modules each with its own filters and envelope generators and are joined together with a special keyboard controller module that allows multiple way to control the SEM’s in split, unison or sequential modes. Along with a 49-note keyboard with keyboard/SEM split options to give you a polyphonic/polytonal monster!

This combination gives you eight oscillators and four voices of polyphony because there are basically four discrete mono-synths all connected together. What is cool is that this was a lot of simultaneous voices for the mid seventies and current digitally reproduction of this synth still doesn’t even come close. The ability to craft a different sound on each voice led to some diverse and huge complex sounds. (I.E. you can have 8 complete different pitches and sounds on one key, nothing can come close to this kind of analog power!)

Each voice also has its own independent audio output control. Another famous sound of the 4 voice was it’s ability to control portamento, not only using it on split keyboards, but again an unmatched sound/glide quality only heard on the Oberheim.

Also include with the Oberheim 4 Voice is an original Instruction manual with programmer, an original SEM instruction manual from March 1975, very rare. An original black & white ad for the 4 Voice, an original sheet for the polyphonic programmer, an original SEM interfacing data sheet dated November 10, 1976, and a fold out black & white add including the sequencer, 2 Voice, 4 Voice and other Oberheim products, all paperwork is in very good condition. I also have the original power cord for the unit."