Oberheim Perf/x COMPLETE SET OF 5 Cyclone Navigator Systemizer Strummer Drummer

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via this Reverb listing

"RARE COMPLETE SET OF 5! Oberheim Perf/x MIDI units!

Cyclone, Strummer, Drummer, Systemizer, and Navigator.

All with power supplies and two include their original boxes and manuals!
These are in very very nice shape and all are working (although I dont know how to use all of their functions, I did test each one on a basic level inputing MIDI, playing notes into them and seeing various results from the MIDI outputs).

These units are still amazing to this day and are great for live and dawless use as well as studio and recording use. The set of 5 together are very powerful yet fun to use and they do things even the NDLR Noodler and other modern generators can't do. These do their thing live and in realtime with what your playing, they will even do it from a sequencer or daw in real time.

Cyclone: An arpeggiator and MIDI processor that could also be used for creating and manipulating rhythmic patterns. It offered multiple arpeggio types, scales, and control over MIDI CC information. 

It is a MIDI performance effect, specifically a MIDI arpeggiator, a grey box that doesn't produce its own sounds, but rather manipulates MIDI data to create arpeggios and rhythmic patterns when connected to a synthesizer or sampler. It's known for its ability to separate rhythm from notes, allowing for creative effects like using a recorded rhythm to arpeggiate notes from the keyboard. Here's a more detailed breakdown:

MIDI Arpeggiator: The Cyclone's primary function is to take notes played on a MIDI keyboard and play them back in a repeating sequence, creating an arpeggio. 

Performance Effect: It's designed to be used live, allowing musicians to add expressive arpeggiated patterns to their performances.

Performance Features: The Cyclone offers various arpeggiation modes (e.g., up, down, random), rhythmic variations (e.g., pulsed, triplet), and the ability to separate rhythm and pitch.

Recording Capabilities: It can record rhythms and arpeggios, and it has memory for storing patches.

Connectivity: It receives MIDI input from a keyboard and sends MIDI output to a sound module or sampler.

Beyond Simple Arpeggiation: The Cyclone can do more than just basic arpeggiation. It can split arpeggios, introduce chord inversions, and create trance-gate type effects.

Rare and Collectible: Due to its unique features and the fact that it's part of a series of now-vintage Oberheim products, the Cyclone is considered a rare and sought-after piece of gear.

Systemizer: Focused on keyboard zoning and layering, allowing for complex splits and combinations of MIDI channels and instruments. It is a MIDI performance effect and a master MIDI control center, primarily used to enhance the capabilities of MIDI keyboards and other MIDI instruments. It acts as a bridge, allowing users to create and store complex MIDI setups, including keyboard splits, layers, and crossfades, even if the connected instruments don't natively support these features. Here's a more detailed breakdown:

MIDI Control:The Systemizer allows you to control multiple MIDI devices simultaneously, assigning different MIDI channels to various parts of your keyboard setup.

Storage:It can store up to 32 different setups, each containing keyboard zones and a special patch zone, allowing for quick recall of complex configurations.

Zoning:The Systemizer utilizes the concept of "zones," which are essentially modules of MIDI data that can be assigned to different parts of the keyboard, enabling splits and layers.

Performance Control:It offers extensive performance control options, including the ability to assign functions to external pedals (both local and via MIDI), and features like velocity switching and crossfading.

Extending MIDI Capabilities:The Systemizer allows you to perform functions that your individual MIDI instruments may not be capable of on their own, such as creating splits and layers.

Patch and Volume Switching:It can send patch changes and volume settings to multiple MIDI devices, making it useful for live performances and studio setups.

Memory:The Systemizer can store setups in its internal memory, and also offers a port for an optional memory card for additional storage.

Navigator: It is a MIDI message remapper, designed to manipulate MIDI data for performance and studio applications. It essentially allows you to translate one type of MIDI message into another, offering flexibility in how you control and interact with synthesizers and other MIDI-equipped instruments.

MIDI Message Manipulation:The Navigator's primary function is to remap MIDI messages. This means it can change one MIDI message into another, such as altering note numbers, controller data, velocity, aftertouch, and more.

Performance Applications:It can be used to create complex performance setups. For example, you could map a single key on your keyboard to trigger multiple patch changes on different instruments, or modify velocity curves to better suit specific synthesizers.

Studio Applications:The Navigator is also useful in the studio for tasks like routing MIDI signals, creating custom control setups, and streamlining MIDI workflows.

Examples of Use:The Navigator can be used to:
Change patch assignments on multiple instruments when you change patches on your master controller.

Reverse the action of pitch bend and modulation wheels.

Quickly change patches using specific keys on your keyboard.

Rescale velocity or aftertouch data.

Control multiple drum machines with a single keyboard.

Transpose keyboard ranges for specific musical parts.

Drummer: An interactive drum pattern sequencer that could generate a wide variety of rhythmic possibilities. It is a MIDI-based drum pattern sequencer, not a drum machine with its own sounds.

The Drummer doesn't produce any sounds itself, but rather sends MIDI data to other drum machines, synthesizers, or samplers to trigger sounds. It's designed to be an interactive tool that can follow a musician's playing and dynamically adjust drum patterns to match. Here's a more detailed explanation:

Interactive Drumming: The Oberheim Drummer is notable for its ability to listen to MIDI data from a keyboard or other instrument and adjust its drum patterns accordingly. It can add fills and variations based on what the musician is playing.

No Internal Sounds: Unlike drum machines like the Oberheim DMX, the Drummer doesn't have its own sound engine. It relies on external devices to generate the drum sounds.

MIDI Connectivity: It connects to other MIDI-equipped instruments and allows you to control various aspects of the drum patterns, such as tempo, velocity, and fills.

Preset Patterns and Variations: The Drummer offers 100 preset drum patterns, each with 100 variations, providing a wide range of rhythmic possibilities.

Song Construction: It also allows users to create songs by combining different patterns and variations.

Strummer: A unique device that transformed keyboard chords into simulated guitar strums, offering realistic guitar-like performances. It could adjust chord voicings, strumming effects, and even simulate different guitar playing styles. It is a MIDI effect processor that transforms chords played on a keyboard into simulated guitar strumming, creating realistic guitar-like performances. It analyzes MIDI input, adjusts chord voicings, and adds strumming effects, then sends the modified MIDI data to a sound source like a synthesizer or sampler.

Function: The Strummer takes MIDI input from a keyboard and interprets it as chords. It then rearranges the notes to create a more guitar-like chord voicing, simulating techniques like strumming and fingerpicking.

Guitar-like Effects: It can mimic the speed and direction of strumming, and even differentiate between chords and single notes, allowing for different sounds on separate MIDI channels (e.g., distorted guitar for chords, clean lead sound for single notes).

MIDI Processing: The Strummer doesn't produce audio itself. Instead, it modifies the MIDI data sent to a separate sound module, like a synthesizer or sampler, which then generates the actual sounds.

Additional Features: The Strummer can also apply effects like delay and decay to the simulated strumming, and it can be synchronized with external MIDI timing clocks.

Performance Enhancements: By intelligently processing the MIDI data, the Strummer can make keyboard performances sound more like a real guitarist."