dr Böhm Digital Drums / 80s early groovebox

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Quick and dirty video to showcase the Böhm Digital Drums i'm selling. [via this auction]

I just made this one to show the unit is fully working, both in performance and record mode.

For those who do not already know this unit it is usually described as the "German Linn Drum" but that is an understatement in my opinion. Sure you get some nice fat 12 bit drum samples and a sequencer that grooves a lot. But it is much more than that.

If you consider it simply as a drum machine from 1983 you would still be amazed by the features it provided back then: 32 user patterns each with fill, break, solo 2 bar and solo 4 bars = 180 possible personal composition in top of the 612 (yes) prerecorded ones, up to 32 bar length and 1/64 resolution, realtime or step recording, individual instrument volumes, automatic or random fills, per pattern or global tempo, sequencer mode, pattern copy and more...

But if you disregard the built-in 'arranger' then you're missing a lot from this great device.

It consists of a 4 part analog synth engine, fully programmable. No possible edition of the sounds but the 66 different presets do sound great. Some are even routed through a analog phasing module built around Panasonic MN3006 BBD chipsets.

You can record your own 5 tracks per pattern, with different bar lengths if you want, and even use the bass part to act as a simple mono bass synth with the provided keyboard !

Probably the most comprehensive unit of its time and genre."



via this auction

"For those who do not already know this unit it is usually described as the "German Linn Drum" but that is an understatement in my opinion. Sure you get some nice fat 12 bit drum samples and a sequencer that grooves a lot. But it is much more than that.

If you consider it simply as a drum machine from 1983 you would still be amazed by the features it provided back then: 32 user patterns each with fill, break, solo 2 bar and solo 4 bars = 180 possible personal composition in top of the 612 (yes) prerecorded ones, up to 32 bar length and 1/64 resolution, realtime or step recording, individual instrument volumes, automatic or random fills, per pattern or global tempo, sequencer mode, pattern copy and more...

But if you disregard the built-in "arranger" then you're missing a lot from this great device.
It consists of a 4 part analog synth engine, fully programmable. No possible edition of the sounds but the 66 different presets do sound great. Some are even routed through a analog phasing module built around Panasonic MN3006 BBD chipsets.

You can record your own 5 tracks per pattern, with different bar lengths if you want, and even use the bass part to act as a simple mono bass synth with the provided keyboard !

Probably the most comprehensive unit of its time and genre.

This one has a very rare modification that provides individual outputs and volumes for the 4 synth parts.

It also has the cassette and trigger option fitted to save and load your patterns and tape sync to other gear.

There are more possible options and modifications for the unit, including 8 seperate outputs for drum sounds, MIDI, drum triggering and more.

It has been serviced and is fully working. Brand new battery was fitted so it's ready for some 40 more years of fat beats.

As it often is the case with such a drum machine you may experience double triggering with the pads but shouldn't be an issue.

specs:
* 36 rythms with 5 variations each = 180 patterns
* 5x Fill, 5x Break and 2 solos per rythm = 432 patterns
* 44 12 bit drums samples
* 30 pads
* 36 user rythm with 180 possible patterns (36 main patterns, 36 fills, 36 breaks, 36 solo 2 and 36 solo 4)
* up tpo 32 bars pattern and resolution up to 1/64
* 4 part analog synth engine with 5 tracks sequencer
* 66 analog instrument sounds
* Realtime or step by step recording
* independant volume for each instrument, saved per pattern
* global or per pattern tempo
* sequencer mode (36 sequences max)
* stereo output
* headphone output
* optional: 24 notes keyboard
* optional: 8 individual outputs
* optional: trigger and tape backup (fitted in this unit)
* optional: MIDI"

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Böhm Dynamic 4x9 Vintage FM Synth with Analogue Phaser + Ensemble

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
RS051.1 Dr Böhm Dynamic 4x9 'No Talking Edition' video upload by rejected synths

"This is a shorter 'No Talking' edit of my video about the Dr Böhm Dynamic 4x9 for those who prefer 'pure' demos without comments. If you like it, go watch the full video, it features additional information about the machine:"

You can find additional demos and a brochure of the 12/24 model in previous posts here.

RS051 Dr Böhm Dynamic 4x9: FM Tank

video upload by rejected synths

Dopfer gets a mention at 2:17.

"Japanese manufacturers today are the big players in the synth world and they have been so for quite a while. But just like there are today, there have always been other choices too. Small manufacturers from many different countries add their own distinctive ‚flavors‘ and always have.

Take for example today‘s synth, the Dr Böhm Dynamic 4x9. It‘s a very German fully programmable 4OP FM-Synth monster. Big and heavy (and some might say over-engineered) like a German sedan. Stuffed to the brim with the latest technology (from the mid 80s) it clearly exceeds the capabilities of most of it’s contemporary peers. Featuring a whooping 36 voices (and 36 part multitimbrality), it is equipped with dual midi ports, lots of outputs, two analog effects boards and abundance of memory for patches and takes up a LOT of parking, ehm, rack space.

The biggest difference of course is, that you don’t have to built you Mercedes or BMW yourself, (and didn’t have to back in the 80s). A Doctor Böhm however was a DIY affair, to own one, you had to built one yourself. It’s no surprise then, that the 4x9 never became too popular or even widely known outside of it’s native country. So it’s actually much less a Beamer and more like a Bitter SC Sedan… or a German tank, if you go by its impressive weight or the thickness of the metal used for the casing ;)"

via this auction

Pic of the inside below.

"This one‘s a real hidden gem.

Developed in 1987 by the german organ factory Böhm (formerly known as Dr. Böhm) the Dynamic 4x9 is a 9 voice multitimbral 4 Operator FM Synthesizer with Bucket Brigade Effects Phaser and Ensemble. And it‘s got Yamaha (YM2203) ICs.

4x9 means you can route 4 Midi Channels, each with 9 Voices, separately. You got a stereo out and you got four single outs to mix each of the four channels separately.

Dynamic means you got aftertouch and velocity.

The attached video shows all functions and what the 4x9 sounds like.

Device works flawless, some scratches on top, no leaked battery. Looks fine inside.

220 Volt.

For 110 Volts you need a voltage converter"

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Böhm Bohm Boehm Dynamic 12/24 - 4 Operator FM-Synthesizer Made in Germany 1985

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

Advert on the left.
Pics of the inside below.

"Böhm Dynamic 12/24 FM Rack Synthesizer. Made in Germany 1985

SUPER RARE FULL VERSION. Completely equipped circuit board - therefore 24 voices instead of the usual 12.

4 Operators.
8 Algorithms.
Velocity, Aftertouch.

Rare FM sounds, 98 presets. Built in original Yamaha ICs. Sounds similar to Yamaha DX21, 27, 100. Comparatively soft sound for a FM synthesizer. Good condition. New backup battery!

For the sake of completeness: Unit lacks cassette Interface (never needed one) and protection button (protection is set off, so you can change settings)

Works perfectly with any MIDI controller. Comes with power cord. 220 Volt"

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The string machine ensemble effect: Dr. Böhm Phasing Rotor VS Wersi Wersivoice WV7

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by Ohm. Studio



"The Wersi in the video is for sale. [listed on eBay here]

Here is a comparison between two very similar BBD triple choruses, AKA ensemble effect: The Dr. Böhm Phasing Rotor 79 (which I demoed extensively in a previous video with a Multivox MX-202, a Crumar Stringman and a Roland Jupiter 4) and the Wersivoice WV7. The Böhm has some more variations but the chorus sound (ie ensemble effect) is very similar. Circuit are almost 100% identical. I also own a Wersi Wersivoice FM76 which is the updated and standalone version of the Wersi WV7 and sound even closer to the Böhm.

I used a Welson Keyboard Orchestra to demo the two units. I made another video with the Wersivoice alone with a Sequential prophet 6 in order to show how easily you can turn any synthesizer into a string machine with these units."

via this auction

"Vintage analog triple chorus effect unit, based on 3x Philips TDA1022 Bucket Brigade Device chipset and of classic ARP Eminent Solina design. Turns anything into a great sounding string machine.

It offers Vibrato (slow and fast) and Chorus (the ensemble effect) with 3 variations of depth (« weak » and « strong » switch and both together).

It is almost the same circuit as the Dr. Böhm Phasing Rotor I also built, with less variations. But the ensemble effect does sound identical."

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Best Ambient Synth Shootout #99: Böhm Dynamic 4x9 - Song 3

Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the Boehm Dynamic 4x9. It's a German FM-synthesizer from mid-80s that were only available as DIY project. It uses 12(!) Yamaha ICs of the type YM2203, which were commonly used in home computers from NEC as well as in arcade games until the early 90s. Each of the ICs has 3 FM-voices for an overall 36 voices 4-part polyphony.

I used for the recording the following FX for the song:

DigiTech Obscura, Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe, GFI System Specular Reverb 2.

Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated.The signal went through a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 into the PC for recording. To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track."

Christian's Sonic Spaces Böhm demos

Vintage Mystery Synth

Anyone know what this is? It was recently spotted by Florian Anwander who had the following to say:

"This device was used while a live stream from a Hamburg Club streaming event. We had the impression, that it made 808 like drumsounds, but we are not sure. I tried to turn and unskew the picture to make the writing readable, but
the success is mediocre. It might read Mma 090. It looks like the grey rectangle is a speaker (there is a second under the moog FX). Can anyone identify what it is?"

The style reminds me of Boehm or Bohm, but I couldn't find it in the archives. If you know what it is let us know!

Update via Florian in the comments:

"Richard von der Schulenburg, who used it while this event, kindly answered my request. It is a 'PENTA Stereo keyboar' by the brand GERLAND. I found as a single hit on google this picture.

I've never heard about it, neither the brand nor the instrument. If I search for the brand name, then I find typical home organs."



GARLAND is an organ brand. Note the button style is the same as the PENTA.

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #73: Boehm Dynamic 4x9 - Song 1

Published on Jul 8, 2019 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the Boehm Dynamic 4x9. It's a German FM-synthesizer from mid-80s that were only available as DIY project. It uses 12(!) Yamaha ICs of the type YM2203, which were commonly used in home computers from NEC as well as in arcade games until the early 90s. Each of the ICs has 3 FM-voices for an overall 36 voices 4-part polyphony.

I used for the recording the following FX for the song:
Sony DPS-V77 (for chorus only), Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe, GFI System Specular Reverb 2. Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated.

The signal went through a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 into the PC via USB for recording. To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track."

Boehm Dynamic 4x9 FM-Synthesizer - Two Demosongs & Realtime editing

Published on Feb 13, 2019 Stereoping

Neve seen one of these before.

"The Boehm Dynamic 4x9 is a fully editable 4 OP FM-Synthesizer similar to Yamaha's FB-01. It's got 4 'blocks' each supplying 9 voices from rough Yamaha YM2203 FM-chips.The Boehm is always in Multimode making it easy and funny building layersounds or multitrack arrangements. It also houses 2 different analogue BBD-effects called 'Phasing' and 'Ensemble' bringing some sound-modulation and Solina-feeling to the cold FM-world.

The video contains 2 little arrangements making use of several presets. 1st one is pure Boehm Dynamic 4x9 with a bit of reverb, no other gear used. Some photos show the inside of the unit.

The second song - starting with 'german volksmusik' and ending quite jazzy - uses drums from the Nord Drum 2 and displays the midi activity of the 4 blocks together with the Fruity Loops arrangement.

There is also a followup video showing realtime editing of the unit with a Midi-Controller."

Boehm Dynamic 4x9 - Realtime editing

Published on Feb 13, 2019

"Demo for realtime editing of the Böhm Dynamic 4x9 FM-Synthesizer. Session one scrambles a Strings preset. Second session starts with the sound of an E-Tom. The color of the LED dispays which parameters are currently changed. Switching the BBD-effects around 2:24 & 2:45 (should have made that first on the unchanged string preset, i know).
Caution! The sound is partly distorted and aggressive, you might want to turn the volume down before starting the video."

Böhm Digital-Drums | German Linndrum | Free samples included

Published on Oct 26, 2018 Espen Kraft

"Dr.Böhm, the organ manufacturer released this 'German LinnDrum' in 1983 under the name Böhm Digital-Drums.
Extraordinary disco vibes can be had from these lo-fi, but still glittering drums. They come best to life when sequenced internally from this unit.
Together with the attached analog accompaniment unit and keyboard you can achieve instant Italo Disco/Giorgio Moroder hero status!

All the samples from the Böhm can be found here, in one big Wav-file 24bits, taken directly from the stereo out. All sounds recorded twice and you'll have to edit this yourself, but hey, they're free! :)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FUXu..."

ER9Solina - Chiptune Syntie Song - 10/2018

Published on Oct 11, 2018 Stereoping

"No special piece of gear demo-ed this time. Just a composition and arrangement excercise in FL Studio which imho finally came out quite nice.

Drums from a vintage midified Vermona ER-9 Drumbox, theme played by Dreadbox Nxy. Solina sound (well, kind of) from MI Ambika through the Boehm Phasing Rotor bucked brigade chorus. Bass from Waldorf Pulse. Then the Micromonsta bringing in some chiptune action with 32th notes defining the harmonic scales. Finally the Korg Polysix contributing some rock organ riffs. At the end the DEP-5's (feeded with Ambika strings) reverb time is cranked to 'endless' as well as the Nyx's reverb time - both add up in a beautiful final drone.

Video shows life footage, piano-roll shoots and some supermario screencast footage corresponding to the current musical mood. Hope you like it :-)"

DirkJan Ranzijn 2 on a Massive Bohm Organ Synthesizer

Uploaded on May 5, 2009 BlueHeavenProduction·122 videos

http://www.dirkjanranzijn.nl

The crowd finally wakes up in the end.

I always wonder how deep the synth engines of these go. Are they full blown synthesizers with access to all parameters or are they essentially preset with a few translated parameters like "brightness" only?

Dr. Böhm Digital Drums - demo

Published on Apr 1, 2013 NEUR0PLAYER·55 videos

"Demo of Dr. Böhm Digital Drums: instruments, preset patterns, auto-fills, breaks and solos"

BÖHM DIGITAL DRUMS Vintage Drum Machine 1983 | HD DEMO

Published on Feb 21, 2014 AnalogAudio1·125 videos

"(c) 2014 by AnalogAudio1

In the beginning of the video I added a little reverb from a Yamaha SPX900 on the drums, all other effects came from the Böhm itself.

The Boehm (Dr. Böhm) DIGITAL DRUMS is a rhythm machine / accompaniment from Germany.

The BÖHM DIGITAL DRUMS came in 2 versions:

1. as a classic drum machine
2. as a classic drum machine + analog accompaniment.

The latter you see in the video. The Böhm has preset rhythms and is also programmable. It has digital drum samples (13 bit) and analog sound generation for the accompaniment. On the accompaniment version, a keyboard can be attached, in order to set chords. It was also included in Böhm organs. The most units were assembled by the users themselves - it was also available as assembly kit. Multiple outputs, tape interface and MIDI were optional."

Dr. Boehm DD Drum

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction - learn how to sell on eBay here

Video at the auction previously posted here.

"Dr. Boehm DD Drums
it's been called the german linndrum
it doesn't sound exactly the same:) but has more features--and it's been build by germans--high quality....don't have to say more:).

comes with -power-supply(german, of course)
-mini keyboard(original) to play the notes by key
-amazing condition
-has been fully serviced
-battery has been replaced


get yourself the amazing piece of german history----the might come up a couple of times a year on the bay(for real good money:))"

DR BOEHM DD Drums

YouTube Uploaded by HOX808 on Dec 1, 2011

"DR. BÖHM DIGITAL DRUMS 13-BIT DRUM MACHINE"

Dr. Böhm: ► Böhmat Compact ◄ 1970-1974, 1-Finger-Begleitung/Accompaniment ...♫♫

YouTube Uploaded by premiumexpert on Jul 3, 2011

Googlish (original German below):
"This Böhmat the first generation can be heard on the following LPs:" Golden Age for music lovers, "" Böhmat Express No.1 "and" Böhmat Express 2 ".
On the album "Panorama Sound" only the drums can be heard. All LPs were played by Ady penny.

CLICK FOR MORE »

"Time after time" - on Böhm Station One

YouTube Uploaded by organfairy on Mar 22, 2011

"Springtime is here. And just looking at a workstation tends to be a little boring. So I went outside this and enjoyed that fact that almost all the ice had gone.

The music is played on Böhm Station One workstation and was originally recorded by Cindy Lauper in 1983."

BOEHM SOUNDLAB MODULAR CLIP 2

YouTube via whiteeagle1973made

"Dry sound effects and bleeps from the Soundlab and filming during a routine cleaning....and a little funky fun towards the end. This is not a "good condition - for sale" clip."

BOEHM SOUNDLAB MODULAR


previously posted

"A Looped patch, made in the Boehm Soundlab modular.
If you set the VCA gain at the maximum, the sound stays always on, no matter what the ADSR settings are. So this is useful for loops and complex effects.
This clip is somewhat dark, the sound is captured by the camera's mic, but you get an idea what this little beast is capable for."

"Vil du med" - on Böhm Station One

YouTube via organfairy

"This is so 80's....!

The song, the keyboard, the workstation, even the pant suit is from the 80's!

The song "Vil du med" was performed by Birthe Kjær at the local Danish Eurovision Song Contest in 1986 where it came in second. The winner was "Du er fuld af løgn" by Trax - but that's another story.
Here I perform the melody on a Böhm workstation with a GEM DSK-7 as keyboard controller.

And apparantly I am being bodysnatched by a giant pink flower from outer space.... "

"Wonderfull tonight" - on Böhm Station One

YouTube via organfairy

"After having found out how the plugs on the Böhm is wired up (see the post that came before this one) it is time to convert the old Elka pedal so it can be used with the workstation."