Tom Oberheim – The world of the new SEMs

In the year since the launch of the Tom Oberheim reissue of the SEM, a surprising number of units have been built, tested and shipped. Surprising? Well, considering the fact that Tom Oberheim assembles and tests each unit by hand, each of the instruments shipped thus far represent a serious commitment of man-hours.

The Tom Oberheim Synthesizer Expander Module with Patchpanel was the first unit out the door of Tom’s small shop. That version of the SEM was followed by the Tom Oberheim Synthesizer Expander Module with MIDI to CV Converter. Now the latest version, the SEM-PRO, combines the patchpanel feature with the MIDI interface.

SEM with Patchpanel
All internal SEM connections are brought out to 3.5mm minijacks – all 33 of them. The basic connections are a one-volt-per-octave VCO control voltage and a standard 0 to +5 volt gate signal. On this version of the SEM, there is no MIDI input.

SEM with Patchpanel
All internal SEM connections are brought out to 3.5mm minijacks – all 33 of them. The basic connections are a one-volt-per-octave VCO control voltage and a standard 0 to +5 volt gate signal. On this version of the SEM, there is no MIDI input.

SEM with MIDI to CV Converter
This version includes a high precision MIDI to CV Converter that has been specifically designed to allow MIDI to control the SEM, and has additional features that make use of the SEM’s external inputs.

Tom Oberheim SEM Modules

 

Post Your Thoughts