Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments (BEMI) was a company that made synthesizers and special MIDI controllers. The company began in 1963 as Buchla & Associates, founded by Don Buchla, a well-known inventor from Berkeley, California. In 2012, the original company was purchased by a group of Australian investors who operate under the name Audio Supermarket Pty.
The Oberheim OB-Xa was the second model in Oberheim’s OB-series of polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizers. It replaced the OB-X and included new features.
The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer made by the American company Sequential. It was created by Dave Smith and John Bowen in 1977. It was the first synthesizer that could play multiple notes at once and had memory that users could set up to save sounds.
Moog Music Inc. (pronounced “MOHG”) is an American company that makes synthesizers. It is based in Asheville, North Carolina.
Sequential is an American company that makes synthesizers. It was started in 1974 by Dave Smith under the name Sequential Circuits. In 1978, Sequential released the Prophet-5, the first synthesizer that could be programmed to play multiple notes at once.
The Access Virus is an electronic music instrument created by the German company Access Music GmbH. It was first made in 1997 and has been improved over time, with new models released approximately every two years. Early versions included the Virus A, Virus B, and Virus C series, each offered in different hardware setups.
Clavia Digital Musical Instruments (Clavia DMI AB) is a company in Sweden that makes virtual analog synthesizers, virtual electromechanical pianos, and stage pianos. It was started in Stockholm, Sweden in 1983 by Hans Nordelius and Mikael Carlsson. Since 1995, Clavia’s keyboards have been called Nord.
The Nord Lead is a series of synthesizers that use virtual analog technology, made by the company Clavia. The first Nord Lead was introduced in 1995 and helped make the term “virtual analog synthesis” well-known. Clavia created this term when the Nord Lead was first released.
The Korg M1 is a keyboard instrument and music machine made by the Japanese company Korg from 1988 to 1995. It is one of the most sold synthesizers in history, with about 250,000 units sold. It was often used in popular music and background music during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Roland D-50 is a synthesizer made by Roland and released in 1987. It has features such as a special sound-making method called linear arithmetic synthesis, built-in effects, a joystick to control settings, and a design that looks like older analog synthesizers. A separate device called the Roland PG-1000 (also released in 1987) could be connected to the D-50 to create more complex sounds.