The object
Tom Oberheim designed the SEM sound module and the Oberheim multi-voice synthesizer systems built around it. NAMM’s 2024 oral-history listing calls him inventor of the first polyphonic music synthesizer, while a 2025 interview discusses his continuing design work and the SEM’s enduring influence.
01
What Tom did
designed the SEM and early commercially available polyphonic analog synthesizer systems
02
Why it matters
Oberheim’s modular voices and polyphonic systems became landmark instruments in electronic music production.
03
Living-status check
MusicTech reported an interview with Oberheim about his synthesizer designs on March 19, 2025.