Oberheim DS-2 (1984, unreleased)

The DS-2 is one of the great lost Oberheim instruments — a digital drum machine announced at the 1984 Summer NAMM show that never made it to production. It was demonstrated alongside the Oberheim DX digital synthesizer and the Xpander, then disappeared. No units are known to have survived, and no audio recordings or service documentation are known to exist.

Almost everything documented about the DS-2 traces back to a single contemporary magazine piece, reprinted in later years on blogs and forums. What that source records is a surprisingly complete spec sheet for a machine that never shipped: 16-bit linear PCM sampling at 32 kHz, frequency response from DC to 15 kHz, 90 dB dynamic range, and 0.05% THD. The front panel carried 43 buttons, eight drum pads, six sliders, a 16-character LED display, and a 24-key keyboard. It had 16 memory slots for storing patches, and the contemporary write-up claimed the DS-2 could “jam” with a musician — a tantalizingly vague promise that nobody ever got to test in person.

Known specs:

- 16-bit linear PCM, 32 kHz sampling rate

- Frequency response: DC to 15 kHz

- Dynamic range: 90 dB; THD: 0.05%

- 16 memory slots for patches

- 43 buttons, 8 drum pads, 6 sliders, 24-key keyboard

- 16-character LED display

Present-day forum and blog commenters have called the DS-2 “one of the most legendary unreleased drum machines ever” and “one of the great lost instruments.” No original price was ever stated in the sources, and no production years apply — the DS-2 was never manufactured for sale.