In a gesture of goodwill, Gibson and its President and CEO, James “JC” Curleigh, have granted possession of the Oberheim brand and intellectual property back to its original owner and company founder, synthesizer pioneer Tom Oberheim.

Gibson has owned the Oberheim brand name for years, as it sought to expand into other categories. In recent years, though, Gibson has returned to focusing on its core business – and company CEO James Curleigh says that the Oberheim brand deserved special attention.

“Of the many stories I have heard and decisions I have made since joining Gibson, this situation seemed simple,” says Curleigh. “Let’s do the right thing by putting the Oberheim brand back in the hands of its namesake founder Tom Oberheim.”

“After over thirty years of being without it, I am thrilled to once again be able to use the Oberheim trademark for my products,” says Oberheim. “I am very grateful to the new leadership team of Gibson for making this possible.”

Oberheim continues to make analog synthesizers that are direct descendants of the legendary Oberheim machines from the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Gibson says that it’s “excited to have Tom Oberheim officially be able to use his trademark once again and wish him the best for the future.”