Paris firm Miltone builds €10,000 replica of 1975 Oberheim synth

Paris-based Miltone has announced the 4Exp, a hand-built replica of the 1975 Oberheim Four Voice System synthesizer. The company, which established its reputation as a vintage synth repair specialist and Oberheim expert, is moving into bespoke manufacturing with this release.

The 4Exp functions as a faithful, part-for-part copy of the original instrument. It integrates four individual Synthesizer Expander Modules into a single, unified unit. Customers can select beige or black modules, paired with either an aluminium or tolex chassis, with each completed unit individually numbered and made to order.

Pricing positions the 4Exp firmly in the ultra-premium tier of musical instruments. The aluminium version costs €9,990 excluding VAT, while the tolex edition is priced at €11,990 excluding VAT. Shipping costs are additional, and the company expects to begin deliveries in late 2026.

This product launch illustrates a specific commercial dynamic within Europe’s music technology sector. Rather than competing on volume or digital innovation, specialist European firms are finding a viable market in exact historical reproduction. For high-end recording studios and wealthy collectors, the premium pricing reflects the labour-intensive nature of hand-building analogue equipment from scratch.

The 4Exp enters a retail landscape where the Oberheim name itself has recently remerged as a corporate entity, creating an unusual parallel market. The original company, set up in 1969, went bankrupt in 1985. It marked a new chapter in 2022 after being acquired by a group of lawyers. Since that revival, Oberheim has introduced several new production models to the market, including the TEO-5. Released in 2024, the TEO-5 is a five-voice polyphonic analogue synth named after founder Tom Oberheim.