Viscount D9 - branded as Fujiha D9 and Oberheim OB3
An Italian-built analog clonewheel instrument dating from the late 1980s. It could be seen as a copy of Korg's original CX3. A similar but dual-manual instrument, the Intercontinental OP-6 was being made by Viscount as early as 1982.
The D9 features a set of standard drawbars, percussion, overdrive, vibrato switches and a mono "Intersound" Leslie simulator. There was also a module available called the D9E, functionally identical to the keyboard version.
The Fujiha name applied as an adhesive nameplate to some examples appears to have been coined by a UK distributor to try and deflect the perceived lack of credibility of Italian keyboards at the time.
The Oberheim-branded OB3 (differing from the D9 only in its color) was the precursor to the very successful digital OB3² organ and module but unlike the later ( squared ) instruments was not multi-timbral.
They were produced as a joint venture by the Italian and American companies.
«Irgendwann hatte ich mit dem Gedanken gespielt, ob ich meine alte CX3 midifizieren lassen sollte, um sie anschließend auseinanderzusägen und nur den Teil mit den Zugriegeln ohne Tastatur mit auf die Bühne zu nehmen.
Nachdem ich jedoch die Risiken und Nebenwirkungen einer solchen irreversiblen Operation mit den zu erwartenden Vorteilen verglichen hatte, ließ ich die Säge im Werkzeugkasten und begnügte mich auf der Bühne mit Orgelsurrogaten ...»
