Yeah, I understand. It's not that you hate the Minimoog, it's just that you're definitely tired of it. Too much of a good thing, perhaps.
Of course, the Oberheim sound has been around nearly as long, and for those of us who listened way back to groups that prominently used Oberheims (Styx, etc.), there's a bit of the same sonic redundancy, only on the other side. Personally, I'd be happy with either instrument, since the sort of music I make is disassociated from such groups, and the lines I play will never resemble their lines. I do think that's an issue. My point is, if one pursues a different type of music than these instruments were most often used for, I think one can still breath new life into them. And this applies even to Carlos' work, since it used Moog modulars in a still fairly progressive manner, at least regarding the choices of sounds. That's what I disliked about the "Switched-On Bach" stuff - the sounds. I must have listened to those recordings a hundred times, even though I didn't like the sounds used!
If one is going to play progressive rock on a Minimoog or an Oberheim, then I'd say he or she will fall into a rut and have a difficult time sounding original. But I suppose these instruments will be very popular among the cover bands who actually are striving to sound other than original.
So, where do you stand regarding Oberheim synthesizers, Paul? Have you decided on an instrument or a module yet?