Oberheim Matrix synthesizers were a product line of subtractive analog synthesizers from Oberheim featuring a system of modulation which Oberheim called "Matrix Modulation" as a method of selecting and routing elements that dynamically shape various aspects of the sounds it produces. Matrix synthesizers continue to be popular due to their characteristic late-1980s analog sound and leading patching and filter capabilities.
These five products fall into two groups. The Xpander is a six-voice rack-mount synthesizer with voltage-controlled oscillators and very flexible voltage-controlled filters. The Matrix-12 is in effect two Xpanders plus a keyboard. The second group consists of the Matrix-6 synthesizer, with DCOs, and much more standard filter capability. It had two rack-mount variants, the Matrix-6R (Matrix-6 without keyboard) and the Matrix-1000 (low cost preset version with extended memory).
Models XpanderOberheim Xpander page at Vintage Synth ExplorerMatrix-12Oberheim Matrix 12 page at Vintage Synth ExplorerMatrix-6Oberheim Matrix 6 page at Vintage Synth ExplorerMatrix-6RMatrix-1000Oberheim Matrix 1000 page at Vintage Synth ExplorerOberheim Matrix 1000 manual at Vintage Synth Explorer Image(s) Polyphony 6 voices 12 voices 6 voices Oscillators 12 VCOs (2 per voice) featuring CEM3374 24 VCOs (2 per voice) featuring CEM3374 12 DCOs (2 per voice) featuring CEM3396 Filter Multimode, 15 variations of low / high / band / notch / phase shift resonant filter based on CEM 3372 w/ external switch circuitry low-pass filter using CEM3396's LPF same as 6R but different capacitors LFO 5 (per voice) (plus 1 global for vibrato effect) 2 (per voice) (plus 1 global for vibrato effect) Envelopes 5 (per voice) 3 (per voice) Layers 6-part multitimbral with up to 6 zones 12-part multitimbral with up to 6 zones 2-part multitimbral with up to 2 zones monotimbral Memory 100 patches, 100 multi 100 patches, 50 multi 1000 patches (800 preset, 200 user) Form Factor Desktop 61-key (velocity & channel aftertouch) Rackmount Production 1984–1988 1985–1988 1985–1988 1986–1988 1988–1994 Price US$3995 US$6399 US$1695 US$999 US$599
References
Further reading
External links VintageSynth.com has specifications and photos OB6000.de The Editor for the Matrix 1000 Xplorer A free, realtime editor for the Oberheim Matrix-12 and Xpander synthesizers