Oberheim Matrix synthesizers were a product line of
subtractive analog synthesizer
An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.
The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of ...
s from
Oberheim
Oberheim is an American synthesizer manufacturer founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim.
History and products
Tom Oberheim founded the company in 1969, originally as a designer and contract manufacturer of electronic effects devices for Maestro (mos ...
featuring a system of
modulation
In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the '' carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informat ...
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 oscillator
A microwave (12–18GHz) voltage-controlled oscillator
A voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is an electronic oscillator whose oscillation frequency is controlled by a voltage input. The applied input voltage determines the instantaneous oscillat ...
s and very flexible
voltage-controlled filter
A voltage-controlled filter (VCF) is an electronic filter whose operating characteristics (primarily cutoff frequency) can be set by an input control voltage. Voltage controlled filters are widely used in synthesizers.
A music synthesizer VCF ...
s. The Matrix-12 is in effect two Xpander's 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 and Matrix-1000.
Models
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
VintageSynth.comhas specifications and photos
OB6000.deThe Editor for the Matrix 1000
XplorerA realtime editor for the Oberheim Matrix-12 and Xpander synthesizers
Matrix
Matrix most commonly refers to:
* ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise
** '' The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film
** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchi ...
analog synthesizers
polyphonic synthesizers
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