The Matrix-1000 is a secret weapon: the full six-voice analog engine of the Oberheim Matrix-6 squeezed into a single rack unit, with 1000 factory patches on tap. Two DCOs per voice, a genuine analog filter, and Oberheim's famous Matrix Modulation routing give it lush pads, fat basses and snarling leads that betray its humble size. There are almost no front-panel controls; it is designed to be driven from a MIDI editor or your DAW, which is exactly why it has stayed affordable while sounding like a far pricier vintage Oberheim. A real analog polysynth for the price of a plugin bundle.

FEATURES & PROS:

• Six-Voice Analog: Two DCOs per voice through a genuine analog filter, the Matrix-6 engine in a rack.
• 1000 Patches: A vast factory library of pads, basses, leads and effects.
• Matrix Modulation: Oberheim's deep, flexible modulation routing for evolving, characterful sounds.
• Rack-Friendly: A single 1U space, easily driven from a DAW or hardware editor.
• Classic Oberheim Tone: Lush, warm and unmistakably analog.
• MIDI Equipped: Slots straight into any modern or vintage rig.

AS USED BY

• Depeche Mode, on the "Ultra" album
• Moby and Massive Attack
• Fatboy Slim and Apollo 440
• Juno Reactor and Laurent Garnier
• Pet Shop Boys and Faithless

THE WORD: Sound on Sound hailed it as "a flexible, musical and outstandingly useful expander," praising the organic warmth and the sense of movement that runs through nearly every patch. Read the Sound on Sound review.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Model: Oberheim Matrix-1000
• Released: 1987
• Type: 6-voice analog polyphonic synth module
• Oscillators: 2 DCO per voice
• Filter: analog low-pass with resonance
• Modulation: Matrix Modulation routing
• Memory: 1000 patches
• Format: 1U rack, MIDI in/out/thru
• Condition note: vintage analog module; may benefit from a service