GForce Matrix-12: the modulation matrix monster, finally official

GForce just dropped the one I have been waiting for since they started doing Oberheim. The Matrix-12 is out, and this is the only official software version of the 1985 monster, built with Oberheim and with Marcus Ryle, one of the guys who designed the original hardware. That matters, because the Matrix-12 was not just another poly synth. It was the synth that invented the modulation matrix, and most of what we take for granted in modern synths started right here.

Under the hood it is twelve voices, two modelled VCOs per voice with triangle, saw and pulse, plus noise and hard sync on the second oscillator, feeding a fifteen-mode filter with one to four pole low pass, high pass, band pass, notch and phase, then two VCAs in series. The real fun is the modulation: five envelopes, five LFOs, four ramps, three trackers, a lag processor and vibrato in every voice, and any source can reach any destination, including itself. You just drag a crosshair from a source and drop it on a knob, up to six bipolar slots per parameter, with a green corona showing where the sound is headed.

What sold me is how they made that depth usable. The Flow view draws a live diagram of the voice, the Mod Matrix lays out every connection as a grid you can sort and edit, and every module has its own visualiser you can grab and drag. Multi mode splits the twelve voices across six overlapping keyboard zones, each with its own voice allocation, MIDI channel and micro arpeggiator. Add full MPE, four global macros, a stereo delay and a matrix reverb, and this thing is built for the kind of huge, moving industrial beds I love. Vangelis, Depeche Mode, The Orb and Technotronic all reached for the original for the thickest pads, sweeps and basses ever recorded, and that DNA is all over this one.

It ships with over 570 patches, more than 380 new ones plus 190 plus original Matrix-12 and Xpander patches, and it runs on Mac and Windows as VST, VST3, AU and AAX, plus a standalone app. There is a 14-day trial if you want to try before you buy.

Price is $83.99 on intro until December 5, then it goes up to $119.99. Grab it from GForce Software: https://www.gforcesoftware.com/product/oberheim-matrix-12/