The Oberheim Matrix-12, released in 1985, is one of analog synthesis’s true monsters: 12 voices, 12 multitimbral parts, and a routing and modulation engine so dense that the original hardware printed the signal diagram directly on the synth, because no screen at the time could display it. GForce Software has now partnered directly with Oberheim to bring it back as software — and crucially, with the people who built it.
Why this one was different to fake
Plenty of classic polysynths have gotten credible software emulations over the years. The Matrix-12 has mostly resisted that — the only prior attempt, from Arturia, reportedly falls well short of the original according to hardware owners, per Synth Anatomy’s reporting. GForce Software’s new plugin is positioned as the fix: it’s an officially endorsed Oberheim product, developed with Marcus Ryle, one of the Matrix-12’s original designers, brought in specifically to make sure the recreation got the hard parts right rather than just approximating the surface sound.
The plugin also recreates the Oberheim Xpander, the Matrix-12’s six-voice, rack-mount sibling, in the same software package — making both of the Matrix architecture’s hardware forms officially available as plugins for the first time.
The modulation matrix, finally made usable
What made the Matrix-12 a legend in 1985 wasn’t just its 12 voices — it was the modulation engine. The Matrix-12 is credited with pioneering the modulation matrix concept now standard in almost every sophisticated hardware and software synth, built around five DADSR envelopes, five multiwave LFOs, four “ramp” mini-modulators, three multi-point keytrackers, and a lag processor, routable with a flexibility that’s remained unmatched among analog polysynths for forty years. On the original hardware, using it meant navigating a dense sea of menus and buttons. GForce’s software version makes the same engine fully drag-and-drop: mapping a modulator to a destination expands the relevant signal path diagram live, with a dedicated matrix view showing every active mapping at once.
New, software-only additions include full MPE support, six micro-arpeggiators, tempo-synced ramps with linear-to-exponential curve shaping, and smoothed LFO shapes — features layered on top of the faithfully recreated original signal path, which runs each voice’s modeled VCOs through a 15-mode filter section (one- to four-pole low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, notch, and phase configurations) into two VCAs in series.
A filter that already lives outside this plugin
The Matrix-12’s filter design has had a life of its own in hardware form already — it’s the basis for the AJH Synth Matrix VCF Eurorack module and the Michigan Synth Works MSW-820 — which is a useful reminder that GForce isn’t just emulating a dead design. The Matrix-12’s engineering choices have been actively influencing new hardware for years; this plugin is the first time the complete original instrument, modulation matrix and all, is officially available in a DAW.
Related Reading
- GForce Software Oberheim Matrix-12: the modulation matrix pioneer returns as a synth plugin — Synth Anatomy
- GForce Software Oberheim Matrix-12 – Big, Official and Built for the 21st Century — Gearnews
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