{"id":1434,"date":"2014-03-29T02:37:49","date_gmt":"2014-03-29T01:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.untergeek.de\/?p=1434"},"modified":"2016-04-05T17:18:10","modified_gmt":"2016-04-05T16:18:10","slug":"reclaiming-the-matrix-new-life-for-an-old-beast-via-ipad-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.untergeek.de\/de\/2014\/03\/reclaiming-the-matrix-new-life-for-an-old-beast-via-ipad-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Reclaiming the Matrix: new life for an old beast via iPad control"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Update: there is now a working editor template for editing Matrix-1000 sounds via the iPad with TB Midi Stuff. Other than stated below, it is now possible to control the modulation matrix as well\u00a0– read more about it here<\/a>. The buggy parameters unfortunately still won’t work.<\/p>\n

\"20140329-014655.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m just rediscovering a 25-year old piece of analog hardware: my Oberheim Matrix-1000 synth<\/a>. It’s worth rediscovering: The analog circuitry is still cutting through any mix; it’s a nasty classic. And it’s a simple 1 HU 19“ rack unit; power supply included, no wall warts.<\/p>\n

So yes, for a vintage piece of equipment, it’s handy. Unfortunately, the Matrix-1000 is a pure expander module without a single controller – no real-time tweaking the sounds to your desire. Which is a massive disadvantage to an otherwise extremely clever and versatile machine, as I’m not the first to discover. Before Access started to make very expensive top-quality VA synths, they did a hardware controller; you’ll occasionally find one on eBay for around \u20ac 700. Translating as: „It’s a monster if you can only get a controller for it.“
\n\"20140329-015834.jpg\"<\/a>
\nMy favourite digital music device is the iPad. So I’ve started making my own iPad controller interface, based on the cheap TB Midi Stuff<\/a> controller kit. It’s an early version, still some testing to be done. And there’s a couple of things you need to realize about the Matrix-1000 before using it with an external editor.<\/p>\n


\nHere’s what you’ll need to know about this late-80s machine:<\/p>\n

The Matrix is a really complex beast.<\/h2>\n

The basic layout of the synth is classic:<\/strong> two oscillators with saw\/tri and PW waves, a 4-pole (24dB) resonant filter – the famous Obie filter, lush and warm yet effective – filter FM, and an amp section. Two LFOs, three EGs, nothing out of the ordinary so far. But the possibilities of manipulating sound in real-time!<\/strong> EG are not ADSR but DADSR, and can be made free-running, turning them into additional LFOs. Or control them by LFOs. Numerous little tweaks for the LFOs. Two additional ramp generators and a kind of five-point translate curve function. More than 20 modulation path controls, and those are only the hard-wired ones. On top of it all, there’s the name-giving modulation matrix with 10 freely programmable paths – we’ll get to that later.<\/p>\n

You don’t just fit that much on one iPad page. And there may be a bit of a learning curve. But this may not be your main problem.\"20140329-023952.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Matrix is a really old beast.<\/h2>\n

Looking at the hardware, you may be surprised that there’s not really that much of it. Oscillators, Curtis filter chips, amps – everything else is done in software by a humble 8-bit CPU @ 2MHz<\/strong>, i.e. doing 2 Mcycles per second. Even your coffee maker packs more processing power these days. Actually, this is way too slow for what the software is aiming to do – recalculating lookup tables while playing MIDI notes – meaning that when you’re tweaking while playing the device may start stuttering. It’s also working on an internal 50Hz cycle, meaning that notes are played with a latency of up to 20ms.<\/p>\n

The Matrix is a slightly buggy beast.<\/h2>\n

There are a couple of well-documented bugs;<\/strong> if you’d like to read more, I’ll direct you to this excellent resource<\/a>. The most annoying ones are<\/p>\n