ACCESS OBERHEIM MATRIX Synth Midi Programmer

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Programmer for the Oberheim Matrix-6, 6R & Matrix-1000. Note you do have to have a later OS for the Matrix-6.

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Oberheim Matrix 6 Editing

Published on Jan 6, 2013 AudioCentralMagazine·107 videos


"A frightening programming session on the nightmarish data entry of Oberheim Matrix 6. It seems an eternity, but in the Eighties this was the most common way to program the less expensive synthesizers: one parameter at time, first select then entering desired values!!!
God bless potentiometers and encoders (and Editor programs...)."

In my opinion it's not that bad actually. Everything is laid out in order, the first 10 parameters is DCO1, the next 10, DCO2, the next 10, VCF/VCA, and so on. There are no submenus. Everything is only one layer deep. You can see a pic of the parameters on the 6R in this current MATRIXSYNTH-B post. See the Patch Edit section in the bottom. You can also flip through parameters vs. having to enter the number for each. Sadly their is no slider for editing values like some other menu driven synths, so you have to button up, down or enter the value you want. Nothing beats knobs. On OS version 2.13 of the Matrix-6 you can map external MIDI controllers to each parameter. Access made a Matrix Programmer and you should be able to use other controllers that support MIDI Sysex including some for the iPad.

ACCESS OBERHEIM MATRIX Synth Midi Programmer

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"ACCESS OBERHEIM MATRIX Synth Midi Programmer for the 1000, 6, 6R synthesizers"

I believe you need OS 2.13 on the Matrix-6 for sysex support in order for this to work.

Access Oberheim Matrix Synth Programmer

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Before Access made synths they made controllers. They also made a Waldorf Microwave controller for the original Microwave.

I'm not 100% sure, but I'm guessing this requires the latest OS 2.13 on the Matrix-6 for it to work.  Previous OS versions do not respond to MIDI sysex.  I believe all versions of the Matrix-1000 work as it was released after the Matrix-6. 

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Access Matrix Programmer

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"Programmer for the Oberheim Matrix 1000. If you have a Matrix 1000, you need one of these in order to get beyond the miniature LED screen. Although we never tried doing so, it also is reported to work with the Oberheim Matrix 6 [latest OS revision]. This unit is in EXC cosmetic condition as depicted. Comes with external wall-wart power supply."

Access Music Matrix Programmer w Custom Wood Sides

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onkloud9

Note this might only work with later versions of the Matrix-6 OS. OS 2.13 is the latest and has been confirmed to work with various editors.

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Virus TI Programming Boot Camp Episode 1 - PWM

Virus TI Programming Boot Camp Episode 1 - PWM from access music on Vimeo.

"This summer, we'll give you a programming boot camp video every week. In this episode, we'll make you a Pulse Width Modulation expert ...
You can download the patches created in this session on the Virus TI homepage: virus.info/​bootcamp/​

enjoy!"

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Access Microwave Programmer for the Waldorf Microwave

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Before Access Music made synths, they made knob boxes for the Waldorf Microwave and Oberheim Matrix-6/1000 series.

Cous Cous Music 1

YouTube via SacherStudioTV — June 03, 2010 —

"Un esempio di sperimentazione musicale a cura del Sacher Studio, in collaborazione con Fabio Boila al basso. Partendo da una traccia ritmica fornita dall'applicativo Drumtrack8, ci siamo sbizzarriti a trattare le varie tracce con filtri ed effetti."

Some synth spotting. Note the Access Matrix Programmer for the Oberheim Matrix-1000/6 series.

ACCESS PROGRAMMER for OBERHEIM MATRIX-1000

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"Hard to find knob box controller for Matrix-1000, Matrix-6, Matrix-6R"

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Oberheim Matrix-6R

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Remote? Anyone know what that is?

Update via Xavier in the comments: "there was a remote programmer planned for the matrix 6/6R. I am not sure whether Oberheim ever released such a piece of hardware but Access (from the later Virus fame) went on business manufacturing such an accessory.
Here is a picture
Btw, there is also a very nice bit of info here:
http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2006/10/access-matrix-1000-programmer.html
Cheers
Xavier"

John Bowen Solaris Test Drive by Carbon111

via Carbon111, via this VSE thread where you will find more images and info.

"I was privileged today to have given John Bowen's Solaris a test drive in my studio! Though its not quite finished yet and there are some re-designs in progress, I can honestly say its a programmer's as well as a player's dream!

It sounds absolutely wonderful and is very powerful! It took a few minutes for the interface to sink in, but once it did...wow! Flexible, deep and yet relatively easy to program due to the excellent UI despite the huge number of available parameters and choices. Most parameters are not buried in menus and are easy to access and tweak.

There are a ton of audio-rate modulations available on this thing, none of which generate any artifacts or aliasing at all...lots of FM possibilities, linear as well as exponential. The Moog-style filter was as warm and squelchy as one could want and could be run in other modes besides LP! The "Obie" clone was a good state-variable emulation. The oscillators were plentfull in both quantity and variety. Each patch has a unique architecture, essentially a massively parallel yet integrated "multi" unto itself.

I was suprised at how organic and non-digital it sounded! A one-on-one "taste test" against my analog gear proved this thing has that elusive low-end "beef". Its no slouch as a complex wavetable synth either, holding its own easily against my Waldorf Microwave XT and Ensoniq Fizmo.

You can do FM, physical modeling, subtractive, wavetable and vector synthesis on it as well as the warmest VA I've yet heard.- I'm really blown away! Time to start saving...or figuring out what will have to go"

Also check out the official John Bowen Synth Design.

Some specs via this thread on the John Bowen Synth Design Forum (BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE THREAD FOR MORE including clarifications):
"The hardware Solaris has the equivalent of approximately 6 Scope boards (the 14 DSP cards), so 6 x 14 = 84 Scope generation DSPs - but remember, you would have to be running your Scope Project at 96 kHz as well...

We have lots of software to finish, so I can't report exactly as to the polyphony count, but here are some of the other specs:

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Access Matrix 1000 Programmer

You don't see these too often. Before the Virus A, Access used to make hardware knob boxes for the Oberheim Matrix 1000 and the Waldorf Microwave. Guess which one this is? : ) Title link takes you to more shots pulled via this auction.
If anyone gets this thing, post back in the comments with how it works as a real time controller.

via brian comnes.

Update via Till "Qwave" Kopper in the comments:
"The Matrix Controller did also work for the Matrix 6 and the Matrix 6 rack version. I used to own a Matrix 6 and this controller. It was working as fine as editing is possible on non rotary encoders. So be prepared for some parameter jumps when moving a knob.
I remember the filter cutoff knob was transmitted somehow by SysEx. And it took a while for the synth to act to it. So it was impossible to use the controller for real time filter sweeps.
I can't remember what you had to do to tell the Programmer if you are working on a Matrix 6 (keyb. or rack version) or a Matrix 1000. There was a certain bottom combination needed.
You could lock the knobs in order not to change (=jump) a sound into nirvana while playing. This lock modus was also the default when turing the unit on.
I own now the MicroWave version for my MicroWave plus WaveSlave. Works fine !
But it is not better then good new controller boxes. But it does look way better then those plastic ones of today."

"The modulation matrix is not handled at all.

Back in time the company was named Access Midi Tools, they even showed a prototype at Frankfurt of the PG-X in 1996, a universal hardware programmer, at the TSI/Waldorf booth. This never made it into production, to much units to support, look what happened to Polyframe/SoundDiver.

Have a look here for more info (German only).

There is a Review at SOS about both Programmers:

I have them both, just for the cool look ;-) There are some little issues with the Matrix one (not just on mine, it is a generic issue) on the sustain of the filter envelope, I allways planned to check if the programmer is sending stupid data or if the M1000 is causing the fault.

As Till pointed out, there is some steppyness with the Matrix, but this is just the slow reception in the synth.

It is quite fine with the MicroWave, which is able to eat lots of SysEx without any problem.

Georg."

Update via cornutt in the comments:
"I am the author of M1000X, the Matrix 6/6R/1000 patch editor for OSX. So I'm pretty familiar with the MIDI implementations of these boxes. Here's what I have found out about them:

The Matrix-6/6R MIDI implementation was only about half finished, and it has a critical bug. The two biggest problems with it are:

1. Some of the parameters allow both positive and negative numbers, but the M6 won't accept a negative value in a MIDI single parameter message. So, if any paraemter needs to be set to a negative value, the entire patch has to be sent to the box. And the M6 doesn't allow the patch-load message to write to the edit buffer; it has to be written directly to the patch memory. Not only is this slow, but it also means that the edit can't be undone (unless the external editor remembers it).

2. The M6 has no MIDI mesages for updating the routing matrix. As in the case above, the only way to do it is to write the entire patch to patch memory.

They fixed a lot of the MIDI problems on the Matrix-1000. It supports all legal values in MIDI single parameter messages. There is no reason why an M1000 can't do a real-time filter sweep if the external editor handles it properly. The only thing that was botched on the M1000 is that it does not remember patch names. That was probably done because the M1000 itself can't display them, but IHMO it still should have stored them in order to support external editors, and also patch interchange with the M6.

The other thing that strikes me abou the Access box is that it doesn't appear to have nearly enough controls to edit all of the parameters that a Matrix-6 or 1000 patch supports, even leaving out the routing matrix. Where, for example, are the knobs for adjusting the tracking generator break points, or the buttons for setting the zillions of possible envelope modes? Anyway, thanks for publishing this; it was an interesting look back into history. And I hope my comments were helpful."