The Oberheim Matrix-1000 was a direct descendent of the powerful Xpander and Matrix 12 and behind its deceptively simple front panel was a powerhouse 6-voice synth with a spec that was considerably more impressive than any other analogue synth of the time.

The Matrix series had a typical voice architecture of two oscillators into a resonant filter into an amplifier and out but at the heart of the entire Matrix series (not surprisingly) was a sophisticated modulation matrix that allowed almost anything to be routed to anything putting them on a par with modular synths of old.

But whereas the Xpander and Matrix 12 were complex and horribly expensive, the technology worked its way down into the more affordable Matrix 6 keyboard synth and Matrix 6R module. Fantastically powerful but hampered by the somewhat tedious 'parameter access' programming method commonly found on many synths of the era.

Then some bright spark at Oberheim must have had the inspired idea of condensing all that synthesis power into a simple 1U rack unit packed with enough varied sounds that programming wasn't an issue. And so the Matrix-1000 was born

Operation couldn't be simpler - select a sound and play it! If it doesn't fit the bill, flick through the presets until you find one that does. It was cheap, sounded amazing and was a resounding success.

Up to a point...

Unfortunately, it came at a time when analogue synthesis was falling from grace with the domination of FM synths but that didn't stop the Matrix-1000 scoring a legion of fans the world over and many are still in regular use today as a source of sounds that are rich, thick, organic, evolving, 'fat', 'warm', subtle, brash, bright, mellow, mysterious, eerie... insert your own adjective!!

Two models were made. The first was plain black to fit the vogue of the time but they later changed this to Oberheim's original cream livery, presumably to add an air of vintage 'authenticity'. There were no technical differences between the two, however, and they sounded gloriously identical.

The M1000 was that popular that various editors cropped up, some for computer but notably one 3rd-party hardware progarmmer that put the most commonly used controls and functions at your fingertips. It was even styled in Oberheim's blue striped livery. I seem to recall it was quite expensive (£350?) but it gave a very pokey programmable synth with THE big Oberheim sound for a fairly reasonable price.

There are many M1000s still seeing good service today. And no reason why not - great sounds, dead simple. What's not to like?

In close collaboration with Dan McCullough, the 'Definitive M-1000' features a broad range of classic and distinctintive and genuine analogue synth sounds from Dan's own M-1000 which have been meticulously multi-sampled for absolute accuracy.

As with all Hollow Sun products, all samples have been seamlessly looped (where appropriate) and supremely and expertly optimised using distinctly 'old-school' techniques for maximum impact and memory/storage efficiency and the entire collection can be loaded into a mere 215Mb of memory - small footprint; BIG sound!! These are not modelled, virtual analogue sounds - these are the real deal from a genuine analogue classic -- unprocessed -- and are a perfect representation of the original.

Whether you are scoring a block-buster Hollywood movie, laying down a wicked bassline, filling out a ballad or creating cutting edge electronica, there will almost certainly be something for you in this broad assortment of sounds. The beauty of the Matrix-1000 is that it can be modest and strident in equal proportions - it can sit in the background filling out a track with a subtle pad or it can dominate with a prominent sound as you prefer.

The Hollow Sun 'Definitive M1000' comes with a fully scripted panel that brings extra functionality even the original didn't possess.

The CONTROL PANEL gives access to level and three fixed formant filters for a broad range of tone control plus an amplitude envelope ADSR to shape the sound.

The EFFECTS section provides a phase shifter, chorus, delay and reverb in series to build complex multi-FX chains to augment the already rich sounds.

The MASTER section allows you to tailor the overall response of the instrument to your personal preferences with variable velocity curves, tuning, transpose and pitch bend ranges.


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