Refurbished and modified Oberheim Matrix 12 61-Key 12-Voice Synthesizer 1986 with extras

As rare as these are, it is far rarer to find one in absolute mint condition, fully restored, modified with an internal fan (to mitigate the notorious overheating issue with these), extra CEM chips, original 194 page owners manual in great condition AND the original and rare 12 page GBC bound quick start guide! I'm in absolutley no hurry to sell this one. It's just a window display for the shop really, unless someone wants the cleanest, best one money can buy. When I say the wooden sides look brand new and don’t have a single scratch, I mean this one belongs in a museum. All the buttons were cleaned and serviced by a professional, some minor components like aged capacitors have been upgraded to highest quality versions and the unit has always been stored in a climate controlled, smoke free home studio by all three owners.

When it was released, retail price was equivalent to today’s retail value of over $18,000. Can you imagine buying it new for that in the 80’s? Furthermore, from 1985-1991 only 1,000 were produced!

I am the third owner. There’s a reason most synth techs and producers say the Matrix-12 is their favorite synth of all time and is arguably the greatest synthesizer ever made (also the greatest Oberheim ever made). With 15 LFO’s and VCA’s per voice, this thing is an absolute beast. It even has a self tuning feature that recalibrates itself. A marvel of engineering both in its time and today!

Used by artists like Michael Jackson, The Orb, Gravity Kills, Vangelis, Technotronic, and Depeche Mode and hundreds more. It’s basically two expanders with a 61 key, five octave keyboard.

Item will be shipped to withstand an atom bomb, in perfect working order. Due to the logistics of shipping something this fragile back-and-forth, it will be sold as-is with reverbs upgraded, worry free insurance, and covered 100% by their insurance premium. If it does arrive with any thing wrong with it whatsoever, the repairs will be covered 100%, and you will be reimbursed. I can, of course, send you videos and FaceTime with you to show you perfect operation and function prior to purchase or shipping. You are also welcome to come try it in person in the New York City area at JML Studios.

Any questions please ask. Make sure to follow my shop for other amazing items like this and more.

INTERESTING DETAILS FOUND ON THE NET:
“Often coveted, rarely found for sale, and known as one of the greatest (is not THE greatest) analog synths ever made, the Oberheim Matrix 12 was the crowning pinnacle of Oberheim products. Used by the likes of Joe Zawinul, Michael Brecker, Keith Emerson, Vince Clarke, Tangerine Dream, Nitzer Ebb, and many more.

HISTORY

In the mid 80’s, the synth world was being shaken up by three forces, the new sounds of the Yamaha DX-7, digital samplers and low cost, feature stripped synths like the Juno 106 and Korg Poly 6.

Oberheim, who had a long legacy of making some of the best sounding synths decided that, there was still a desire and need for a no-holds barred analog synth, so the Oberheim Xpander was created in 1984. The Xpander had the same voice as the Matrix 12 but only had 6 voices and no keyboard.

In 1985, the Matrix 12 was released and was the big brother follow up to the successful Oberheim Xpander synth. Designed by legendary engineers Marcus Ryle and Michele Doidic, the Xpander and Matrix 12 were revolutionary in their time and still are considered the finest examples of analog poly synths ever made.

The near $5000 price tag (that’s about 18k today) put it out of reach from all but the famous and wealthy artists of the time. Even at that price there were less than 1000 units even made, some of which are still in service today.”

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