If You are *sure* You need to recap, it's all about keeping focus. Once You get into a safe routine for the board You are working on - the heat you need to remove the old cap, using whatever method You prefer that will not kill pads or lift traces, all You need to do is make sure you have really good pictures of the component side of the board,? so You can be 100% sure of the polarity of the replacements, then check Your work after each replacement. Do NOT remove all the caps and then try re-populate the board thinking it will save time, just do one at a time, and once it is installed, and confirmed as correct, mark it with a sharpie and move on.

Working out which solder mounds to remove, for what component, is a PITA. Flipping a board over & over trying to guess can be tiresome, but there is no substitute for simple counting - "...5 rows from the edge of the board.." - best just wear surgical gloves, use an anti-static desk mat, and count :) You can put sharpie do

The real trick to this is to get a feel for the board, and to make sure You have all the things You need to make the job work. Everybody has their own workflow that they prefer - Me, i like braid, flux, 350C hot & short contact for removal of solder (since it has plenty of lead) then high-lead content solder for the new part, then a brush with a toothbrush and IPA to finish.

You _can_ get away with just replacing the larger caps, and any tants - testing them with a meter upon removal will usually tell you if You are doing the right thing. You do not really need to replace every single cap ever, no matter what the internet or Youtube tells You.

Also, don't forget the IEC mains power socket - replacing that should be the first thing on Your list if You are having suspected cap-related instability/boot issues.

I have found an Oberheim Matrix 12 in perfect working condition in?my storage.

It has a durable flightcase, receipts from the original shop, an original manual and 12 analog outputs.

Looks like there are no scratches?or anything, however one silicon foot is replaced with a white one...

Works fine, tune up with no errors.

How much are they going for these days I wonder?

On Thu, Nov 19, 2020 at 4:49 PM PeWe <ha-pewe@...> wrote:

I have both,- Xpander and M12V ... SEMV as well ...

I agree to all the below.
Most softsynths indroduce different parameter scaling and adjusting by ear is the only way.

And,- even in analog world a Oberheim Xpander is know for sounding thin, p.ex vs. a OBX, Xa or -8,- it IS much meatier than any softsynth I own and even I won?t call it "fat".
I also have the impression, it?s relatively lame software generated envelopes are still "snappier" than most softsynths? envelopes are.
There are exceptions though.

But for the most bread & butter sounds for almost any music style, you now can come very close by using software,- saving room, energy, maintenance and costs.
The market adapted to software generated sound and "in-the-box-music-production" since a long time.
Doesn?t mean that?s good,- but it?s simply the fact.

B.t.w.,- since here are many members owning the hardware originals still ...
Layering Xpander w/ well programmed "Oberheim" clones works pretty well and results in mighty sound.
Works w/ the humble Sonic Projects OP-X on a V-Machine (I own Sonic Projects V-Machine bundle), w/ Sonic Projects OP-X Pro II and the free OBXd (p.ex. on a laptop) and the Arturia stuff running on DAW.

With the software clone, you get at least the functionality of the hardware and soundquality good enough to find it?s sweetspot w/ by ear adjustments, making it fit in any mix.

And,- I use a refurbed Oberheim XK, now/ internal PSU, to play the software clones together w/ the Xpander using XK?s 3 zones and original velocity sensitive keybed w/ AT and pitch-, mod-paddles as well.
Arpeggiator too.

In fact, I sold my 3 Oberheim Matrix-1000 and the Xpander is the only Oberheim original I kept and use.

?

P.

Am 19.11.2020 um 13:54 schrieb random2393:

@deano - agreed, the settings (actual parameter values) dont match, you have to edit by ear. But I got pretty convincing results when I did it by ear. I will say the Arturia preset work (while cool in of itself), sounds nothing like the real thing, mainly because none of them make proper use of voice-panning and voice detune. most of the presets sound "sterile" and "flat" compared to my Xpander. but when dialing in the right detune amount l, setting up voice pan, and dialing in my own presets from scratch, I literally could not tell a difference.?

And FWIW, I use a L-LR-M-M-RL-R voice pan setup on my Xpander, which as we all know voice panning is a huge element in the Matrix/Xpander having a....huge sound. So this is important to setup in the plugin as well. The amount of detune I dial in is also very slight, as my Xpander after running the tuning process sounds tight, but still has a slight phase shift across all voices, which is subtle but still important in breathing some "life" into any patch you play.

@tony - i'll send a patch for both the xpander and the matrix v, as well as send an audio demo of my a/b comparison.

--

Omar Torres

Virenfrei.

I have both,- Xpander and M12V ... SEMV as well ...

I agree to all the below.
Most softsynths indroduce different parameter scaling and adjusting by ear is the only way.

And,- even in analog world a Oberheim Xpander is know for sounding thin, p.ex vs. a OBX, Xa or -8,- it IS much meatier than any softsynth I own and even I won?t call it "fat".
I also have the impression, it?s relatively lame software generated envelopes are still "snappier" than most softsynths? envelopes are.
There are exceptions though.

But for the most bread & butter sounds for almost any music style, you now can come very close by using software,- saving room, energy, maintenance and costs.
The market adapted to software generated sound and "in-the-box-music-production" since a long time.
Doesn?t mean that?s good,- but it?s simply the fact.

B.t.w.,- since here are many members owning the hardware originals still ...
Layering Xpander w/ well programmed "Oberheim" clones works pretty well and results in mighty sound.
Works w/ the humble Sonic Projects OP-X on a V-Machine (I own Sonic Projects V-Machine bundle), w/ Sonic Projects OP-X Pro II and the free OBXd (p.ex. on a laptop) and the Arturia stuff running on DAW.

With the software clone, you get at least the functionality of the hardware and soundquality good enough to find it?s sweetspot w/ by ear adjustments, making it fit in any mix.

And,- I use a refurbed Oberheim XK, now/ internal PSU, to play the software clones together w/ the Xpander using XK?s 3 zones and original velocity sensitive keybed w/ AT and pitch-, mod-paddles as well.
Arpeggiator too.

In fact, I sold my 3 Oberheim Matrix-1000 and the Xpander is the only Oberheim original I kept and use.

?

P.

Am 19.11.2020 um 13:54 schrieb random2393:

@deano - agreed, the settings (actual parameter values) dont match, you have to edit by ear. But I got pretty convincing results when I did it by ear. I will say the Arturia preset work (while cool in of itself), sounds nothing like the real thing, mainly because none of them make proper use of voice-panning and voice detune. most of the presets sound "sterile" and "flat" compared to my Xpander. but when dialing in the right detune amount l, setting up voice pan, and dialing in my own presets from scratch, I literally could not tell a difference.?

And FWIW, I use a L-LR-M-M-RL-R voice pan setup on my Xpander, which as we all know voice panning is a huge element in the Matrix/Xpander having a....huge sound. So this is important to setup in the plugin as well. The amount of detune I dial in is also very slight, as my Xpander after running the tuning process sounds tight, but still has a slight phase shift across all voices, which is subtle but still important in breathing some "life" into any patch you play.

@tony - i'll send a patch for both the xpander and the matrix v, as well as send an audio demo of my a/b comparison.

--

Omar Torres

Virenfrei.

That’s also my impression: I compared some factory patches in Matrix 12V with my hardware Matrix 12. The sound of the hardware synth is much richer and fuller. And I usually have the impression that Arturia soft-synths try to cover that by using a lot of effects. That’s why I rarely use Arturia synths anymore, I like soft-synths from u-he much more.

On 19 Nov, 2020, at 05:55, David Reece <davros303@...> wrote:

Hi Tony,

I have both an Xpander and the Matrix 12V, and whilst the Matrix 12V sounds awesome, it sounds nothing like my Xpander. I used the Matrix 12V as patch programming inspiration for the Xpander - finding patches I really liked, and then attempting to re-create them on the Xpander. Other than very simple patches, rarely could I get sounds to resemble each other on both. Having said that, the Matrix 12V is still a great VST in it's own right and has a great sound - but I wouldn't say it's close to an original Oberheim.

Cheers,

Davros

On Thu, Nov 19, 2020 at 3:19 PM TC <cappy2112@...> wrote:

Hello Xpansioners!

I don't have a Matrix 12 and I'm likely never to have one particular at a price I'd want to pay.

Arturia is having a 50% off sale on their flagship VSTs, the Matrix 12V is part of the Analog collection which is on sale.

I thought I would buy this if the Matrix 12V could read the Xpander/MAtrix 12 patch? files, so I wrote to Arturia support inquiring about that feature.

Unfortunately, the Matrix 12V won't read the Matrix12 nor Xpander patch files

although it would be trivial to add that support.

If Arturia got enough requests to add that feature, who knows they may even decide to add it ;-)

Do any of you currently have (or have used) Arturia's Matrix 12V.

I'm curious to find out how you like it.

I'd also like to get one of the patch files to see if I can decipher the format.

I could always try to write my own patch converter.

thanks

Tony

Hello Xpansioners!

I don't have a Matrix 12 and I'm likely never to have one particular at a price I'd want to pay.

Arturia is having a 50% off sale on their flagship VSTs, the Matrix 12V is part of the Analog collection which is on sale.

I thought I would buy this if the Matrix 12V could read the Xpander/MAtrix 12 patch? files, so I wrote to Arturia support inquiring about that feature.

Unfortunately, the Matrix 12V won't read the Matrix12 nor Xpander patch files

although it would be trivial to add that support.

If Arturia got enough requests to add that feature, who knows they may even decide to add it ;-)

Do any of you currently have (or have used) Arturia's Matrix 12V.

I'm curious to find out how you like it.

I'd also like to get one of the patch files to see if I can decipher the format.

I could always try to write my own patch converter.

thanks

Tony

I have it, and spent some time doing some raw a/b comparisons to my Xpander (ie single basic one vco patch). I was shocked to hear how well they modeled the filter models and filter response, its scary accurate. I didnt spend time getting into things like modulation, EG response, etc. But VCO / VCF modeling is pretty spot on IMO.?

You also have to go in and do some slight detune across the voices (and some panning) to get it to sound like a real unit.?

--

Omar Torres

On Nov 18, 2020, at 11:19 PM, TC <cappy2112@...> wrote:

?

Hello Xpansioners!

I don't have a Matrix 12 and I'm likely never to have one particular at a price I'd want to pay.

Arturia is having a 50% off sale on their flagship VSTs, the Matrix 12V is part of the Analog collection which is on sale.

I thought I would buy this if the Matrix 12V could read the Xpander/MAtrix 12 patch? files, so I wrote to Arturia support inquiring about that feature.

Unfortunately, the Matrix 12V won't read the Matrix12 nor Xpander patch files

although it would be trivial to add that support.

If Arturia got enough requests to add that feature, who knows they may even decide to add it ;-)

Do any of you currently have (or have used) Arturia's Matrix 12V.

I'm curious to find out how you like it.

I'd also like to get one of the patch files to see if I can decipher the format.

I could always try to write my own patch converter.

thanks

Tony