> I'm looking for a soft synth that will offer the sound and > flexibility of the Oberheim Matrix 12 (or Matrix 6 or Xpander if not > the Matrix 12). Does such beast exist? If not, I'm also curious as > to what synths and / or filters would be the closest. As a last > resort or a supplement, what might be the best Oberheim / Matrix 12 > samples that still allow for flexibility in manipulating the sound > with filters, modulators, etc. in a way that still retains the > classic Oberheim sound. I've been looking for one too - my M1000 is getting a bit long in the tooth and is kind of a pain to rpogram. :) Oberheim's sound was really defined by its filter resonance peak. You can approximate it by using a 2-pole 12db/oct filter on something like ES-1, Reaktor, Vanguard, etc but what really had it going was the "fuzziness" of the filter as you swept the cutoff. IIRC it didn't get narrower as it swept upwards so unlike the meatier, squelchier moog, arp and roland filters, it just got fuzzy...which could sound sort of thin at times but had very handy uses especially for pads. I've not seen a direct emulator,but you should be able to at least come close with a good 12db/oct filter.