Nerding out with Oberheim Matrix-6 and Strymon BigSky Reverb [demo]

I've been working on some new song ideas with my trusty Oberheim Matrix-6 and Strymon BigSky reverb. Here's a quick demo of the two together. :)
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[@joachim595]

The best thing about the Oberheim’s to my ears is the crying tension at the top of the frequency sweep.

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

That reverb turns this mini-modular into a bi-timbral beast. On its own, the 6 sounds like a million bucks. The pedal definitely adds a couple of zeros to the sound.

[@Screaming-Trees]

It's great but you don't need the pedal. You could do this with the Soundtoys bundle or Valhalla Shimmer. Still pretty cool pedal though. If a bit pricey.

[@timmbrockmann959]

My favorite reverb plugin of all is Space Designer in Logic - some preset sections like Moving Spaces are beyond normal reverb and open up whole new dimensions. But Soundtoys is also my favorite plug in company.. Echoboy!

[@reneotten7376]

The M6 is a mini modular? How?

[@daveogarf]

@@reneotten7376 - It was the first analog synth to offer a modulation matrix, where sources can be routed to destinations in any amount. It was like having virtual patchcords.

[@dfreeman120]

@@daveogarf that’s interesting

[@danthreepwood2760]

Thanks for letting us hear the difference between algo's and bypass!

[@lostoscilaltor]

This is one of the great synths of the 80s, hidden by its interface.

[@davemaverick8438]

there is awesome hardware programmer by alpes machines that opens this synth and it can sound like obxa when tweaked properly

[@angelog.spicolaiii8021]

@@davemaverick8438 ...how 'bout KIWI too dude

[@Johntylermusic]

AND...a new incredible Synth Programmer by StereoPing with almost everything mapped to its own knob

[@testohtoby]

Killer combo? Random 80s polysynth (not the harsh ones like Junos), a big reverb, some chords progression skills and that's it 😍😍😍👌

[@helisoma]

Junos harsh? 🤔

[@timandtheocean]

Awesome! totally love my matrix 6.

[@geoffk777]

I use a Strymon Blue Sky and Eventide ModWave on my Matrix 6R. It really spreads out the sound and makes a huge difference. I run all of my newer instruments in stereo, so probably the biggest difference is just moving the Oberheim from being a mono to a stereo instrument and opening it up in 3-D space. The only bad thing is that using similar effects on all of the sounds can make many of the presets sound too similar. So it's important to turn it down and try more subtle effects occasionally. Having Chorus, Flange and Phaser all available on the ModWave also offers several different kinds of sound options besides the reverb, which also helps to keep things interesting.

[@jackartorius]

OMG I love the sound of Strymon BigSky reverb. Can't wait to get one and apply that on my guitar, sick effects for sure.

[@rumo201]

The Synth is the heart, but the effect is the soul

[@tweakabit3682]

holly molly, how nice sounds this!

[@LegendaryWoke]

How to make pads: Add Strymon

[@digablecrates1691]

The strymon just removes the character of whatever instrument is fed in. Giant +/-.

[@LegendaryWoke]

@@digablecrates1691 Or it enhances vintage/mono sounds

[@digablecrates1691]

@@LegendaryWoke to each their oberheim.

[@OfficialDomshe]

Comes alive straight away :)

[@peterknowles3198]

It just makes it so ethereal 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Atmosphusion]

That is so nice, i think this may have to be my next purchase to take my synth's into outer space, your Oberheim sounds fantastic through it, nice playing aswell, some of those chords you played are just beautiful. This and the Oberheim Matrix 12 and i would be in heaven !

[@stateshirt]

Thanks so much! Glad you dig it!! :) :)

[@PrinceWesterburg]

Right, thats it, I'm getting my BigSky out this weekend!!!!

[@jezgomez]

Pure magic. Thanks State Shirt for putting this out there. Your Bandcamp link doesn't work anymore though. Found Lost Hills but had to search for it

[@Sana-qm3qf]

great combo, great synth.... awesome brother.

[@stateshirt]

+Sana 48 Thanks!! Was a ton of fun to play around with this combo. :)

[@noi1989]

Fantastic!

[@stateshirt]

Thanks! :) :)

[@superserge]

Nice view! I like Matrix...

[@briantaylor7042]

beatiful!

[@stateshirt]

+Brian Taylor Thanks! Glad you like it! :) :)

[@otisobl]

Two major life regrets: 1) Having sold my Matrix-6 for peanuts... 20 years ago. 2) Being too cheap to spend money on a Big Sky. :-D

[@marcochirico7504]

You made my day.. :-D

[@DaRyteJuan]

I almost sold my M6 in 1995. At that time they were only selling for $300, so I put it up on Craigslist for $500. I figured that if someone bought it at that price, then it was meant to be. But when the guy came over with 5 crispy $100’s, I couldn’t let it go. It felt like my heart was being torn out. The guy was very understanding.

[@ianrcorden2990]

Awesome. Gotta get one.

[@stateshirt]

:) :) :)

[@JohnLRice]

Beautiful! I already have a BigSky and it is most awesome, but now I want a Matrix 6! ;-)

[@stateshirt]

Thx!! The Matrix-6 is so very luscious.

[@testohtoby]

Grab a jx8p for dirt cheap and enjoy those lush pads 😍😍😍

[@mano123456]

I just found your Lost Hills album on Spotify and am following you :) I have a Big Sky coming in the mail...

[@WorksopGimp]

Ever After is so tearfull

[@sunilsolanki]

That Ever after patch was beautiful.

[@stateshirt]

+sunil solanki Glad you dig it! :) :)

[@neilloughran4437]

nice video! I have a Oberheim Matrix 12 and recognise the sonic character. I also have the Big Sky of which I am on the fence about... I think it sounds wonderful on guitars... I mean crazy good.. but for synths it just has this samey quality that does somewhat detract I think... certainly that shimmer sound gets old pretty quickly... and makes any keyboard have the same sound. But from your video I'm more impressed that the Matrix 6 has a nice sonic character that shows how good the DCOs are...

[@derekbaker3279]

Even for guitar, I find that Strymon pedals can impart their 'sound' on all patches. It's a spectacular sound, but distinctly Strymon. A couple of options with equivalent quality are stereo reverb/delay pedals from boutique designer/manufacturers 'Empress' & 'Kilpatrick Audio' (both are based in Canada), plus 'Flux Effects' (New Zealand). IMHO their pedals are much closer to neutral in the way they colour the sound of synths & guitars. The same can be said of Eventide's pedals & rack effects. Having said that, I think Strymon makes spectacular products!

[@robertmichalscheck3072]

I think it sounds great

[@ebowdan3138]

1:24 all the way back to 80s ❤️

[@joachim595]

4:40 and on is cry worthy ♥️

[@Fluxwithit]

4:50 wow.... gonna go grab my matrix 1000 and weep a bit lol

[@Nishiki2407]

Holy Shit!

[@989fred]

Beautiful ! Oberhime and Styrmon is a nice couple!

[@derekbaker3279]

Stroberheiberon? Oberstrymonheim? 😉😁

[@Grow_Everything]

Hey man do you think you'll do more demos or jam sessions with the Matrix 6 soon? If so I'd love to see them!

[@stateshirt]

Hey there! Been busy with a kid and other projects. Maybe in a couple months! Thanks so much for watching!!!

[@dot.initial]

now I want the big sky again ...

[@19karl16]

I dont supose you would be willing to share the patch presets? I have one my self but its a full time job attempting and failing miserably to get my 6 to sound the you make it

[@aleksandrskrylev3312]

like it

[@alieustiansamateh6401]

Ahhhhhhhh😁❤🌠

[@PresenceTheBand]

Hello! Can you share some of the presets used on this video please?

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

Nice! I need to hook up my Strymon pedals to my new Oberheim OB X8! How are you routing your Oberheim and Strymon pedals?

[@derekmpoulsen]

tasty sounds 🤤 are these default patches on the matrix?

[@39selrach]

if i'm not mistaken i think you mentioned on your studio tour video that you used the matrix 6 on most of "lost hills", is this true? because if so, i'm making the matrix 6 my next purchase. i love, love, love, love the synth sounds on that album.

[@stateshirt]

Yep yep! That's the only synth I used on that album. Thanks so much, glad you're loving it! :) :) :)

[@TRUEiMPROrecords]

Check out the Matrix 1000, it´s the same synth as the Matrix 6 but in a rack version. Hard to program but eats the same patches as the 6. You can get those anywhere from 200$ these days...

[@chrisdigiuseppe7717]

Not anymore, Matrix 1000's are fetching $500+ now

[@chrisdigiuseppe7717]

...although if you have one to sell I'll gladly give you $200 :D

[@TRUEiMPROrecords]

Seems you´re right, I was just repeating something I heard without checking, silly me. Cheapest I found was 400 euros. It still is worth it, Id say :)

[@svalentine1992]

Hi, I'm completely new to synths but I have this pedal for my guitar and thanks to your video I would like to give it a go with my dad's synth. How did you connect the pedal to the synth? Through the sustain jack output? The aux in or out output? Thanks in advance! Awesome video and awesome sounds!

[@stateshirt]

Thanks!! :) Very simple: Synth audio output -> Pedal input. Then Pedal output -> to whatever audio monitoring you have (i.e. keyboard amp, PA speaker, pc/mac audio interface, etc)

[@svalentine1992]

Thank you for answering! As you guessed I'm not very tech savy ^^" Went through your videos and songs, and absolutely love them! Keep going you're great!

[@xperimentador]

The shimmer is the best fo me:-)

[@testohtoby]

I use the Valhalla Shimmer a lot and it's so epic !!! I can't wait for my jx8p to came back from the repair shop to fire up some demos !!!

[@andreasbjoernmadsen]

Wow.. The Oberheim sounds amazing.. I've been looking into buying one of these myself. I know you're a big fan of the BigSky shimmer and I have to admit it does have charm and great sonic potential, but I really feel like it can also drain the warmth from the vintage synths.. the reverb is just a bit too cold sounding to my ears

[@mandel957]

andreasbjoernmadsen I get what you mean

[@dennisristow2102]

I know what you mean about shimmer reverbs. Best trick is to split the signal and mix in the dry sound on a separate channel. I know so many pedals claim to be Tru-Bypass and clean un-colored tone and all that, but even with wet and dry mix knobs on most effects pedals, you're better off mixing independently and get the best of both worlds, the glassy shimmer, and the analog warmth.

[@tommymandel]

Andreas Bjørn Madsen I personally like what the Strymon adds to his Matrix-6 pieces, but I enjoyed hearing a surprisingly different opinion :) all good.

[@angelog.spicolaiii8021]

Good idea when using with what can be the somewhat overpowering Strymon's. Roland RE-3(or 5)Space Echo's subtle suitabilities work well with Obie's: No analog warmth drain?! (don't think I've heard that term before whatever that may be) folks :-()

[@serge77000]

I wan't one Bigsky too !

[@issiewizzie]

starting to see the reliance on effects

[@Synthpeter]

Mind: Blown Jaw location: Floor

[@PorchBass]

wow it somehow sounds just like the 'Truman Show' soundtrack, which is a good thing in my book. I'm not a fan of the harmonised patches though, too much like a whammy pedal

[@Shevaron]

Every song from hearts of space uses this box. Lol

[@raymatthews4319]

Does that still come on the radio?

[@Dudderlyful]

I used to listen to that! :D

[@MusicFed]

Does it handle line level well?

[@stateshirt]

No, you have to keep levels into the BigSky low to not overdrive the pedal

[@robmlisanti]

How did you hook this up exactly?

[@stateshirt]

This is simply Matrix-6 » BigSky » audio recording interface.

[@robmlisanti]

State Shirt thanks

[@savanaviolenta]

Is that a fm synthesiser cause it sounds soo fm.

[@stateshirt]

Not FM, it's subtractive. :)

[@sauermusicDE]

That's maybe because the Matrix 6 is a subtractive synth with a lot of modulation features...among them is also FM (also known as cross modulation)...which means that - with its two oscillators - the device is capable of 2-operator FM synthesis.

[@henrikgerlach4765]

Deaf? Or just stupid? Comparing it to FM synthesis is the most ridiculous comment ever... 😂

[@ucupi]

Fuknnn xpensiive..

[@electricsnut]

My god is it even possible to make the Big Sky sound bad? Every video is making me want one but...the cost :(

[@timmbrockmann959]

Try out Space Designer in Logic Pro if that´s possible... it defintiely can reach these spaces and beyond ;)

[@lownrgy]

no it wont

[@geoffk777]

An Eventide H9 Max is even more expensive. But besides reverb (which it does as well or better) it also has a lot of other effects that a Big Sky can't do. If you're considering a Big Sky, I'd definitely look at an H9 as an alternative.

[@robertsmithshair4199]

Lush

[@pierstheoneandonly]

Using a shimmer effect on a polysynth is a bit of overkill. Easier to just program in octave-up pad/strings.

[@derekbaker3279]

But the Shimmer effect swells in volume, evolves by slowly adding more & more harmonics, and blooms to fill more & more of the stereo field ('soundstage') thereby adding a lot more interest than a plain string patch that rises & falls in volume. Having said that, sometimes the Shimmer effect can be too much 'movement', distract from other parts, or become 'congested'. The effect needs to be used judiciously. :)

[@testohtoby]

@@derekbaker3279 sometimes when I play my Microbrute for pads and cs80-ish sound I forget the Valhalla Shimmer on so when I change to some punchy basslines the result is a complete mess 😂😂😂

[@NROS2012]

4:30 Meh. 4:39 Eargasm.

[@user-dl2mc2sq5l]

Отвратительно.. звук довольно известного синт монстра, пытаются превратить в какоето г.... неужель, в нормальной студии, прямм такое не сделать... ггг.