Detunes Matrix 12’s twelve voices against each other to create a fatter, more analogue sound.
Gradually applies a consistent offset to each voice’s pan position in the stereo field to create stereo width.
Sag slows down unsync’d time based parameters across all voices in Matrix 12. Between 0 (no slow down) and 20 (maximum slow down).
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Why?
The hardware Matrix 12 and Xpander were, understandably, limited in their computing power in 1983. This limitation meant that as you added modulation connections to the instrument it’d process time based events slower and slower.
We had long conversations about this. Was it desirable to copy in a software emulation? Some would consider it a bug, some perhaps think it’s important to the Matrix 12 sound. Certainly it was needed to correctly emulate the original hardware patches. We’d removed the 20 modulations limit from the software, do we keep slowing it down? Do we stop at 20? How does that make sense? What happens to sync’d parameters? Why would anyone want to slow it down when they could just change the parameters to be slower directly? You can only imagine the quantity of coffee that was consumed as these conversations went on.
In the end, with Marcus Ryle’s advice, we decided to implement a totally independent Sag parameter that can be used to alter the time based parameter rates based on how many modulation connections Matrix 12 has: 0-20.
It’s independent meaning you can make the GForce Oberheim Matrix 12 sound like a Matrix 12 with 20 connections when it does in fact only have 3. Or you can keep things sharp, fast, and simple no matter how many connections you make, this was important to us.
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Master volume of the instrument.