The Bob Moog Foundation is excited to announce its lead raffle for 2025, featuring a fully restored Oberheim Matrix-12 synthesizer signed by Tom Oberheim, Marcus Ryle, and Michel Doidic.
Ryle and Doidic were the principal designers of the Matrix-12. This Matrix-12, valued at $20,000, has a unique provenance having been owned by Doug Curtis, inventor of the legendary Curtis chips. The synth was donated to the Bob Moog Foundation by Curtis’s widow, Mary Curtis.
This year, 2025, marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Oberheim Matrix-12, which continues to be one of the most respected and sought-after analog polyphonic synthesizers in the world today. Tickets for the raffle are $25 each, 5 for $100, 12 for $200, and 35 for $500, and are available at
https://bit.ly/BMFMatrix12Raffle.
The raffle runs from February 17, 2025, at 7 am (ET) to March 10, 2025, at 11:59 (ET), and is open internationally. Participants who purchase five or more tickets will be invited to an exclusive group Zoom call with Marcus Ryle, to be held in early April.
This one-of-a-kind, American-made Oberheim Matrix-12 is in pristine condition and was restored by its co-creator, Marcus Ryle. It is serial number P53207 (the seventh unit built in the 32nd week, August 5th – 9th, 1985). The Matrix-12 was the final flagship synthesizer from Oberheim Electronics in the 1980s. The Oberheim Xpander was introduced in 1984 as a revolutionary multi-timbral six-voice synthesizer module, and the Matrix-12, launched in 1985, includes two Xpanders (for 12-voice polyphony) and a five-octave velocity and aftertouch keyboard.
The multi-timbral Matrix-12 pushed the limits of analog synthesis in ways that continue to be unrivaled today with 15 different analog filter modes, linear analog FM, and a matrix modulation system to route the 27 modulation sources to the 47 modulation destinations. Sonic possibilities previously only possible on modular systems were now available in a fully programmable polyphonic synthesizer.
“Forty years ago we developed the Xpander, and its big brother, the Matrix-12, with an uncompromising spirit to create the most versatile and amazing sounding instruments we could imagine,” recounts Marcus Ryle. “To this day, the Matrix-12 is still my favorite synthesizer to play.”
Doug Curtis is the legendary inventor whose company, Curtis Electromusic Specialties, offered specialized analog integrated circuits (ICs) that were used by virtually every major synthesizer manufacturer in the 1970s and 1980s, including Oberheim, Sequential Circuits, Moog, ARP, Roland, and PPG. His ICs revolutionized the way synthesizers were designed. Curtis was described in Keyboard Magazine as “one of the most important and least known synthesizer pioneers of the 20th century.
Curtis was directly involved in the development of the Oberheim Xpander and Matrix-12, with these synths being the first to use his new CEM3372 and CEM3374 chips, which were designed with these specific synthesizers in mind. The featured Matrix-12 is one of two from his personal collection.
“Doug appreciated the Matrix-12 so much that he had two, so our family had to think hard about donating this legendary instrument,” noted Mary Curtis. “At last we decided that Doug would have said yes to the idea out of a love for the Matrix-12 itself, a belief that it will raise money for the important work of the Bob Moog Foundation, and the wish for another musician who loves it to make glorious music.”
Proceeds from the raffle benefit the three hallmark projects of the Bob Moog Foundation: Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, which has inspired over 35,000 elementary school students about the science of sound; the vast and growing Bob Moog Foundation Archives, which includes over 15,000 historical items; and the Moogseum, located in downtown Asheville, NC. The Moogseum continues to navigate the financial aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which has resulted in a $65,000 loss of income since late September.
To find out more about The Bob Moog Foundation, and the Oberheim Matrix-12 raffle, go to The Bob Moog Foundation website.
Raffle tickets are available at this link.
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Admin: Off-topic comment deleted.
Keep comments on topic and constructive, and don’t waste the Admin’s time.
Its gracious of the Curtis family to donate this. It definitely deserves to be played & cherished. You could lose a mini-synth and not mourn it too badly, but the 12 belongs on a Mt. Rushmore of synths, next to Keith’s big Moog and a Prophet-5. I got to play one and its sound is as impressive as its size. Its a gorgeous instrument.
If I win this, I will sell it and donate the money to the BMF. I’ll find it a good home.
If I win this, I will sell it and donate the money to the chairman of general motors
I sincerely hope this raises a lot of money for the Robert Moog Foundation!
Perhaps they might consider raffleing off a framed picture of Bob Moog and Keith Emerson standing beside each other in 1971 when they met before an Emerson, Lake & Palmer concert. The signatures could be done via Autopen. That would make another interesting artifact, especially using something elegant like California redwood for the frame.
If I win this, I will donate it to Uli so he can gut it and steal the design.
You can already buy Matrix-12s on the market though. If it were something more rare, you’d have a point: https://www.synthtopia.com/content/2018/12/20/are-these-the-synths-that-behringer-will-clone-next/
I was joking, not making a point.
If I win this, I’ll sell it and buy Greenland before Trump can
if I win this, I will donate it to Florian ( the Bad gear guy)
Just remember, the winner has to declare that $20,000 prize value as income and pay full income tax on it. This golden egg could cook your goose. Ordinary people who win a Ferrari usually have to sell it just to pay the tax.
Charles Schwab ova here.
20 years in the can!
I wanted a Moog, I compromised. Got a Behringer instead.
Phil Leotardo over here
Read the rules and regulations. “TAX OBLIGATIONS: The IRS requires raffle winners to pay federal taxes on the raffle winnings at the time of the award. However, the Bob Moog Foundation will assume the federal tax liability of 25% of MSRP to the IRS.”
i thought trump cancelled all the taxes? lol.
Maybe Donal Trump can help you dodging these IRS claims from personal experience?
You can spread out tax payments. You don’t have to pay it all off the day you get a tax bill.
I don’t get it… Why is Bob Moog Foundation offering synth made by another synth manufacturer instead of one of their own Moog synths signed by Bob?
The Bob Moog Foundation is independent, it’s not related to any synth manufacturer.
The instruments that are featured in their raffles are all donated, so they look for the best prizes to auction. The best donated Moog synths they’d use to build their collection of historical instruments vs auctioning, too.