EaganMatrix Micro

Haken Audio’s EaganMatrix Micro brings their fantastic synthesis engine to a device compact enough to fit in your hand.

This desktop module delivers the same elaborate sound engine found in their Continuum Fingerboard as well as in the Osmose Expressive-E.

Despite its minimalist interface — just a seven-segment display and a few buttons — the Micro offers deep sound design capabilities through its editor software. The module comes loaded with hundreds of system presets spanning strings, winds, vocals, and more. Each can be tweaked and customized using the cross-platform editor available for Mac and Windows.

The Micro especially excels with MPE controllers that can make more use of the intricate set of paramters on offer through the EaganMatrix engine. Depending on what sort of MPE device you use it has the ability to deliver extremely organic and “life-like” sounds, esp through it’s physical modelling patches. For instance — If you were to hook up a midi-wind instrument you should be able to hear minute nuances of breath and finger control, sounds that feel eerily alive and expressive, albeit in a synthetic world.

While the hardware is simple, there’s still enough connections to make this device communicate with the rest of your gear. A USB connection handles both power and MIDI, while a 3.5mm TRS jack provides stereo output suitable for both line-level gear and headphones. There’s also an EXT input that can work with either expression pedals or Haken’s Control Voltage Converter.

The sound engine, developed by Edmund Eagan and Lippold Haken, combines multiple synthesis approaches including physical modeling, additive, and spectral techniques. Its polyphony ranges from 1-3 voices for complex patches up to 8 voices for simpler sounds. The DSP architecture allows for sophisticated modulation routing and real-time control that responds naturally to expressive playing. If you ever were curious about the powerful EaganMatrix engine, this is the most portable and affordable way to get into it!

Features:

• Full EaganMatrix synthesis engine
• MPE and MPE+ compatible
• Up to 8-voice polyphony
• Multiple synthesis types, ex: physical modeling, additive, spectral
• Hundreds of included presets
• Cross-platform editor support
• USB-powered operation
• Stereo 3.5mm audio output
• Configurable EXT input for pedal/CV
• Seven-segment display
• Customizable macro controls
• Really compact size: 11.3 x 5.8 x 1.9 cm
• Lightweight: only 75g