i had an xpander for years. i sold it when i A/B'd two Matrix 1000's midi'd together, panned hard left/right...then detuned -8 and +8 on Fine Tuning in the global menu. Sounded bigger and fatter than my xpander. I use ObieEditor on a Mac g5 dedicated to just that purpose. I never miss my Xpander.
My two M1000's and my OB TVS with sequencer is all the oberheim i need : )
This is exactly what I do. You can have other slight or extreme differences between the patches while playing both or have aftertouch effect one and not the other etc. Given the cheap price of this synth, it's a no brainer to buy more than one of them. No major space taken up either. You just chain them. Editing from software can edit both.
Just another note. There was a mistake in ObieEditor that caused it to not access all the waveforms. If you use that, then make sure you have latest version. I found this out from using another editor then realised that Oberheim's documentation was wrong but the ObieEditor creator had followed the documentation. That's fixed now.
This is exactly what I do. You can have other slight or extreme differences between the patches while playing both or have aftertouch effect one and not the other etc. Given the cheap price of this synth, it's a no brainer to buy more than one of them. No major space taken up either. You just chain them. Editing from software can edit both.
LOL, did you ever make a multi patch on an Xpander? Will kick your 2 Matrix 1000's ass any day of the week...
Omega 8 can sound similar, though it,s a more expensive alternative
Has the oberheim multimode filters, stackable waveforms
Not quite as many mod matrix settings, only 3 evelopes and
3 LFO,s
Those 2 sound damn fine to me.What can i say...word of mouth I guess.Not always reliable.For example, you believe that the filter is special, someone else earlier stated that it's not memorable.Each one of us processes things quite differently & what is excellent for me might be trivial to you.Thank you for these links...very ear-opening...
Yeah, unfortunately the MSR-2 didn't materialize into what Tom originally planned out. He was going to make two other modules including, I believe, an FM synth and sampler module. You could install any combination of modules into the MS-2, a 1u rackmount! That is why he called it a modular synthesizer. That is genius IMO. Supposedly the oscillators in the ASM are a custom Curtis design that are the same now used in the DSI products. I've read about stability problems with the MSR-2 when two analog modules are installed, but fortunately for me, mine have the same, and probably last firmware version available, installed on both. It is quite stable other than the LCD screen contrast will randomly change at times when modifying parameters. Oh, and yes, it has a very nice tone. The filter definitely sounds very Oberheimish. I just finished a Lemur template for the iPad that allows you to program most of the features, so if you come across one and decide to buy it, and you happen to have an iPad, you can use my Lemur template to program it. I created a thread with screenshots. It will give you an idea of what the MSR-2 can do.
Word of mouth was probably the reason the MSR-2 didn't do so well. Who knows, maybe if we can get it popular again, Tom will go back to it. He hasn't closed shop yet.
Yeah, unfortunately the MSR-2 didn't materialize into what Tom originally planned out. He was going to make two other modules including, I believe, an FM synth and sampler module. You could install any combination of modules into the MS-2, a 1u rackmount! That is why he called it a modular synthesizer. That is genius IMO. Supposedly the oscillators in the ASM are a custom Curtis design that are the same now used in the DSI products. I've read about stability problems with the MSR-2 when two analog modules are installed, but fortunately for me, mine have the same, and probably last firmware version available, installed on both. It is quite stable other than the LCD screen contrast will randomly change at times when modifying parameters. Oh, and yes, it has a very nice tone. The filter definitely sounds very Oberheimish. I just finished a Lemur template for the iPad that allows you to program most of the features, so if you come across one and decide to buy it, and you happen to have an iPad, you can use my Lemur template to program it. I created a thread with screenshots. It will give you an idea of what the MSR-2 can do.
Word of mouth was probably the reason the MSR-2 didn't do so well. Who knows, maybe if we can get it popular again, Tom will go back to it. He hasn't closed shop yet.
nice - do you have any audio demos of the MSR? The soundcould above sounded nice and somewhat similar to my OB8...the youtube one was sounds I wouldnt typically use...
I get the feeling a lot of people sell their Xpander before exploring all of the tonal options. Multi patch, the number of voices activated, panning, etc.... I almost made the mistake of letting mine go recently untill I realize what it is capable of. I am dying to Reccap mine as well bu that is going to be a pain in the arse.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghosted
LOL, did you ever make a multi patch on an Xpander? Will kick your 2 Matrix 1000's ass any day of the week...
nice - do you have any audio demos of the MSR? The soundcould above sounded nice and somewhat similar to my OB8...the youtube one was sounds I wouldnt typically use...
The soundcloud one is my only demo. I'll be honest, I used both ASM boards in unison to create that patch. The video was really cool, for whomever made it.
I get the feeling a lot of people sell their Xpander before exploring all of the tonal options. Multi patch, the number of voices activated, panning, etc.... I almost made the mistake of letting mine go recently untill I realize what it is capable of. I am dying to Reccap mine as well bu that is going to be a pain in the arse.
I almost sold mine too 10 years ago when the flood of VA's came out. I was using it as 6 monosynths back then. I had to dig into the stacked multi patches to find the stuff no other analog synth can do, except the Matrix 12.
Omega 8 can sound similar, though it,s a more expensive alternative
Has the oberheim multimode filters, stackable waveforms
Not quite as many mod matrix settings, only 3 evelopes and
3 LFO,s
But it can definetly get in the same ballpark
LK
And you can get two Xpanders, five pair of underwear and a good meal at KFC with free refill on a glorious day for the price of one Omega8. Not an option to what was the question of OP
And you can get two Xpanders, five pair of underwear and a good meal at KFC on a glorious day for the price of one Omega8. Not an option to what was the question of OP
I'd skip the KFC and get two more pair of underwear so I wouldn't have to do laundry all week.
Regards,
Frank
__________________
My equipment: A Commodore 64, 2 1541 Disk Drives, Dr T's Music Studio and a Casiotone CT-460.
Never listen to opinions regarding gear. For every 50 nobodies on Gearslutz that say a piece of gear doesn't sound good enough to cut it, I know at least one somebody who is cutting it in NYC with that piece of gear.
And you can get two Xpanders, five pair of underwear and a good meal at KFC with free refill on a glorious day for the price of one Omega8.
Come on: cut the guy some slack!
You KNOW that, whenever an OP asks "which is a cheaper and lighter alternative to the Clavia Stage Piano?",
SOMEBODY here HAS to answer "a set of three usb-midified Faziolis with memories and custom-written patch editor: one for home, one for the rehearsal room and one for the gigs"!
All suggestions are welcome guys.The purpose of my question was to find things that sound or perform similar to an expensive piece of gear.It's only natural that sone propositions will be as much, if not more, expensive.Naturally i'll go for software or cheaper hardware but encyclopedically speaking, i enjoy getting acquainted with similar equipment.Who knows...perhaps one day...
Those of you who know Xpander, do you think Kontakt can get you near?The reason i mention Kontakt is because of its in-depth programming abilities...
One more thing...stackable waveforms?Does that mean that an oscillator can give more than one simultaneously?I have to take a look at the Matrix12/Xpander manual...
Yes that is what stackable waveforms means. You can engage Square, Triangle and Saw at the same time, however I do not like the sound of this on my Xpander.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevin nowhow
All suggestions are welcome guys.The purpose of my question was to find things that sound or perform similar to an expensive piece of gear.It's only natural that sone propositions will be as much, if not more, expensive.Naturally i'll go for software or cheaper hardware but encyclopedically speaking, i enjoy getting acquainted with similar equipment.Who knows...perhaps one day...
Those of you who know Xpander, do you think Kontakt can get you near?The reason i mention Kontakt is because of its in-depth programming abilities...
One more thing...stackable waveforms?Does that mean that an oscillator can give more than one simultaneously?I have to take a look at the Matrix12/Xpander manual...
All suggestions are welcome guys.The purpose of my question was to find things that sound or perform similar to an expensive piece of gear.
To some extent, it depends on what aspects of the Xpander you really like and want to replicate in the less expensive synth. For example, if your favorite thing about the Xpander is the wide choice of different filter types, especially the more complex filters like LP+BP with different cutoffs, the M1000 / M6R may not be a good choice, because although those synths give you great bang for the buck they only have a standard single-mode LPF.
If you want a wide variety of filter types in an affordable polysynth, look at things like the Alesis Ion or Novation Supernova II. They may not have the exact same sound character as the Xpander but they both have a wide selection of filter types.
And you can get two Xpanders, five pair of underwear and a good meal at KFC with free refill on a glorious day for the price of one Omega8. Not an option to what was the question of OP
Was not the point I was making,
All I was saying is that they can sound similar
I have both so I can compare them.
Hey I,m a gearslut this forum is about gear
, so go eat your KFC and buy some socks
I,m going to play my slutty synths
To some extent, it depends on what aspects of the Xpander you really like and want to replicate in the less expensive synth. For example, if your favorite thing about the Xpander is the wide choice of different filter types, especially the more complex filters like LP+BP with different cutoffs, the M1000 / M6R may not be a good choice, because although those synths give you great bang for the buck they only have a standard single-mode LPF.
If you want a wide variety of filter types in an affordable polysynth, look at things like the Alesis Ion or Novation Supernova II. They may not have the exact same sound character as the Xpander but they both have a wide selection of filter types.
If you wander into that part of the woods, I'd say something like a Blofeld will be mighty fine. It's got a wide range of filters on tap and a score of routing options. It doesn't _sound_ like an Xpander, but sure can build sounds like it. I'm a happy user of one of those as well
The reason i feel attracted to the Xpander-besides the fact it seems exotic to me-is that it is responsible for some sounds i really feel obsessed with.The bassline to Nitzer Ebb's "Without Belief" for example.I had a thread going on about a year ago, regarding this bass.Someone, somewhere suggested that it came from an Xpander.Since Bon Harris has been a firm believer of the Xpander, plus this bass sound is one i've never been able to recreate with any analog or soft synth, makes me believe it truly comes from an Xpander.It was 1988 so there were not many other exotic alternatives other than a sampler.This sound is one out of many.Rhys Fulber, one of my favorite programmers has been using one too & swears by it...
They are just an epic band.They make wanna start a band with only drums/bass synth/vocals but not doing it because it will feel like a rip-off.Any other simplistic band & i wouldn't mind but not this one!
They are just an epic band.They make wanna start a band with only drums/bass synth/vocals but not doing it because it will feel like a rip-off.Any other simplistic band & i wouldn't mind but not this one!
It's comical that my suggestion of a JP-80*0 was citicised for not being a viable 'alternative' to an Xpander at the start of this thread, yet we're now even discussing ITB samplers as an 'alternative'!
It also seems that you are not going to be satisfied by anything else and you really should now start saving up the pennies for the real thing. Otherwise you'll be the unhappy owner of a whole string of syths, none of which will truly scratch the itch and all of which will leave you wondering 'if...'.
TBH you don't need an Xpander to get close to the sounds in the examples above, but you'll always convince yourself that you can't ever get *quite* close enough - get the real thing and... the rest is down to you.
Someone above mentioned the Supernova. I have a Supernova 2 rack and like it a lot. It doesn't have the rich sound of even many other VAs, but it is quite deep from a programming perspective and appears to be vastly underrated, so shouldn't break the bank.
__________________
An eagle for an emperor... A kestrel for a knave.
The reason i feel attracted to the Xpander-besides the fact it seems exotic to me-is that it is responsible for some sounds i really feel obsessed with.The bassline to Nitzer Ebb's "Without Belief" for example.I had a thread going on about a year ago, regarding this bass.Someone, somewhere suggested that it came from an Xpander.Since Bon Harris has been a firm believer of the Xpander, plus this bass sound is one i've never been able to recreate with any analog or soft synth, makes me believe it truly comes from an Xpander.It was 1988 so there were not many other exotic alternatives other than a sampler.This sound is one out of many.Rhys Fulber, one of my favorite programmers has been using one too & swears by it...
I wish I had the article from Keyboard (I think sometime around Pretty Hate Machine era) still that basically said that album (Belief) was more or less all samples. That's not to say the originating sounds were or were not Xpander. It also mentioned NiN and 242 as being heavily sample based.
I think it was just that period of time. You could do a shitload with a sampler with multisamples/splits/layers and a sequencer. A relatively small investment and you were an entire band.
It's comical that my suggestion of a JP-80*0 was citicised for not being a viable 'alternative' to an Xpander at the start of this thread, yet we're now even discussing ITB samplers as an 'alternative'!
Did anybody mention a Fazioli as a viable alternative? NO?!?
I would consider that as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Elf
you really should now start saving up the pennies for the real thing
yes.
If the quite simple solution of the "junior matrixes",
not to mention several pages of outlandish hypotheses (did I really read something about emulating an xpander by sampling a SEM and playing the samples on a vintage EMU with analogue filters, then recording it into a computer, resampling and importing into Reason? I'm afraid I did...)
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