On Friday, April 25, 2003, at 12:35 PM, Mike Metlay wrote: > OK, some more useful data, I hope. Most of this is "IMO"-tagged; I've > been > working with the Xpander for almost 20 years and the AN1x for about ten > months, so there's a disparity in my expertise. So noted... First off- I'll apologize for baiting Mike with such short comparisons (& sweeping omissions/generalizations ). I have a tendency to try and put things in a nutshell as my Qwerty keystrokes are more "hunt & peck "(slower) than my 12 tone work (arpeggiated riffs..etc..). - I'll continue to generalize a little though...... I've had my Xpander for a little over a decade (if we're keeping count). > xpander said: >> AN1x: faster envelopes. >> AN1x: more "sterile" FM - but more consistent across the keyboard. > > These are true, but the former much more than the latter. If you tune > the > Xpander and let it settle in, FM actually behaves very nicely over a > very wide > range of pitches. Remember, it's real analog, and operating > temperature has an > effect on this stuff, although in my experience nowhere near as much > as with > other analog gear of this vintage. > > The slow envelope attacks on the Xpander are, for most people, its > Achilles > heel, and the AN1x is much snappier out of the starting gate. Pardon > the pun. Couldn't agree more here- (One major thing Roland Analog gear has over the Xpander). I love tight envelopes- and percussive sounds. >> Xpander/M12: warmer low end (VCOs) > > I think that the overall sound quality of the Xpander goes way beyond > "warmer > low end" in comparison to the AN1x. The filters are smoother and > richer, the > FM has a lot more character, the modulation capabilities beat the AN1x > in > several areas Agreed- the Xpander's Phase filter was one of a kind- and a force to be reckoned with (#1 in the Smooth & Rich analog filter hall of fame). I'd say the FM tracks better on a Matrix 1000/6R (I don't like my Xpander tuned tight to track FM well anyway). Also I like to say the FM on the Xpander is more "organic" and the AN1X is more sterile (but nice on high frequency content). Although I'll admit I won't be feeling the modulation capability difference in the way I program (as I have yet to feel limited when looking for a modulation on the AN1x). >> Better interface and "look"(graphics) on the Oberheims (What the hell >> was Yamaha thinking with those horrible brown colors ?) > > I would have liked more contrast, yes, but the Oberheim is actually > very hard > to read under low light conditions. Fortunately everything is done > with VFDs > and soft knobs, so once you've memorized where the Page buttons are > you can do > almost everything by feel. Let's see how that feels.... AN1X: Smooth knob rotation Xpander: (Stepped) click click click click click click click click.......... Sorry- couldn't resist that one. >> IMHO- The AN1x sounds great - and holds its own against the old Obie & >> Roland Poly/Analogs (for most applications). > > That last parenthetical statement forgives a lot, but I have to > protest a bit > here. > > The Yamaha is an okay analog modeler for its era (late 1990s, when > this stuff > was just becoming feasible in affordable quantities) but it doesn't > compare > well to even a more modern model, like the Access Virus C or the > Novation > Supernova II, much less a real analog synth like the Xpander or > Matrix-12. That's a fair comparison- and polyphony and features will improve as time marches on (if the current trend continues). When (make that IF ) Yamaha produces an AN2X or some such successor - I'll bet Access and Novation will be playing "catch-up". I look at the An1X like my Juno-60.. Both very solid performers that make their way into my compositions time and again. When I said "for most applications" I meant "Bread & Butter" analogish sounds (which I now see can be taken differently as each of us has his/her own definition of Bread & Butter sounds). > in my explorations so far, > including listening to many patches done by very creative people, I > have yet > to hear an analog-simulation patch that knocks me on my tail and makes > me say > "Whooaaaa...!". That's funny- I have a Bass sound I got off the net- that made me go "Whoaaaaaaa...". (but my "Whoooaaaa" bar may be a bit lower than yours) > And the Xpander hasn't ever been immune to criticism, I should point > out. When > the Xpander came out, it was derided as too complicated for the > average knob > twiddler, too expensive for the average beginner, too tightly-tuned to > compare > to "real" analog boards like the Minimoog and OBXa (even Tom Oberheim > says the > Xa was the last "good sounding" synth Oberheim made), and too much of > an > all-things-to-all-people box to be convenient (most everyone wanted > CVs or > MIDI, not both, and a huge box with no keyboard was considered a waste > of > space). Thanks for the trip down memory lane (I remember those arguments). (I've always preferred the Xpander to my old OB8- and that old tuning argument is hilarious). > Nevertheless it's stood the test of time quite proudly and is still > cranking out phenomenal sounds nearly 20 years after its release. Here here ! > > The AN1x deserves its props, to be sure, but let's see where it is > when it's > almost old enough to buy beer. HAHahaha !!- excellent point. I'll have to meet you for a Pint at that stage (although I think a ten year AN1X anniversary should suffice- say...2007 ? ). Very glad to have you on this list Mike.. (fellow Xpander, AN1x, K5000, and Darkstar XP2 owner)..... ____________________________________ Todd S. Sierra Madre Cinema Council http://users.ev1.net/~xpander/SMCChome.html ____________________________________ (fellow Xpander, AN!x, K5000, and Darkstar XP2 owner) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Message
Re: [AN1x] matrix 12
2003-04-30 by xpander