Xpantastic!

deano deanolium@... [xpantastic] wrote:

>
>
> Hi Mondo,
>
> Whilst it doesn't check *everything* on the Xpander, the init patch 
> basically has enough to ensure everything is working.

I was going to post to say just this, so thanks for verifying it.

> On a simple scale, the Xpander has only a couple of sound blocks in it 
> -- a VCO to generate the sound waves (two per voice), a VCF which does 
> the filtering (modes are selected by basically messing around with 
> some inputs on this), a VCA to do the volume, and then the CPU does 
> everything else (LFOs, Envelope Generation, Tracking, etc). The init 
> patch on the Xpander is a sound which uses both oscillators, the 
> filter set to low pass 2 pole mode which is put around halfway of its 
> range, and then a basic envelope. It's not a particularly interesting 
> sound, but it does use all the elements which the Xpander uses to make 
> sound. So if there's any faults, you would hear it here by things like 
> distortion in the sound; the filter being either too closed or too 
> open; one of the waveforms being missing; etc.

The only thing I needed from the comparison was the VCO's and waveforms, 
the thing I was most worried about. They compare well, so that confirms it.

And finally, every tune page is a 'PASS' so that confirms it. Nothing 
wrong with my Xpander.

> To be honest, the Xpander's base sound of the oscillators and filter 
> is ok, but nothing massively special. What adds the magic sauce is the 
> complexity you can make of the patches and how good the sounds are 
> when played on multiple voices. That is what sounds different to other 
> synths.

I've been listening to Sasha's Xpander, and it really is amazing how 
good it can sound, when the basic patch is so mild. Not sure how many 
effects he used.

>
> To test anything else on the Xpander would really just check the 
> CPU/ROM isn't slightly dead in a way that makes everything work except 
> one specific thing. This is incredibly unlikely (such faults would 
> cause the CPU to quickly crash on startup). 
>
Yup, all this works fine.

Thanks,

Jeremy.