Xpander question - anyone?

I have a hard on for an Xpander like a 13 year old boy in a bikini factory...

I have had ENOUGH maintenance of vintage gear BUT NOTHING sounds truly like an xpander/matrix 12 IMHO. I'd rather have it OVER a Jupiter 8...

What maintenance issues and problems should I look for and be aware of? Any owners or prior owners out there?

If you have one to sell or trade please PM me. Ive got a PRS for sale that should be no problem to sell and once the $$$ is in... Its between that and an RCA 44bx but Im sick of buying mics right now! But ooooh that damn 44bx...

Please talk me out of the Xpander!!!!!!!!!

Why talk you out this royal class A synth?

But there might be problems as with all old synths that use non normed parts. like displays.

Thats EXACTLY why! What no longer made cost you a kidney parts could be an issue? Typical parts that fail? Typical age issues? Functionality issues?

Its one of the few boards I really don't know very well. But its been 2 years and I can't get it out of my head... Ive got a mini and wanted either a jupiter or xpander to go with it (as far as overpriced vintage gear goes)- between those and a sequential circuits, you can't get better tone.

Ive got an LA2A at the repair shop right now- had to replace the meter and general check up. It just gets expensive. I couldn't live without the mini and also waited years before I blew 3000 for a relatively limited synth. Worth every penny. Im just trying to make sure the Xpander isn't a Juno 106 waiting to happen!

> I have had ENOUGH maintenance of vintage gear BUT NOTHING sounds truly like an xpander/matrix 12 IMHO.

Agreed. The Matrix-12/Xpander is probably my favorite vintage analog synth of all time. All those multi-mode filters. (Each like a bikin in their own right.) 15 to be exact, plus 5 LFOs - both unheard of for their time, hell, even by todays standards thats a tall order.

The price unfortunatly has gone way out of touch. Not too long ago the average price was a steep $1500. Now, try a rediculous $2600 +.

Xpander/M-12 -- rotary encoders and displays are hard to find. Internally, as long as someone is selling CEMs, you can (eventually) get replacements. Note that you can turn off individual voices, so if one goes down because of a CEM, you can work in N-1 mode until you get a spare.

Displays and encoders are different. Encoders going bad become a real PITA because you crank and crank and the value doesn't change or jumps wildly. I had one encoder that only worked in one direction.

Also - those pushbuttons used to be easy to replace (Eventide used the exact same style/size on their old H-3000's), but now all the new pushbuttons made have a much smaller form factor. I believe I've taken them apart and cleaned them, but once again, it's a hassle.

THANKS!!!!!! Exactly what I wanted to know!

This just made me snort coke out of my nose funniest thing I have heard in ages

thanks

I purchased a used Xpander about 5 years ago (but have since sold it). The first thing I noticed were 3 voices were quieter than the others. It turned out to be several bad capacitors and this, I was told, is something to be wary of with Xpanders these days as the caps age and most people never noticed. In my case, doing a tune / voice check sporadically gave me a "fail" result - but not always.

Incidentally, the previous owner accused me of being crazy, but I think some people don't notice this problem. Anyway, be sure the caps are good.

By the way, it's an easy fix to replace the caps.

J.

damn I can't believe I'm posting from my new iPhone!

Yeah recap is no issue- I have excellent techs- studio electronics David Kulka et Al!

If you want an Xpander, then buy an Xpander. Armen in NYC has displays and the encoders can be cleaned and I even saw people replacing them with current parts (what needed some additional circuitry though). And like mentioned above, you always can deactivate single voices.

I agree- all my fears have been sufficiently qualmed. I don't mind spending cash for sound of that quality, and it seems to only have traditional age issues- no impending defects!

Thanks everyone! Now to see how serious I really am... (counts money)

There's no way I could talk you out from buying an Xpander.

I have a Matrix-12; of all vintage synths I've owned, it's the only one I decided to keep, and I use it constantly. Programming it is a dream. I've changed the rotary encoders, and that's all the maintenance it has ever needed - oh, maybe a battery change once. Displays, buttons, and what's more important, the voice channel and all internal electronics are holding perfectly after more than 20 years.

And of course, nothing sounds like it. Plus, it combines very well with digital synthesizers.

thread resurrection!

Can anyone comment on the envelopes and the digital implementation of this synth? Im considering it - but am concerned that it has no punch....

Whitepapa,

Dunno if you already got the Xpander, but what about it specifically makes it a sine qua non for your analogue poly needs? You don't have to sell me on the actual synth - I've played it, but I want to know why you don't want, say, a Studio Electronics poly with an array of filters, a Prophet 5, a Sunsyn, or that JP-8, or anything else.

Ah yes, the achilles heel of the Matrix synths...

Its as much being around for the original release and resale as it is tone. When I was young, I couldn't afford the synths I have now. There were a few that I really went nuts for - ie minimoog, juno 106 and jupiter 8, matrix 12 and xpander...

Now that I can afford them and its a tax write off and part of work, I get exactly what I want. With synths I have been pretty reserved relative to studio purchases but have hit a point where I have everything I need to sound as good as I can in the studio, so I can go back in time and fix the synth wrongs of the past! hehehehe...

I didn't buy the matrix... yet... I really don't NEED it but I really WANT it and specifically the matrix 12 but cant see dropping that much cash, so the xpander is more reasonable.

Ive resisted the jupiter 8 (prices are stupid no matter how you look at it) and the xpander is still slightly ridiculous. I bought the mini though knowing its a bloated pig of a synth pricewise but that one is the magic box for me- other than modular which I don't even want to get started with.

Theres just something magic about hands on working with those synths to me- that can't compare to others. It could be completely psychosomatic other than we all agree they sound great... And as you see I group the juno 106 with the others. Ill never forget going into the music stores in LA as a teen and playing with them... Then going home to my alpha juno 1 (my mom was super cheap) and casio and two tape decks to track songs.

So its as much grabbing the past as it is tone, quality and resale. Those synths will ONLY go up in value for sure... That said, I bought a neve compressor and quad eight eq but no xpander yet... Its really overpriced as is the jupiter and minimoog... And yes I admit the mini is overpriced- NO QUESTION!

WHEW! I think about this stuff quite a bit and research everything 10 fold before I move. I haven't been able to validate it yet though. It just won't get me more business or make me more money other than value increase...

don't buy an xpander, they're pure awesome & ultra-flexible analog power. you don't need that in your life. i paid $850 for mine.

Ill give you 900 for it... hehehehehehe

Yeah... the Xpander was a big fav with wind players too. In fact I put up a youtube vid of Judd Miller the other day

Sound quality is not too great but you can tell the Xpander is something special...

If you are considering the Xpander, also consider the Chroma. Same order of complex patching goodness (can actually change the signal path order in some cases), lots of flexibility with chaining 2 2-pole filters in various orders, lovely playing action, great sound.

And, I would argue, more maintainable. The CEM filter and VCA are the main proprietary chips on it. Otherwise, the Chroma is almost like a hot rod, with replacement modern CPU boards and power supplies being available.

Of all the old poly analogs, the Chroma is the one that I would really love to have.