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Well, I've only had the Xpander for a couple of weeks, but I feel that I can give a decent review of this synth. Some people malign the interface for being menu-driven and not having one-knob per function (plus the six encoders are not the smoothest or best feeling). My opinion about this is that the interface is about as logical and easy to understand as can be. It is very easy to find out what is modulating what and edit everything quite quickly. With all the possibilities that this synth has modulation-wise, I was expecting editing to be somewhat tedious, it is not--in fact editing is a joy. Particularly nice is that every feature you are editing has an immediate numeric read-out, allowing for some very specific values.
Interface aside, the Xpander is a very smooth sounding synth. Not the most aggressive of analogs, but perfect for complex pads and weird sounds in general. The bass is not powerhouse and punchy, but the 2-pole and 3-pole low-pass filter modes allow for some deep if smooth sounds which can easily find use in a song. Which brings me to the filter, the absolute best part of this synth. It's amazing that with such a cheap chip they managed to get it to sounds so great(but not the self-resonance, best to avoid that, IMO). By playing with the modes you can manage to get sounds no other analog can produce (the phase+low pass is truly funkadelic). Simply one of the best analog filters ever made, and definitely the best multimode analog filter I've ever heard (with all due respect to SEMs).
So, the filter is the best part of the Xpander. But what about the much-vaunted matrix modulation? Well, that pretty much speaks for itself. True, recent analogs like the Andromeda and the Sunsyn offer matrices as complex as the Xpanders, but none have surpassed it. Especially because none have what makes the Xpander so unique--the shear number of modules which can be used in the matrix. 5 LFOs, 5 EGs, 4 Ramps, 3 Tracking Generators, Lag processor and more--no other non-modular analog synth possesses this many features, and outside of the Nord Modular and Kurzweil's VAST most digital synths still haven't reached this level of complexity. Imagine, you want each oscilator to have it's own PWM, each with it's own vibrato, and then both the filter and resonance being modulated by seperate LFOs, the Xpander can do this (I know that adds up to six LFOs--I haven't mentioned the hidden LFO which is permanently fixed to Vibrato). Name me one other non-modular analog which can do this--there just isn't one (AFAIK).
If you can't tell, I am a big fan of the Xpander. Easily one of the best polysynths ever made and it's built like a tank to boot. Well worth what it goes for on the market, if you are thinking about analog polysynths you can't do any better, so I would highly advise saving up and making the sacrifice to get one--you will not be dissapointed.
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