via this auction"If you're thinking about bidding on this synth, then you probably already know what it is. The Xpander, along with the Matrix 12, was one of the last synthesizers designed and produced by Oberheim Electronics, and it represented the pinnacle of their voice architecture. (It has the same architecture as the Matrix 12, only with six voices instead of 12.) Most people consider this voice architecture to be the most flexible non-modular analog synth ever designed. Each voice has five LFOs, each with about five different wave shapes, plus the ability to sample most other modulators; five envelopes that can repeat themselves, sync to an LFO, and so on; a lag processor (like portamento, but more general); three tracking generators (that apply a series of linear functions to a value over its range); some ramp generators (the attack portion of an envelope); a 15-mode filter and a user interface to make all of this accessible. That all might sound complicated, but in the end, it's still just subtractive synthesis. If you can program a Juno or Jupiter, you can program an Xpander; things just have the potential to go MUCH deeper.
The Xpander also has a useful CV/gate to MIDI conversion feature for communication with older synths. There are six CV and Gate inputs which use standard 1V/8va CV and positive gating. So you can connect up to 6 external sources delivering CV/Gate and convert that into MIDI. The Xpander's output options are also very flexible, with stereo and mono outputs as well as six additional individual audio outputs (1 for each voice). You can load a different patch on each voice, too, allowing you to use the Xpander as a stereo polyphonic 6-voice synth, as six individual monosynths, or any combination in between. Since you can stack six different patches, you can create some very thick, and very complex unison type sounds.
This particular model is fully functional and in excellent condition. It's spent the last 15 years in a smoke-free home as part of a vintage synth collection. It has not been gigged with and has only seen very light use over those years. The original manual, and a power cord, are also included. Also, for those of you who might be interested, this is a US built Xpander, and not a Japanese built one."
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