From atomic@netcom.comFri Jun 16 10:49:47 1995 Date: Fri, 16 Jun 1995 07:58:29 -0700 (PDT) From: atomic city To: Electronica List Cc: Analogue Heaven Mailing List Subject: Re: Xpander vs. Matrix-12 mw writes-- > >I thought I'd fwd this here, just in case there some X experts not sub'd to >the other list :-) There is one, anyway. :) >--- Forwarded message follows --- >From: lince@rhett.enet.dec.com >Date: Wed, 14 Jun 1995 22:28:06 +0200 >To: analogue@hyperreal.com >Subject: Xpander vs. Matrix-12 > >Everyone says an Xpander is 1/2 of a Matrix-12...makes sense, 6 voices on >the Xpander and 12 voices on the M12... My question would be - does two >Xpanders = one Matrix 12??? One can buy two, perhaps three Xpanders for >the price of one M12 these days...BTW, if there is anyone "out there" >who wants to sell an Xpander or M12 - please email me direct! To answer your questions and respond to your assertions: Two Xpanders do NOT equal one Matrix-12. The Xpander has six individual audio outputs and six sets of CV and gate inputs, standard; the Matrix-12 has twelve individual audio outs as an option but no CV interfacing at all. The Xpander, of course, has no keyboard; the M12 has a five-octave velocity and release velocity sensitive keyboard (aftertouch is an OPTION; try before you buy!), two mod levers, and a very solid and useful MIDI control spec built in. On the architectural level, the Xpander and Matrix-12 have identical single voice architecture, but the multi voice setup for the M12 adds a detune per voice to the existing transpose-by-half-steps, which can produce dangerously, ahem, 'phat' timbres. The M12 also has a modulation routings page, which makes programming somehat quicker but adds no specific functionality to the voice itself. As to your statement that one can buy even two Xpanders for the cost of a Matrix-12, let alone three, all I can say is, show me your sources. I've been following market values of those two boxes ever since I launched the Xpander Users Group (xpansions@netcom.com nowadays), and the actual ratio is closer to 1.5 to 1.8 unless the Matrix-12 is absolutely mint or the Xpanders are trashed. There are always exceptions to the above, but just because one person is willing to sell a perfect-condition Xpander for $900 while another demands $3500 for his Matrix-12 doesn't make it a hard and fast rule. Averages are more like $1700 for an Xpander, $2500 for a Matrix-12, these days. Oberheim uber alles, mike -- mike metlay * atomic city * p. o. box 81175 * pittsburgh, pa 15217-0675 usa atomic@netcom.com * atomic-city@netcom.com * http://pd.net/atomic-city --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The three E's of parenthood: Elation, Exhaustion, and Excretion. (m pulver)