Blamsoft and eXode present: eXpanse - Hyperwave Synthesizer

[joeyluck]

4.6 is a pretty solid score.

What is that roughly? Out of every five people, three rate it a 5 and two rate it a 4?

Your math is excellent, Joey...

Haha. Or it could also be that out of ten people, nine rated it a 5 and one rated it a 1. The possibilities are endless and the speculation unending when we can't see statistics! Someday...

[fieldframe]

Was there a reason not to use drop down list's like on the waveform, OSC x Mod's, filter types etc ? (aesthetics maybe).

It was a limitation that we had to work with.

Interesting. Whatever API limitation necessitated this route, I really hope Propellerhead addresses it in the next revision of the SDK. It's a somewhat unfortunate usability compromise for an overall very well-thought-out UI.

[altron]

This synth seems to be fairly decent! I browsed through most of the pads, leads and rhythmic patches and there are some interesting ones. Most of them sound standard fare. I think there's alot of potential in this synth but the patch makers didn't bring it to the max yet. Hoping there will be some update with more patches that truly shine, esp. pads.

However the UI looks unrefined. Unfinished even. Just flat black with some blue elements thrown onto it, come one guys for this price you can do better. If in doubt ask Quadelectra. He's the uncrowned master of pleasing UI design. When I buy a Rack Extension I want the visual experience that we're as Reason users are used to instead of an instrument with the look of yet another a cheapo VSTi.

[dvdrtldg]

If in doubt ask Quadelectra. He's the uncrowned master of pleasing UI design.

You think? I like Quadelectra's REs but those yellow & purple CV utilities are among the most hideous-looking in the shop. And 3Plex's UI is the uncrowned master of annoying fiddliness

[EnochLight]

However the UI looks unrefined. Unfinished even. Just flat black with some blue elements thrown onto it, come one guys for this price you can do better. If in doubt ask Quadelectra. He's the uncrowned master of pleasing UI design..

I uh... yeah.. I completely disagree with you there. I find eXpanse to be one the best looking RE in Reason. The complete opposite of how you feel, apparently.

[frog974new]

sorry but atm not really hyped by this new Re .
After some hours on it .

my first feeback .
all presets from the FSB are pretty cool , some amazing patchs , may be the only weakness the pads folder .
i like the GUI , but really to set value ( polyphonie ) or pick up a waveform for oscillateur , lfo only this bad way : scroll all value Oo ..
Again this new Re Blamsoft , is very a huge hungry DSP / CPU ressources , i notice the internal reverb and disto make often some peak DSP/CPU .
the Price , 119 euro and after 149 euro , .. hum hum ..

My 2cte
a lot of option don't make necessary a good Re
internal fx , its cool but if they're not otimised and a bit useless ( stock device from reason are better ) , i bybass all those features
the FSB , the preset/patch are cool but sorry for 119-149 euro , not really a big FSB and all presets are again those standart sound we can find or other Re .
DSP/CPU used , arg ! on one session i can play only 2 or 3 patchs at the same time . Blamsoft need serioulsy check the stuff from others devellopers , for example Zvork we can stack more 10 Oberon , the same with Re from Rob Papen and heavy patchs ...

[stp2015]

As for the comments regarding built in FX vs rack FX. I personally prefer to have a choice. A choice to make a production ready sounds without having to move out of Expanse. If I want something else, I'm free to disable the included effects. That choice is taken from me should the effects have been excluded.

Cheers!

Thanks for the helpful tips!

I think a 'bypass all' or 'enable all' for the effects section would be handy.

I think that contemporaneous effects like filter, distortion, eq, phaser etc all are key parts of a sound. Delay and reverb on the other hand often annoy me in presets. So i would really like to have the option to quickly shut those two down. The same goes for the arp by the way.

[arqui]

Hi Exode!!!

If this is half as good as your refills, we have something magnificent
Regards

[SA Studio]

Great job, Exode!!

Big congrats

[EnochLight]

sorry but atm not really hyped by this new Re .

may be the only weakness the pads folder .
...

Interesting. Can you point me to a pads soundbank that actually impresses you? I only ask because I feel that eXpanse's pads are fantastic. Certainly no worse than many others I've heard.

[eXode]

DSP/CPU used , arg ! on one session i can play only 2 or 3 patchs at the same time . Blamsoft need serioulsy check the stuff from others devellopers , for example Zvork we can stack more 10 Oberon , the same with Re from Rob Papen and heavy patchs ...

I'd like to comment on this since it has been brought up.

Expanse's CPU usage is not due to poor optimization. It was a conscious decision when weighing in pro's and con's of quality vs performance.

In Expanse, we have implemented cutting edge VA filter design and anti aliasing techniques. Even with wave modifications enabled, such as FM and Mirror/Sync, Expanse will not produce aliasing, or sidebands. The simple truth is that these implementations consume more CPU. With quality comes cost.

I think anyone who have played with some of the more CPU hungry patches on Serum or Diva etc can attest to that.

I prefer to see Expanse primed for the future, as hardware costs decrease and performance increase, than to implement something inferior that we might regret later.

[Shokstar]

My solution for all DSP guys is, use bounce in place
Some patches are impossible to play but you can draw the notes and bounce them and you will see this high dsp is it worth to get a high quality unique sound for your song.

It's up to you to optimize your workflow, each Dubstep producers knows that issue, we bouncing mostly stuff to the sea because the post processing chain is consuming sometimes to much dsp but it's worth it.

[alex]

Is there a feature like "constant" as modulation source? Or am I missing something?

[Loque]

Is there a feature like "constant" as modulation source? Or am I missing something?

At least you can create it through the CV ins on the back with this CV in as modulation source. Can be easily achieved and automated with
https://shop.propellerheads.se/product/ ... generator/

[chimp_spanner]

I really like this - haven't had much chance to play with the trial yet but I have a job on that I could put it to use in. I think given the current SDK limitations what they've achieved is pretty incredible. It's like Zero and 4MER had a three way with Antidote and somehow produced a baby.

I would like to see a slightly more adventurous GUI in a future update but it's by no means a deal breaker. I also feel that some of the boxes should be drop downs but again, I imagine some of this is down to SDK restrictions. Mod routing would benefit from menu columns but also not Blamsoft's/eXode's fault.

Overall this feels like a real 9/10 for me. I'm gonna put it to work in some up and coming tracks and see what it can do but even with a few simple tweaks I'm getting some wonderful sounds. I mean, wavetable synthesis with additive + waveshaping? Really, what's not to love!

[alex]

Is there a feature like "constant" as modulation source? Or am I missing something?

At least you can create it through the CV ins on the back with this CV in as modulation source. Can be easily achieved and automated with
https://shop.propellerheads.se/product/ ... generator/

Thank you, that's a good workaround.
But it requires external workflow/devices.
Instead, I'd like to know if there is a way to achieve that "in the box", which is not obvious to me ATM. As an example, from time to time, I like to chain the filter envelope to itself but this leads to a bright sounds so with a "constant" mod source I can bring down the cutoff offset further (dialing in negative values in the mod matrix), even when its knob is already at 0.

[eXode]

There is no constant source as we reasoned that it's a static value and you can usually just reduce mod amt or similar.

However, what you could do as a work around is to use an EG (I.e. Mod Env 3) set to loop with both loop points at maximum and use that as a source.

[Shokstar]

This is a demo Session from the Beta that I´ve made with the Expanse Synth. It´s unprocessed just only used the internal FX and a few Patches from the FSB! All Sounds are made with the Expanse Synth.

Enjoy

[EdGrip]

I'm not in a position to try this out at the moment. How do you all think it fares when it comes to making analogue synth sounds? I'm looking for a reason to not buy Diva.

- Ed

[alex]

However, what you could do as a work around is to use an EG (I.e. Mod Env 3) set to loop with both loop points at maximum and use that as a source.

That is a great suggestion, exactly what I needed! Thank you!

[submonsterz]

Having bought eXpanse and played around with it for some time - It's clear to me that at this moment, the people who scored this down on props shop by .5, clearly have an earwax problem or are indeed as deaf as my father!...

Unless they have used vst's with this quality of sound for many years and it just dont hit them as groundbreaking maybe ???.

Nar I've used Serum for a long time - In my view Serum is the best ('sounding' if you'd like to call it that) VST out there at the moment. I've used most other 'top tier' VST synths too and eXpanse is still a 5 all day long.

Was just throwing a maybe why out there.
But if it was me personally rating it which i dont ever do for re's it would be between a three to 4 star rating as im not overwhelmed by it to be honest . The demos really do not do it a five star justice to me . Only one of the sc demos sounded like it had a few nice sounds and qualitues which was the tom pritchard one about a minute or so in to it . I have out board and vst's too and suppose they take out the wow factor for me . For reason device standard it sounds top of the range . But dsp bit heavy for my liking as a lot of re's are . Id only rate it honestly in the shop if i ever did ratings and my rating would be as i said if i were to rate it. A 5 star would have to be something very special very new and very neich in what it can do and how well it performed to me. Maybe being honest is the wrong aproach in the reason world but in mine it is how it must be . No cloaks no daggers just as you feel see and hear it .

[altron]

If in doubt ask Quadelectra. He's the uncrowned master of pleasing UI design.

You think? I like Quadelectra's REs but those yellow & purple CV utilities are among the most hideous-looking in the shop. And 3Plex's UI is the uncrowned master of annoying fiddliness

Well, those CV utils are older and cheap but look at his newer REs, Mercury for example. It gives me the impression that he has a few degrees in industrial design, it's so well designed. Not saying Expanse is ugly but the UI is dull and doesn't inspire me. It's even more unfortunate seeing such a capable synth with such a loveless UI design.

[XysteR]

Having bought eXpanse and played around with it for some time - It's clear to me that at this moment, the people who scored this down on props shop by .5, clearly have an earwax problem or are indeed as deaf as my father!...

Unless they have used vst's with this quality of sound for many years and it just dont hit them as groundbreaking maybe ???.

Nar I've used Serum for a long time - In my view Serum is the best ('sounding' if you'd like to call it that) VST out there at the moment. I've used most other 'top tier' VST synths too and eXpanse is still a 5 all day long.

Was just throwing a maybe why out there.
But if it was me personally rating it which i dont ever do for re's it would be between a three to 4 star rating as im not overwhelmed by it to be honest . The demos really do not do it a five star justice to me . Only one of the sc demos sounded like it had a few nice sounds and qualitues which was the tom pritchard one about a minute or so in to it . I have out board and vst's too and suppose they take out the wow factor for me . For reason device standard it sounds top of the range . But dsp bit heavy for my liking as a lot of re's are . Id only rate it honestly in the shop if i ever did ratings and my rating would be as i said if i were to rate it. A 5 star would have to be something very special very new and very neich in what it can do and how well it performed to me. Maybe being honest is the wrong aproach in the reason world but in mine it is how it must be . No cloaks no daggers just as you feel see and hear it .

To me between 3-4 stars feels outlandishly low. I've used this synth solid now since I bought it yesterday - I've got well over 12 hours solid use of it using only 1 OSC. Only today have I ventured with bunging it into a combinator, enabling OSC 2 with some cv, It's an incredible synth. admittedly it does take some getting used to though. The only negative thing from me initially was the lack of drop menus for the OSC, filters etc. But i'm used to that now so it's not even a problem anymore. I'm spoiled as a Serum and Virus Ti2 owner - I kind of use them as a benchmark for any synth that pricks my ears up (mainly because I currently feel hard pushed to find anything to better) eXpanse (for me) is a 5 star synth - It's advanced and 'deeper than a well' when it comes to sound design. I'm having real trouble trying to level with your mindset of a score between 3 and 4 - It just doesn't make sense to me. "Reason device standard" sounds like you're implying Reason is sub-par compared to other DAWS? It's not adding up here, eXpanse certainly had a wow factor for me and I'm used to Serum and Virus Ti2?. As for DSP usage: The best VST's out there are a DSP hog! Serum can be too. With this kind of power you must accept that on a hardware level we're in 2016. Nothing makes me laugh more than the cries of 'But it's bringing my computer to it's knees'. Efficiently written complex algorithms still take a lot of processing power, there is no escaping that and unfortunately for cutting edge sound, no magic wand exists to make it better. My answer to that is upgrade your CPU, you're probably behind the times on a hardware level, or use R9 bounce to audio to save DSP. I've been running a 5960X octacore CPU at 4.5Ghz now for nearly 2 years, solely because I want to remove the term 'DSP hog' as best as I can. This is not snobbery here, it's just the price you pay for the technology to keep in line with today. I saved and worked hard to shell out over £1000 for it at the time. But I work hard, Don't drink, don't smoke - Thus 'entitled'.

I'm being honest here, in and out of the 'Reason world'. eXpanse is 5 stars all day long!

[frog974new]

DSP/CPU used , arg ! on one session i can play only 2 or 3 patchs at the same time . Blamsoft need serioulsy check the stuff from others devellopers , for example Zvork we can stack more 10 Oberon , the same with Re from Rob Papen and heavy patchs ...

I'd like to comment on this since it has been brought up.

Expanse's CPU usage is not due to poor optimization. It was a conscious decision when weighing in pro's and con's of quality vs performance.

In Expanse, we have implemented cutting edge VA filter design and anti aliasing techniques. Even with wave modifications enabled, such as FM and Mirror/Sync, Expanse will not produce aliasing, or sidebands. The simple truth is that these implementations consume more CPU. With quality comes cost.

I think anyone who have played with some of the more CPU hungry patches on Serum or Diva etc can attest to that.

I prefer to see Expanse primed for the future, as hardware costs decrease and performance increase, than to implement something inferior that we might regret later.

i don't want to make any offence , but this kind info .. i often see them from Devs on video game industry with GPU issue for DRR5/Vram and CPU hungry . so you main gaol is the quality , i can undestand this statement but !! now how many users/consummers can really use your Re without trouble ..? how many users/consummers want to upgrade hardware and spend above 300-400$ for a new CPU/ram just for run a 150$ Re ..?

what'll hapen , just a minor group of user atm will buy this new Re and may be in 3 or 4 years take it ..
They' re all ready on the shop a few synth with stuning / amazing features with more performance than the new eXpanse , don"t forget that point .
indeed to manage CPU/DSP in our project we can Bounce in place , but if we have to do this only when we use One patch from the eXpanse ..hum..hum.. that's not a friendly re for me .

[fieldframe]

Another thought on the lack of drop-down menus: It's really in Propellerhead's best interest to work with Blamsoft on this. It's probably safe to call Expanse the new third-party flagship synth for Reason, and it just looks bad for Reason if the reviews (I'm sure the major producer magazines will review this) say something to the effect of "hey, Reason finally has its own Serum competitor, but Rack Extensions are still too limited to do waveform displays and drop-down menus at the same time."