AIR XPand! 2 Coming To VST/AU

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Bought it earlier today.
Really wished I had control where it installed the vst plugins on PC and where I can place the content...... eventually found out where the vst plugins are installed (imho not the most obvious place).

I too wish it had lots more edit options, and simple things like a search window, a favourite option, a larger gui.
It really doesn't sound bad at all. A decent software workstation.

However compared to what I was hoping it would substitute for me, that is hypersonic2, I really much much still prefer the sound of hypersonic2............. But then again, except for its gui, I think Hypersonic2 was way ahead of its time....... pity it 'died'.

Did a litle pizz motif four bars. Four bars are Xpand!2 and four bars with hypersonic2..... exact same midi file...... tried to match volume and dropped some of the xpand2 reverb send to try and match it better.....
Not necessarily in the order as described above...... I know I definitely prefer the hypersonic2 version.


https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/365 ... arison.mp3


rsp
sound sculptist

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EvilDragon wrote:Don't think it's steep priced at all at $99.
I agree,as considering that it's on par with the likes of Sonic Reality,it's a fair price.Obviously...if one is expecting NI's Komplete quality,one needs to look elsewhere and spend 4 times the price.

It just so happens,that Xpand!2 will be included with my upcoming Alesis Vi61 keyboard,so I am really excited to try it out!

The presets by themselves are not all that impressive(which is to be expected at this price)...but as this video shows,if you go deeper into the sound designing process..it showcases what a little gem this plug-in is;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG_2kzv ... 02&list=WL

If I did not already have my Sonic Reality collection for my Reason 7,I would happily pay the $99 for use in my S1 DAW.
However...I am always on the lookout for an alternative to Native Instruments,so I do hope there are future improvements to Xpand2...but I doubt there will be any...but there's always the fool's hope.

Anyway...I really love the simplicity of this module,because the sound layering in my Reason,is so tedious...so I think I will really enjoy Xpand2 for what it is.

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Can someone clarify the discount...
*Pro Tools owners wishing to use AU and VST versions will also be subject to the same pricing
I'm a pro tools owner, does this mean I can get it as AU/ VST for $49 or have to pay the full $99?

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If you email with a proof of your ownership of Protools im happy to honor the $49.99 price.

sbangs@airmusictech.com
Software Brand Manager

inMusic Brands
AIR | Akai Professional | Alesis | ▲lto Professional | Denon DJ | Denon Professional | ION Audio | M-Audio | Marantz Professional | MixMeister | Numark | SONiVOX
Email. sbangs@inmusicbrands.com

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AlesisVi61 wrote: The presets by themselves are not all that impressive(which is to be expected at this price)...but as this video shows,if you go deeper into the sound designing process..it showcases what a little gem this plug-in is;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG_2kzv ... 02&list=WL
Actually I would expect a rompler to have decent presets because, as the video shows, you can't go deeper into the sound design, you can only change the limited set of variables the original sound designer has opened up for tweaking (which is really part of the sound design for that patch).

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aMUSEd wrote:
AlesisVi61 wrote:
Actually I would expect a rompler to have decent presets because, as the video shows, you can't go deeper into the sound design, you can only change the limited set of variables the original sound designer has opened up for tweaking (which is really part of the sound design for that patch).
I did not intend to imply,that Xpand2 was equipped with deep editing parameters....but rather,due to it's multi-timbral attributes,one could effectively manipulate the sound beyond it's limited editing...by using layering(which this YT video indicates).

Exactly how would you define "decent" presets?I mean...we are talking about a $99 VST.For's it's level of functionality,I would say that Xpand2 is decent....but that if someone wanted to do film scoring for example,one should consider something like Digidesign's Structure sampler.

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Holy cheese, I had to put a decapitator on to stand the sound of it, but then it came kind of cool in a toy keyboard punk kind of way ;)

On some of the patches the controls have very little effect, none in some cases.

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Really you don't like the presets? XPand is full of really good sound.

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I like some of them. It's right up there with the best hardware ROMpler synths 8)

Banks like Brass and orchestral hits are unlikely to be used by me, but the pads and the double bass patches are nice.
It sounds very clean and digital, so you need to find a way to mess it up. That's true for most softsynths anyway,
but usually you will at least have noise and modulation capabilities.

The lack of more advanced editing is a negative, but in all seriousness, limitations can be a good thing too.

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A big :tu: for donating to the charity. :clap:

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Good to give something back :)
Software Brand Manager

inMusic Brands
AIR | Akai Professional | Alesis | ▲lto Professional | Denon DJ | Denon Professional | ION Audio | M-Audio | Marantz Professional | MixMeister | Numark | SONiVOX
Email. sbangs@inmusicbrands.com

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Just a heads up - it's $49.99 until Monday if you use CYBERMONDAY49 as promo code when you check out.

And it works fine in my Ableton Live 32-bit on OS X 10.10.1, using very little resources even when utilizing lots of the polyphony. :)

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I'm not a VST programmer, so I don't know how these things work, but presumably the creators of XPand!2 must have some sort of 'back end' which they use to create patches with (otherwise how could they create patches?), so it can't be that difficult to utilise the same GUI as XPand!2 already uses (presuming they haven't done that for their back end) and allow users to edit the sounds completely - that would make it a MUCH more useful VST for most people. I am probably going to buy it on Monday because it's a bargain at $49, and I often use layering to make new sounds, whether I'm using Omnisphere, Sampletank 2, or by using Patcher in FL Studio with Sylenth1, etc. so the limitations of XPand!2 aren't the end of the world, but to finally have full control over it would make it so much better. I wonder why they didn't allow that?

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basslinemaster wrote:I'm not a VST programmer, so I don't know how these things work, but presumably the creators of XPand!2 must have some sort of 'back end' which they use to create patches with (otherwise how could they create patches?), so it can't be that difficult to utilise the same GUI as XPand!2 already uses (presuming they haven't done that for their back end) and allow users to edit the sounds completely - that would make it a MUCH more useful VST for most people. I am probably going to buy it on Monday because it's a bargain at $49, and I often use layering to make new sounds, whether I'm using Omnisphere, Sampletank 2, or by using Patcher in FL Studio with Sylenth1, etc. so the limitations of XPand!2 aren't the end of the world, but to finally have full control over it would make it so much better. I wonder why they didn't allow that?
+1

I like the sounds of xpand!2 , some reminds me of Hypersonic 2 , some of Halion Sonic SE, it is a good rompler with useful "bread and butter" sounds. But editing is pretty limited, like Alchemy Player for example. For 49$ it is a bargain, no question. I wonder if Air will bring out a full editable Version of Xpand!2 with a small upgrade price.

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Just bought this for $49 - very happy - reminds me of my long missed Hypersonic 1

Cheers
Jed

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