rwn@iham1.UUCP (Bob Neumann) (01/31/86)
I own an Oberheim Xpander. The Matrix 6 is NOT an Xpander with keys. Some of the features of the Xpander were eliminated to produce the matrix 6. A rack-mount version of the matrix6 is also available from oberheim (see their ad in Keyboard mag). The Xpander has six voices, all of which can respond independantly on different respective MIDI channels (1-16). You can also assign groups of voices to one MIDI channel, and other voices to Control voltages, etc. The unit is the most open-ended synth I have seen, and is the perfect addition to any MIDI synth/computer/ sequencer setup. You can also give your non-split synth (DX-7, etc) split capability by dividing the keyboard range into up to three zones, by specifying the range of notes that the Xpander will respond to per zone. I drive my Xpander with control voltages and MIDI simultaneously, and am able to listen to a piece that I have composed, and change each instrument independantly according to the patch (wind sounds vs horns vs bass), transposition, and stereo pan, all in real time. I am not sure how well the multi-timbral capability of the matrix 6 is implemented. Anyone care to comment? Bob Neumann