The Yamaha AN1x Synthesizer mailing list

>  > By "compare" do you mean sonically, in terms of that
>>  elusive quality that says "analog"? If so, then I'd better stop
>here, as I'd
>>  rather my first lengthy post on this list have some positive
>content. :)
>
>MIke:
>
>Thanks for both your posts on the subject. As a list-member who has
>heard about the expander/matrix synths, but not had access to them it
>is very helpful. I hope you will continue to be as frank.

Jerry,

Well, I was famous as a loudmouthed Xpander-supporter back in the 
early 1980s on the old USENET groups. Over the years my opinions have 
mellowed a bit, but interestingly those early posts started me on a 
path that led to where I am now, a place I never in my wildest dreams 
would have predicted for myself in 1985. In a very real sense, I owe 
much of my happiness and my sense of fulfillment in the professional 
world, and quite possibly my life and health as well, to my Xpander. 
So it helps to take my opinions with a grain of salt. :)

>I've had the AN1X for about 3 years. I loved to tweak it and play it.
>It's been my favorite mode of expression, surpassing even my steinway
>in the amount of time consumed. I started trying to emulate
>the "famous" analog power sounds: Rick Wakeman's minimoog, Lyle May's
>8 voice and expander, Geddy Lee's minimoog sweeps, some of the Phil
>Collins and Peter Gabriel Prophet 5 pads, even some CS80 horns and
>strings that Vangelis did. There was always the ability to get very
>close, but a difference in power and liquidity. Then I turned the
>corner.
>
>The patches are now my favorites are not analogish at all. They are
>probably more like FM/physical modelling type sound that aren't very
>warm but are still full of character. And in this space, I find the
>AN1X doing very sweet, expressive and controllable things. To me it
>seems to be very effective when not attempting to be powerful.

It seems to me you've "heard into" the AN1x to get at its strengths; 
I hope that I can get that deep with it one day, beyond the 
relatively superficial things I've learned about it so far. Its 
abilities as a light, portable, affordable MIDI controller have 
overshadowed its sound engine for me in a lot of ways, but now that I 
have AN1xEdit working (Thanxmuchly, Jon!!), that will change.

The Xpander is not all things to all people; neither is the AN1x. I 
hope that with lists like this one, and like matrixSynth (the 
counterpart to this list for users of the Xpander, Matrix-12, and 
more affordable but still pretty good-sounding Matrix-6 and 
Matrix-1000), we can educate people as to what each particular synth 
does well, and help people get the most out of their gear.

At least, I hope so. I shall resist the temptation to rant (in good 
old-fashioned 1980s Metlay style) about a recent arrival on the 
matrixSynth list who showed up asking where to steal the listmembers' 
favorite editor/librarian software: he'd found its home 
website--where the author actually expected people to PAY for 
it!--but was pretty sure he could find a krak if he asked 
around...could anyone help? Read the archives yourself if you're 
curious; I can't possibly do it justice.

>Will, I still want to upgrade someday? Of course. I played a v-synth
>a voyager and an andromeda the other day. And it struck me that
>andromeda provided a lovely compromise between analog sound and
>digital control. But I'll probably keep this and buy an additional
>AN1X on ebay so as not to lose some of these sounds. Also I don't
>want to re-learn the controllers.

You shouldn't "upgrade" your AN1x; you should get a different synth 
that provides a different quality than the AN1x, and use them 
together in complementary ways. That's the beauty of this field; 
every synth is a different color on the palette. You just need to 
have the money to buy them all and the space to have them all set up. 
8-\

Best,

mike
-- 
"You sank my Jenga ship!" "Jenga ship? We're playing CONNECT FOUR!"
====================================================================
Mike Metlay * ATOMIC CITY * PO Box 17083 * Boulder CO 80308-0083 USA
metlay@... *  1-800-924-ATOM  * http://www.atomiccity.com