AiR Xpand!2 only for 1,00€

[Teksonik]

Xpand is an enrichment for my portfolio. But nevertheless it is so pathetic and childish, as many of you guys again and again try to persuade wagtunes, to install Xpand!

Please explain how it's "pathetic and childish" to want someone to also enjoy a great synth that is on sale for many times less than what I paid for it ? I would think you'd look at it as one synth aficionado recommending a great synth to another synth aficionado. If you had been paying attention in the time you've been here at KVR you'd know that frequently people who really like a particular plugin try to get others to at least try it. I've lost count of how many times I've had someone recommend a plugin to me that I ended up liking a great deal. I am grateful for such advice.

But I guess it's easier for you to bring drama to the situation and that my friend is "so pathetic and childish".

[wagtunes]

Xpand is an enrichment for my portfolio. But nevertheless it is so pathetic and childish, as many of you guys again and again try to persuade wagtunes, to install Xpand!

Please explain how it's "pathetic and childish" to want someone to also enjoy a great synth that is on sale for many times less than what I paid for it ? I would think you'd look at it as one synth aficionado recommending a great synth to another synth aficionado. If you had been paying attention in the time you've been here at KVR you'd know that frequently people who really like a particular plugin try to get others to at least try it. I've lost count of how many times I've had someone recommend a plugin to me that I ended up liking a great deal. I am grateful for such advice.

But I guess it's easier for you to bring drama to the situation and that my friend is "so pathetic and childish".

I agree with you 100%. I wasn't the least upset that you tried to get me to give Xpand 2 a shot. I'm more upset at my experience with AIR and my lack of trust in their products, as irrational as it may even be, especially since I take a chance with every VST I download and install, even if just to demo.

But you had to be that that day when it took me almost the entire day to get Cubase up and running again. Had I another DAW that I knew how to use, I would have said screw it and dumped Cubase. It's been nothing but trouble since almost the day I got it, between the lousy 32 bit bridge that they're now abandoning and how it seems to love to lock up on me, sometimes doing absolutely nothing but turning a volume knob.

But I have too much invested in Cubase, including Vocaloid editor made specifically for Cubase. For the most part, outside of having to make sure I shut down Cubase before loading a project with Vocaloid, Vocaloid itself has been fairly stable.

What I might do, even though I don't know how to use the DAW, is get Xpand 2 and install it somewhere where Cubase can't find it and them load it up into MuLab and play around with it. If I can get a decent enough idea that it's stable enough there, I may add the path to Cubase. Problem with doing that is every time I add a path to Cubase, it locks up the DAW and I have to reboot my PC. So for the most part, I have to make sure I install VSTs where Cubase is already looking. Yeah, it's a real pain.

Like I said, it's not the dollar. But my system is so sensitive, for whatever reason, that I have to be very careful about what I install on it. I already know that I can't ever install a 32 bit plug again and don't even try. They totally screw with Cubase.

Most likely, before August ends, I'll bite the bullet and get it.

In the meantime, some demos (if you have any) so I can at least try to get excited about this thing, would help a lot.

So let's hear what Xpand 2 sounds like.

[murnau]

Honestly to think a specific .dll could cause a system crash with the need to restore the complete OS and therefore never ever installing from a particular dev again and finally admitting not to know if thats really caused by this plugin and talking about new problems with Steinberg plugin instead is absurd.

[wagtunes]

Honestly to think a specific .dll could cause a system crash with the need to restore the complete OS and therefore never ever installing from a particular dev again and finally admitting not to know if thats really caused by this plugin and talking about new problems with Steinberg plugin instead is absurd.

To you. I look at the facts. I come to the best conclusions I can based on those facts.

Fact 1) I installed AIR Loom

Fact 2) Shortly after my Cubase stopped working and I had to do a system restore.

Fact 3) The version of AIR Loom I installed was brand new that day and actually kind of a beta version. So it is quite possible something was wrong with it.

Could the problem have been something unrelated? Of course. But after a day of hell trying to get my Cubase back in operation, a piece of software critical for my livelihood, there was no way in hell I was taking a chance on installing anymore of their products.

Absurd? Maybe to you. But you didn't have to spend a whole day getting back up and running. So until you've been in my shoes, you can keep your insults to yourself.

[wagtunes]

Oh, and I forgot one additional fact, and probably the most important one of all.

While testing Loom in Cubase, I got cascading white box errors after a critical Cubase error that I had never seen before.

Don't care what you think about the situation. That was enough for me.

[Saukar30]

Well, Wag, from a business standpoint that makes since if you don't see any benefit from it (especially since it doesn't give you the ability to dig in to the parameters).. Again, I'm not trying to change your view, because ultimately it's your decision on whether to get a VST or not. However, sometimes, one is able to get some inspiration by just experimenting and tinkering with something that serves to purpose. It's called "fun" in my book.

I personally just view Xpand as a way to get some fresh ideas or perhaps think in a different way. Props to you if you don't see it in that light. We all have different wants, needs & likes. What do I know? You could be the smartest person in the room for not trying it LOL

[wagtunes]

Well, Wag, from a business standpoint that makes since if you don't see any benefit from it (especially since it doesn't give you the ability to dig in to the parameters).. Again, I'm not trying to change your view, because ultimately it's your decision on whether to get a VST or not. However, sometimes, one is able to get some inspiration by just experimenting and tinkering with something that serves to purpose. It's called "fun" in my book.

I personally just view Xpand as a way to get some fresh ideas or perhaps think in a different way. Props to you if you don't see it in that light. We all have different wants, needs & likes. What do I know? You could be the smartest person in the room for not trying it LOL

Hey, I am all for having fun and trying new things. I'm not a total drag and all business. If it was any other company, for a buck, I would have jumped on this the day I found out about it. If nothing else, maybe I get some new stuff to add to future songs.

But do you have any idea how hard I would kick myself if I installed this thing and it wrecked havoc on my DAW yet again? After an initial warning from another one of their products, I'd feel like a total fool suffering through something that I could have avoided.

It's bad enough that, in order to keep my business running, I have to keep getting new synths. Because with each one, I essentially take the same risk. But in that case, the alternative is I don't have a business anyway. So it's a risk I essentially have to take.

Xpand 2 is a luxury and nothing more.

I tend to not take risks for luxuries.

That's why I don't have something like Nexus. What's the point? It won't give me anything more than just more sounds for personal use. And if IT blows up my DAW, I'll really be pissed.

Like I said, I might break down and try it on MuLab, but if I can't use it in Cubase, which is where I make my music, I've spent $1 to essentially just have a toy to play with that I can't even make music with.

Just doesn't seem worth the trouble.

[Teksonik]

But my system is so sensitive, for whatever reason, that I have to be very careful about what I install on it.

I understand that and might even be the same if it happened to me. I'm very particular about what I install on my studio system too. It's just a shame because beside Xpand, Air has some really nice synths such as Loom which you did like, Hybrid which is highly under rated and Vacuum Pro which is nice but not spectacular. So installing Xpand might give you confidence to try other Air plugins. But I don't want to be accused of being childish......

[EnGee]

It's prohibited to have more than one DAW, so Please try to understand, as monogamous, we can't have more than one wife.

[Teksonik]

It's called "fun" in my book.

Exactly ! I've had a ton of fun with Xpand over the last few days after letting it go unloved on my hard drive for quite some time. I had even put it on the list of synths I might sell just because I hadn't used it for awhile but after seeing this thread and having a fresh play with it I wouldn't let it go now. So for that reason I appreciate this thread.

Even if you only spend a couple of hours with Xpand where can you have more fun for a buck ?

But as I said I understand Wag's reluctance to install it..........

So I think I'll go fire up the studio and have some more fun....think I'll spend some time with Loom today as well..

[Aloysius]

You could get another computer for testing. It would also be a good backup for your business.

[Kumi_27]

Today You can set up a virtual machine for such tests, there is no need for another hardware box.
Today's VM technology is quite good, up to the point that Your "production system" could be put on it.

Back to Xpand!2 - some time ago I installed ProTools First just to have the possibility to test it (it's included there).
For a 1.23 $ for me it's a no brainer. But I have hard time to resist the urge to upgrade.
It's only 150$...
I don't have spare 150$...

[robotmonkey]

Honestly to think a specific .dll could cause a system crash with the need to restore the complete OS and therefore never ever installing from a particular dev again and finally admitting not to know if thats really caused by this plugin and talking about new problems with Steinberg plugin instead is absurd.

I would generally agree with that statement. More likely it was down to PACE cr@p which is known to cause problems with Cubase and other E-Licenser software. Unfortunately the AIR products I have tested all seem to force an installation of PACE cr@p without any way to skip or stop it.

[wagtunes]

Well, I just went to YouTube and listened to about 30 minutes of "music" made with Xpand 2.

Here are my impressions for whatever they're worth.

Reminds me of when I used to be 100% hardware and I'd go to the local Rondo Music to check out the latest Korg Workstation. And the guy there, Bill, would play all these sounds that covered everything imaginable. And the sounds were fine. Nothing earth shattering, but all usable stuff.

But then I'd look at the price tag (about $3,000) and I'd say to myself, "No, I really don't need this."

Okay, so now we have Xpand 2, which is like taking me back 20 years at least if not more and I'm getting that same feeling. Nice stuff. I was especially impressed with the non synth stuff like guitars, ethnic, strings, etc. And yes, it's all usable. And there are a lot of "instant recall" sounds there that, for me to program myself using one of my synths, would take a bit of time. So if I want to make music, which I do a lot, this is a great workstation to have access to tons of sounds to make that music quickly. It is like the ultimate rompler. In fact, i wouldn't even want something like this to be programmable. It would just take time away from actually making music.

And to top that all off, I don't have to look at the price tag and see $3,000. In essence, I'd be getting all this for nothing.

It's a deal that, if you're into making music where you really can't have enough different sounds to keep from getting stale creatively, it's a no brainer.

The only way I could see of somebody not taking advantage of this is if...

1) They don't make music

or

2) They've had a bad experience with the company

And there we have it. I'm sitting here, after listening to 30 minutes of usable material (not a bunch of crappy filler) saying to myself, "I really want this" and too damn scared to pull the trigger.

Sometimes life sucks.

But I admit. It's great. For a buck, it's stupid not to get it.

Now, I've already got PACE installed (have tons of iLok stuff including EWQL and Omnisphere) so if I did install this, it wouldn't try to install PACE yet again, would it? And if it does, will that mess up what I already have?

[Jorgeelalto]

Maybe you can stop PACE installation somehow.

You guys are definitely funny. All this Wagtunes thing is hilarious.

My opinion is: you'll probably have a dollar in PB's Virtual Cash. Get the licence and use it whenever you want. Try it in MuLab and that's it. I don't know, a lot of bad mood here just for a one-dollar synth.