FXpansion - ETCH - any problems known? FXpansion activation/discontinuation?

[Caine123]

hey guys, yeah it is me again cause im still reloading some older projects and just checking my beloved ETCH plugin, i used it a lot cause of the modulation and so on, sadly this plugin is discontinued....

1. is FXpansion officially dead?
2. activation was working but im afraid for how long?
3. i had a few projects so far where it seems that ETCH loads fine and also has the old settings reloaded it seems, but still sometimes it sounded not correct like my old mp3s, did anyone encounter such thing? e.g. i got a percussion loop and in my mp3 it sounds well and not distorted, overlimited, but reloading and it sounds overdriven/too loud. my master bus is very well, nothing changed, so only ETCH in this channel. so it must be ETCH.

thx

[phoenstorm]

Interesting questions...I guess the overall state of FXpansion is known, but the website seems to be up as of now. As for activation & your other question...who knows. Anybody knowledgeable about the company that would like to chime in here?

[masterhiggins]

It's sad what Angus let happen to that company. Should've just kept it his and just focused on maintaining a loyal, regular fanbase. Etch and Bloom are epic fx. There's really nothing to replace Bloom. There are ton of delays on the market, but nothing with as elegant of a modulation system as Bloom. It had step sequencers, a delay time sequencer, LFOs, envelope followers, everything in a very nice system with fast switching and visual feedback. Other delays simply have a modulation system that's added on like an afterthought. FXP designed Bloom like a modulation instrument that had delay and reverb (Diffusion network) built around that. I mean just look at this and tell me there's another delay on the market with this elegant of a design:


And no, Melda isn't as elegant as this. It's ugly and slow.

[revvy]

Binned my FXExp software, total bummer how that all played out for customers. Still, Angus is alright at IL no? Yeah, good for him.

I use UVI Shade as my Etch replacement.

[Caine123]

i found out that the ETCH channels where i used it in the older projects are sounding more compressed/louder than my old mp3s, i need to check if i can install an older version or i dunno. the settings seem correct but maybe the comp, the limiter or whatever option is changed.

if some of you guys have old ETCH projects please check, im on FL

[LeVzi]

As far as I can tell, its working fine here.

[Caine123]

As far as I can tell, its working fine here.

thx a lot, i will analyse it and check! hope i find the issue cause there is no support

[zerocrossing]

It's sad what Angus let happen to that company. Should've just kept it his and just focused on maintaining a loyal, regular fanbase. Etch and Bloom are epic fx. There's really nothing to replace Bloom. There are ton of delays on the market, but nothing with as elegant of a modulation system as Bloom. It had step sequencers, a delay time sequencer, LFOs, envelope followers, everything in a very nice system with fast switching and visual feedback. Other delays simply have a modulation system that's added on like an afterthought. FXP designed Bloom like a modulation instrument that had delay and reverb (Diffusion network) built around that. I mean just look at this and tell me there's another delay on the market with this elegant of a design:


And no, Melda isn't as elegant as this. It's ugly and slow.

Not a 1:1 replacement, but…

https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/prod ... n_pro.html

However, I do agree that how FXPansion went down was a shame. It would have been nice to have some sort of provision to keep products alive that Roli wasn’t interested in. Same with Camel Audio. Oh well, life moves on.

[plexuss]

Possible option to Bloom?

https://hy-plugins.com/product/hy-delay4/

5 delay modes(Simple, Dual, Grain, Groove. PM) + Bypass mode
You can change process order(Delay, Amp, WS, EQ, FX1, FX2)
Drag and drop for modulation assignment
4 modulation generators(5 types)
4 macro controls
Editable waveshaper
Side-chain input for Ducker and Envelope follower
Randomizer
Re-scaleble interface
2 skin mode(Light/Dark)

Screen Shot 2022-08-14 at 9.13.29 PM.jpg

[masterhiggins]

Possible option to Bloom?

https://hy-plugins.com/product/hy-delay4/

5 delay modes(Simple, Dual, Grain, Groove. PM) + Bypass mode
You can change process order(Delay, Amp, WS, EQ, FX1, FX2)
Drag and drop for modulation assignment
4 modulation generators(5 types)
4 macro controls
Editable waveshaper
Side-chain input for Ducker and Envelope follower
Randomizer
Re-scaleble interface
2 skin mode(Light/Dark)


Screen Shot 2022-08-14 at 9.13.29 PM.jpg

Wow. I didn’t even know about that one. I’ll check it out tonight. Thanks!

[masterhiggins]

It's sad what Angus let happen to that company. Should've just kept it his and just focused on maintaining a loyal, regular fanbase. Etch and Bloom are epic fx. There's really nothing to replace Bloom. There are ton of delays on the market, but nothing with as elegant of a modulation system as Bloom. It had step sequencers, a delay time sequencer, LFOs, envelope followers, everything in a very nice system with fast switching and visual feedback. Other delays simply have a modulation system that's added on like an afterthought. FXP designed Bloom like a modulation instrument that had delay and reverb (Diffusion network) built around that. I mean just look at this and tell me there's another delay on the market with this elegant of a design:


And no, Melda isn't as elegant as this. It's ugly and slow.

Not a 1:1 replacement, but…

https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/prod ... n_pro.html

However, I do agree that how FXPansion went down was a shame. It would have been nice to have some sort of provision to keep products alive that Roli wasn’t interested in. Same with Camel Audio. Oh well, life moves on.

Yeah I have sandman pro, but I haven’t found it as inspiring (personally). The mod system doesn’t really allow for exact values for delay time, like bloom. I had such a great time sequencing delay values and hearing it glitch with that great tape/bbd delay. I made dozens of fun patches for it that are going to die when I switch systems and can no longer authorize it. Same with etch. It was so much damn fun playing with. Sure, it wasn’t the most “analog-sounding” filter or whatnot, but it was extremely useful and fun.

They were easily some of the greatest plugins I’ve used from a simple and creative standpoint. You could make surprisingly complex patches while still being easy to program. Cableguys plugins are also pretty good for that, but they have a really odd upgrade system that I quite haven’t figured out. 10 mins after upgrading to the latest shaperbox version they release paid version.

[dubguy99]

Etch was a great filter. It's really hard to find a parallel filter with complex shapes. Would be lovely if someone picked it up or developed a spiritual successor.