Xpand! was the first instrument to be released by Digidesign’s AIR group The AIR group is the team of people previously known as Wizoo, a pioneering developer of virtual instruments, sample libraries, and real-time effects led by three principals, including legendary film composer, Hanz Zimmer.
In August 2005, Digidesign acquired Wizoo and AIR was born.
Updated October 2009: Over the last few days I’ve tried to find Xpand at the Avid site but it doesn’t appear to be available. This may change in the future. However, keep in mind that Pro Tools 8 includes Xpand!2 and it has all of the sounds from Xpand! and more.
You can download the Xpand! plug-in here at the Digidesign website. Then go to the DigiStore to purchase (for $0.00) the Xpand! CD-ROM. The plug-in and 600MB sound library are free. Shipping is $9.95.
The official blurb
Xpand! is a free RTAS sample-playback/synthesis workstation that provides fast, efficient ways to access and manipulate thousands of high-quality sounds directly from within Pro Tools.
It offers virtual analog, FM, and wavetable synthesis; sample playback; virtual tonewheels; and effects. Start with any of the more than 1,000 factory patches and then fine-tune the four component sound parts to craft anything from pristine-sounding acoustic instruments to complex synthesized soundscapes or loop-driven techno tracks. Built for songwriters, film composers, DJs, electronic musicians, music producers, and sound designers, Xpand! is a sonic powerhouse that will become an indispensable component of any Pro Tools environment.
Xpand! Features
- Comprehensive sound factory for all musical styles and applications
- More than 1,000 factory patches and 500 combinable part presets
- Four layer-able parts for millions of combinations
- Multi-synthesis engine
- 64-note polyphony
- Quick and easy sound tweaking
- Sample playback and virtual tonewheels
- Two built-in effect sections and four arpeggiators/phrase generators
- Highly efficient on system resources
How do you get it?
Xpand! includes a 600MB library of samples. That can make for a lot of bandwidth expense on Digidesign’s part. So what they’ve done is put the plug-in in the Digistore where you can “buy” it for zero dollars. They’ll send you the CDROM with the library on it. You will, however, have to pay the $9.95 cost for shipping and handling. More than fair, if you ask me.
