The sounds from both the Opera 6 and the Expander are of uniformly high quality, and in general they follow the Mediterranean fashion of string and brass-like textures. OPERA AUTO TEXT EXPANDER FULLfull volume as soon as a key is depressed and no release time. This dynamic control applies to the Expander as well, of course: if the envelope shaper is not directed to the VCA, it reverts to an 'organ' envelope, ie. Perhaps the most impressive feature of the Opera 6 is its velocity sensing keyboard, and the ability to direct that control parameter to override the attack time or control the overall ADSR level. There's also a keyboard tracking option that opens the filters progressively the higher you play up the keyboard, so that the timbre of your playing remains relatively constant. The filters (low-pass 24dB/octave) are impressively clean, with an even effect over their entire range, and what's more, they're refreshingly easy to adjust accurately. The oscillators can produce either ramp or pulse waves (or both), and the pulse width is fully variable, being modulated by LFO 3 - different degrees of modulation for each oscillator give an unusual phase sweep effect when you play chords, for instance. All in all, then, nothing particularly unusual in the synthesiser department: like the Opera, the Expander omits many of the most recent analogue synth innovations such as reverse or inverted envelopes, arpeggiators, sequencers and so on. Each voice has a separate filter and VCA, with standard ADSR envelope shaping. Each of the six voices has two digitally controlled oscillators, which in turn may be modulated by three LFOs. The Expander is the same internally as the Opera 6, and its voices are created and edited using the same controls. As you switch the power on, a set of LED indicators signal that the unit is ready to listen, via MIDI, to whatever the governing Opera 6 tells it to do - or what you indicate using its own calculator-style panel. The Expander is housed in a smart grey box incorporating the now customary Siel livery of pale blue outlines and red and white switches on the control panel. Basically, it's another Opera 6, without keyboard or parameter controls.
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