Questions for Europa users

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exxx
Posts: 154
Joined: 12 Sep 2016

12 Oct 2017

Expanse is on a monumental sale during the Rizon Beta period.

I want to choose one of them.

I would like to hear from Europa users.

Is Europa usable when compared to expanse?

Would Europa be okay if I had Parsec?

I want to know if there is a frequency cut of more than 16k.

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Oquasec
Posts: 2849
Joined: 05 Mar 2017

12 Oct 2017

Europa has similar features as expanse, but lacks that drag and drop thing for wavetables.
Synths don't have a cutoff unless you use a filter for filtering, or if it was programmed to have an inbuilt rolloff at 16k. :lol:
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esselfortium
Posts: 1456
Joined: 15 Jan 2015
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12 Oct 2017

Personally I find Europa much more approachable and fun to program. Both synths are extremely capable, but Expanse tends to feel a bit overwhelming to me with so many options piled everywhere. Europa is still feature-packed but really easy to learn your way around, and it takes no time at all to get super lush tones from it.
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theshoemaker
Posts: 595
Joined: 21 Nov 2015
Location: Germany
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12 Oct 2017

Europa has a better UI. Can be programmed very easy and has less options compared to Expanse. I'd say Expanse is more feature complete.
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chimp_spanner
Posts: 2908
Joined: 06 Mar 2015

12 Oct 2017

Yeah Europa I'd say is more instant gratification. Everything is there within easy reach, but the tradeoff is that there aren't quite so many features. With eXpanse the more you dig around the more features you find (like the somewhat-hidden spectral EQ, CC sequencer, wavetable import and morphing modes, deep envelope editing).

They're different enough to stand on their own merits though. I get sounds with Europa I can't with eXpanse and vice versa!

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AzureEyes
Posts: 215
Joined: 23 Aug 2016

13 Oct 2017

I think Europa isn't quite like Expanse. It has its own sound and feature set that keep it separate from Expanse. They're both phenomenal instruments but the Spectral filter in Europa just is sooooooo cool. I also hope they eventually add wavetable loading. Maybe more stuff taken from Parsec in terms of spectral filtering :)

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Loque
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Posts: 11176
Joined: 28 Dec 2015

13 Oct 2017

AzureEyes wrote:
13 Oct 2017
I think Europa isn't quite like Expanse. It has its own sound and feature set that keep it separate from Expanse. They're both phenomenal instruments but the Spectral filter in Europa just is sooooooo cool. I also hope they eventually add wavetable loading. Maybe more stuff taken from Parsec in terms of spectral filtering :)

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eXpanse 3.0 will have:
Oscillator Spectral EQ:
A spectral EQ is available for each oscillator independently. You can draw a curve the same way as with the envelopes, creating your own filter curve. The EQ has frequency (offset) and depth (gain) modulation capability. You can route Keyboard to EQ offset to achieve a consistent mod. Check out the presets in the Alt-click menu for examples.
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AzureEyes
Posts: 215
Joined: 23 Aug 2016

13 Oct 2017

Loque wrote:
AzureEyes wrote:
13 Oct 2017
I think Europa isn't quite like Expanse. It has its own sound and feature set that keep it separate from Expanse. They're both phenomenal instruments but the Spectral filter in Europa just is sooooooo cool. I also hope they eventually add wavetable loading. Maybe more stuff taken from Parsec in terms of spectral filtering :)

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eXpanse 3.0 will have:
Oscillator Spectral EQ:
A spectral EQ is available for each oscillator independently. You can draw a curve the same way as with the envelopes, creating your own filter curve. The EQ has frequency (offset) and depth (gain) modulation capability. You can route Keyboard to EQ offset to achieve a consistent mod. Check out the presets in the Alt-click menu for examples.
Totally different concept and idea then what Europa does. That's just an EQ. While Europa's is an actual additive process and can do do much more then a conventional filter!

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Loque
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Posts: 11176
Joined: 28 Dec 2015

13 Oct 2017

AzureEyes wrote:
13 Oct 2017
Loque wrote: eXpanse 3.0 will have:
Totally different concept and idea then what Europa does. That's just an EQ. While Europa's is an actual additive process and can do do much more then a conventional filter!

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The Spectral Filter is the same. You mean the Harmonics? Dont forget, eXpanse has a harmonic editor.
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electrofux
Posts: 863
Joined: 21 Jan 2015

13 Oct 2017

CPU usage might also be a point to consider.

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AzureEyes
Posts: 215
Joined: 23 Aug 2016

13 Oct 2017

Loque wrote:
AzureEyes wrote:
13 Oct 2017
Totally different concept and idea then what Europa does. That's just an EQ. While Europa's is an actual additive process and can do do much more then a conventional filter!

Sent from my SM-S907VL using Tapatalk
The Spectral Filter is the same. You mean the Harmonics? Dont forget, eXpanse has a harmonic editor.
It's not the same thing. It's not even really a filter. It's additive synthesis hence why the harmonics section processes it and you can draw your own filter curve [emoji23] also the harmonics editor in Expanse is totally different. Oranges and apples.

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eXode
Posts: 838
Joined: 11 Feb 2015

13 Oct 2017

AzureEyes wrote:
13 Oct 2017
Loque wrote:
The Spectral Filter is the same. You mean the Harmonics? Dont forget, eXpanse has a harmonic editor.
It's not the same thing. It's not even really a filter. It's additive synthesis hence why the harmonics section processes it and you can draw your own filter curve [emoji23] also the harmonics editor in Expanse is totally different. Oranges and apples.

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FYI: The upcoming eXpanse 3.0 update (as outlined in the public beta thread) features a spectral EQ, that is what Loque is talking about. The spectral EQ allows you to draw various curves to process the harmonic content. It's not quite comparable to a regular EQ. It's also possible to modulate the offset for some interesting results.
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EdGrip
Posts: 2343
Joined: 03 Jun 2016

13 Oct 2017

Europa is very inviting, but I also remember finding eXpanse very friendly when I trialed it. It's an easy synth to program, given the depth. It is more demanding of CPU then Europa. They are both synth gems that should make non-Reason players jealous!

Hauser+Quaid
Posts: 147
Joined: 06 Jun 2017

13 Oct 2017

I haven't tried eXpanse but I understand it's features. To me they're kind of like apples and oranges. Or maybe apples and pears. To me the two share more differences than similarities.

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AzureEyes
Posts: 215
Joined: 23 Aug 2016

14 Oct 2017

eXode wrote:
AzureEyes wrote:
13 Oct 2017
It's not the same thing. It's not even really a filter. It's additive synthesis hence why the harmonics section processes it and you can draw your own filter curve [emoji23] also the harmonics editor in Expanse is totally different. Oranges and apples.

Sent from my SM-S907VL using Tapatalk
FYI: The upcoming eXpanse 3.0 update (as outlined in the public beta thread) features a spectral EQ, that is what Loque is talking about. The spectral EQ allows you to draw various curves to process the harmonic content. It's not quite comparable to a regular EQ. It's also possible to modulate the offset for some interesting results.
I am aware of this. I'm in the beta! A spectral Filter is different then a spectral Eq. Different design in both!


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Tumble
Posts: 175
Joined: 16 Jan 2015

15 Oct 2017

A big plus for eXpanse is that you have customizable amp envelope (and with beat division sync). In Europa you can route the engines in to envelopes, but they still have to go through the fixed amp envelope, so that sucks.

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Olivier
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Posts: 1248
Joined: 15 Jan 2015
Location: Amsterdam

15 Oct 2017

Just a headsup considering talking about stuff thats in the beta on public forums.

Our rules state: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7500911

Special Beta Guidelines:
  1. No beta questions or answers outside their designated beta forums.
This is also reiterated in the welcome to the beta forum post.
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