“If you’re after the classic late-’70s Roland string and vocal sounds and you don’t need a vocoder, X505 comes very close and then adds considerably more.”
Gordon Reid
Gordon Reid
Paraphonic Strings, Synthesizer, Bass Synth
It’s a String Machine
It’s a Synthesizer
It’s a Bass Synth
We also added a Vintage Analog Human Choir Machine (as an alternative oscillator source for the Synthesizer section) and made it possible to access numerous hidden parameters of the vintage String Machine model.
The X-505 offers all the layering and tweaking possibilities of its glorious ancestor, including its precious balance between the Strings registers, and precise balance for all the inputs of the quadruple (yes 4!) BBD Chorus unit.
More: Many hidden parameters are now exposed, and available to tweak, in the unique X-505 panels for a much wider sound palette. A juicy sounding analog Phaser and the vintage Reverb round out this awesome package.
Interesting Facts
- The RS-505 came with the same Top octave divider oscillator than the VP-330
- The original unit was advertised as ‘The Analog Orchestra!”
FEATURES
- Oscillator: The mother of all sources! One faithfully emulated, aliasing free, TOD (Top Octave Divider) Oscillator providing up to 49 voices of polyphony
- A String Section, with it’s own filter, Waveform mangling, AR settings
- A Synthesiser Section with dedicated ADSR, 24db Analog Filter with envelope and LFO modulations, various sound sources (Rocker switches) and the Second Touch special retrigger feature.
- A Human Voice Section with custom formant and balance settings.
- A Bass Section with three cumulative waveforms. Each waveform can be filtered in the BASS panel.
- One Main LFO to control the Vibrato. And another LFO freely assignable in the Modulation Matrix
- A thick sounding quadruple BBD Chorus/Ensemble unit. ( Each section has it’s own send level)
- A raw Analog Phaser effect. A Vintage Natural sounding reverb. A True Stereo Space effect.
- A Modulation Matrix, with 6 nodes addressing 14 sources and 24 destinations with access to many secret hardware parameters./span>
- A special Glide Section
- All parameters are MIDI controllable
HIGHLIGHTS
3 Sections : Bass, Synth, Strings
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Click the rocker switches to activate/deactivate oscillators for each of the three sections.
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Use the ADSR to control the VCA and VCF of the Synthesizer section, where you can switch between human voices and the standard oscillator.
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The SECOND TOUCH toggle was one of the secret weapons of this string machine! When engaged, you can retrigger the monophonic ADSR envelope, allowing one of the specific play modes these vintage units offered, and which was impossible to recreate with later polyphonic synthesizers.
Bass Panel:
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The Bass panel allows you to adjust the width of the Bass 8′ waveform as well as the various filters available to customise the Tuba, Contra Bass and Cello sounds.
MacOS
Latest Version: 1.1.1 BETA
Windows
Latest Version: 1.1.1 BETA
Request a Time Limited full license
The Time limited DEMO license:
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Time limited to 15 days
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Allowing running the full version with all its features
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Only iLok protection allowed
Request your TIME LIMITED DEMO License
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Mac OSX 10.13 and later (64 bits, Intel&Apple Silicone): VST2.4, VST3, Audio Unit, AAX (Native)
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Windows 7,8,10 and 11 (64 bits): VST2.4, VST3, AAX (native)
Testimonials
More on the Top Octave Divider technology
Like the XILS V+, the XILS 505 is based on a Top Octave Divider Oscillator.
Under this strange name is hidden the heart of almost every electronic organ or strings machine built in the 70s/80s.
It’s a very clever concept to get 49 notes or more of polyphony without having to manage 49 or more stable oscillators, or the nightmare of having to tune them in those days!
Only one square oscillator, oscillating at a very high frequency (the “Top Octave”), has to be designed, and adjusted.
This oscillator is then “divided” to provide the 12 standard tempered frequencies over 4 (or more) octaves. These frequencies are then used to build the waveform of each of the 49 or more available notes.
As a matter of fact, all the notes are kept in phase, hence there is no drift between octaves (see the videos comparison between the hardware and the software)
Another benefit is that there is only one single tuning circuit for the whole keyboard: all the notes are modulated in the same manner when you use the envelope Glide (So it’s a ‘special Glide’ here again).
This is a limitation that gives the very special, and recognisable, effect that was used by many electronic music artists back in the day.
Two other consequences:
Firstly, the attack is done after the summation of the notes. This means that after a note has been played the following notes will get the same level reached by the first note.
In other words, polyphonic attacks were not possible with the original machine, but XILS-lab, thanks to the computer world, offers you the best of both worlds: monophonic OR polyphonic attacks. That’s also called “paraphonic”!
Secondly, all the filter settings are also done after the summation of the notes. The filters (Strings, Human Voices, Basses) are therefore monophonic, which lead to a whole new, or in this case quite old, set of playing techniques, with unique sonic results that can’t be replicated on later polyphonic analog synthesizers, which had one filter per voice.
On a side note: 49 voices of polyphony wouldn’t be possible, even on todays’ computers, if the 49 specific filters had to be polyphonic too (human voices are done with up to 14 filters, strings involves 7 filters, so up to 1029 filters would have to run simultaneously!!).
So, as with the original machine, the XILS 505 has monophonic filters.
Analog Modeled Effects
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The XILS 505 is equipped with vintage Reverb and Phaser units, the reverb being part of the True Stereo Engine.
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These effects are simple, but have a strong character, and sound unique. And, if you use them, it’s just impossible to replace them with any other external effects.
True Stereo Engine:
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the dry part of the Bass, Synth and Strings, the wet part of the ensemble can be placed in the stereo field, thanks to the True Stereo Engine.
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The build-in reverb which follow offers you incomparable results.
Total Control:
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You can assign any Midi CC to any synthesis parameter to fine tune some midi parts, or achieve the most precise automation.
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You’ll also get some additional parameters that make full sense when playing music, like the possibility of controlling the speed of all Attack parameters with velocity, or the Decay/Release of all envelopes. This is the key to expressive Keys or Brass/Strings patches, but you can use this to design outrageous expressive leads as well.