ACME Synthworks opens preorders for XP60, an analog synth based on the Oberheim Xpander

ACME Synthworks has opened preorders for the XP60, a six-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer built on the architecture and operating logic of the Oberheim Xpander. Pricing starts at around €2,699, with shipping expected to begin in October 2026, according to Synthtopia.

Developed by Markus Malik, the XP60 is aimed at the high end of the market. It recreates the original's sound and deep analog structure in a modern 19-inch-wide desktop enclosure, offered in dark and creamy white versions. Malik calls the Xpander a "fundamentally well-thought-out system" whose architecture still deserves to exist in hardware.

Each voice has two analog VCOs and a 15-mode analog multimode filter, with a signal path centred on the AS3372 chip and tuned toward the character of later Rev D units. Modulation follows the original concept, with five LFOs and five envelopes per voice, and a Turbo Mode raises the speed of the LFOs, lag processors and envelopes by roughly 50%. An original-style dual-processor design keeps the page-based programming workflow, and the maker says the synth works with Xplorer, the Xpander SysEx editor. The display has three sections, in OLED, VFD or LCD configurations, navigated with modern switches and encoders.

Connections include six individual voice outputs, CV and Gate inputs for every voice, five-pin MIDI In, Out and Thru, stereo or mono line outputs, a headphone output with a dedicated four-setting amplifier, and trigger and pedal inputs.

The Oberheim Xpander was introduced in 1984 and is still regarded as one of the most flexible synthesizers ever made.