Black Corporation's take on the classic Elka Synthex lineage, the Xerxes MK2 is a modern reinterpretation rather than a straight replica, packed with features that bridge vintage warmth and contemporary control. The MK2 revision brought a completely reworked VCA section, balanced outputs, and USB audio conversion that elevates the already impressive original design.
Eight voices of polyphonic analog synthesis come from sixteen digitally controlled oscillators, two per voice, each capable of triangle, sawtooth, square, and pulse waveforms with adjustable pulse width and variable phase control. The oscillators span an unusually wide frequency range from 0.1Hz to 20kHz, and a drift control lets you introduce subtle pitch variations over time for that organic, slightly imperfect analog character. Ring modulation and pulse amplitude modulation between oscillators open up complex cross-modulation possibilities, while hard sync with phase control adds another dimension to sound design. A multimode analog filter with 24dB/octave lowpass, 12dB/octave highpass, and switchable bandpass modes sits at the heart of the signal path, responding to keyboard tracking, two ADSR envelopes, and two LFOs with six waveforms each. The analog BBD chorus, inherited from the Synthex design, offers three distinct modes and routes independently to stereo balanced outputs for true width.
The control layout emphasizes hands-on tweaking with dedicated buttons for routing modulation sources to specific parameters like oscillator pitch, filter cutoff, and amplitude. Full MIDI implementation includes polyphonic aftertouch and MPE support, making it responsive to modern controllers. The compact 4U rackmount format houses 1280 preset memories across ten banks, an OLED display for navigation, and connections for USB audio, MIDI in/out/thru, headphones, and balanced stereo outputs. Users consistently praise its sonic depth and the satisfying tactile workflow, though the learning curve reflects its comprehensive feature set rather than any design flaw.
