[A6] RE: New to list, looking for audio demos (Robert van der Kamp)

[Chad Gould]

> I'm new here, looking for reasons *not* to buy an A6. ;)
> I have a couple of simple questions, hoping not to bore you:
> 1) Is the A6 still in production after the take over of 
> Alesis?

As far as I know, yes.

> 2) Are there any good audio demos available on the net? 
> I read in the archives that the preset sounds do not respect 
> the filter clipping issue, so I'm looking for mp3 or wav 
> files that show how the A6 sounds when it's done well.

Here's 5. You'll find a lot of other cool patch demos at
http://www.code404.com/a6/audio/, but I'm showing off stuff I made. :P Note
that this synth sounds better with real recording equipment (duh), and some
of the folks on this list have better stuff. This is just straight-to-Echo
Darla.

1) http://www.code404.com/a6/audio/SWPAD-IceSpace.mp3
	(A favorite of mine. Ambient pad, BP->LP double sweep. Drone on.)
2) http://tilt.largo.fl.us/a6/SWSYNTH-Cars.mp3
	(Cars "Just What I Neeeded" standard synth sound)
3) http://www.code404.com/a6/audio/SWTheLSDXperienc.mp3
	(Bachelor pad psychadelia space. Dual filter sweep / verb / ribbon
control rez.)
4) http://tilt.largo.fl.us/a6/SWFX-SCARY.mp3
	(Showing off how odd and weird the A6 can get, if you want)
5) http://tilt.largo.fl.us/a6/SWSYNTH-Voodoo2.mp3
	("Mexican Radio" intro attempt... yeah, needs work, but its still
fun)

I actually do use a lot of the presets a lot ("Lucky Man" comes to mind and
some have provided a good base, to be honest)... I don't find the "clipping
issue" that big of a deal live, actually it seems to add a little edge in
some cases. The bigger issue is the tendency to drown presets in reverb, but
that's a problem with all synths.	

> 3) From the manual and the tips file I see that Alesis paid 
> a lot of attention to this machine. Does this also include 
> build quality of the A6? 

I've gigged with the synth now for a year. So far, no big worries. The
biggest durability issue is the plastic endcaps (got a nice hole in one of
them), and the flimsy connectors between boards. The rest of the components
are excellent - knob sturdiness (always an issue in today's synth market) is
good, the rest of the case is metal and holds up well. 
__________
CHAD GOULD