[A6] potential a6 owner questions

Mon May 5 07:12:26 PDT 2003

I myself am experiencing a very steep learning curve with the A6 - it is a
deep and complex beast. It may very well be the "best" synth out there but
that doesn't mean it is right for you - I wish it were easier but I love the
sound so I have to suffer, same as I have for my Nord modular.

You must make sure you would not be happy with a Virtual Analogue. I
listened to Nords, Novation, Access, Waldorf etc and although they sound
great I just knew I was not going to be happy with a VA - especially the
filters. They are easier, cheaper, smaller and many people are very happy
with them . As a general purpose machine stuff like the korg Triton is very
popular too

Also waldorf pulse, dave smith evolver and various other smaller boxes would
be great to go with a quality master keyboard  (the A6 is good but not piano
action).

Not trying to put you off at all Chris - but make sure you NEED an A6. Its
great but I think it is a specialist tool and  there are much easier synths
to learn out there!

Richard

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Pickett" <chris.pickett at mail.mcgill.ca>
To: <a6 at code404.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2003 11:53 PM
Subject: [A6] potential a6 owner questions

> Hi,
>
> First, this might be a little off-topic for this list, but since I see
> myself as an A6 owner in the future, I was wondering if you kind people
> could help me out.
>
> I've been a DJ for 7 years, and ended up (after a long trip through just
> about all genres) getting really into deep / jazzy / vocal house;
> Masters at Work, Larry Heard, Joe Clausell, Kerri Chandler, Ron Trent,
> Moodymann, etc. etc.  I got kind of tired of all the music coming about
> 1.5 years ago, and haven't really bought any records since then, and
> actually started buying CD's again.  Never thought that would happen.
>
> Anyways, I have a couple of mixtapes that I want to master and put on
> CD.  So I bought a sound card for my laptop.  Then I decided my mixer
> wasn't good enough, so I bought a new mixer.  Then I wanted an effects
> processor for my new mixer so I bought one of those.  Then I wanted a
> BPM counter to sync my effects box accurately with my records.  At this
> point it feels like a closed system and I can be a little happy.
>
> I then (hours after promising myself that I wouldn't do any more
> shopping until those mix CD's were finished) was looking for a master
> keyboard and spent some time reading reviews and listening to the Yamaha
> S90 and Kurzweil stuff.  I wasn't too happy with the synth sounds of the
> S90 but was sold on the keyboard action (everyone said it was the best
> ever).  Then I happened upon 3DarkHours' mp3's at sonicstate.com and my
> heart skipped a few beats (and then I did the obligatory "read every
> link Google returns" thing).
>
> Basically, I've now decided I want to put together a small home studio
> and I want the A6 to be the centrepiece.  I am more interested in buying
> a few quality components than something like the MC909.  Money is not
> really an issue for me at this point.  I don't really have much
> experience with synthesizers except that I had a 303 for about a month
> (it was fun), have played a bunch with ReBirth, and played classical
> piano for 10 years.  Oh, and I love the sound of them.  But before I get
> too carried away, I really need some opinions on how to proceed in this
> whole gear buying mess.
>
> Here is my current gear list:
>
> 3 Technics SL-1500 MK2's (+/- 9.9% digital pitch control, much better
> for recording than 1200's -- not good for playing out or scratching
though).
>
> 1 Technics SL-1200 MK3 (Japanese, equivalent to MK2 over here).
>
> 3 Ortofon Nite Club cartridges + stylii.
>
> Sony MDR-Z700 DJ headphones (crap, but I wear them outside and stuff).
>
> Gemini PS626 3-channel mixer (old and crackly)
>
> Rane Empath 3-channel mixer (in the mail).
>
> Korg Kaoss Pad 2 FX processor (nice, but I don't have enough control).
>
> Red Sound Micro Sync BPM Extractor (to sync MIDI clock to live sound /
> turntables) (in the mail).
>
> Thinkpad A20p Laptop (750 MHz processor, 384 MB RAM).
>
> Digigram VXpocket V2 PCMCIA laptop soundcard (24-bit A/D and D/A).
>
> Marantz PM-62F 180W amp (home stereo stuff, about $700 U.S. to replace
> with new equivalent).
>
> 12-gauge speaker wire.
>
> Some 20-year old monitors / bookshelf speakers that sound good to me but
> I could probably do with a second pair.
>
> A Denon dual tape deck (DRW 580).
>
> =============
>
> There you have it.  I bought the VXpocket, the Kaoss Pad, the Rane
> Empath, and the Micro Sync in the last month.
>
> My question is how to proceed.  I can do all sequencing on my computer
> for now, and am leaning towards Cubase.  All the options are really
> overwhelming, and I would really like something minimal enough for me to
> learn all the pieces, but flexible enough for me to do what I want.  I
> want to be able to make jazzy, deep, funky, vocal house (not necessarily
> all at once!).  Although the sounds on sonicstate.com are pretty spacey
> / trancey, I can still hear that it will be great and a lot of fun.  I'm
> really drawn towards the A6 because it seems like something you can
> really manipulate to make all sorts of new and interesting sounds along
> with the old classics.  I love things that are complicated and look
> forward to the steep learning curve of this thing!
>
> Things I have considered:
>
> Mackie mixers (which?).  Although my Rane Empath's 3 channels are
> probably enough to start.
>
> Lexicon MPX-1 effects (seems like the best deal with the next step being
> the too-expensive-for-me PCM-81 and -91).  I might even sell my Korg
> Kaoss Pad 2, except that it's a great DJ tool.
>
> Nord Clavia Electro 2 Rack (Rhodes, B3, Wurlies, etc.)
>
> Some kind of MIDI interface (serial or parallel is better for me than
> USB) ... I have no idea how powerful an interface I need.
>
> A microphone.
>
> A sampler.
>
> The Andromeda A6 (pretty much sold on this one).
>
> A drum machine (or can the A6 do good drums?).  Should I just use some
> samples for drums for now?  Aaaaahhh, so many things to think about.
>
> The Yamaha S90 for it's keyboard action, pianos, drums, and other
> sampled intsruments.
>
> New headphones (had AKG 141's once and liked them a lot).
>
> New monitors - which?  I live in an apartment, so they can't be too
> gigantic.
>
> ===============
>
> Where do I start?  Any recommendations on a studio setup?  Anything I
> haven't thought of?  I find that the more I buy (which really isn't that
> much right now), the more I "need" to buy, and I don't want to make
> mistakes.  Is this like a common plight among gearheads or something?
> Oh yeah, my computer will be fine for recording, the unweighted S/N on
> this sound card is -94 dB.
>
> As for learning how to operate all this stuff, I ordered two books off
> Amazon:
>
> Midi for the Professional (pretty essential)
>
> Sound Reinforcement Handbook (not so essential but I'm interested in
> that stuff).
>
> Are there any other recommendations on books?  I love books.  I don't
> really know anything about analog subtractive synthesis, a book would be
> great (or some research papers, whatever).
>
> I can read through all the prior postings on this list too.
>
> Finally ... how much should I pay for an A6 these days?  Is eBay a good
> idea?
>
> Thanks very much for any advice,
> Chris Pickett
>
> P.S.  If you think I should post this somewhere else, please tell me
> where would be a good place with knowledgeable people ...
>
> P.P.S.  In case anyone cares, I'm doing an M.Sc. in Computer Science at
> McGill University.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> A6 mailing list
> A6 at code404.com
> http://code404.com/mailman/listinfo/a6
>