[A6] potential a6 owner questions

[Chris Pickett]

Answers to questions beget more questions, at least if it's me doing the 
asking . . . but thanks for the reply.

>>2.  What are the currently recommended accessories for this board?  I 
>>know that some people are using a breath controller and also a 
>>SmartMedia card or something is recommended for extra storage.  Which 
>>specific models are the best?
>>
>>    
>>
>
>  Some folk use an SRAM (*not* flash!) PCMCIA card to store patches.
>
Which specific SRAM model and size is the best?  Anybody else?

>Otherwise
>it's basically whatever MIDI or expression controllers oyu prefer.
>
>  
>
>>3.  Did they ever get the knobs and buttons to send MIDI messages?  Some 
>>guy at Harmony Central was making a big stink about that.
>>
>>    
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>
>  Yeah, they send NRPNs.
>  
>
(looked up NRPN's) Okay, I take it that means I can record knob changes 
into a sequencer.  Does that also mean there's a way to use the knobs to 
control other devices?  If not directly, can I translate the NRPN's into 
RPN's in a software sequencer?  The sheer number of knobs and buttons on 
the A6 make it appealing as a general-purpose MIDI controller.

>  
>
>>4.  If I do end up getting this sucker, do I need a sixteen channel 
>>mixer for all 16 voices?
>>    
>>
> 
>  It depends what you want to do.  If you desire separate external effects
>or whatever on every voice then yes, you will need this.  Otherwise you
>won't.
>  
>
What about just stereo imaging and EQ?  Can these be done inside on a 
per-voice basis yet?

Will I be able to do 808/909-ish drums, or is it better to get a 
dedicated drum machine?  I was looking at the XBase09 and AirBase99 
(online) but I don't know if they're able to do softer, rounder drum 
sounds or just punchy ones.

Is there any kind of user-created FAQ on the A6?  I have the official 
Alesis-released one.  I wouldn't mind helping to maintain it if I did 
get an A6.

As you can tell, I'm again reconsidering this synth.  I'm more 
interested in new sounds than anything else.  As everybody says you can 
get warmer sounds than the presets, that doesn't really bother me.  
About the instant gratification ... I think I'd be happy with whatever 
instant gratification the presets gave me (I listed a bunch I like), and 
then be willing to work to get more out of it.  I certainly don't mind 
reading all the stuff I can find on the web about subtractive synthesis 
and applying it to the A6.

Finally, what's the current best price on an A6 people have seen?  Dave, 
did you manage to get yours into Canada without paying a bunch of duty 
and tax?

Thanks for all the responses everyone,
Chris