[A6] Addendum to wish list

[carlo mezzanotte]

Hi! This is my first message to the the A6 list (I hope I did everything correctly and the message will be displayed!)
I bought my Andromeda a couple of months ago, and in the time I've had to program it, I believe I've come to know its pros and cons fairly well. I have substantial experience as programmer, starting from the early '70s. :-)

I've followed the recent discussion about the (rather unexpected) possibility that Alesis will release an OS update, so I'd like to add my point of view.

I absolutely agree about the need of fixing bugs, or remedy to blatant omissions, before harassing Alesis with requests for new features. A latch mode for the sequencer, for example, sounds very necessary to me. Also more arpeggio modes - at least a random mode, better yet a 'dual random', as in certain Roland synths; that is, a random mode which sounds two notes at a time. It can sound very full and satisfying.

To me, the *main* omission to fix is the lack of low and high note priority for monophonic patches. I use this function on my other analog synths all the time, and I was rather bewildered when I discover that Andy doesn't have it. It is essential not only for monophonic playing, but also for building ensembles, in layers with polyphonic sounds. This shouldn't be difficult at all to implement.

The other big one is the FM bug. I know it's an hardware problem, but it *is* a bug anyway - a serious one. If it cannot be resolved with a software mod, I would gladly pay for an hardware one, a circuit swap or whatever, which would give me access to calibrated, in-tune FM. To me, this mod alone would almost double the already huge sonic possibilities of the Andy.

Lastly, I'd like to suggest an 'utility' wish, which I think would make life easier for the programmer: A page where you could scroll a list of all active modulations and C-routes, listed in alphabetical order of *source*. If you want to check a modulation from the destination, it's already fairly easy to do so. But if you forgot what LFO2 is modulating, you're pretty much on your own. 
I have this function on my Matrix-12, and it saved my life more than once. :-)

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the update!

Carlo
Rome, Italy