[A6] 2.0

[Michael E. Caloroso]

> I wonder if it is possible to get the source code from Alesis. They are not
> supporting the product so why not let the OS be an open source.

Alesis won't release it.  Trade secrets and proprietary techniques and all.

We asked them this over a year ago.  The answer was no.

> I have a Roland Jupiter-6, last year I upgraded it with Europa MIDI from
> www.synthcom.com . Now my JP6 can send/receive SysEx and all knobs, sliders
> and buttons send CC.

You're talking about instruments that were designed twenty years apart.

The JP6 did not have multitimbrality, sequencer, velocity and pressure sensitive keyboard, extensive modulation system, software oscillator, filter, and VCA calibration, software generated LFOs, EGs, and tracking generator, flash memory I/O, PC card I/O, menu system with LCD driver code, and so much more.  And the custom VCO and VCF chips are not simple CV controlled either, there is no documentation on controlling these chips from the outside.

Reverse engineering an instrument that is this complex would be a *HUGE* task.  And you have to perform regression testing when you change the code.  I am an EE with both electronic and software skills and I would not want to invest the effort alone.  It would take an army of engineers and the ROI wouldn't come close to the time spent on the project.

MC