[A6] Re: [AH] Re: Moog/A6 - Final Tally!

[F.A.S. Truhan III]

> !! Who thought the first was the A6?
 
I'm glad you asked that question. Here's the detailed answers anyone can
check the archive for (like I just did):
 
In chronological order:
 
Pat (enmach at aol.com) Picks sample one (MiniMoog), thinks it's probably the
A6, but doesn't totally commit a guess.
 
Matthew Davidson (matthew at blank.org) Picked A6 as better sounding clip,
does not guess which synth is which.
 
Paul Wagorn (paul at wagorn.com) Picks A6 as better sounding clip, and
incorrectly guessing it's the Mini, says "The first sounds like my a6 & the
second sounds like my mini no doubt about it".
 
Chuck (vogelcheiss at vogelcheiss.com) Does not pick which is better, but
thinks the Mini is the A6, saying: "Yeah, I'd assign the first to the A6
based on the narrowness and relative non-thump of the attack." He later on
very gently tries to wiggle out of his previous vote, but it's too late
mwahahaha. ;)
 
Ryan Lunenfeld (Ahal3001 at hotmail.com), Who I might add is known to hate the
A6 after owning it, says it's not his programming skills, says it is the
fault of A6's sub-par sound, picks....can you guess it folks?
He picks the Andromeda 6 as the winner! He states: "I agree with Matthew, I
also really prefer the 2nd one. the first one sounds like it distorts too
much premixer the sounds aren't too similar imho.. they seem actually quite
different? hrm i just really don't like the first one lol:-) if it's the
mini, it's a bad mini!:-D"
You don't say Ryan, you don't say? By the way, thanks for the great new
e-mail sig. I will treasure it for a long time to come :)
 
I (Fast - vampeiyre at earthlink.net) Pick Mini as sounding better by a narrow
margin, but I think it's the A6! Whoa! I pick Mini (thinking it's A6) as
having a sharper attack, saying A6 has too much low-bass, the sort of which
I cut 1-3db off of to make room for drums in my tunes. 
 
Matrix (matrixsynth at hotmail.com) Picks Mini as winner, but does not guess
which synth is which.
 
Fiercefish (fiercefish at btinernet.com) Picks the Mini as the better synth,
but thinks it is the A6.
 
Oh (ohersch at web.de) Doesn't guess which synth is which, but says first clip
(Mini) sounds like a 4-pole filter whereas second (A6) sounds like a 2-pole
filter. I'm guessing this is his non-committal way of saying clip one
sounds better without having to commit to a solid guess and being
embarrassed if he's wrong? ;) Just kidding OH, thanks for playing!
 
Geoff Moehrke (gmoehrke at execpc.com) Picks first clip (Mini) but does not
guess which synth is which.
 
Doof (doof at deepflux.com) - Picks first clip (Mini), does not guess which
synth is which, and remarks on difference being very subtle.
 
David Bartz (bartzomatic at toast.net) Guesses after the fact, but has the
guts to admit he picked the A6 as sounding better, thinking it is the Mini.
Jeff Farr (moogah at gmail.com) is disqualified, for bravely proclaiming the
Mini the winner, but doing so ONLY AFTER the answer has already been
revealed ;)
 
Scott Metzger (scottmeztzger3d at hotmail.com), the fellow who inspired the
contest, did not make a guess (I know that makes ME wonder) and after the
fact states: "I don't think this is the best sound test to compare..."
Since it was a random sound from a random source, why is it not a good
sound test? Isn't that EXACTLY what a blind (err.....deaf) test is? 
He further states: "When I get home I will record a bass patch from the
voyager. and then someone can try to replicate it with the andy. I don't
think you will come ever close to the Voyager."
Well Scott, we already did that. :) And, of all the people who voted, it
was an even split, so we KNOW the A6 can get EXTREMELY close, some people
MISTAKING IT for the MiniMoog.
So then, why is it you didn't make a guess til after the answer was
revealed...? I picked the Mini as better, thinking it was the A6,
ironically because I thought the MiniMoog had less bass and more bright
bite.
How about, if you DO make some bass patches to see if an A6 can match them,
you mail them only to me or someone else with an A6 to try and match them,
and then we'll send them to a third party to host, and we'll let people
again blindly pick which is which? Since it's so obvious to you the Voyager
will win, you'll have nothing to lose doing it that way, right? That way we
can also make sure that you won't automatically declare the A6 the loser
not matter what, since putting out the challenge and being the only voter
would give you all the cards, wouldn't it?
Or perhaps with more intelligence and maturity we can just forget another
'test' and not waste our time, since this will never end no matter what
anyone does or guesses, you trying to start a new test proving that quite
well. 
To me, this is highly reminiscent of the debate on Pro Sound Web, where a
blind test was made to see what sounded better, Tape or Pro-Tools, and
Steve Albini whined after the fact that it was a draw.
 
So to count that, it's an effective tie.
MiniMoog as better synth? 5 votes. 
A6 as better synth? 4 votes.
HOWEVER:
3 explicitly stated they thought MiniMoog clip was the Andromeda 6 clip.
4 explicitly stated they thought the Andromeda 6 clip was the MiniMoog clip.
2 people's votes are not being counted since they did not vote until AFTER
the answer was revealed.
 
Due to the nature of the results, (Mini got more votes for better synth, A6
BEING GUESSED AS THE MINI by more people) it's likely fair to say both are
functionally equal as bass synths, and no one will be able to pick which is
which in a fully mixed tune.
It's also fair to say that since LESS THAN A DOZEN people submitted a guess
on a list with SEVERAL HUNDRED subscribers, the VAST MAJORITY of people who
praise the "Almighty Mini" and trash the "Overhyped A6" don't have the
courage of their convictions (see: bravery) to make a committed guess which
is which in a blind test. Or maybe more people actually do work at
work...nah! : P
It's also fair to say some people have been given something to think about,
since 4 people thought the A6 was the Mini, and 3 people thought the Mini
was the A6. Most of them saying rather negative things about the Mini while
thinking they were trashing the A6. Isn't that right Ryan? ;) 
So in the end, it is as it always was: Use what works for you (for more
concrete reasons or merely imaginary ones) and damn anyone else who
disagrees with you ;)
 
                                                        >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>FasT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
             "Hrm i just really don't like the first one lol:-) if it's the
mini, it's a bad mini!:-D" - Ryan Lunenfeld picking the Andromeda 6 over
the MiniMoog. DOH!