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

[Chad Gould]

On 5 Dec 2005 at 22:44, F.A.S. Truhan III wrote:
> 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.

Was this on the AH list? Hah... sounds typical. :) 

Hey, I was a kid once, too, who did some share of trainspotting an guesses. Later I 
learned that most people really don't care what the hell you use in the end (except for 
the odd ravers who fetished over the Juno 106 I had... but that's another story)... they 
just want some good sounding music, however the hell you make it. 

Thus I don't get the Minimoog fetish in certain quarters. Moogs are nice... I'm sure 
there's a difference between the Minimoog and the A6 bass sound... but trashing the 
A6 over it?

Most who do probably can't fathom the three items below:

(*) Can you mix and EQ? A wonderful bass tone from any instrument can be turned 
to mush in the wrong hands. And likewise proper mixing can turn crap to gold. 
Example: I've heard songs with great bass that clearly use the DX-100 "Solid Bass" 
patch. Yep. The sh*tty little dinky Soundblaster-wannabe synth, and the bass'll drive 
a house dance floor nuts. 

(*) If you are telling me a synth bass sucks, and your playback source is a bunch of 
low-cost monitors (like, say, those beat up Event 20/20s at Geetar Center)... forget 
making a proper bass evaluation. You need PA. Or *something*. Hell the Mackie 
SRM450 I use as an instrument monitor sometimes kicks out some nice bass from 
the A6... and this is nothing compared to proper PAs with subs and huge wattage. Or 
less... We don't have great PA at the practice studio, a bunch of JBL stuff, no subs or 
anything... but I actually have to turn down the board bass EQ so I don't step on the 
bass guitarist's toes. 

(*) Can you program? The A6 is the analog synth nerd's synth, at least short of an 
ultra-huge expensive modular. It can do a lot of things. It can go places that in most 
cases probably one shouldn't go to. It can make a helluv a lot more sounds than a 
Minimoog. And it's complicated as hell. I'm pretty cool with the interface, but I'm a 
computer nerd. Still, sometimes I do miss having one of those "quick-interface" 
synths which give you a good sound no matter what you do. (Like the Juno 106 was.) 
If you follow the Perl philosophy of "laziness, impatience, and hubris", you'll go 
frustrated with the A6. :)

The A6 is a good sounding synth, overall, to me. It may not be the synth for *you* (it's 
sound is harsher and agressive than say Rolands, unless you work a lot)... there are 
certainly many faults to the A6, and there are better synths I'm sure for many people. 
But any complete and utter trashing of it renders you as the clueless kid you are. My 
opinion. :)