[A6] How to check a used Andy?

[Paul Evenblij]

Is this already in the FAQ?
If not: isn't this a candidate for the FAQ? If people
could chime in on this, it might become a nice
checklist for buying a used or B-stock A6.

Dmitry, there is some info about this in the archives
at http://www.wohmart.com/a6/
You will need to do some searching.

Some advice:

If possible, study the manual in advance, so you're
somewhat familiar with the front panel layout.
If possible, have a copy of the manual handy while
testing.

If possible, you should give it some time to warm up,
15-20 minutes or so.
After warm-up, press AUTO TUNE twice and let it run
through its entire tuning routine.
In the display, check that all voices are tuned okay
('T')

Load the default program: make sure the machine is in
PROGRAM mode (press the PROGRAM button), then press
soft button 8 (NEWPRG in the display), and press STORE
to load the default program. This is a relatively
simple patch, which you can use to test all 16 voices.
If you now hit one key repeatedly, you can see which
voice is being played in the small bar in the display
of the PROGRAM page. All voices should sound similar.
In my experience, you might have to do another auto
tune before this is the case. (And mind you, *similar*
is NOT *identical*!)

Press all buttons at least once, and make sure they do
something - if not something audible, then at least
something in the display. Same goes for all knobs:
give them a whirl, and see if a value changes. This
may sound very basic, but remember that there's a lot
of them, and they should ALL do something!

We've heard stories of cables coming loose inside, so
make sure all this functions:
Test the pitch and mod wheel.
Test every key on the keyboard.
Test aftertouch.
Test the ribbon and the HOLD buttons.

This is all I can think of right now, by way of a
quick systematic test. Anyone else?

There may be other problems, which are much more
difficult to spot, e.g. a single bad VCA for LPF1 in
the post-filter mix for voice 13 only (my own
experience!) You might not find out about such issues
until after a month of playing with it. Unfamiliarity
with the machine might lead you to think that some
unexpected result is due to something you did wrong,
instead of a failure. In most cases, this perception
is correct :-) But it makes it difficult to spot a
real problem. If they let you, you might want to test
that new Andromeda at the dealer's as well, just so
you know what to expect.

Anyway, good luck. I hope you'll find the machine in
good working order.

Paul

===================================================
Dmitry Baikov wrote:

Hello, my name is Dmitry. I am from Moscow, Russia.
I hope to stay in this list for a long time :)

I'm going to buy used Andromeda on Friday. Can you
tell the most
effective method for checking it? Analog and digital
differences show
up even here. Digital either does work or not. Analog
can be partly
working.

Yes, I know such a complex beast better to buy new, or
at least
covered by warranty, but here in Russia, brand new
Andy (the only one,
gathering dust in the only shop of the only dealer) is
$3800
(unreachable), and I found used (spoken to be in
excellent state) for
$2200. It was bought August 2003 and used only at
home.

So, the question is: given limited amount of time,
where, how and in
which order should I check the Andy in the most
effective way?

Thank you in advance.
Dmitry.




__________________________________________________
andromizer   -  a6 patch randomizer for mac & java
http://www.knoware.nl/users/paulpaul/dm/andromizer

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