[A6] Re: Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer
KISSINGER, JEFFREY S
jkissing at fccj.edu
Wed Mar 16 07:14:48 PST 2005
The Virus is more versatile and a great companion to the A6. The A6 is
analog, meaty, organic, and just plain fun to play and hear. -Jeff
-----Original Message-----
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Of a6-request at code404.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 10:02 AM
To: a6 at code404.com
Subject: A6 Digest, Vol 115, Issue 19
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Today's Topics:
1. Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer (Royalston)
2. Re: Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer (Chris Pickett)
3. Re: Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer (Dave Scrimenti)
4. Re: Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer (Doug Pearson)
5. Re: Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer (Richard)
6. Re: Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer (Demokid)
7. re: A6 sine osc (leo)
8. Re: How to check a used Andy? (Paul Evenblij)
9. Sine osc post-filter follow-up (Mike Schultz)
10. Re: How to check a used Andy? (Demokid)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:13:49 +1100
From: Royalston <royalston at swiftdsl.com.au>
Subject: [A6] Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer
To: a6 at code404.com
Message-ID: <4551EA2B-95B0-11D9-963D-000A95CDA40C at swiftdsl.com.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
Hi
Im looking at getting an A6. it looks like an amazing synth...but I'd
like to hear the opinions of all you actually users - not the press
releases.
How does it sound?
How does it compare to an Access Virus C (if you have heard one)?
Are the memory cards easy to get?
Any information/ opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Im from Australia and I cant even find one to go and play on and
test... there isn't one available in Sydney!
Thanks
Royalston
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 19:44:01 -0500
From: Chris Pickett <chris.pickett at mail.mcgill.ca>
Subject: Re: [A6] Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer
To: Royalston <royalston at swiftdsl.com.au>, A6 List <a6 at code404.com>
Message-ID: <42378151.7010909 at mail.mcgill.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
See www.wohmart.com/a6/audio for samples.
Cheers,
Chris
Royalston wrote:
> Hi
> Im looking at getting an A6. it looks like an amazing synth...but I'd
> like to hear the opinions of all you actually users - not the press
> releases.
> How does it sound?
> How does it compare to an Access Virus C (if you have heard one)?
> Are the memory cards easy to get?
>
> Any information/ opinions would be greatly appreciated.
> Im from Australia and I cant even find one to go and play on and
test...
> there isn't one available in Sydney!
>
> Thanks
> Royalston
>
> _______________________________________________
> A6 mailing list
> A6 at code404.com
> http://mailman.code404.com/mailman/listinfo/a6
>
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 19:57:42 -0500
From: "Dave Scrimenti" <dscrimenti at adelphia.net>
Subject: Re: [A6] Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer
To: <a6 at code404.com>, "Royalston" <royalston at swiftdsl.com.au>
Message-ID: <004701c529c3$28996430$1302a8c0 at COTU>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I like it, but that doesn't mean you will. There are a lot of stores
here in
America that will let you try it for a while. And if you don't care for
it,
send it back for a full refund. Of course, you'll unfortunately lose the
shipping. But with an investment this large, I think it's the only way
to
go. I don't think you'll be disappointed, but it's good to have the
return
option. The A6 is a great compromise between the warm sound of a true
analog
and the versatility of a virtual.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Royalston" <royalston at swiftdsl.com.au>
To: <a6 at code404.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2005 7:13 PM
Subject: [A6] Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer
> Hi
> Im looking at getting an A6. it looks like an amazing synth...but I'd
> like to hear the opinions of all you actually users - not the press
> releases.
> How does it sound?
> How does it compare to an Access Virus C (if you have heard one)?
> Are the memory cards easy to get?
>
> Any information/ opinions would be greatly appreciated.
> Im from Australia and I cant even find one to go and play on and
> test... there isn't one available in Sydney!
>
> Thanks
> Royalston
>
> _______________________________________________
> A6 mailing list
> A6 at code404.com
> http://mailman.code404.com/mailman/listinfo/a6
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 19:44:59 -0800
From: Doug Pearson <jasret at mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: [A6] Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer
To: a6 at code404.com
Message-ID: <6.2.0.14.1.20050315193319.02e5ebe0 at pop.mindspring.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
At 04:13 PM 3/15/2005, Royalston <royalston at swiftdsl.com.au> wrote:
>Hi
>Im looking at getting an A6. it looks like an amazing synth...but I'd
like
>to hear the opinions of all you actually users - not the press
releases.
>How does it sound?
The big issue with the sound is that it distorts very easily, which a
lot
of people don't like. Both the oscillator (especially) and filter
levels
need to be turned way down to not distort. I think it sounds as good as
any classic analog polysynth, and can come very close to the character
of
most of them, if that's what you're looking for. It does not sound as
"big" as most monosynths (which can be a bit disconcerting when playing
in
a band with an analog monosynth), but I see that as a plus when it comes
to
actually fitting sounds in a mix.
>How does it compare to an Access Virus C (if you have heard one)?
Never played one, but onstage and on record, they sound VA to my ears.
A6
doesn't sound VA.
>Are the memory cards easy to get?
You'll probably have to get one by mail order, but the horrible shape of
the US$ will probably make it worth it to order one from this country.
>Any information/ opinions would be greatly appreciated.
>Im from Australia and I cant even find one to go and play on and
test...
>there isn't one available in Sydney!
Where's Colin Chung located? Or Anthony Wright (Ashera)? Those are the
only Australian A6 owners I can think of ...
-Doug (back on the list after a year and a half or so)
jasret at mindspring.com
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 08:45:41 +0100
From: "Richard" <richard at chorlton.com>
Subject: Re: [A6] Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer
To: <a6 at code404.com>, "Doug Pearson" <jasret at mindspring.com>
Message-ID: <001501c529fc$2ca9a560$0401a8c0 at FUNKYBOX>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=response
Well you should tell us what kind of sounds you like... what are you
looking
for?
this said I can't imagine many people not liking its sound - as a
machine it
has a few bugs and limitations - but soundwise it rules. It can "do"
moog,
oberhiem, roland, vintage strings and keys, even some digi virus-type
sounds, can sound lush, smooth, warm, rough, soft, hard, thin, cool, it
can
sound ancient, modern... so, how does it sound? It sounds f-ing great...
extremely liquid, lush, articulate and textural... and it will pretty
much
make any softsynth or VA you put next to it sound weedy and feeble
oh and the mixer is a super flexible and unique FEATURE not a limitation
(how is unheard of flexibilty a limitation -unless you are too lazy to
learn
how to use it? There, got that off my chest....!)
unless you are really looking for a thinner bright Sequential Circuits
curtis sound (in which case get a polyevolver) or digi synth which will
do
Nord, FS1R or Waldorf type stuff then I can't think of any reason the
Andro
would not give you sonic delight
Richard
----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Pearson" <jasret at mindspring.com>
To: <a6 at code404.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 4:44 AM
Subject: Re: [A6] Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer
> At 04:13 PM 3/15/2005, Royalston <royalston at swiftdsl.com.au> wrote:
>>Hi
>>Im looking at getting an A6. it looks like an amazing synth...but I'd
like
>>to hear the opinions of all you actually users - not the press
releases.
>>How does it sound?
>
> The big issue with the sound is that it distorts very easily, which a
lot
> of people don't like. Both the oscillator (especially) and filter
levels
> need to be turned way down to not distort. I think it sounds as good
as
> any classic analog polysynth, and can come very close to the character
of
> most of them, if that's what you're looking for. It does not sound as
> "big" as most monosynths (which can be a bit disconcerting when
playing in
> a band with an analog monosynth), but I see that as a plus when it
comes
> to actually fitting sounds in a mix.
>
>>How does it compare to an Access Virus C (if you have heard one)?
>
> Never played one, but onstage and on record, they sound VA to my ears.
A6
> doesn't sound VA.
>
>>Are the memory cards easy to get?
>
> You'll probably have to get one by mail order, but the horrible shape
of
> the US$ will probably make it worth it to order one from this country.
>
>>Any information/ opinions would be greatly appreciated.
>>Im from Australia and I cant even find one to go and play on and
test...
>>there isn't one available in Sydney!
>
> Where's Colin Chung located? Or Anthony Wright (Ashera)? Those are
the
> only Australian A6 owners I can think of ...
>
> -Doug (back on the list after a year and a half or so)
> jasret at mindspring.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> A6 mailing list
> A6 at code404.com
> http://mailman.code404.com/mailman/listinfo/a6
>
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:17:52 +0100
From: "Demokid" <demokid at home.se>
Subject: Re: [A6] Opinions on the A6 for a prospective Buyer
To: <a6 at code404.com>
Message-ID: <007c01c52a11$6aff1600$2a45fea9 at hotsip.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=response
>
> unless you are really looking for a thinner bright Sequential Circuits
> curtis sound (in which case get a polyevolver) or digi synth which
will do
> Nord, FS1R or Waldorf type stuff then I can't think of any reason the
> Andro would not give you sonic delight
>
> Richard
I hope you talk about the Polyevolver only and not old Sequential
Circuits
hi end sizers?
I own a Prophet~5 (rev 3.31) and it is my favourite poly sizer, even
beats
my OB-8. The P5 doesn't sound thin. It sounds warmer, organic and fatter
then the A6. I don't say the A6 sounds thin I love my A6 but it doesn't
come
close to the sound of an old classic sizers like my P5, OB-8, JP8. I try
not
to compare the A6 with old vintage sizers, it is a unique instrument and
it
kicks all VA stuff on the market right now. :)
Regards
Demokid
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 12:42:08 +0100
From: leo <leo.lydia at wanadoo.nl>
Subject: [A6] re: A6 sine osc
To: a6 at code404.com
Message-ID: <42381B90.30708 at wanadoo.nl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
two points greatly disturb me in the previous discussion:
1 some people seem to react allergic to any comment concerning the A6
,that is slightly beside discribing it's perfect
( come on folks we're grown ups and don't have stocks at neumark)
2 the comments become unreadable due to the fact that all previous post
are repeated and repeated. please delete them before writing and sending
back your comment.
( hope people don't suggest now that when i don't like these two points
i'd better sell my a6 and move to alaska ,suspect we're more
intelligent then that.)
friendly greetings, leo
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 13:33:37 +0000 (GMT)
From: Paul Evenblij <radioflux at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Re: [A6] How to check a used Andy?
To: a6 at code404.com, dsbaikov at gmail.com
Message-ID: <20050316133337.80594.qmail at web25704.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
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
Send instant messages to your online friends
http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 09:39:02 -0500
From: Mike Schultz <mschultz at xogenus.com>
Subject: [A6] Sine osc post-filter follow-up
To: a6 at code404.com
Message-ID: <42384506.4010201 at xogenus.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
OK, so the crickets responded loudly to my post about this (post-filter
sines being distorted), which suggested that I overlooked something,
which, of course, I did.
Osc 2 sine isn't very sine-like when hard sync is on. Duh. Please
disregard, there is no relevance to the original sine wave discussion.
Mike
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 16:01:54 +0100
From: "Demokid" <demokid at home.se>
Subject: Re: [A6] How to check a used Andy?
To: <a6 at code404.com>
Message-ID: <008601c52a39$18f77460$2a45fea9 at hotsip.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
This is something that is valid not only for buying an A6 but for buying
a
vintage analogue sizers in general.
1. Before you go and check out the sizer try to learn as much as
possible
about the instrument. Use the internet, discussion forums. You might get
tip
what to look out for, known issues on certain models or revisions.
2. Check the physical condition. If a sizer is in good mint condition it
usually means that the owner has taken good care of the instrument. (but
not
always)
3. Test every knob and button on the sizer, especially VCO tuning,
Cut-off
and resonance knobs since they are used a lot.
4. Check that the modulation/pitch wheels or what ever is used to
modulate
or pitch the instrument.
5. Check that all keys on the keyboard work (no dead keys or double
trig).
If the keyboard has velocity and after-touch then check that every key
send
velocity/AT.
6. Check that the sizer can be tuned using Master-tune against another
instrument or 440Hz source. (sometimes the synth is so un-calibrated
that
the Master-tune scale is not enough) I usually bring my own portable
guitar
tuner.
7. Check that it is possible to tune the VCO's and that they scale
correctly
over the entire keyboard.
8. Check headphones, and audio inputs/outputs, expression inputs.
9. Create your own sound and store it. Select a sound then select your
own
sound (if the sizer has memories). Confirm that it is possible to store
sounds.
10. Turn off the sizer for 5-10 minutes. Turn on the sizer and check
tuning
(e.g. auto-tune), check that your sound still is remembered.
Kind regards
Demokid
------------------------------
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