What does an Andromeda do better?

[Kola]

Hi mate,

Thanks for the reply. Is there not a simple formula like for the osc's

IE - Osc's can not be > 30 combined.

Is there nothing like that for the Sub's. Im very surprised Don didn't mention this as he has given some crucial advice in this thread.

[CoolColJ]

Well if you want the sound of something an octave under keep the sub under 37.
If you want a fat sounding saw, use about 37.5 or around there
Any higher and you'll just hear the the sub mostly

[Kola]

Thanks man,

So what you are saying is if the oscillators are set to a combined 30 or less you can set the sub oscillator by ear really as the biggest problem with it is it will over power the main oscillator as opposed cause any waveshaping.


Im quite paranoid about this now mate. I used to own an Andromeda but thought it sounded terrible quite simply because I set the Osc's volumes to max and as such missed the entire point of this synth.
As I have said many times in this thread and others have repeated me on, I cant believe the <30 thing isn't wrote in thick black ink on the front of the manual as it makes the difference like night and day to the sound.

Im now considering buying another but need to get all this stuff right in my head.

[CoolColJ]

The sub level isn't an oscillator volume control, it's like a balance knob, between the main and sub tone

I was one of the first guys to figure out this level thing. I bought an A6 when they first came out, and I tested the A6 with sinewave and a scope and could see the wave flatten out.
I don't think the Alesis guys knew just how much this was happening, otherwise why are all the presets pegged at 100% volume?

Pre-filter, post filter and VCA level will all clip separately. Clip all 3 and it sounds like what you hear from the presets
I'll see if I can get an audio clip up showing you the differences. It's not like in your face distortion, but it does change the sound

When I did this clip, I maxed out every volume level on the A6
You can hear the grit and fuzz, and an element that hurts your ears
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/attac...drummerboy.mp3

[Kola]

I see, so the sub osc doesn't contribute to the sound design and instead just borrows from the main osc and plays it an octave or whatever below? Is that correct?

Dont need to hear a clip re how plastic the Andy can sound mate. I sold mine because I thought it was terrible. Like 80% of people ever to touch and Andy I no doubt made this decision down to setting things too high what I see more as an Alesis problem as an end user mistake.
Only the very technical like yourself would ever have worked that out and on behalf of the entire Andy community I thank you and others like you.

Pre-filter, post filter and VCA level will all clip separately

So I got the setting the combined Oscs to < 30. ANy suggestions for the pre filter, post filer and VCA


Thanks for your help man, appreciated.

[CoolColJ]

Originally Posted by Kola

I see, so the sub osc doesn't contribute to the sound design and instead just borrows from the main osc and plays it an octave or whatever below? Is that correct?

Dont need to hear a clip re how plastic the Andy can sound mate. I sold mine because I thought it was terrible. Like 80% of people ever to touch and Andy I no doubt made this decision down to setting things too high what I see more as an Alesis problem as an end user mistake.
Only the very technical like yourself would ever have worked that out and on behalf of the entire Andy community I thank you and others like you.



So I got the setting the combined Oscs to < 30. ANy suggestions for the pre filter, post filer and VCA


Thanks for your help man, appreciated.

I was going to make a clip showing the difference between clipped and not clipped

Osc is pre filter.

Post filter is total 40 or so, depending on the filter routing.
If the filters are in series, it can sound good driving one filter into the 2nd one. In this case, 12db into the 24db.
If in parallel , 40. Also if you using feedback as a resonance boost when in series, then the louder the filters are set in the post filter, the more they self-oscillate

Output level/VCA - 80. You can either set this in the VCA envelope, just set it's max level to 80, or at the patch's volume level with the far right volume knob

[kilon]

Originally Posted by Kola

I see, so the sub osc doesn't contribute to the sound design and instead just borrows from the main osc and plays it an octave or whatever below? Is that correct?

If the oscilators are not synced hard, then sub osc can play a fundamental role in the sound design. Also it plays very well both with fm and rm.

[The Real MC]

Originally Posted by CoolColJ

The sub level isn't an oscillator volume control, it's like a balance knob, between the main and sub tone

I was one of the first guys to figure out this level thing. I bought an A6 when they first came out, and I tested the A6 with sinewave and a scope and could see the wave flatten out.
I don't think the Alesis guys knew just how much this was happening, otherwise why are all the presets pegged at 100% volume?

Pre-filter, post filter and VCA level will all clip separately. Clip all 3 and it sounds like what you hear from the presets
I'll see if I can get an audio clip up showing you the differences. It's not like in your face distortion, but it does change the sound

Agreed, but in my experience the summation of premix levels < 30 doesn't equate to good sound.

I went through my A6 and found some patches just didn't have the punch and fullness as their original hot levels. They weren't maxxed out to 100 either.

[qtuner]

Originally Posted by The Real MC

Agreed, but in my experience the summation of premix levels < 30 doesn't equate to good sound.

I went through my A6 and found some patches just didn't have the punch and fullness as their original hot levels. They weren't maxxed out to 100 either.

I interpret the <30 premix level rule to be more of a guideline. Your ears should be the final judge.

[CoolColJ]

Originally Posted by The Real MC

Agreed, but in my experience the summation of premix levels < 30 doesn't equate to good sound.

I went through my A6 and found some patches just didn't have the punch and fullness as their original hot levels. They weren't maxxed out to 100 either.

It depends

for example if you use the 12db at high resonance, the sound will staturate. And then I'll go as low as <10 on the osc levels to get a snappier and bonkier tone, rather than a squashed sound

[payt]

What does an andromeda do better? Good question.. it's pretty good at being an Andromeda. I don't think there's a synth like it, really. It can do a couple of things i haven't heard many other analogs do.. like the way it does a mellotron choir pretty convincingly. Also, the way some sounds are on the verge of distortion, and alive they sound.. like the dirty calliope (sp?) preset. Maybe other synths can come close, but i'd say it's pretty unique to the Andy.

I will say that it's perhaps not as instantly accessible as say a jupiter 6/8 or a P5 or a minimoog.. it takes a bit more effort to get the exact sound you want. That's the price you pay for flexibility, as i guess anyone who has worked with a modular will agree. Still, you can save a lot of time by programming some default basic patches, some starting points, and from there it's pretty easy to get something going.

Having said all that, any synth is as good as the one who is playing it. You can have the fattest synth in the universe, but if you can't make any good music with it, then what's the point? If you can't make cool music with the Andy, then i guess a Jupiter 8 isn't going to save you either.

I have to say the Andy inspires me to no end. There's nothing like programming a really expressive sound and just playing away on it. In that respect the A6 represents a modern day CS80 to me. It has such dynamic range and such expressiveness, combined with the living sound and the at times sparkly nature of the filters.. well it's beyond description really. I have a P08 too, as well as a Juno 60, and i used to have jupiter 6, and as cool as those synths are, they don't take me to the same realm the Andy does.

So that's what makes the A6 unique to me. If it doesn't work for you, well that's fine with me

[Kola]

A huge thing for me is not to mimic other analogues (Why not just buy what your trying to mimic??) but the fact this is the only 16 part multitimbral analogue synth ever made as far as im aware.

Not any other analogues that you can compose and entire tune on without having to immortalise to tape/DAW first what is no good to me as I like to develop the sound of the individual tracks as the rest of the track comes together.

Being 16 part multi is a huge thing for me.

[CoolColJ]

Here is the audio clips of my A6 set at "optimum" levels as discussed and then everything maxed out.

Single sawtooth, then you can hear me tweak the sub-osc from zero to 100%. It just changes the balance between the sub-osc and the main waveform.
After that I just leave it at 25, engage chord mode and increase the resonance of the 12db filter which saturates the waveforms.
But the level increase also overdrives the into the 24db filter as I'm running them in series. Both filters set to about 12 khz

You should be able to hear the difference.

[sunny pedaal]

what does he do better?:

its modulation possibilities
its weight, carry-able as a polyanalog as opposed to cs80 and so
reliability , also as opposed to 30 years older analog poly synth's
filter possibilities
build in effect, handy for live
the great ribbon controller, assignable knobs, 2 wheels freely assignable, great for live playing
velocity+release/ aftertouch in combination with polyanalog sound
the combination of all this and more in one good affordable machine plus many different nice sound possibilities with lots of knobs and buttons
not many like that around with the same specs

only downside i see is that you have to work hard and know what you are doing , to polish the sound to be real good

[Kola]

Guys seriously, I wouldn't bother trying to convince the rest of the world the Andy is good and worthy.

Synths are just tools. As such some will love hammer and chisel combo A and some hammer and chisel combo B.

If the Andy is the tool for you then superb. What do I care if no one else in the world likes it.

I had the Virus Ti that everyone bangs on about. I bloody hated it. It has to be the most bloated synth I have ever used with 10 trillion presets all sounding the same etc.
I much prefer the Nord Leads simplistic and very lean approach without even any FX.
However the Ti has a huge following and you know what, people use it to great affect to make music that I really love and enjoy. So can I say its a kak synth, no, I cant. But I wouldn't have one given too me unless I could sell it straight away.

I realised these type of arguments make forums go around and the internet in general and you can apply this to way beyond synths, like car manufacturers, breeds of dog and even what shampoo. But at the end of the day its what works for one that matters.

Try not to give a hoot what others think. I dont.

[cdog]

I think if I had until the end of my life to probe every possible combination of the Andromeda A6 and my Eventide H8000, I still wouldnt find them all.

The Andromeda is an instrument which frustrates me at times, but never bores me. For that I hate it, forgive it, and love it deeply.

[Retrofreak]

The Andromeda is as dope as the man/woman behind it.

[Kola]

Not sure what dope means but a great human with a pants tool will still yield a better result than a great tool with no human at all.

For best results a great tool and a great human is recommend.

You can apply this to anything, from brick laying to building the space shuttle

[sunny pedaal]

Originally Posted by Kola

Guys seriously, I wouldn't bother trying to convince the rest of the world the Andy is good and worthy.
Try not to give a hoot what others think. I dont.

strange remarks which i don't really understand.
to me somebody asks a question and i simply reply.
i don't have to convince myself either, not that i keep the a6, nor that i sold it.
hope it's the same for you

[Kola]

Wasnet aimed specifically at you sunny peddle.

But all the internet is riddled with what synth can pee higher than the next. My point is absolutely none of them, unless a talented human is behind them. And what works for one doesn't work for another.

So if someone thinks the Andy is crap, then to them it actually is.

My point as said was not aimed at you, nor the andy nor synthersizer but life in general. It al boils down to Beauty is in th eye of the beholder.

Of course this probably isnt as much fun someone stating the A6 is the best for a J8 owner to come over and slate the Andy so we can have it out and everyone join in.

Everyone love a fight. Especially on the net where the most injury you can get is spilling your Tea on your knee.

[asbak]

Originally Posted by Kola

Not sure what dope means

In this context it is slang for "the business", "good" etc

[Kola]

asbak, thanks man. Dope to me is a herb.

Im for far North England so maybe haven't heard this yet. Also I think it depends on your musical circles. If this is a Hip Hop expression, im a trance guy.

Lastly im also an old man at 37 so not so hip anymore

[NWSooner]

Originally Posted by Kola

asbak, thanks man. Dope to me is a herb.

It's funny, the first post:

The Andromeda is as dope...

Dope (meaning good) being American slang that obviously some Brits wouldn't get.

Your response?

Not sure what dope means but a great human with a pants tool will...

Pants (meaning bad) is slang that the vast majority of Americans aren't familiar with.

Two nations separated by a common language eh?

[Kola]

NW

I you wana hear true English slang you and if your from the US try near Newcastle, England where im from.

(Guaranteed only to be beaten by Glasgow, but thats in a different British country)