A6 Andromeda is in? Need advice!

[c55x]

Hey all, I received my A6 this morning. It's used obviously, but looks pristine generally.

My question would be if you experienced users could point me as to what to check and test to make sure it doesn't have any of the common defects or bugs you might be aware of.

I have zero experience with it.

Any advice and test/check procedures would be VERY welcome!

[Don Solaris]

Leave it on for 90 minutes. Press Auto Tune twice. Check that all voices pass the tests.

[payt]

Congrats with the Andromeda

The most obvious thing to do is to check if all the pots and buttons work. See if they run smoothly and go through their range without any hickups (check the screen). Also, have it go through the tuning procedure and see if all the voices are OK.. it should say something to that extent in the screen after it's done tuning (takes a couple of minutes).

When it's done you want to check if all the voices are actually in tune. To do this you could select a sound with a long release and start hitting a note repeatedly so you go through all the voices. If one or more notes are still detuned, you might have some faulty voice boards. Make sure you go through this procedure on a couple of notes.. a low one, mid range one and a high one, since notes can sound OK in one range and sound bad (detuned) in another.

Another thing: when you program your own sounds, you want to make sure you control the levels of the oscs. About 30% is enough and gives you nice and clean waveforms.. anything over 50% and things start distorting slightly (can be useful too sometimes). Same thing for the filter levels.. i keep them at about 50%.

Well that's all i can think of for now.. enjoy the Andy. it's one of the most fun and versatile analog synths out there (once you get to know it)

[jnurp]

go to the preset patch Sol in Andromeda and be amazed by its awesomeness. The only thing that I miss about the A6 I had was that patch, its just about as perfect a preset patch as I have ever heard. Great synth, justnot in my hands for whatever reason. Good luck with yours, congrats on getting one.

[minime123]

yup. check the tuning. make sure all voices tune properly over the full range of the keyboard. best way to do this is to tune the oscillators to the same pitch and listen for beating that happens at significantly different rates. i tried out a few and they all had tuning issues til i found the one i eventually bought. (the tuning issues on the others wouldve driven me nuts and are not so obvious when playing the factory patches which often have a lot of modulation). also, check the pots and make sure the response is smooth.
mini

[felis]

Did you get a manual with it? There's a section towards the back of it devoted to tests/checks/reset procedures and so on.
If you didn't get one, you can download it from the Alesis site.

[cramseur]

Download the Andromeda Tips and Tricks document from here:

http://www.wohmart.com/a6/tandt/A6TipsAndTricks.pdf

Do it now!

[c55x]

wow. you guys are pure gold. thanks a lot. will start testing tomorrow and report back later on!


thumbsup

[Don Solaris]

Once you get familiar with your Andromeda, here are some small tips to make it sound more analog:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/5835696-post18.html

[c55x]

Perfecto. Thanks once again.
The tuning seems just fine. The knobs and buttons are all OK, and the sound, oh God, the sound... I adore it! The overall condition is pristine!

I can hear it's not as warm as a Moog, but it doesn't bother me at all. The difference is not important, and what's more, I can definitely hear the A6 is a synth with its very own personality... very different from what I have already, which is just great. I love synths with their own tonalities and sonic idiosincracies. Great addition as I had foreseen.

Will leave the temp and background tuning settings for later, until I am more familiar with it as recommended. Thanks Don.


Also the tips and tricks PDF is invaluable. Went through it, and it's on the ipad now (in the pic there for quick ref while exploring)... thank you, thank you, thank you!!!



As an observation, it amazes me how 2 machines like the a6 and the PEK can be so different in their results. I mean, it should be expected, but still, that's fantastic and surprising to a great extent.


Maybe it's too early, but it's been a while since I have been so pleased. I paid 3k for this, but it's worth every single cent, as opposed to my first impression with the PEK, which is an awesome synth, but I don't think it's worth the retail asking price of ~2700 due to some technicalities. I was fortunate and got it for 1600-1700. For this money, it surely is a keeper.


back to the a6
After all the tests, I have been doing quick simple tweaks to the presets and fooling around with the routings, checking the filters behavior, etc. It will take me a huge while to tame this beast, but your links to OUTSTANDING non-official material will get me there way faster.

Here's a couple pics of where I placed it momentarily
I know it's in the way of the NL3, but I will think about the re-configuration of my studio later on. The A6 is definitely a game changer here, the ribbon controller is my first, and it's so fun that I probably will make the a6 my master kb (the karma has been my master kb for years; I use the little MS-20 emul as a quick test kb with my rack modules).

I only hate the fact that I procrastinated so long to acquire it, but then, a ton of info and patches etc. have been developed so it's kind of cool to have all that useful material available at once.

I am a very happy man these days! Thanks guys!

[Rufuss Sewell]

One of my favorite things to do is create a basic moogish sawtooth lead, then go into unison mode and set it to 16 voices. Then! start playing with the detuning. Totally stunning 16 x2 osc with spreadable detuning. It's about the hugest sound you'll ever hear a single synth make.

[CoolColJ]

Gees that's one packed room!

[kilon]

Originally Posted by Rufuss Sewell

One of my favorite things to do is create a basic moogish sawtooth lead, then go into unison mode and set it to 16 voices. Then! start playing with the detuning. Totally stunning 16 x2 osc with spreadable detuning. It's about the hugest sound you'll ever hear a single synth make.

Personally I complete forgot about the unison when I discovered the true potential of the chord function.

Andromeda is like a massive playground, it has so many tricks that can keep you occupied for decades.

[c55x]

Originally Posted by kilon

Personally

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/6415329-post107.html

[c55x]

hey all, so I thought I'd add a pcmcia memory card.
any advice on model and capacity and where is best to get it from?

[CoolColJ]

Originally Posted by c55x

hey all, so I thought I'd add a pcmcia memory card.
any advice on model and capacity and where is best to get it from?

2MB Sram card is the largest you can use. I have a Pretec one, most people use Pretec
Although it shouldn't matter too much

SN5002 with no attribute memory. This is the same as mine, but they cost more now
http://www.timatech.com/products.php?pd_pn=SN5002

The storage increase is pretty amazing - 8 extra banks
It has 2 batteries on board, a replaceable one and a rechargeable one for backup

It uses batteries so it will eventually go flat, but I've had mine for 9+ years and my A6 has been off more than on, and it's still not flat yet

[dougt]

I have an extra 1MB SRAM card already formatted for the Andromeda if you want one for $50 + shipping. It holds 4 banks of programs.

[minime123]

nice pics - looks very ergonomic!
mini

[crufty]

Random question if i may...i think i spy a supernova nestled in there at the top of one of those pics.

Do you find it to be a useful synth? How does it hold up?

Also, what gets me giggling like a school girl is setting up a program...dial in kick, snare, hat line and a bass arp...thats lefty (dont forget fills)...then strings and or lead action on the right. Analog workstation madness!!

[c55x]

Originally Posted by CoolColJ

2MB Sram card is...

Appreciate the info. It's amazing how expensive these got I must say.

Originally Posted by dougt

I have an extra 1MB SRAM card...

Appreciate the offer dougt. Not saying no yet, but I will try first to get one with 2 MB to avoid constant swaping and help organization in a more relaxed way.

Originally Posted by minime123

nice pics - looks very ergonomic!
mini

appreciate it man. I precisely have spent a lot of time trying make the most out of my limited space, feels great someone can appreciate that.
I set up everything in a way that I don't have do more than reaching with my arms as to avoid distractions and annoyances not relating to music making.

I am close to finish the re-organization due to the addition of my 2 new analog beasts. Will post pics of the full lab when done. I have more than I deserve, but I think my envisioned studio is near full completion in terms of ergonomics, workflow and tools (for my needs in any case!)

Originally Posted by crufty

Random question if i may...i think i spy a supernova nestled in there at the top of one of those pics.
Do you find it to be a useful synth? How does it hold up?

In my quest, I ended up with a Nova desktop and a Supernova original. Will get rid of the nova eventually I think

In regards to sound, I think the Supernova is one of the closest to analog sound VAs ever got to. The filter sweaping is just mental (in a great and unique way). It's versatile and the sound can become real huge.

It's not a synth to get too experimental with imo (for that my mWave XT II is the specialist), but its acid sound results have few to no equal. Very identifiable sound to a great extent.

The only con I see is precisely its virtue> it can be TOO identifiable if not used with care for originality.

But man, there are not many synths with which you can do so much from within the same machine. Tons of different arpeggios running at the same time along with tons of available effects are just great fun. To me fx, arpeggio settings, etc. are integral part of a sound. The generosity of the novas in those areas are a significant part of what became the sn sound for a long time.

[c55x]

btw, guys, I use Midi Quest to handle much of my hw.

There is a statement in the Quick Tips for the A6 that says this>

"Note 2: the current version of the Andromeda A6
ROMs contain a SysX bug. The current OS ignores
the SysX message to store a patch in the instrument's
edit buffer. As a result, Midi Quest does not offer
auditioning capabilities for the Andromeda. When
Alesis corrects this firmware problem, Midi Quest
will be capable of patch auditioning."


do you know anything about that?
was that ever fixed?

[enossified]

Originally Posted by Don Solaris

tips to make it sound more analog

so what does an analog synth that doesn't sound analog sound like?

[c55x]

Originally Posted by enossified

so what does an analog synth that doesn't sound analog sound like?

Those are tips for 'enhancing' its analog characteristics.
The A6 sounds as analog even without those tips.
Nothing to get confused about.

[Don Solaris]

Originally Posted by enossified

so what does an analog synth that doesn't sound analog sound like?

Have you actually clicked that link?

If you didn't noticed, the word more analog is inside quotes. I'd expect one would conclude something from that - like: indicating a relative term.

[c55x]

Originally Posted by Don Solaris

I'd expect

It's funny... kinda... but in my quest for all the info I could get about the a6, I found many people in this forum bashing the a6 to almost plain hatred levels...

Such great machine and so ambitious in its design and features and with such a great sound... hard to believe it coult generate so many antagonists.


Fact is I adore it, regardless of the gossip and -mostly weak and- highly subjective bashing.

[c55x]

about this

"Note 2: the current version of the Andromeda A6
ROMs contain a SysX bug. The current OS ignores
the SysX message to store a patch in the instrument's
edit buffer. As a result, Midi Quest does not offer
auditioning capabilities for the Andromeda. When
Alesis corrects this firmware problem, Midi Quest
will be capable of patch auditioning."

There is a sysex function (hiding where you press the Store button) where you select the way you want the a6 to handle incoming program dumps.

doesn't it mean there is no such issue, or am I missing something?


There is a setting called "here" where the synth will store sound in its current program location. That should theoretically enable the Midi Quest's Library Auditioning function, no?


It is weird that there's no such thing as buffer temporary reception or that it wasn't ever fixed if it indeed is a bug. Most synths I own of many brands can do that.

[dougt]

Originally Posted by c55x

Appreciate the offer dougt. Not saying no yet, but I will try first to get one with 2 MB to avoid constant swaping and help organization in a more relaxed way.

The 1MB card holds 4 extra Program Banks. That's 512 extra programs which seems like plenty to me.

[Daylon Faine]

hi dougt, do you still have the 1mb card?