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I've been using an OBX and a moog source for over a year, and just sold my Obie for an A6. Was i mad? No! The A6 sounds at least as good as the OBX, and considerably better than the moog, which only really does good bass patches. All these naysayers criticising the A6 just don't have a clue, or just don't have the experience! Does it sound like every classic synth ever made? No, it sounds like itself, which is no bad thing, and the quality of the sound is brilliant. What may put people off are the abysmal presets it comes loaded with, and the cheap sounding effects. I must admit i felt close to suicide after powering up my A6 for the first time, having sold my treasured Obie, but i spent an afternoon programming my own patches, and havn't looked back since. And just switch those effects off! No-one but a pure-bred fool would lay down tracks with the effects already on anyway, and i didn't spend all that money on studio equipment just so i could ruin a great sound with some 18-bit reverb. So it doesn't sound exactly like an Oberheim, or a moog, but you can get the same sounds, with a subtly different tonality; if all you want is a synth museum in a box, you're missing the point! The real joy of this synth is it's programming flexibility. Like any good piece of kit it only gives out what you put into it, and it really is worth the effort! If you can't get a good sound out of it, you're not trying hard enough. So it doesn't hand it to you on a plate? So what, you've got to earn those royalty cheques somehow! OK, there are a lot of OS bugs, but it's way, way better than struggling with some 20-year-old 32-patch synth that needs to be serviced every 6 months just to keep it going! And i know i'm still going to be discovering programming tricks on this synth years after i might've gotten bored of a lesser machine. Some might say the knobs feel "loose," although i would say they feel "fluid," but that's a breath of fresh air to me, the knobs on my OBX were so heavy to use it gave me wrist strain, whereas this is a joy to programme. As for all this analogue vs. VA pants, i owned a NL2 and i know the difference, do any of you? They are different instruments! Of course you can't get an A6 to sound "as good" as a digital instrument (if you like that sound,) but you can't get a NL2 to sound "as good" an A6 if you're into analogue. It really depends on what sound you want. I just could not get my Nord to sound the way I wanted, and when i traded it for my OBX it was a revelation; i could instantly get exactly "that sound." So I coudn't get the Obie to sound as aggressive as the NL2, it didn't matter! To my ears the compensation was in the texture and softness of the analogue waveforms, a subtlety to the detune and sync sounds i just could never get on a VA. If you're into analogue you'll know exactly what i mean, and if you're into VA, well you're just looking for something completely different. So, don't believe the critics, believe someone who's used real vintage analogue in the studio; the A6 is, genuinely, as good as the best classic analogue synths. I know, i've done the A/B tests, and it sounds the business. Plus, you get the programming depth of a modular system in a tenth of the size (and weight!) Is there a downside? Well the OS was obviously rushed at the time of going to production, but if they get as far as V.2 this really will be the most awesome synth ever.
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