The Phonics, they are Poly...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
Nice RT60 session this morning. We had the (temporary) loan of an Alesis Andromeda, and this is the first time I’ve ever spent any quality time with one. I’ll be honest and say that I kind of looked at it as a completely over-the-top kind of synth, and never really bothered with it outside of a few minutes at Guitar Center a couple years ago.
I’ll tell you what, though. This sumbitch is a fairly potent box. Actually being able to sit down and program it for a while, I was duly impressed. The presets aren’t very good, as is usually the case with commercial analogs, in my experience. (The boardrooms of the music instrument industry would collectively shit their pants if they weren’t allowed at least “Lucky Lead,” with a side order of “Welcome Back…”) I’ll also allow that it is incredibly complex to program. Most polysynths of this caliber (the Prophet 5, Memorymoog, Jupiter 8, et al) are very much of the grab-a-knob variety, but it seems they stuck every possible feature in the Andromeda, and its front panel is rather overwhelming at first blush.
All that aside, it is extremely capable sonically, and records easily (unlike the Jupiter series, which can sometimes be a bear to get to sit in a mix.) I’m pondering selling all my analogs and just getting one of these in their stead.
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You're freakin me out. I was just reading something that reminded me of this synth earlier, and I thought "I've never heard or read much about it." I actually wondered if you, among others, had an opinion since I don't actually hang out with many synth people. Now I know.
bb
Chris
As someone who has an MKS80 and a JP6, and has easy/regular access to a JP8, I have to say that both the JP6 and JP8 are never really a problem to get in the mix...
The JP6 is naturally a bit thinner than both the JP8 and MKS80, so works very well for stuff like strings, mid-heavy pads, piercing leads etc. I never have to use too much EQ on it to get
it to sit in the mix. Compression is standard for most synth parts though, so that includes the JP6.
The JP8 has the creamiest/bubliest of filters that never really hype any part of the sound abnormally (exept the part I want to hear in the mix anyway), which most of the time allows for easy fit in the mix too. Again, compression is a given.
The MKS80 however, and especially the version with the Roland filter chips, seems to have an inordinate amount of bass-boost, and often comes out waaay too big/phat for easy fit in the mix. It does indeed need toning down all the time.
And I can't vow for the JP4, haven't had to mix any of those, ever...
YMMV though?
I absolutely love my Andromeda. Once you get past the presets, figure out it's quirks and get used to the interface it's a really great synth. I think part of the bad rep it has is with people that expect it to sound like vintage synth X and can't accept that it has it's own sound. My only complaint with it is that the arp/seq don't transmit MIDI...but that's what my laptop is for so no big deal.
@characterstudios: I haven't recorded a Jupiter 8 in years, but my experience with the MKS80 (mine is a Rev 5) is as you say; it can get a bit overwhelming. I always feel the Jupiter 6 (the which you can see in the above picture; that one has the Europa mod, for what it's worth) is always kind of thin and insect-like, and just sits on top of everything. It's amazing that those two synths which have a fundamentally similar architecture can sound so different, but there you go.
We're recording to tape, though, and hitting the machine at like +15dB (biased +9) so everything is fairly compressed anyhow. ;-)
All of them go in a mix easier than an OB-8. Everything in that sounds like mid-80s freestyle to me.
-CR
Yeah, I'm a fan of the Andromeda. I was hired by a guy who bought one in Nashville who had no idea how to program it. I spent about 15 minutes looking at the interface, and I was hooked (I didn't even touch the presets). Once you're over that hurdle, I was completely blown away by the sounds coming out of it. Also agree about the recordability. We barely had to EQ anything.
Are you sure you want to sell multiple synths and replace it with one? Anytime I've done this over the years, I've regretted it. I'm sure you can figure out a way to sell one synth and come up with the difference. "There can be only one" doesn't work with gearheads or music professionals.
No, I don't want to. I just had the fleeting thought. I'd like this in addition to my current synths. ;-) What I actually _need_ right now is a TX802 that works.
-CR
I'm contemplating selling my Poly Evolver Keyboard for an Andromeda.
I like programming the PEK - it's fun - but I haven't used it in enough tracks to justify keeping it for anything other than a controller.
The secret to programming the Andromeda is turning the oscillators WAY down. They should be at like 10% in the oscillator mix or even lower. They clip internally, and the chips run at +5V so it's not an attractive kind of clipping. So turn those way down and you lose a lot of that metallic edgy sound. Also try the filters in series, even if one is high enough that it's not doing anything. Also the effects are not that great for some reason. It's the same engine as the Wedge and same programs, but sounds completely different.
I have a pad on my Andromeda that I LOVE. I could almost keep the synth for that one program.
I wouldn't "sell all my analogs and get just this one poly." There's something missing in the low mids and still some edgy in the highs to me. I use the Super Jupiter way more than I use this. If you had an MPG-80, you would too. ;)
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