Envelopes, Voice Mix, Triggers, And The Vca; Tuning The Vca; Simulating A Freerun Vca Envelope; Locking Envelope Knobs - Alesis Andromeda A6 Tips And Tricks Manual

section 5: envelopes, voice mix, triggers, and the vca

5.1 tuning the vca:

Tuning the Andromeda is simple – click the autotune button twice, and everything will be
tuned. However, by default this does not tune the VCA. Under normal circumstances, you
will not need to calibrate the base VCA levels; however there are occasions where this will be
necessary. (Tune using this method if you notice unusual clicks when programming fast
sounds.)
To tune the VCA, click the tune button, then click soft button 3 twice. This will tune the VCA
after a short period.

5.2 simulating a freerun vca envelope:

There are no true freerun vca envelopes ala the Xpander, but Mike Peake wrote about a way
to do one that' s just as good:
Mike Peake wrote:
By the way, you -can- do infinite envelopes on the VCA by setting it to Freerun (or Freerun-Sustain)
and turning the Loop ON. Tweak the Loop if need be for the best results in your sound. This was the
compromise we made.

5.3 locking envelope knobs:

(from using_a6_public.txt)
On the Envelope Time pages, Soft Pot 8 Enables a feature called Lock, which causes all stages
that are Off at that time to remain Off regardless of their pot setting. All active pots will
remain active even if you set them to their minimum setting. This of course allows you to use
the controls as if it were a typical analog hardware Envelope, which is especially comfortable
if you enjoy settings at or approaching zero without worrying if you'll disable a stage as you
perform.

5.4 looping envelope hints:

Mike Peake wrote:
Looping Envelopes function best when the Trigger Mode is set to either Freerun or Freerun-Sustain:
•
Press the Trigger button on the Envelope you wish to edit.
•
Turn soft pot seven to set the Trigger Mode.
The Loop will then cycle through and past note-up in the case of Infinite Mode as well as Loop
Counts which cause the Loop to cycle through and after each voice fades to it's final Release.
Sustain Mode will cause the Loop to cycle from note-on as long as a note is held. It will cease
cycling upon note-up regardless of other settings.
Modulation of a Looping Envelope's Times and Levels can generate very interesting semi-random
shapes.
an entire section on envelope tricks!