Ultra Analog VA-2 64-bit

[jloeb]

hmmm, I like the update, but I do have to say that is a bad oversight. It doesn't effect me so much but what if someone had many custom patches they made of their own on V1?

+1 NI doesn't make that error - synths are backward compatible in most cases with previous banks. But it's early days; AAS may yet work this out. Would be nice.

[mhschmieder]

I haven't had time yet to try patches side by side to see if they can be recreated easily in the new interface.

Maybe it's like Chameleon 5000 going to Alchemy? I can't for the life of me figure out why, after 100 hours of trying, I can't recreate my Chameleon 5000 patches in Alchemy (or at least some of them). I've matched the envelopes, the additive synthesis algorithms, and even shut all the Alchemy filters off and replaced them with plug-ins where I can get closer to the COMPLETELY different set of filters supplied with Chameleon 5000, all to no avail.

No matter what I do, Alchemy exhibits a tendency to cut off an evolving texture prematurely, even if I am careful about trigger inputs and things affected by compression and limiting. And even when I do manage to miraculously recreate my more exotic evolving textures, the timbre sounds cold and harsh in comparison. So I throw it to tape saturation plugs.

I love Alchemy but do NOT consider it a replacement for Chameleon 5000, and the latter is 32-bit only. It will be interesting to see whether the switch from Ultra Analog V1 to VA-2 presents similar issues.

[Michael Canavan]

The update looks nice. the font has exactly the same problem DP has, so it's bearable, but it would be nice if it were bigger, the layout is pretty good, the only truly awful part of the interface is the octave selector for the oscillators, gummy and poorly done.
I'm not a fan of the GUI in general, AAS have never been that good at user interfaces, but it's not horrible like reported. I laugh at myself a bit because I've never really used the old version, thought it was a bad copy of an analog sound, and the new version does immediately give you the impression that it's somehow warmer, but going back to the old one, most of that seems to be in the GUI.
The IRS are on my back, but $29 is a no brainer for sure.

[stubbsonic]

The developer said that VA-1 patches can't be loaded directly into the VA-2. But that they are working on an update with converter. But he suggested for the time being not to uninstall VA-1.

[dewdman42]

new update out today which includes a converter for UA-1 patches.

[ChrisByrd]

Thanks, that's great news.

[jloeb]

new update out today which includes a converter for UA-1 patches.

Nice. Good on AAS.

[dbender]

Anyone figured out how to use the converter?

Just spent/wasted 20 frustrating minutes trying to figure it out to no avail.

The manual says (p. 20):

The conversion operation first involves the creation of an Ultra Analog VA-1 .axf export file using the Export command from the File menu.

But, there is not File menu. The Mac menu bar for Ultra Analog does not have the usual File, Edit, etc. menus, only one menu item "Ultra Analog VA-2" which has no File menu item in it.

The Ultra Analog GUI has no File menu. And searching the Manual for "file menu," the only reference to that is the one quoted above. Lastly, I checked and saw that a separate converter program is not installed by this update.

So where the heck is this File menu?? I very much want to find it so I can run the Export and convert my v1 patches.

[stubbsonic]

Email them at AAS. They'll respond quickly and probably fix the docs as well.

[dbender]

Email them at AAS. They'll respond quickly and probably fix the docs as well.

Done.

But, if anyone here knows how to convert the v1 patches, prey tell do tell here please.

Thanks!

[dbender]

Voila!!!! Figured it out after more trial and error!

Here's how:

You have to do the export from v1. It has a File menu with an Export submenu. You select in v1 the bank you want to convert, fun the export menu and export to the folder for the v2 banks <located at /Users/[user name]/Library/Application Support/Applied Acoustics Systems/Ultra Analog VA-2/Banks> and v2 magically auto converts it and a window appears in v 2 telling you the bank has been imported.

If only programmers could write for humans as well as they write code for machines.

Anyway, yippee!! I can now use my fairly extensive collection of v1 patches now in v2.

Quite awesome they did this!!

Rock on, my fellow Motunationers..................

[James Steele]

Okay... I bit. Upgraded to VA-2. A couple things I noticed:

1) The some of the exported VA-1 sounds do not sound exactly the same in VA-2, especially if the chorus effect is part of the patch. I had them both open side by side. It looks like the chorus effect on the VA-2 doesn't have as many parameters?

2) Do does VA-2 not respond to MIDI volume messages? Not a biggy. I can always adjust volume on the VI track itself, but was just surprised that adjustments to volume of the MIDI track targeting VA-2 did nothing.

[dbender]

1) I've read elsewhere (Gearslutz? KVR?) about some of the patches from v1 not sounding exactly the same in v2.

2) Weird re: not responding to MIDI volume. Gotta check that out next time I have a chance.

[James Steele]

1) I've read elsewhere (Gearslutz? KVR?) about some of the patches from v1 not sounding exactly the same in v2.

Yep. The ones that I heard that sounded difference had to do with the chorus. There was more chorus effect/depth on the patch in VA-1. Not a big deal.

[Tritonemusic]

2) Do does VA-2 not respond to MIDI volume messages? Not a biggy. I can always adjust volume on the VI track itself, but was just surprised that adjustments to volume of the MIDI track targeting VA-2 did nothing.

James, I never really had to use the MIDI volume automation, but I just tried it in VA-1 and VA-2. Neither of them respond. Does VA-1 respond for you?