Would you please make the new version of the 2600V completely independent of the old version so that it installs in a separate location and doesn't share patches.
I'm asking because the existing 2600V is one of my all time favourite synthesizers. The sounds I've been able to program with this synth are totally beautiful. It's very unlikely I'd want to change to a different version, regardless of whether the new version sounds more like an ARP 2600. It might be nice to have the option of using sounds produced by the old and the new version and be able to switch between them, though. It'd also make me able to advise new users even if I continue to prefer the old version.
I'm asking because of the recent problems with updated versions. Specifically:
MiniMgV is actually improved, but doesn't run in stand-alone mode on my PC. This was reported at the time.
MgModularV doesn't seem to have been improved at all, and has changes that make it worse than the previous version, specifically with the lack of labelling on some of the buttons (as reported several times). I spent a lot of time going back and forth between old and new versions trying to find how the sound had been improved. In the end we established that the filters had had their range reduced.
CS80V also shows little sign of change, if any at all. The filters have been altered so it sounds duller, which may perhaps make it sound more like a CS80. That could have been achieved in the patching. Like the MiniMgV it doesn't load in stand-alone mode on my PC and has to be run as a VST.
I've gone back to the older versions of the MMV and CS80V, as have many other users (as evidenced in this forum and elsewhere on the net), making the new versions pointless and also making it difficult for me to help new users. I also continue to use the old version of the MiniMg V and only load the new version if I want to use the new filter.
Recent events have shaken my positive view of Arturia, and I'd really like to have the minimum degree of hassle and timewasting if the new 2600V turns out to have the same problems as the other new versions. It's brilliant as it is, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Indeed I already have, as I made a piece of music entirely with it as a demonstration of what it can do, and that music continues to get very positive responses from people who hear it.
If the new 2600V turns out to be a waste of time and effort like the recent `upgrades,' that will be the end for me as far as Arturia is concerned. At this point I still have some hope that things will get back on track. Maybe the problems with the recent versions will be sorted. Maybe it'll be realised that making a filter duller doesn't constitute an improvement to the sound. Maybe it'll be realised that buttons need to be labelled, especially when they're the `save' and `save as' buttons and getting the wrong one will overwrite the old version of the patch you've edited. Maybe all of this will be put right and those of us with years of experience with these instruments will again be able to use the latest versions and provide help and support for new users, as well as making demo recordings that make people aware of the currently available versions of these instruments, because demoing something that makes a new user want a previous version and not the currently available one does nothing for Arturia's sales. Maybe?
