Isla Electronics ASYX Recreates the Alesis Andromeda A6
Isla Electronics ASYX is a software recreation of the Alesis Andromeda A6: dual filters, 16-part multitimbral, 1,200+ patches and SysEx import, for £99.
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Isla Electronics released ASYX in October 2026. It's a software recreation of the Alesis Andromeda A6, and it's the company's first synth plugin. The maker is better known for the S2400 sampler and the upcoming Caladan hardware synth, so a vintage polysynth plugin is new ground. ASYX runs inside a DAW or as a standalone instrument. It sells for £99.
At a glance: ASYX models the Andromeda A6's oscillator and filter circuitry in software. Each voice gets two oscillators, dual filters, three LFOs, three multi-stage envelopes and deep modulation. It's 16-part multitimbral, ships with more than 1,200 programs, and imports original A6 SysEx banks. Formats are AU, VST3 and standalone on macOS, plus VST3 and standalone on Windows, all under a £99 perpetual licence for three computers.
What is the Alesis Andromeda A6?
The Andromeda A6 arrived in 2000 as Alesis's flagship analog polysynth. It was a bold release. The instrument packed sixteen analog voices, two oscillators each, dual filters and an unusually deep modulation system into one chassis, at a moment when most of the industry had already moved to digital. Product manager Erik Norlander drove the project. Founder Keith Barr designed the custom oscillator and filter chips, the ASICs, that gave the A6 its voice.
Those custom chips are also why working units are now hard to keep alive. Replacement parts cannot be sourced. Many A6s are out of service as a result, and the ones that still run command high second-hand prices. That's the gap ASYX sets out to fill: the Andromeda sound, without the hunt for ageing hardware.
What is inside ASYX?
Isla Electronics worked directly with an original A6. The team measured and compared its behaviour, then rebuilt the signal path in software. Here's what each part of the voice does.
Two oscillators per voice. ASYX models the behaviour of the A6's custom oscillator ASICs, whose analog design drew on the Moog 921B. Each voice has two oscillators with simultaneous waveforms, pulse-width control, sub-oscillators, hard and soft sync, and frequency modulation. Noise and ring modulation feed the pre-filter mixer. You can build gritty or metallic tones before the sound even reaches the filters.
Dual filters with real routing. This is the heart of the Andromeda voice. ASYX models two filter designs: an Oberheim SEM-derived 12 dB per octave multimode filter, and a Moog 904A-derived 24 dB per octave low-pass filter. You get low-pass, high-pass, band-pass and notch responses, with series or parallel routing and separate pre- and post-filter mixing. That pairing is what lets the A6 move between smooth, round tones and sharp, resonant ones.
Three LFOs and three envelopes. Each of the three LFOs offers six waveforms, with individual rate, amplitude, offset, start phase, duty cycle and polarity, plus delay, trigger and clock-sync settings. The three envelopes are seven-stage shapes: delay, attack, two decays, sustain and two releases, with nine selectable curves for each attack, decay and release stage. This goes well beyond a standard ADSR. It's a large part of why Andromeda patches move the way they do.
Deep modulation. ASYX uses a modulation routing system with independent source, destination, amount, offset and enable controls. Sources include the envelopes, LFOs, sample and hold, a tracking generator, MIDI and performance controllers. Destinations reach beyond the obvious targets to envelope stage times, as well as oscillator, filter and effects parameters. You can modulate the modulators, so patches evolve in ways a simpler synth cannot reach.
Analog character controls. ASYX adds independent variation depths for oscillator tuning, tracking and pulse width, filter cutoff and resonance, envelope timing, voice levels, and both shared and per-oscillator drift. A master Analogue control scales the combined variation. You can push the plugin from clean and stable toward the looser, less predictable behaviour of real hardware.
Sequencer, arpeggiator and Mix mode. A 16-step sequencer offers per-step note, velocity, gate and rest controls, alongside an arpeggiator with its own grid. Both store with each program. Mix mode gives you up to 16 parts per plugin instance, each with its own program, MIDI channel, key range, level and output route, so a single ASYX can hold a keyboard split, a layered stack or a full multitimbral arrangement. There are also 29 digital effect algorithms, covering chorus, delay, reverb and combined configurations, saved with each patch.
ASYX specifications
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Models | Alesis Andromeda A6 (2000) |
| Oscillators | 2 per voice, PWM, sub, hard/soft sync, FM, noise and ring mod |
| Filters | SEM-derived 12 dB/oct multimode and Moog 904A-derived 24 dB/oct low-pass, series or parallel |
| LFOs | 3, six waveforms each, with delay, trigger and clock-sync |
| Envelopes | 3 seven-stage (delay, attack, 2 decays, sustain, 2 releases), 9 curves per stage |
| Modulation | Routing with source, destination, amount, offset and enable; modulatable destinations |
| Effects | 29 digital algorithms (chorus, delay, reverb, combined) |
| Sequencer | 16-step, per-step note, velocity, gate and rest |
| Multitimbral | Up to 16 parts per instance |
| Patches | 1,200+ programs, plus artist banks |
| Hardware link | Imports A6 SysEx; two-way MIDI to control and send patches to an A6 |
| Formats | macOS: AU, VST3, standalone; Windows: VST3, standalone; Linux coming soon |
| Systems | Windows 10+ (64-bit); macOS Big Sur+ (Intel or Apple Silicon) |
| Price | £99 perpetual licence, 3 computers, all future versions included |
ASYX vs u-he Diva
Weighing ASYX against the usual benchmark? For analog-modelling polysynths, u-he Diva is the obvious reference. Diva is a modular analog emulation that lets you mix oscillator, filter and envelope sections from several classic circuits. ASYX takes the opposite path, and recreates one specific instrument in full.
| ASYX | u-he Diva | |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Faithful recreation of one synth, the Andromeda A6 | Mix-and-match sections from several classic analog designs |
| Filters | A6's SEM-derived and Moog 904A-derived pair | Multiple selectable filter models |
| Multitimbral | Up to 16 parts | No |
| Hardware patch import | Yes, A6 SysEx and two-way MIDI | No |
| Formats | AU, VST3, standalone | VST, VST3, AU, AAX |
| Price | £99 | Around $189 / £149 |
Diva is the safer all-round choice. It has a deserved reputation for analog tone, and a mix-and-match engine that covers many flavours. ASYX is narrower and more specific. Reach for it when you want the Andromeda A6 in particular, with its dual-filter voice and multitimbral depth, rather than a general analog palette. If you're after another modern recreation of a specific vintage polysynth, compare it with Cherry Audio Memorymode 2 and GForce Prophet-5, and with discoDSP's TED-8 take on the Oberheim TEO-5.
Who ASYX is for
ASYX is for producers who have always wanted the Andromeda A6 sound but never wanted to own, source or maintain the hardware. It suits anyone building pads, evolving textures, leads and basses who values a deep modulation system and real envelope control. The 16-part multitimbral engine also makes it a strong single-instance workhorse for scoring and layered arrangements.
Existing A6 owners are a natural fit too. You can import your SysEx banks, keep your sounds across both the plugin and the hardware, and use ASYX for recall and for features the instrument never had, such as polyphonic aftertouch. Who should skip it? Pro Tools users who need AAX are out at launch. So is anyone who wants one flexible general-purpose synth rather than a faithful model of a single instrument.
How much does ASYX cost?
ASYX is £99. That buys a perpetual licence for up to three computers, and Isla Electronics includes all future versions in the price. It runs as AU, VST3 or a standalone app on macOS Big Sur and later, on Intel or Apple Silicon, and as VST3 or standalone on Windows 10 and later. A Linux build is listed as coming soon. Note that the plugin is sold directly through Isla Electronics, not through the usual plugin retailers.
Buy ASYX at Isla ElectronicsFAQ
How much does Isla Electronics ASYX cost?
ASYX is £99. The price includes a perpetual licence for up to three computers and all future versions. It is sold directly by Isla Electronics.
What does ASYX emulate?
ASYX is a software recreation of the Alesis Andromeda A6, the sixteen-voice analog polysynth Alesis launched in 2000. Isla Electronics modelled its oscillator and filter circuitry and rebuilt the full voice, modulation system, sequencer and effects.
Can ASYX use my original Andromeda A6 patches?
Yes. You can import original A6 SysEx programs and banks into ASYX, and a two-way MIDI link lets the hardware control the plugin or receive patches back. Some features, such as polyphonic aftertouch, are software-only additions.
What formats and systems does ASYX support?
On macOS Big Sur and later it runs as AU, VST3 and standalone, on Intel or Apple Silicon. On Windows 10 and later it runs as VST3 and standalone. A Linux version is listed as coming soon. There is no AAX version at launch.
Verdict
ASYX is a focused, confident first synth plugin from Isla Electronics. The scope is tight. It targets one instrument, the Andromeda A6, and rebuilds it in depth: the dual-filter voice, the seven-stage envelopes, the deep modulation and a two-way link to surviving hardware. At £99 for a perpetual, three-computer licence, it undercuts much of the boutique hardware-emulation field while offering 16-part multitimbral use and real patch compatibility. This is a first look based on the official specification. The open question, as always with these recreations, is how close software modelling gets to the hardware's character. On paper, ASYX is one of the more complete vintage-polysynth recreations to arrive this year.
