ASR V - Anybody Get This?

[drumsynthesizer]

I've been following the project for some time. I welcome the information they shared about the development. Okay, my 2 pennies were a bit too harsh, but I edited it.

Dozens of new developers are popping up everywhere right now in the AI age, promising a lot. You really need to do some extra research before buying anything these days, especially when it comes to new developers.

But when I see the same-looking websites from the new developers, I immediately have doubts. It's also strange that they didn't design a modern UI to make it look like it's from 2026. That reminds me of the SD-1 plugin, which has exactly that kind of cryptic UI and was coded with AI.

AI is used everywhere these days. Even u-he uses it, as Urs Heckmann once wrote in a post. It was certainly AI-assisted, as the developer also writes. I hope, however, that they have the code under control; otherwise, they'll be completely dependent on their "mentor".

If the website didn't look like that and the UI tried less to mimic the hardware, AI would certainly be less of a topic here. And no hassle-free demo available. My two pennies

[audiojunkie]

Either you used AI to code, or you didn't. If you can code, you don't need an AI mentor tbh. If you have coding experience, you don't need AI to help you out. There are developers who use it to speed up coding but still write their own code.

This whole thing sounds to me like: yes, we coded this with AI, but we don't want to make it 100% transparent because otherwise the whole thing has a less "perfect" look.

I agree with the previous writers: the website looks like many other AI-generated websites, and the UI doesn't look intuitive. It's over-vintagized.

With my best Jay-Z impersonation lol
Allow me to introduce myself I’m Anthony Briscoe, the creator of the ASR-V

I think the philosophy behind that question is a little flawed, and here’s why.

When I first started this journey, I wanted to learn how to code because I had ideas for apps I wanted to build. I talked to people who were programmers, and a lot of the answers I got were about what I couldn’t do instead of showing me how to do it. So I decided to teach myself.

That’s the same way I learned music. I wanted to play guitar and bass, but my mom couldn’t afford lessons. Our church had guitars, a bass, and drums, so I spent countless hours teaching myself through trial and error. Every now and then someone would come along, show me a trick, explain a technique, or point me in the right direction. As I learned more, my understanding grew. Eventually I learned to read music and became a better musician because I kept putting in the work.

Coding has been the same journey.

It actually reminds me of how we all learned the ASR-10 back in the day. Most of us didn’t start by reading the manual. We stood behind someone who already knew the machine and watched them make beats. We watched over and over until one day we were confident enough to sit down and try it ourselves. That’s how a lot of people learned.

For us, AI became that person standing over our shoulder. We didn’t ask it to magically build everything. We asked it to teach us, explain things, answer questions, and help fill in the gaps while we learned.

This project wasn’t something we slapped together overnight. It’s been an eight-month process of research, experimentation, reverse engineering behavior, digging into hardware, opening up boards, studying chips, buying an actual ASR-10, and spending countless hours comparing results until we got the sound and behavior we were after. AI can’t pull that information out of thin air. There are huge gaps that simply aren’t documented anywhere. You still have to do the work.

So did we use AI? Absolutely. It would be dishonest to say otherwise. But did AI build the product for us while we sat back? No.

AI was a tool that helped us learn, just like a mentor helps someone learn an instrument. We still had to make the decisions, test everything, solve the problems, and put in the hours.

So was this 100% vibe coding? No.

Was AI part of the process? Yes. It helped teach us, explain concepts, and accelerate parts of our workflow. That’s what modern software development looks like for a lot of companies today.

We’re not trying to hide that. We’ve always tried to be transparent about how this product was made. If someone doesn’t like that answer, I completely respect it. Nobody has to buy our product. But I also don’t think using AI as a learning tool takes away from the thousands of hours of research, engineering, testing, and persistence that went into bringing technology from 1992 into 2026.

At the end of the day, I’m still self-taught. Just like I taught myself guitar, I taught myself to code. AI was a teacher along the way—not a replacement for the work.

You're entitled to your opinion but I don't think you're being fair. He didn't have to come here and try to explain anything but he did.

Whatever. I've got no skin in this but I don't like seeing people get crucified without actual proof.

I don't think anyone was trying to "crucify" anyone. I personally wasn't. That said, there were just too many signs that this was vibe-coded, and I called it as I see it. I personally love the ASR-10, and it would be awesome to see that a well made ASR-10 exists. I personally would have used a modernized GUI, rather than the limited keys that the actual physical ASR-10 used, if I was remaking it. Those limitations had more to do with the cost of physical buttons and options as such on physical hardware. On computers, there is no need for those limitations. I already gave my opinion on that and gave a perfect example: Plogue's Chipsynth OPS7 -- a bit perfect Yamaha DX7 clone with a modern interface. That said, the ASR-10 was quite easy to edit, even from the front panel--it's just more menu diving that I would prefer in this day and age.

So, it comes down to this. People need to buy it and rate and review it. Once enough users with enough positive reviews accumulate, the reputation of the program will grow. Why don't you go ahead and buy it, and then tell us honestly how you feel about it afterwards? I've personally been happy with TAL-Sampler, but one can never have to many samplers.

[audiojunkie]

With my best Jay-Z impersonation lol
Allow me to introduce myself I’m Anthony Briscoe, the creator of the ASR-V

I think the philosophy behind that question is a little flawed, and here’s why.

When I first started this journey, I wanted to learn how to code because I had ideas for apps I wanted to build. I talked to people who were programmers, and a lot of the answers I got were about what I couldn’t do instead of showing me how to do it. So I decided to teach myself.

That’s the same way I learned music. I wanted to play guitar and bass, but my mom couldn’t afford lessons. Our church had guitars, a bass, and drums, so I spent countless hours teaching myself through trial and error. Every now and then someone would come along, show me a trick, explain a technique, or point me in the right direction. As I learned more, my understanding grew. Eventually I learned to read music and became a better musician because I kept putting in the work.

Coding has been the same journey.

It actually reminds me of how we all learned the ASR-10 back in the day. Most of us didn’t start by reading the manual. We stood behind someone who already knew the machine and watched them make beats. We watched over and over until one day we were confident enough to sit down and try it ourselves. That’s how a lot of people learned.

For us, AI became that person standing over our shoulder. We didn’t ask it to magically build everything. We asked it to teach us, explain things, answer questions, and help fill in the gaps while we learned.

This project wasn’t something we slapped together overnight. It’s been an eight-month process of research, experimentation, reverse engineering behavior, digging into hardware, opening up boards, studying chips, buying an actual ASR-10, and spending countless hours comparing results until we got the sound and behavior we were after. AI can’t pull that information out of thin air. There are huge gaps that simply aren’t documented anywhere. You still have to do the work.

So did we use AI? Absolutely. It would be dishonest to say otherwise. But did AI build the product for us while we sat back? No.

AI was a tool that helped us learn, just like a mentor helps someone learn an instrument. We still had to make the decisions, test everything, solve the problems, and put in the hours.

So was this 100% vibe coding? No.

Was AI part of the process? Yes. It helped teach us, explain concepts, and accelerate parts of our workflow. That’s what modern software development looks like for a lot of companies today.

We’re not trying to hide that. We’ve always tried to be transparent about how this product was made. If someone doesn’t like that answer, I completely respect it. Nobody has to buy our product. But I also don’t think using AI as a learning tool takes away from the thousands of hours of research, engineering, testing, and persistence that went into bringing technology from 1992 into 2026.

At the end of the day, I’m still self-taught. Just like I taught myself guitar, I taught myself to code. AI was a teacher along the way—not a replacement for the work.

I have a couple of questions:

I don't like developer-dependent copy protection. My idea of the correct kind of copy protection is where I can back up my plugin installer and my authorization, and the at some future date, even after the developer and company are gone, or the product is discontinued, I can install the software onto a new computer and authorize it. Can ASR-V do this?

Also, I use Linux. Have you considered supporting Linux?

Thanks for answering our questions.

[234north]

Thanks for your info here!

But either you used AI to code, or you didn't. If you can code, you don't need an AI mentor tbh. If you have coding experience, you don't need AI to help you out; rather, you use it to speed up tasks, as other developers do. So that's the way you work?

I've been coding since 1980 when I was 10 with BASIC on a Sinclair ZX-81. I've been doing it professionally since 1996 (mostly Java, some C/C++). I've been using Claude quite a bit for learning new-for-me languages like JavaScript/TypeScript (that area is a minefield and Claude is very useful for learning/mentoring).

Who cares what tools were used. Proof is in the pudding so to speak. Either the product is good or it's not. End of story.

[audiojunkie]

Thanks for your info here!

But either you used AI to code, or you didn't. If you can code, you don't need an AI mentor tbh. If you have coding experience, you don't need AI to help you out; rather, you use it to speed up tasks, as other developers do. So that's the way you work?

I've been coding since 1980 when I was 10 with BASIC on a Sinclair ZX-81. I've been doing it professionally since 1996 (mostly Java, some C/C++). I've been using Claude quite a bit for learning new-for-me languages like JavaScript/TypeScript (that area is a minefield and Claude is very useful for learning/mentoring).

Who cares what tools were used. Proof is in the pudding so to speak. Either the product is good or it's not. End of story.

So you’re going to buy it then, and tell us whether it’s good or not, right?

[234north]

Thanks for your info here!

But either you used AI to code, or you didn't. If you can code, you don't need an AI mentor tbh. If you have coding experience, you don't need AI to help you out; rather, you use it to speed up tasks, as other developers do. So that's the way you work?

I've been coding since 1980 when I was 10 with BASIC on a Sinclair ZX-81. I've been doing it professionally since 1996 (mostly Java, some C/C++). I've been using Claude quite a bit for learning new-for-me languages like JavaScript/TypeScript (that area is a minefield and Claude is very useful for learning/mentoring).

Who cares what tools were used. Proof is in the pudding so to speak. Either the product is good or it's not. End of story.

So you’re going to buy it then, and tell us whether it’s good or not, right?

You give me the money and sure. Otherwise no, I have no interest in an ASR-10 plugin. I just spent $1800 on a TEO-5. All of which has nothing to do with my statement. Proof is still in the pudding. You let us know since you do seem to be interested.

[Uncle E]

With my best Jay-Z impersonation lol
Allow me to introduce myself I’m Anthony Briscoe, the creator of the ASR-V

Hi Anthony, thanks for being here. Please release a demo version, even if it's just a limited version that allows us to test the sound and workflow.

FWIW, my personal impression of the ASR-10 is that its sound was its lack of sound, meaning that it sounded like the original samples and didn't have the coloration of Akai samplers. I'd like to be able demo ASR-V to find out if there's something I'm missing.