I have mostly dealt with the FM and AWM as far back as I can remember. I repaired the AN1x and played that occasionally.

The analog revolution was just before my time and then the DX7 retired the Oberheim but it's back now.

There's Moog, Oberheim, Dave, Arturia to name a few but Yamaha hasn't really offered anything true analog since CS80? I don't know for certain.

So along life's path I had a Moog & Arturia (somehow able to make these affordable) but in general they are both limited and unlimited but typically expensive if you want a lot of voices which doesn't actually mean a patch but polyphony. That was anyways super confusing coming from digital where poly wasn't as much of a problem.

They are unlimited in that you can make limitless variations but limited in voices and then you have the filters and oscillators that give it a certain flavor. The principle the same but the flavor varies I assume slightly between manufacturers. Maybe a seasoned person can tell the audible differences yet they sound very similar to me.

I'm trying the Oberheim OB-X8m not sure I'll keep it but analog has a taste all its own. Digital can emulate it pretty well without the cost which is why the clamoring for ANx on the Montage. Digital brings all the worlds together but the purest doesn't necessarily want a virtual analog but the AN1x was a lot of fun. I've been inside that thing many times it's like there's nothing inside but empty space. My X8 is actually very light so I guess that's been modernized into tiny circuits unlike the monsters of the past. The cost driver must be the near one to one relationship in controls which is what makes stage boards so attractive.

One knob per function would be cool on a digital board like Montage2 with also the touch screen but would be expensive and massive like the Moog One. Many of us love to tweak physical knobs. So what's better to have a purest module with true AN as an addition or allot a large portion to onboard virtual AN? Obviously the VA meshes into the fabric of the universal system. I assume Montage has AN AWM samples but I guess that's not good enough but that's another interesting topic to sample it and then occupy sample memory that could be available for something else. I guess AWM AN is too static and we have enough static voices already.

The whole price of the AN1x used was about $500 not sure when it was new say $1,000? If they added that system to the Montage they need a true dedicated one to one interface. I don't suppose they'd add a true analog but that would really raise the cost. One big advantage with virtual is that they could mimic all the popular brands so then we don't have to buy all those brands to get that one particular tone. How far would they take it remains to be seen. To me they all sound very similar but side by side I guess Oberheim sounds totally different from Moog. What gets crazy is when the OB6 is battling the OB8 and then somehow people can tell a difference however the trick I've learned is about the detuning and how well the oscillators play nicely together. The Moog One keys are bad or so I've heard and it had a general tuning problem. Kind of a big mistake for a $10K unit and these folks are not armatures either. That thing is massive, imagine return shipping it after you decide you don't like it.

IF you are a die hard analog aficionado you have a very specific taste that knows no compromise so will a virtual AN fulfill your longing for that AN sound? The purest will never make that compromise. I'd like to see some attempt at a Montage-CK like board that has one to one sections for dedicated AN, AWM2, dual Organ/FM like YC faders and a 4th section available or internally wave table or something and still have the touch screen pulling it all together. Of course intuitive with fast friendly UI if not some AI and MPE compatible. Tall order but even if $6K still $4K cheaper than the Moog One.