Hi Glen,
The only thing the manual actually needs for those who RTFM is to tell folk to WTFV. The video tutorial covers the points in your letter and many other essential features, as well. I must stop using the Altura in a sitting position!
I have solved the portamento issue for Reaper users. Simply put the ‘JS MIDI Note Hold’ effect before the ‘VSTi Reasynth’ plugin and the two work exactly in the way you describe the functioning of the Macchiato.
All notes, staccato or legato, produce the portamento effect. This means that one’s cover of ‘Nutbush City Limits’ requires the volume hand to cut the notes off. I suspect that this is how the original track did it, unless the notes were stopped using fader automation.
Just in passing, I mucked about with release times to see if that could be a solution, but the release is unaffected by portamento for all the software synths I could lay my hands on in Linux. That twist is particular to the Macchiato.
Many of the Native Instruments plugins will have portamento effects, but that investigation will have to wait until I feel driven to fire up one of my Windows machines.
royleith