Alesis Fusion 8HD

N/A This is continuation of previous review and will only focus on the sounds (in brackets are rating for sound type)

Organs (4) ??? Not exactly a Hammond B3 and being a Gospel Hammond player, I know. I have heard some reasonable Hammond imitations on various keyboards notably the Yamaha Motif range but I have not heard anything on the Fusion that could even pacify my wish for quality Hammond B3 sounds. I really don???t mind if the Pipe Organ wasn???t the hottest but the B3 has to be that defining sound and the Fusion just can???t cut it. To imitate the Leslie and the subtle tones is hard work but the fusion has enough space on the desktop to have 16 drawbars and some. Why not licence the original Native Instrument B4? Not the new version 2 but the original B4 or even a stripped down version? Surely it can???t have cost that much to licence and then port across should a killer app.
For the rock and pop music it is passable ish and I say that with a large chunk of sarcasm but for blues, soul, jazz and especially gospel this ain???t got an Amen. However no 60???s style White Cliffs of Dover organs and that is a real shock on an instrument in this day and age. Come on Alesis, where is your game

Strings (6) ??? I heard the statement ???Tape Strings??? in relation to the strings on this. The true string ensembles are really weak, the individual string instruments aren???t up to much either but the pad and vintage strings are hot, real hot.

Here is the break down.

Film Scoring (1) ??? Don???t bother, you could make a blockbuster flop if you used an Alesis Fusion.

Live Layering of Sounds for live playing (3) ??? Buy a Kurzweil or Yamaha and if you can afford it buy both and create some killer layers. Leave the Fusion in the studio because it was never made for live playing.

Electronic Euro Dance Production (8) ??? Just the job, not heard much that can compete with it. One day I thought I was playing a Juno, so good are the synth strings.

Brass (6) ??? Sadly not gritty or phat enough, the individual instruments are not realistic enough in fact they are very poorly put toegther, even with the Physical Mod engine. If you play Pop, RnB, Jazz, Blues, Gospel etc, this will not provide the phat rifty brass sounds that you require. Neither smooth for the full brass band. I love brass rifts and falls but the Fusion is nowhere near gritty enough if you are Teddy Riley trying to do a ???Jam??? Look at your Roland gear for this type of phat and cutting, gritty brass sounds. For garage, Alternative (whatever that is), Old School Rock and Evolving this sings sweeter than the honey. Can do a decent impersonation of Jump but could be a little more evolving.

Woodwind (5) ??? A complete waste of time, other than for General Midi type playback. This is never going to be used in production of video or Japanese Martial Arts films and this thing has Physical Modelling. What? What were the programmers and developers thinking when the soundset was being constructed. Physical Modelling and still poor? It could have been one of the market leaders in terms of orchestral sounds because of it Physical Modelling Engine but Alesis has not implemented this properly.

Basses (6) ??? This is tricky.
Acoustic Basses (4) are a waste of time, buy a module or sample a bass player, this ain???t no Bootsy Collins sound a like nor is it the club double bassist. This ain???t no Grunge Rock Bassist, Slap Funk Meister, No Smooth Groover or Reggae Dub man sound a like, the fusion can???t imitate any of them with even a little distinction. Really poor! Why not licence??????????????? the list is too endless! It is not even a reasonable imitator of the session bassist.

Analogue and Modelled Basses (8) are quite good. In fact you get that sense of instant beat making when you hear the Analogue and Modelled Basses, however they could be a little bit phater and some of the moog style basses could be a little warmer. The synth basses overall are great where as the fingered, plucked, slapped and acoustic basses are poor.

Drums (9) ??? Acoustic, Synth or otherwise are all banging hot, hot hot. This is one area where the Fusion embarrasses the big 3. Phil Collins, can feel it in the air tonight. Absolutely the best drums I have heard in year. Some of the 808 drums are a tad thin but this is compensated by the incredible acoustic drums.

Leads (9) ??? Tops stuff, warm and evolving and with a vast variety of sounds. Good for Sci-Fi B movies.

Pads (9) ??? Just like the leads, top draw baby and no complaints, good for 60???s conspiracy TV programmes.

Synths Sounds (9) Very good, warm, evolving and quite interesting. Jarre-esque sounds are right up there and this could definitely be used for a French laser light show production.

Acoustic Pianos (5) ??? Not very good to be honest, I know that the nuances of an acoustic piano is very a subject thing but the Fusion isn???t the silky smooth Kurzweil, or the bright and sparkly Yamaha, nor the full bodied Roland. I will accept that it is different but the Fusion Piano is not defining or cutting edge or the beautifully balanced velocity instrument that a 21st Century Acoustic Piano should be. It is never good enough for my live set for the Jazz Band and I can???t imagine Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock playing their Jazz rifts on this because although the feel of the keys is really good, the sound is pretty weak and I have downloaded all the modified Holy Grail piano and they still sound dreadful. The velocity switching is so poorly implemented for an acoustic piano, you would think that they didn???t know what they were doing. Alesis licensed the sound and for a licensed sound it is really, really poor, when it is well know that Acoustic Piano sounds now are the maker or breaker of an instrument of this standing. Alesis and Holy Grail, shame on you because between you, there was a possibility that you could have come up with a sound that would form the basis of a dedicated stage piano. Could it be that the Holy Grail piano is good enough but the porting to the Fusion has created this very lame excuse for a piano?

Electric Pianos (6) ??? Not the best either, the Rhodes is not smooth enough for the realistic soulful ballads or gritty enough for the banging grooves. Whether it be that 70???s soul sound or The Carpenter???s pop sound, everyone wants a real Rhodes that speak rifts and subtle melody lines but the Fusion falls short in so many ways and the various Rhodes sounds no matter which one still can???t provide the realistic tine based smoother that we have come to love. The DX types EP???s sounds are just not warm and rounded enough, even after all of my programming and this thing has an FM synth engine. Why did Alesis not create an FM engine that can load the Yamaha DX sounds that are available on the internet for download? Alesis have not even tried to imitate the beautiful and much loved D50 EP???s that are a must on any modern instrument. And if Alesis were seeking to create a distinctive sounding EP, it failed because nothing that Alesis created, sounds warm enough, rich enough or balletic enough. Sometimes I think what were the programmers thinking when they conjured up the EP???s. Why didn???t Alesis license Lounge Lizard? I would have given this 4 but I have loaded a couple of my own samples and mixed them with an FM Rhodes from the Fusion and I am surprised at how good it can sound. Internally the sounds are weak but this thing has potential.

Overall

For Live Playing ??? Don???t bother, unless you want a synth sound, otherwise you will get laughed off the stage, even by folks who don???t know a thing about synth engines.

If you play on a cruise ship or you are the wedding singer ??? Look away you are about to be pelted.

If you want to create beat ??? Come to daddy

For home and studio work ??? This baby is yours, will be the standout bit of gear in any studio set up.

For Big Production and Film work ??? Don???t do it, please don???t embarrass yourself, it is not worth your reputation.

The editing is the one thing that saves the Fusion because it is so vast but even that is implemented properly, which is a real shame.

If the manufacturers learn anything from these forums it is that there is such a wide variety of musical tastes and abilities that buy these instruments and for so many different uses, therefore it is critical to have decent pianos (acoustic and electric), organ, drums, basses, acoustic orchestral sounds, synth leads and pads. Yes clavs, guitars, mallets, ethnic, synth brass and vintage strings and performances are all great tools in the arsenal but the core sounds should be the priority but Alesis has failed to recognise this.

This machine could have become a real player in the market but Alesis didn???t spend the time thinking things through and as such have an instrument that is good but not great, when all the ingredients were of an instrument that would make a real mark, even to the point of upsetting the big 3.

As much as I criticise this thing I am beginning to love it, really love it and just when I thought I was going to sell and buy a Motif or Fantom, I have changed my mind, this girl has some virtues that are worth holding onto her for, even if she continues to disappoint me.

If we got divorced, would I marry her again? Probably in 6HD format as second keys to the Rolls Royce of keyboards (Kurzweil) or the Mercedes of workstations (Yamaha Motif) because my Chevy (Alesis Fusion) isn???t quite of the quality.

Quite easy to use but finding and cataloguing the sound is nothing short of a nightmare.

Sampling is good and quite easy to use, when you know what you are doing but the sampler editing tool could have been a little more user friendly.

The sequencer is truly horrible. Alesis who are owned by the same folk who make the Akai MPC series should hold their head down in shame.

The editing is so comprehensive and you should be able to get something near what you want or as close as can imitate what you are seeking to programme but the editing tool could have been so much more user friendly and if Alesis thought out the editing tool, more of the Fusions tweakable characteristics should have been available on the screen together, rather than having to edit one characteristic and then having to drill down to go to the next and then go back and then forwards and then backwards to get the sound that people want. This is the 21st Century software is supposed to be intuitive.

The implementation of the FXs could have been so much more user friendly.

Generally nothing out can really touch this baby (Roland Fantom G may have something to say about that)

However there are some real issues that need addressing.

No USB to DAW connectivity, unless you go back in time a get a midi interface. What is all that about? In the 21 Century? Are you kidding me? Alesis you cannot be serious.

Sound Category Buttons? Is this an old school Casio from the 80???s? The Fusion has so much space on its desktop it could have had 16 sliders to control the mixers as well as organ drawbars and overall tweaking of sounds. Slidders and more knobs for better real time control over the sounds, recording and editing. I know it is easy to be critical after the event but it seems so obvious, especially as we live in a day of hardware synth imitating softsynths. Imagine sliders that worked in tandem with your DAW and that gave the users greater artistic control over the internal operation of the sounds, sequencer and sampler.

The display is bright and reasonable but could be so much bigger, it doesn???t have to be colour as long as it is big enough, minimum 10??? is what is required.

So much is great, including the 8 track audio but why no direct input into audio? Why can???t my vocalist just plug their Sennheisers into the Fusion and sing? Why can???t my guitarist jack right in without additional interfacing? No Phantom Microphone or Guitar input? Not even modelled software for input.
The audio and digital tracks don???t work as seamlessly as they should. When computers now show us the way to create polished production quality product, with a seem-less integration between midi, vocals, samples, other instruments, other inputs, FX, mixing etc, why have Alesis created an instrument that can do bits of each but not all working in concert? This therefore isn???t the all in one instrument that Alesis claimed it would be. Can do better next time Alesis!

The sample loader should in this day and age be able to read Wav and Akai in their native format, without having to convert them and then process the samples.

It would also have been nice to have some sort of wave sequencer in the way that Korg implement it. For such a vast instrument wave sequencing is a must no questions asked.

The Physical Modelling should have had 2 more models, bow and pluck to go with the 2 models already available. These two would have made such a difference to the instrument and the modelling needs to be opened up a little more so that users have greater creative opportunities.

Polyphony is incredible and layering is without parallel.

The sequencer should have real pattern sequencing, even a ripped off, watered down version of reason or logic would have done the trick. The way that the sequencer works suggests it was thought of after other parts of the instrument was designed.

This thing should have had a minimum of 256 MB of Sound ROM if not 512 MB, I know it is not common these days but memory at that level is so cheap, so why are we being ripped off? As a minimum next time (that is if it is on the market before 2010) 24 bit 96 Khz please Alesis with 512MB or 1 GB of Wave ROM with 512MB Sample Ram. And that is not even cutting edge!!!!!!!!
However it is not just having masses of ROM that makes things sound good, it is the programming and the effects, the way Kurzweil have used an old sound engine and made their stock sounds, still have that certain stand out sonic quality.

Effects are OK but no where near good enough or varied enough as what I hear on Yamaha, Roland, Korg or Kurzweil gear. Why no ASP? It is great having loads of DSPs but having a couple of true Acoustic Processor would have made the end results so much better.

I will have to do this in stages as I have so much to say .
There has been much debate about this element of the instrument and I will try to give the most honest view that I can. No one buys their instrument for the presets but even the presets are supposed to speak to you to say ???Buy Me, Buy Me??? Although folks always tweak their sounds but the initial seduction to the ears is what draws people in and this is one of this instruments??? real weak point. Both the Fantom and the Motif drew people by the preset sounds that folks were able to dial into when sound testing this instrument and that got the sales, unit after unit (yes they have great marketing but sounds sell). You couldn???t do that with the Fusion, folks walked away saying the sounds were thin and that the samples slightly lacking. It is not love at first hearing.

Acoustic Pianos (5) ??? Not very good to be honest, I know that the nuances of an acoustic piano is very a subject thing but the Fusion isn???t the silky smooth Kurzweil, or the bright and sparkly Yamaha, nor the full bodied Roland. I will accept that it is different but the Fusion Piano is not defining or cutting edge or the beautifully balanced velocity instrument that a 21st Century Acoustic Piano should be. It is never good enough for my live set for the Jazz Band and I can???t imagine Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock playing their Jazz rifts on this because although the feel of the keys is really good, the sound is pretty weak and I have downloaded all the modified Holy Grail piano and they still sound dreadful. The velocity switching is so poorly implemented for an acoustic piano, you would think that they didn???t know what they were doing. Alesis licensed the sound and for a licensed sound it is really, really poor, when it is well know that Acoustic Piano sounds now are the maker or breaker of an instrument of this standing. Alesis and Holy Grail, shame on you because between you, there was a possibility that you could have come up with a sound that would form the basis of a dedicated stage piano. Could it be that the Holy Grail piano is good enough but the porting to the Fusion has created this very lame excuse for a piano?

Electric Pianos (6) ??? Not the best either, the Rhodes is not smooth enough for the realistic soulful ballads or gritty enough for the banging grooves. Whether it be that 70???s soul sound or The Carpenter???s pop sound, everyone wants a real Rhodes that speak rifts and subtle melody lines but the Fusion falls short in so many ways and the various Rhodes sounds no matter which one still can???t provide the realistic tine based smoother that we have come to love. The DX types EP???s sounds are just not warm and rounded enough, even after all of my programming and this thing has an FM synth engine. Why did Alesis not create an FM engine that can load the Yamaha DX sounds that are available on the internet for download? Alesis have not even tried to imitate the beautiful and much loved D50 EP???s that are a must on any modern instrument. And if Alesis were seeking to create a distinctive sounding EP, it failed because nothing that Alesis created, sounds warm enough, rich enough or balletic enough. Sometimes I think what were the programmers thinking when they conjured up the EP???s. Why didn???t Alesis license Lounge Lizard? I would have given this 4 but I have loaded a couple of my own samples and mixed them with an FM Rhodes from the Fusion and I am surprised at how good it can sound. Internally the sounds are weak but this thing has potential.

I haven't had it that long but it crashes once too often for my liking. Although the OS is now stable (apparently) she still has a mind of her own and if you don???t have loads of Sample Ram, don???t load all of the Hollow Sun sound sets because it creates crashes that will annoy you.

Alesis have stopped supporting this machine when potentially they could have released at least 3 more versions of the OS to take into account some of the obvious failings.

I don???t think Alesis are that bothered about the end users, hence their lack of concern and commitment to an instrument that cost some of the early adopters a load of money to buy. Luckily I managed to get my at a ridiculously low price and that was because I bought it from a dealer who had it in his store for over a year and no one showed any real interest in buying it, so practically gave it away and I am grateful.

Sadly, if Alesis had thought more about what the musicians want, they would have a popular selling bit of gear that could have become an icon in the industry. Yamaha took a calculated risk with the DX7, using all of the latest technology and electronic and see what results were achieved by thinking about the direction the market was going and looking at how the music industry was changing.

Overall soundwise,

For Live Playing ??? Don???t bother, unless you want a synth sound, otherwise you will get laughed off the stage, even by folks who don???t know a thing about synth engines.

If you play on a cruise ship or you are the wedding singer ??? Look away you are about to be pelted.

If you want to create beat ??? Come to daddy

For home and studio work ??? This baby is yours, will be the standout bit of gear in any studio set up.

For Big Production and Film work ??? Don???t do it, please don???t embarrass yourself, it is not worth your reputation.

The editing is the one thing that saves the Fusion because it is so vast but even that is implemented properly, which is a real shame.

If the manufacturers learn anything from these forums it is that there is such a wide variety of musical tastes and abilities that buy these instruments and for so many different uses, therefore it is critical to have decent pianos (acoustic and electric), organ, drums, basses, acoustic orchestral sounds, synth leads and pads. Yes clavs, guitars, mallets, ethnic, synth brass and vintage strings and performances are all great tools in the arsenal but the core sounds should be the priority but Alesis has failed to recognise this.
This machine could have become a real player in the market but Alesis didn???t spend the time thinking things through and as such have an instrument that is good but not great, when all the ingredients were of an instrument that would make a real mark, even to the point of upsetting the big 3.

As much as I criticise this thing I am beginning to love it, really love it and just when I thought I was going to sell and buy a Motif or Fantom, I have changed my mind, this girl has some virtues that are worth holding onto her for, even if she continues to disappoint me.

If we got divorced, would I marry her again? Probably in 6HD format as second keys to the Rolls Royce of keyboards (Kurzweil) or the Mercedes of workstations (Yamaha Motif) because my Chevy (Alesis Fusion) isn???t quite of the quality.

complicated

awseome features, everyone should know that this has a built in sampler, 8 track 24 bit aduio recorder, 32 track midi sequencer.

The sounds are great. This one came from Sweetwater and they put in their own samples.

Well, I did have to send the first unit back. But the next has gave me no trouble.

Sweetwater. YOU KNOW they are good.

The drum kits from Sweetwater are fantastic, just like a real drum set in the room. The guitars, pianos all sound very good. The Stand up bass is tops. I'm not really into synth sounds I prefer good samples standard instruments and this does a great job on them. I'm just beginning to sample myself and have found it a little tough but have learned enough to sample some excellent guitars of mine into the unit. I enjoy this part even in the learning stage. This keyboard is really geared for live playing, because it gives you the opportunity to record audio tracks along with the sequence, vocal harmnonies, lead guitar, steell guitar etc. for the price it cant be beat. I have an ensonique MR 76 keyboard, and bought it new in 96. THe Alesis is light years better. The Alesis fusion is no longer in production, so , if you can grab one of these before they are all gone, you will save a ton of money, and still have a great workstation.

I have just had this and it is not too bad but finding the sounds could have been arranged better.

Loads of features but is the Fusion an Sample pretending to be a synth? Or is it a sythn with a very average sampler? The hard disk is a beautiful thing but no mintor support shows the lack of insight

I have read and heard loads about the sounds. My first thoughts are.

Generally, they are Hollow (no pun intended), old school and slightly lacking. Sound Ok in a mix or a band but I want sounds 'where every sound is an idea'(Alesis this could be your next slogan if you get it right). Put it this way, the Fusion has 128 MB of wave Rom, the same as the Fantom X and there is no comparison, Roland runs away with it. The 128 MB is double the Triton but yet the Triton does a better job. I would not even compare it to the Kurzweil 2661 which also has 64 MB, because the Kurzweil makes the Fusion sound like a Tomy Toy. To be fair to the Fusion it has the various synth engines which does it credit but the programmers have not been clever enough or inventive enough. My question to Alesis, "Is the Fusion a Technics WSA in disguise?" Or a WSA on steroids, because that is what the Fusion appears to be.

I have OS 1.24 and it seems OK. I have seen the plastic arms and they scare me, generally it seems well built bu those large bits of plastic.......................... oh the plastic

Alesis appear to no longer support this, when the OS could do with at least 2 more iterations

I got this so cheap I can't complain really (shop had it for months no one showed any interest so invited people to make an offer so I offerd $600 against sale price of $850) but when it was over two grand, I was a rip off. I have tended to go against the Japanese big 3 and bought Ensoniqs, Gems, Kurzweil and now Alesis. The big 3 run the market and as a consequence the niche market struggles against the apocolyptic 3. I like the more Americanised sounds but the companies don't support or build on their product. For all what I have written I like my new baby but I get the feeling our affair won't last long because she doesn't have the might of the big 3. And when last did anyone ever see a Fusion on TV? Name one major musician that uses a Fusion? When last was a Fusion heard on a hit record? I can pick out a Fantom, Motif, Triton or Kurz at the drop of a hat, can a Fusion be so distinctive?

Bought this to update my Korg X2 that I bought in 1994 and consolidate my studio. (uQ,dx200,xl7,X2,MPX-1) Most everything in the use interface makes sense to me. I have not had any trouble with wierdness or. Seems like a very well thought out interface.

The patch surfing by category doesn't work so well due to the load times and the MASSIVE number of patches you can put on this thing. (comes out of the box with over 1000). There is an easy workaround for this using the media explorere.

Manual seems good and pretty thourough, although there is no index. If you are new to synthesizer you might want to look at some of the tutorials and stuff on their site.

Come on for the $!, blow me away!. Alesis has gotten a bad rap for this board for some reason, but the synthesis engines are top notch. I am an FM freak and even the sample player allows FM of all the oscillators!. I could go on and on, but this board has the features I've been looking for years and years. Just not impressed with Korg/Yamaha/Rolands offerings which offer little else than what I had on my X2 a 15 year old design.

Sounds are good to excellent, although some of the presets are pretty dull. Just when did people start buying keyboards for the presets anyway? Usually throw those away the first week. Tired of trying to use a mouse to make music.

Hollow Sun has a bunch of freebee banks. Found some good trombone samples that were unprogrammed in the ROM. Very few of the patches use the FM engine so I've got some work to do. You can load your own samples on here also so it is infinitely expandable.

This thing can make some massive sounds by combineing the synthesis engines in a mix.

Love the modwheel and pitchbend, great for vibrato. The Korg joystick just never worked for me. Aftertouch and keyboard action are good.

Don't know on this one, I have heard it has broken down on some people but there is a 1 year warranty. Presently being "burned in" on my coffeetable at home.

My XL-7 software was horrible for the first 9-12months after I bought that machine. E-mu did fix a lot of stuff but that machine's interface still makes no sense at all to me and it has been discontinued. The Fusion however makes sense, however a few of the features remain incomplete or rudimentary but mainly with regard to the sequencer.

They seem to have been supportive early on in the developement of this board but were forced to stop developement due to it not selling so well. I just do not understand the market these days.

Two things that are missing for me are archiving multi samples to compact flash (so the entire project can run in flash) and audio mixdown which has to be done externally or by loopback mode.

This was pretty much exactly what I was looking for, although I did my research before buying it. People complain about the features for a workstation (sequencer and hard disk recorder) which are probably not used much anyway. People that NEED pattern sequencers to make music should just practice more:) This thing stands by itself as a keyboard and real synthesizer without those features, especially for the price. Aside from software synthesizers (and only a few of those) I don't know of many others that allow combined FM/Sampling/VA synthesis. Oh this one has a wind instrument physical modeling synthesizer also.

If you are considering buying this though get it at Sweetwater as they offer a free memory upgrade.

I do not like to read big manuals and because of that I've only read the 'quick reference guide' and that was enough to get me started.
The main manual is rubbish.
If this is your first synth you will get overwhelemd but I can assure use this is also with Korgs and Rolands but I will explain this later under 'features'.
I find this synth user friendly not the easiest but because of it's big screen well ordered.

This synth is a sampler, rompler,Virtual analog, FM-synth and has reed and wind models.
At this very moment (September 2007) new fusions are being sold for 800 Euro (6HD) and 1000 Euro (8HD) and that's a bargain!
You will need a PC with sample editor if you want to get into sampling but that's with every sampler. I can recommend Zero-X seamless
looper to automatically find loop points. It has a sequencer, is an audio workstation but i can't give you a honest opinion as I use
my laptop for audio recording and my fantomx7 for sequencing.
The VA is fantastic but not the easiest to program. The FM was difficult and very hard to understand in the yamaha DX7 days and that's
the same with the fusion. Don't like reed sounds so no opinion here.
It has an internal 40 or 80 Gb IDE hard disk for storing audio, programs, mixes,... and that is huge!
Remember 650 Mb is about 74 minutes of sound in 16 bit. Figure out yourself how much samples you can store!
There is also no need to buy expensive RAM, Rom cards.
You can only use the USB connector for swapping samples, sounds and not for midi.
The 'chickens' fusion converter software to convert waves into fusions format does what it does but I find this software
terrible in looks and features. OK, it's free but chickensys can do better. Compared to YASE (for Roland and not free) this is a toy.
You cannot assign the key zones to create a multisample, you have to do this is on the fusion itself.
There is no sysex editor has the fusion doesn't support it.

Compared to my Roland FantomX7 this synths sounds different. The standard sounds are OK and the free hollowsounds are fantastic.
The VA section is superb so there is no need to buy a 6 note polyphonic old analog synth as this synth can produce some fat sounds.
What's even better is that you can combine VA sounds with sampled programs in a mix (a combination of two or more sounds).
Because of the hard disk sound possibilities are endless! You just need to get started with sampling learning how to loop and create multi samples
and of you go. I started sampling my Korg M1, JD800 and other synths and that's just fantastic. No need for several synths live.
Just my fantom x7 and fusion 6hd.
I only find the effects a bit noisy compared to Rolands. The chorus doesn't sound to well. Sorry Alesis, your Quadrasynth scored better here.

9/10 for VA and 9/10 for FM

Don't know yet as I only have it for a month. It looks well build. Only the pitch bend is a kind of dud as there is little margin
in the middle so with bog pich bends (1 octave) you have to be sure that you put it in the middle.

I once needed alesis for help with my firewire mixer and mails were replied within 24 hours!

I bought this because it was very cheap. I would do it again.
If you want this as your only workstation this is a great workstation but it has it's weaknesses.
As an extra keyboard the 6HD is a BARGAIN as you can sample everything you dream of and easily create patches.
Don't forget you need a PC and software to create loops with no clicks.
It's sounds great,looks great, has great sound possibilities and don't forget you would need a rompler, FM synth, analog, sampler
if you wan't to replace all fusion sound

1.2x?? OS. Can get a bit jumpy if not booted up properly, but a reboot fixes this. I hear the latest OS version is great. Panel controls look like something out of a sci-fi movie but its not hard to get used to. I wish it had a proper numeric keypad to call up performance patches/mixes but alas... All manuals suck, even for this keyboard, however the User Interface and LARGE screen helps tremendously.

Polyphony depends on synth method. Max is 270 (270!!!) Effects are nice, multi-timbral mixes are sweet - Love to layer and split, and control via other keyboard controllers at the same time (add a MIDI switchbox/thrubox and some lightweight controllers for an instant multi-keyboard rig!) HD is stock 40GB Maxtor... haven't tried to replace with a larger HD, but I hear its possible.

Hollow Sun is the bomb - over 17 sound libraries FREE!! There are over 24 downloadable sound libraries FOR FREE on both Alesis and HS sites. Onboard sounds are amazing and the FREE HS and Alesis downloadable libraries expand on that brilliance with some really beautiful sounds! Keyboard is not full weighted but still very playable. Personally I HATE the Holy Grail piano as I feel its velocity curves seem to play in only three volume ranges and the transitions between them are very sudden and non-musical. Sampling is icing on the cake!!

VERY GOOD! Before it went back to private ownership and it was owned by Numark, Alesis support and parts department was the WORST... almost as bad as Roland's. Now privatized, they are considerably more user friendly and don't hassle customers who want to order spare parts.

HEAVY!!! Keybed is solid steel. Shell is rolled steel. Damn thing weighs a ton! Had to sell. Using the money to buy the Fusion 6HD!! Can't separate myself from this odd piece of sonic technology!! Wish it was 20 pounds lighter... so giving it an 8 on that basis only.

OS 1.24.

The first banks of factory presets generally sound average, but the latest ones have some good sounds. The ones by hollow sun are good. My main problem with them is the huge varation in level. If you're scrolling through the presets while playing a MIDI sequence you may jump from your chair when you suddenly select a preset with higher level. Editing is painless. The user interface is good. Nop editor since alesis didn't bother to implement SysEx.

The manual is the tipical parameter description alesis uses in synths. You can read it beggining to end and still not know how to do anything with the synth.

Polyphony is generous. No complaints there. Keyboard action seems nice to me, but it's the only weighted keyboard I tried. The effects are nice. I use them for monitoring but don't record them. No delay MIDI synch. In this day and age..... Aftertouch is very responsive. The sequencer is basicaly a load of crap. Usefull as a note pad but even then it get's on your nerves. For some reason someone in alesis decided to insert volume control and a few other messages with a value of 127 in the beggining of each track, so every time you start playback any level adjustments you made are gone. When you start wondering why everything sounds like a clipped mess, that's why. That was some very good thinking alesis.

You also can't select programs on any other bank besides number one from cubase. Very nice....

Velocity and aftertouch seem fine. The sampler seems quite functional and I guess the realism depends on how well you program your sample patches. The sound generation of this thing is good. There are a few glitches to it but nothign too serious.

You can't depend on it. Sometimes it will give you a error message and no sound whatsoever will come off it. You have to restart it and sometimes even leave it off for a while for it to comeback to normal. It doesn't happen often but it's frequent enough to prevent me from using this live.

Alesis is not a thrustworthy company. They haven't implemented all the advertised features and they havn't fixed the bugs in a reasonable time frame.

Wouldn't buy it again. For the price you do get a good keyboard and a good sound module with four synthesis types and a 80 Gb hard drive to store all your patches. Those things make it worth it. I have been playing for 15 years. I really wished I could select patches on it with a sequencer and that it had delay synch. It helps and get's in the way of making music in requal amounts. Overall this is product was a great idea that Alesis managed to screw completely. When you take in consideration that up to recently thsi thing couldn't even synch MIDI and audio I think Alesis deserve all the bad rep they got from it.

I'm using OS 1.24. It came with OS 1.23 but that changed this morning. I bought this new last night from Guitar Center in Ridgeland MS.
I think that the presets sounds fine as long as you're in program mode. The presets sound okay in song mode but alot of the character is lost. Sometimes this is good like during a mix and sometimes this leaves me wishing it didn't happen. It just mainly depends on what you're looking for and what kind of music you make. I would not recommend the presets for hip-hop only because of the drums. They're not weak or anything they're just different and kind of old school to me. But I still like them for the songs I make but I wish there were more drum presets.
It's not hard at all to edit the patches but I'm not a programmer. So I really can't be specific about how easy it is to edit patches. But the few times I have edited patches it's been really easy.
The manual is very easy to read and to understand but that about it. I don't like it because there are no hints and tips or tutorials or anything like that and it hard for me to find something specific when I need to find it. Thankfully there's a DVD tutorial out now.

The polyphony is out of this world. I dont recall that making a note cutoff or disappear because of it running out of polyphony. The Fusion has plenty of built in effects, they sounds really good and the very easy to use. It doesn't have expansion capabilities as far as plug-in boards or anything like that. I know the RAM can be expanded and that may be all.
I haven't tried syncing this thing up for MIDI playback but from what I've read Alesis is still working on this feature. I've only synced up the timing to my other keyboards and digital recorder and it's synced in time perfectly.
It has an onboard sequencer but it does not have a pattern sequencer like many are used too. It's only in linear form which I dont really like but that's one of the cons and there is a work around for it. You are able to cut and paste your songs in the order you like them but I'd still prefer a pattern based sequencer. Hopefully this will be on the way soon, too. The sequencer is very easy to use though so I'm very greatful for that.

Velocity snd after touch are great. I have no complaints there.
Many of the instruments are very realistic. Especially the sounds I've recieved for free from Hollow Sun and KPR created specifically for the Fusion. There are some plain sounds but those are the GM sounds which I never use anyway. Plus if you don't like the preset sounds its easy to just fix them to your liking or create your own.
The Fusion will work with all types of music just don't expect immediate gratification right out of the box. I was not pleased with the Guitars and the Drums when I first got my 6HD. But after learning a little something on how to tweak the drums to my liking, all is cool now. I make all kinds of music.
Like I said earlier the onboard effects are very good and very easy to change.
The Fusion reacts to the way I play very well. I have no complaints.

I feel as though I can depend on my Fusion but it's not perfectly bug free. The 8HD I brought home yesterday hasn't shown me any problems yet and hopefully it never will. But my 6HD does get an occasional error screen when I first turn it on. But it only does this once is a blue moon. So I just turn it off for about ten seconds and turn it back. After that I don't have any more problems with the error screen. Sometimes in song mode notes will sustain as if you're holding down the sustain pedal. It only does this when I making edits to a certain sound while a song is playing or when browsing past the different sounds in a song. It's no biggie for me but it does get annoying sometimes. I have a nine lower black keys touch the body of the Fusion and when the keys are depressed they make noise louder than any of the other keys because they're hitting the top of the Fusion. I heard that this is a common problem but an easy fix whether you're willing to loosen a few screws or not.
I would not use it on a gig without a back for one reason and one reason only. It has a hard drive on it and I just don't trust anything with a hard drive not to crash freeze/lock-up or do something wierd. My PCs in the past have crashed, I read reviews about the Boss digital recorders that have hard drives crash as well as the Tascam 2488 having problems with crashing and among other things. So it's nothing personal against the Fusion and I've read reviews about how great it is using it live but I'm not willing to take that chance just yet.

Alesis was very helpful and friendly when I called for assistance. They appeared to be very concerned about thier customers satifaction.
I got an from them when I order a Fusion 8HD from Guitar Center because they were blowing them out at $499 for the 6HD and $999 for the 8HD. I already had the 6HD and I wanted wieghted keys. My local GC didn't have any in stock so they called around and found a few for me but they were all floor models. Only one store they talked to had a box for it and they said it was in great shape. Well, I UPS changed all that and I glad they did because it was pretty dirty, scratched up and it didn't come with a manual(which I knew about) or a power cord. Well, the box they decided to ship it in was too small for the Fusion and they didn't write FRAGILE or THIS SIDE UP or anything like that so it arrived in pretty bad shape with to keys stuck down. Well, I call the next day after recieving it and GC said they'll locate another one for me but this time they were getting it straight from Alesis. That's the one I picked up yesterday. So in a way I did get an upgrade from the old beat-up one thanks to Alesis and my local GC.

If this were lost or stolen I probably would replace it but I have always been curious about the Motif ES and now the Triton Extreme. I do like the Fantom X Series but there's just nothing special to me about the preset sounds. The Yamaha sounds just blew me away. I'm also curious about the Kurzweil k2661 and the Roland Juno-G. I've played the Juno-G and it seems like a pretty cool board. But for the price for my 8HD $999, I don't think I could have done any better because like I said, I wanted weighted keys anyway and this things is always getting better updates to the OS and to the sound banks thanks to Hollow Sun and KPR and BITR. To me it's definately worth what I paid. Oh I forgot to mention since I bought this while the promotion was going on I should be recieving free Alesis M1 Active MKII monitors pretty soon as well.
I've been playing most of my life. I have an alto sax, a recorder, Yamaha DJX and DJX-II, a Boss BR-532, a Fusion 6HD, a Yamaha YPG-625(my wifes), Yamaha VSS-200, and Yamaha PS-02(my first). I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
I love the possiblities and the bang for the buck. I like the all in one-ness of it. I like the design because it doesn't like anything out there. I like the build quality because it's built likt a tank. Very solid and heavy. I don't like the fact that there is no pattern sequencer right now but there isn't one in the Juno G either. I don't like the bugs whenever they do pop up.
I didn't really compare it to too many other boards out there because for $999 brand new there arent many to compare this to. I know there a the Korg TR61 which looks very nice to me but had no onboard sampling as standard. The Juno-G which only had 4 tracks of audio recording versus the 8 audio tracks on the fusion. The build quality was not the same as the Fusion but I still think its a very cool board. As far as comparisons at the price for brand new that was all there was to compare.
I wish it had a pattern sequencer and a was to keep all of the sounds exactly the way they sounds in PROGRAM mode. I wish there was a way to switch audio tracks I'm recording to without having to plug and unplug for each track. I wish I could darken up the screen just a little bit. I know I can in diagnostic mode but I wish there was another way. I wish the undo buttons would undo your last movements and not just eh setting you've made. I wish the cd-r that was promised when this first came out was already here.
The Fusion helps me make music especially with the free sounds available. But the fact that there's no pattern sequecner that I have gotten used to with my Yamaha QY70 slows me down because I have to cut and paste my songs together and I'm used to working like that. I don't like working like that but I can live with it.
This is my second Fusion and if I didn't need the money, I wouldn't be selling my first one.

I'm at OS version 1.24. This fixed a number of MIDI time issues but they still ahve a ways to go. The manual is factually correct but don't expect to learn how to do anything from it. The online Fusion forums are a better source.

The sequencer is almost useless. If oyu have already created your sequences elsewhere and import them into the device you'll be fine. But don't expect to build a profesional sequnce on this unit alone.

sounds are acceptable for studio use. I don't know how it would be in a live situation yet.

Ask me again in five years.

I got what I paid for - Jack of all trades. master of none.

While not near as hard to edit as say an old D50, M1 or the likes its not exactly a breeze. The manual is well thought out but could use some more screen snap shots to follow. The viewing screen is nice and big and very bright which is nice for a darkly lit stage!

Loaded with features to the hilt! One of the best keyboard actions around for all types of music. The stroke is not as deep as a really piano but that actually makes it much faster to play on sweeping arpeggios. Loads of built in effets at your finger tips! A great sound library is available FREE from the Alesis web site. Just plug your stick memory in to your computer and download until your heart is content and transfer it to your Fusion. I bought this board not only if its great sounds but its HUGE sequencer for my Who tribute band. Its a little hard to get used to but the capabilities are endless!

Whom ever the retard was that said it sounded like shit must be deaf dumb and blind! Didnt you play it in the store before you bought it? This beast sounds HUGE!! I use it in my Who tribute band and have no problems making Love Rain O'er Me, Baba O', Eminence Front, or Wont get Fooled again sounding as good as the origional! I also love the VA sounds for prog music. Tons of organs, strings, Mellotrons, woodwinds, bass, brass, and like I said a fantastic VA selection!!! To me the pianos are a little weak but totally tweakable!! just layer them until your hearts content

So far 100% reliable- seems to be rock steady with a solid metal housing

Fantastic!!!!!Alesis is comming around after a few rocky years. Sooooooo easy to upgrade the sounds!!

If it were lost or stolen I would get another one ASAP!!I have tons of gear, Moog Voyager, Moog Taurus, Roland U20, JD-800, Juno 106, Korg M1 and I could almost get away with just this one board!! Yup its that good. I tested the MO8 and it didnt have the expandabliity of the Fusion(hope you yamaha guys like the sounds your stuck with) and it was a fraction of the cost of a Roland Fantom. I gave this synth a 9 because I wish alesis would have made the sequencer a little easer to use but then again ive only had it a few weeks. The arpeggiator is a breeze to edit and has endless combinations. Try one you love it

I traded my Yamaha Motif 7 classic because the sounds were stale and it was very difficult/impossible to program and had a small abbreviated screen. I am programming with the larger screen on the Fusion without having to read the manual. Very intuitive. The modulation matrix in the VA synth is like adding lines to a spreadsheet. I have the lastest OS 1.22 and all Hollowsun wav upgrades as of Aug 2006. Id say as of July the Fusion is finally ready. An external control surface for the VA synth would be nice.

The effects are pretty good, Im still trying to get it to be a better hammond b3 emulator. To me the main feature is the hard disk. Its the core of the instrument and not an afterthought. You are in controll of the wav rom and no longer have to rely on what Yamaha Roland and Korg think you should have. You no longer have to buy a new Korg M1 every 2 years to stay current. (I own a Korg t-2, great board). The dedicated keyboard has no latency delay like a PC based sampletank or VST system would introduce.

The wav rom is 24bit and compressed with no data loss(like pkzip and not like mp3). Its very crisp all thru the range. Many sounds are sampled at multiple velocity levels. You can adjust the velocity curves to suit your touch. I own these Akai cdroms and plan to convert and add to my hard disk: Geytsounds best of, xxlarge string machines, Steve Stevens Guitar, Quantum Leap Guitars, Ultimate Strings, Acoustic Choirs. Those libraries deserve their own reviews.
the winows/mac conversion program is free.

Ive had it 3 weeks I bought it July 15th 2006. It still works.
The best part of the reliabillity is the wav rom won't go stale as you can replace it or add to it. I rate this board very high. I wouldn't have bought it if I didn't. I rated the Yamaha Motif very high back in 2002 when it came out and I bought it also. It might be possible to damage the harddrive by dropping it repeatedly.

I emailed alesis a question asking if the VA synth had pulse width modulation and never received a response.(yes it does, OSC shape)
They upgraded the OS and invited HollowSun to ongoingly release a Free (180MB so far) rom block of sounds (like a free Triton Extreem). Nice. This alone is the reason to get one.
http://www.promusicproducts.com/forum/phpBB2/index.php has a bbs with over 500 users that post issues questions demos and free sample/presets.

Roland Korg and Yamaha better get their act together as the Fusion makes the other workstations obsolite. Hollowsun releases new wav rom every month like a magazine subscription but for free. Just drop them on the harddisk. If you don't like the factory wav rom you can delete it and just have what u want. The VA synth is crisp and doesn't alias in the high end. It gives my Prophet600 and Moog Prodigy a run for the money. Ive been playing 26 years. I give it 2 thums up, listen to it with good headphones and ignore ignorant salesman. If it were lost I'd buy 2 more.

ver 1.22 is the only version to bother with - the "new" alesis factory sounds are pure junk. pianos on any of my older modules are better and there are no usable horn patches whatsoever. one of my bands is a top forty - heavy on horns. i had to continue using my qsr in conjunction.

third party "hollow sun" is the only apparent hope for a functional fusion and still not yet. i specifically asked those at "new" alesis when we might have some functional, gigable horns and they had no idea... i might want to check with hollow sun!

it has amazing features - in theory. four different types of interactive sythesis, an eight channel hard disc recorder, sample, sequence, wav, midi, mp3(if i recall correctly)player and i believe a dvd player and margarita blender interface are in the works.... this is the perfect physical example of "jack of all trades, master of none"

if only they had followed in the real alesis footsteps and offered a killer keyboard with some cool extra features instead of killer extra features and no base - much like getting a great stereo/dvd, leather power seats, $4,000 rims and a talking gps in a new car with only three cylinders and four donuts for tires.

i have owned everything from a polymoog, prphet 5, yamaha tx816, synergy, d50, d70, akai mx80, kawai k4, korg wavestation, kurzweil pc88,x and 2500r roland jv/xv racks and more. everyone had better sounds for their time that this.

it reacts fine to velocity and aftertouch
some cool sounds, not much on realistic - easy to use

what types of music does it work well for? most likely any, in the studio if you are a programming wizard or have a friend who hangs out behind the curtain

if you like down time between songs and are basically playing cheezy piano and organ songs sure, you can gig it. i had to use it as a controller for my rack to have the sounds and speed needed to play for real. just a note - do not take for granted that a sustain pedal will work with it straight out of the box, mine (the same one i have used with my last two and current qs8's) didn't.

customer support is the only thing really worth raving about here. while the board itself has its pluses and minuses, customer support busts their humps for you.

this was my seventh (and eighth) alesis - and by far the worst. let me start by saying this is your fathers alesis - its not even your older brothers alesis. the great minds that brought us the qs series and other such toys is no longer. as a matter of fact, i was told by the new alesis (think george clooney as the new batman) that they are offering no further updates, etc for the qs - even though they have been selling them up until the past few months.

i have had a qs 7.1, 8, 8.1 and three r's - all wonderful pieces. the first fusion they sent me was a physically broken board that was sent accidentally. a week later the real fusion arrived. first complaint - you have to go to an office supply store and buy a flash memory card before you can update the os.

you cannot use the board live as it takes much too long to change between patches - and if you happen to pass a particularly beefy patch on the way to the one you want, you have to let it load first. very cumbersome.

had i kept it, i would have preferred it stolen so i could buy a real board with the insurance. i would never own one again. i sent mine back for a full refund and went out and bought another qs 8.1 and roland xv-88, and four roland cards for have the price and am infinitely more happy.

they are very proud in discussing the genesis of this project and how they kept adding features and getting giddy about. if only they were working musicians and had a discernable clue.

OS version 1.22. Finding the interface very intuitive when I can actually stop playing through the sounds and mixes.

Unbelievable polyphony, lovely keyboard action-prefer it to my Yamaha P-150. Usual excellent Alesis effects quality. I am considering the RAM upgrade for #79 but I don't really need it yet.
Feature list is very impressive for the price-hell, it is unbelievable for this price.

Great range of sounds as of latest Hollow Sun update. I have ben playing with soundfonts just lately-loads them no problem. A synth with real potential.

Very reliable so far but not considering gigging it as it is 'fitted' into my studio.

Emailed Alesies-got response same day. Got a number for an Alesis guy in UK. The Fusion forum is an amazing treasure trove of goodies and advice.

I used to have racks of gear to put Rick Wakeman to shame, slowly it was shrunk to a stage piano and a workstation. I now have a Fusion and nothing else and don't miss a thing-enough said methinks. I would not be without it and the open architecture of the OS means it has a real future.

Software Version 1.01

This is tough keyboard because everyone thought it would be tweeked out on the presets. Well it was shipped way early and it is up to you and I to carry that out. Editing is easy some functions that should be on the same page are split on multiple pages?
The manual is a 300 page manual with a quick reference 36 page.
They might have tried to make it too easy and I wish it was more granular. The architecture is pretty deep and supports the abilities pretty much. Not to mention anything can be added or changed with the updates.

Polyphony? Who really knows over 200 I guess. The variables are the synth engines you choose and any layering done. One thing is for sure from my tests ...It is high and has horsepower. Effects are unique and not just "Bread and Butter" types. Some have complained of limited effects but I want the synthesizer to be great without relying on effects and I think so far it shows that. 32 track sequencer with analog inputs for external audio. Limited only by hard drive space 40 gig.
Easy to use from my experience with Korg and Roland.

This is subjective to me some are and some are not realistic. I have certainly heard WORSE piano's than these I can say. And with the MEGA adjustments you can trim the patches. This is NOT a board to buy just for preset playing, what a waste that would be. Effects are good and some are really unique with the use of the Matrix patch bay. Keyboard is not the clunky wooden keyboard Keys but a mix of full/medium weighted action I like and does not slow me down. Great velocity abilities and aftertouch.

This is a software synth that can be anything as the updates roll out.
And as such need agressive updating to show the unique attributes of a software machine. Would I buy again having this just a week and owning a lot of huge machines? Yes, people are premature because Alesis was forced to push out too early and the thing was more "Raw" than expected on it's presets. The future updates are the key and I personally can tell how powerful the synth is by the programming I have doe so far.
This is a programmers synth and you have to want to get under the hood of it. Rewards will be heard for those who do this. I took it apart due to a B-Flat key making a mechanical noise. I was happy to see that this was just a wire and mylar that was bent touching the top of the key. The rest of the synth looked very tough on construction compared to my other instruments.

Well they had a "Ask Alesis" e-mail and I sent three and none came back? I did send to the official support@alesis.com and withing 24hrs they responded. It is not the "Original Hollywood" Alesis i used to work with but hopefully this big corporate entity will be good on support for all.

It is too early to give it a major rating due to being out just a week and only one software update so far. But the ability to grow with no limits on so many areas from polyphony to program storage to features not yet released I vote that it will be a major win for any buyers of it. I would replace it, it is made really great on the outside as well as the inside. They streamlined a lot of the programming so you can compose faster and program less but still get the sounds you want. I looked and played the yamaha motif and it was too cheesy on the construction even with a great pallet of sounds. My triton is way better made and Fantom also. Yamaha has to improve on this in my view. I own a Triton with a 5gig drive I added, a fantom, P-2500, P-2000, Original Quadrasynth, TG-55, U-110, FB-01, Alesis Drum Machine, Kurzweil K2000v.
They need documentation on the Samples on-board? That I think is lame.
Only the outside of the box said 120 meg of all new samples? whatever.