Alesis ION

Super easy to use...if you don't know how a VA works than you'll be stuck playing with the presets, but once you get to know this thing, then it's all uphill from there.

All you got to do it turn knobs and you'll see a different world.

I like that it can be multi timbral, but it froze on me once when trying to do 4 parts.

This is where this thing shines. I think Alesis is trying to make a statement. They definitly got a good thing going with this thing.

The Presets are OK, but once you start playing around, you open yourself up to a world of synth sounds that rival the boys that cost 4 times as much. Even iffy presets will sound good once you start messing with the knobs.

I don't think Alesis knew what they had when they put this thing out. I wish it had reverb...which is what a lot of synth sounds rely on (other compeditors), but I guess that's what a really good reverb unit is for.

I love the sounds that come out of this thing once I start messing around with it. I love the filters!

I've got a couple other VA synths, and this thing is up there with the most expensive one.

I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't praise it.

I've got the DX7 which is a great compliment to this, they sound so different but they get along so well(once you program the '7, which isn't that bad, but way harder than the Ion..

When plugged into my mixer I can't hear any fuzz even at full level, but some of my ---newer synths--- make noise when I turn them up and jack them into my mixer.

Besides the freeze when I tried to do 4 parts, It's been super good to me.

I've been doing three parts just because I don't want it to freeze, even though it was probably a software issue(which I havn't upgraded yet)

I'm sure it was a freak freeze when I was doing 4 parts.

They seems to be on their stuff when it comes to upgrades. Havn't upgraded yet, but don't see no reason to if I'm using 3 parts at maximum.

I love this thing.

It rivals other synths costing 4 times as much. It can be deep and rich, if you program it right, and it can be thin also.

I love the ability to program in real time, which the little baby sister doesn't have...although I wish it had the reverb the little baby sister has.

I would advise this to anyone...it sounds great. I also have a bunch of softsynths and this thing is great if you love to play with knobs(computers will never be real synths...VA synths that is...nothing will ever take "real" analog synths over). If you think that softsynths sound great...this thing sounds better.

I'm not sure if this synth can be programed from the ground up, but if you start programing from preset one...I'm sure you'll love the results.

Why do European Synth Makers have 2k price tags, and American Synths sound better? I may be a hypocrite because I have European synths...but this is on the top of my synth list.

I think Alesis needs credit where credit is due!

Presets are very flashy, non-traditional. You're going to have to dig a little to get anything like a modern sound. The sound designers definitely were in their own world, closer to 1960's science fiction than modern synths (which isn't totally a bad thing; today's sci fi sucks). Editing is fine, once you read through the manual and understand how much the routing affects your results. If you don't, you'll be convinced that all you can get are vintage 70's leads. See my comment below for an important tip.

Polyphony is 8, I believe. That's fine for me. Voices will drop on orchestral type strings and pads if your release rate is extensively long. The effects are gorgeous and will do what you expect, plus a lot more. The drive, which provides your distortions, is more internal, but if you use the Tube Amp setting, you get a really nice warmth that comes closer to what the staunchest Analog Snob wants.

I did have a lot of trouble editing until I realized its "Default" patch was set to parallel routing, not serial. This is a great option but can confuse intermediate level synthists very, very easily. So, if you want to start editing from scratch, this will make it much easier to learn the capacity of the filters and waveforms:

1. Find "Default" in User bank, patch # 127.

2. Twist Osc knob 1 under the Pre Filter Mix section. This opens up the sound routing matrix (NOT the modulation matrix).

3. Go to page 3 where the diagram shows a line spliting through the two filters. Use the buttons and "soft knob" to put the ratios for the oscillators at 100%-0%, all of them. Once you do this, you'll note a radical change in the sound immediately.

4. Got to page 5 and find the category that says F1-F2. Put that at 100%-0%. Note the sound change again.

5. Hit the store button.

Now the patch will be at a conventional routing, and the sound will seem much more editable. And also you can change the ratios for all those routing junctions, and get a lot more out of your sounds. Now you can get much closer to those wonderful leads, basses and pads you hear on all those car commercials and trance tracks.

Enjoy!

This is purely for electro. House, Drum and Bass, 2 step, Industrial, Goth, 'electroclash' (a label I hate as much as Ladytron), and so forth. You can make wonderful electric pianos, wurlitzers, organs, Moogs and rhodes, but that's it for realistic emulation. This is analog, baby.

Again, the distortion is internal, not a suffixed layering agent, as with most synths. To get that kind of feel, you'll need an external effects unit. I'm currently running mine through a Korg Kaoss Pad 2, an Alesis Ineko, an Alesis Ampliton and a Korg AX10G (not always in that order), and that covers the bases. Starting with a cheap multieffects unit such as a Zoom G2, a Boss GT-3 (or 5 or 6 or 8), or a Korg AX series will take care of most of your needs. (Synthesizers are much less demanding of sound quality on guitar pedals than guitars are; just watch the sampling rate- 24 bit is the standard these days.)

Now, the sound engine sounds better than the Korg Z1, Yamaha AN1X, Roland SH-32, or even the Access Virus Indigo, all of which I have owned and tested. Less nasal than the Nord Leads, too. It just has more 'glimmer', more color to the sound. So, in spite of the limited effects options, I'm going to give it a 10.

Very reliable, and until I get that huge contract, I'll not need a backup.

They're twonks.

Yeah, this is going to be my main synth for quite some time. I've been playing for 6 years now and have owned about 13 other synthesizers. It's quite comparable to the Access Virus; in fact it blows it away. The only thing that might be better would be an Alesis Andromeda A6.

The Alesis Micron has exactly the same sound engine and with more effects, plus the perfect arpeggiator/sequence and drum pattern programming. If you know your way around the Alesis Ion matrix, then I'd highly recommend the Micron as well.

Last OS came installed. V 1.06. The instrument works perfectly, no bugs at all. The presets are 30% usable, 70% rewritable. Of course, you're a synthesist and you love programmimg synths(at least, I really enjoy sound shaping). This is one of the easiest synths I had played for a long time. Despite the possibilities(it's almost a semi-modular synth)is very intuitive and fast to create your own custom sounds in minutes, sometimes in seconds! There's plenty of knobs and buttons on the front panel and the display is always showing you the required information as long as you're editing. Manual is very clear and precise.

8-voice polyphony. Light synth action, not as bad as I expected. I like dry synth sounds so i don't care 'bout the FX, but you have some usable distortions and flangers. I think that this machine is for playing live and sound shaping so 8 voices are quite good, if you're looking for a studio synth with tons of poliphony and parts, buy a Virus! MIDI seems well implemented, Ion sends and receive NRPN's, not the traditional CC'S, but I use it within a Cubase-based system without problems.No on-board sequencer(you can make a few tricks with the tracking generator but it's not a sequencer by itself). Arpeggiator could be better(i don't like the built-in patterns)but using it the traditional way works as expected.

Now I arrive to the most interesting part. I'm not the first, but i gotta say it, this instrument sounds UNBELIEBEAVLE!!!!I was a few minutes playing it, travelling through presets, tweaking parameters and I said: Can I pay with credit card? I'm totally in love with this machine. It sounds incredibly analog! No one with a couple of ears can doubt it! The warmth, fat and organic sound of god-synths like Minimoog or Jupiter 8 are in this board. I'm not joking, it's true! It seems alive with a slight touch on the "analog feel" parameter. I'd like to personally thanks the team of designers for this new god-synth, you're genius!

I had heard a lot of things about it. I was, in fact, scared about buying it for that reason. But I took the risk because it's the best VA of the history for me. And now, what do you want me to say? My unit is solid and perfectly constructed, seems hard as a rock. The only thing I would improve should be the keys, that seem a little more fragile than usual.

Yet no need for deal, knock on wood.

It's clear. If you're looking for a cutting edge wavetable synth with tons of poliphony and parts to use it as sound module in a studio setup, this one is not for you. If you belong to the analog community and since you were 12 you dreamed about playing Minimoogs, Jupiter 8's, Junos and all the legendary stuff, you can't afford the price of this beasts, and you always thought that Virtual Analog synths sucked as long as you're listening "Wish you were here" and "The man-machine", then your time has come. Alesis made it, all you have to do is buy it. Sincerely, for the price i bought it, i feel it like a synth heaven gift. Thanks Alesis.
Greetings from Barcelona, Spain.

I'm a guitarist and long-time reason user but wanted to get a hard synth to use for the stage. I used the Micron briefly last year and was interested in moving up to something with more features. Except for my Ensoniq EPS, I'm a newbie essentially so there's been a bit of a learning curve.

The ION has more preset banks than the Micron. Call it lack of experience, but I've found more than a couple presets that I like. That said, the billion knobs and buttons on this synth are an open invitation to tweak and the large lcd screen makes it easy to see what values are being changed. Once you get familiar with the placement of the knobs and their functions, the ION is pretty easy to use in low-light conditions, which is a definite plus.

The manual is written in plain english and describes every feature in detail. I've only had to use it when I can't figure out a function on my own. In other words, the synth is designed logically and has a very intuitive interface.

Features for the ION have been well-documented. It's unbelievably well-equiped for a synth of this price range.

Cons:
The action is pretty lousy
The latch feature isn't useable, especially compared to the Micron, and the arpeggiator is just lame

What stands out for me:
30 (count 'em!) knobs
Multi filters
3 mod & pitch wheels
Giant LCD screen
Looks cool as shit!

I've found about a dozen usable preset patches that I was able to use on recordings, right out of the box. There are some good frameworks for others that I was pleased with after some tweaking. Creating new sounds is easy-- select User patch 127 and hop to it.

To my ears, the sounds are extremely organic. Bass patches shake the floor, leads are very sharp and punchy, pads can be just as intense as with the excellent Yamaha AN1x.

The vocoder IS useable if you are sending it a decent signal. I recorded a vocal track using a MXL990 condenser and a Presonus preamp onto my digirecorder and then played it into the ION. I don't doubt that vocals would sound muddy using a RadioShack mic.

The effects section is alright, but nothing to write home about. I have a Roland SRV-3030d for reverb which is the only glaring omission in the ION's architecture. I'm pretty sure this synth would sound SICK through a Sherman Filterbank.

The ION is easily the least tempermental keyboard I've ever used. It seems better constructed than the Korg MS2000. I can only afford to have one at a time, so there's no sense worrying about carrying a backup.

Alesis stopped production of the ION but are continuing to offer support. Although we're not likely to see further OS updates the engineers do return emails.

Even better, there are great user groups on Yahoo and Google to support Ion/Micron users. If you post a question you'll often get a response within a day, if not within hours.

I'm not sure why Alesis pulled the plug on the ION because it seems like an unmitigated hit. I'd definitely replace it if it were to vanish unexpectedly. I've played guitar for many years and have started using synthesizers only recently. I've had experience with Korg and Ensoniq samplers. The last synths I had used were an M1 and a Casio CZ1000 from back in the day.

I bought the synth to get a little closer to the sound of bands like Air, M83, Interpol, My Bloody Valentine and it's been a good match for this style of music. Having it around has made me want to sit at the keys and experiment with different sounds, so it's worth its weight in inspiration.

Very easy to edit patches. The manual is perfect. It explains how the synth must be operated. It doesn't learn you how to be a musician or a synthesist. So be careful when you read reviews from beginners who don't understand what they do.

The keyboard IS VELOCITY SENSITIVE but DOESN'T HAVE AFTERTOUCH. The previous review is not accurate on the features. If you want to know the exact features, go to Alesis website, don't trust the reviews for that. Midi works like any modern synth (ie all you expect from a modern midi synth).

Knobs are great, but you can't change 2 parameters simultaneously with 2 knobs. You have to assign them to a mod wheel via the mod matrix. It sucks A LOT.

The sounds are excellent. You can use it for every kind of modern music. Pop, rock, dance, techno, etc. It's virtual analog synth so as usual no realistic sound, blablabla, you know that already, don't you.

The lack of aftertouch can be compensated by the 2 mod wheels and an expression pedal. Those who cry for aftertouch should learn to use their feet. I personally think an expression pedal is much more useful than aftertouch anyway.

The onboard effects are not good at all. External effects are necessary.

Not very reliable. Alesis wanted to offer a great sounding synth at a low price. The sound is great, so they had to sacrifice other parameters, ie the awful keyboard action and the overall reliability of the machine.

Connecting a jack in the rear panel gives the impression it will break inside.

Software problems are still happening even with the latest OS downloaded from their website.

I now have a high frequency noise in the left channel (both with headphones output or main line output).

Never dealt with them directly.

I would never buy it again. In any circumstance. I would go for a Clavia Nordlead 2X, much more reliable than Alesis keyboards. The Alesis ION is a low budget synth, with low budget quality. It's sad to say, but that's it. If your ION has none of the many problems mentionned by ION users, you are lucky.

I'll try to fix the problems in mine and sell it as soon as possible, before the problems reappear. It bought it in 2004, so there's no warranty anymore.

This Keyboard is SO EASY! Lots of endless knobs that update the main menu when they are moved. No more digging around through layers of menus to get what you want. Intuitive. This is probably the second strongest feature of this board (The first being the quality of sound).

You proabably already know the features so I won't bore you.

This board does analog. Period. It sounds analog. It is thick and very musical. I dialed up a patch in my Alesis QSR that had pitch-shifted downward and noted that a) it could only pitch-shift through two octaves and b) it sounded like ass. The ION handled the pitch shifting task with aplomb. It descended through a dozen octaves and sounded musical through its? whole range. I love the effects. I don't miss having a reverb with the ION because...why would you want to bury beautiful tone under reverb? I have found that the ION just plain sounds great. It compliments and augments rather than contrasts like digital boards do. It is hard to describe it as digital.

No issues here. I bought the store demo model 6 months ago and it still works fine.

No dealings with Alesis yet. The website is great.

I have read that this is a synth for analog users who hate analog. This is the most correct statement I can use for this board. The filters are amazing and the diversity of filter choices is excellent. Dozens of filters that model famous analog synths of old...all with resonance and performance-controllable parameters. I can dial up a patch in a few minutes with ease AND I can adjust sounds on the fly while at rehearsal - even while playing the song! Try doing that with any other digital board.

As for limitations, this keyboards greatest limit is the polyphony. It doesn't take too much to use all 8 virtual oscillators especially if the voices are layered themselves. This is yet another way how it mimics the synths of old...

I can?t survive without my ION. It is an indispensable tool to my sonic arsenal. If I had to perform without it I would cancel the show. The only other substitute would be a real analog board, but even then, I split this board four ways and midi control it during our show so it would be difficult to do THAT with an old analog board. Really the only thing better would be an Alesis Fusion or an Andromeda.

BTW ? if you are thinking about saving a few bucks by buying the Micron ? don?t! The controllability with the ION is well worth the extra few hundred.

Bought it used in November of '05, was looking for a less expensive alternative to a Nord Lead. I had previously played with the Micron, their slimmed-down, "performance" version of this synth, and although I felt the Micron was cumbersome to edit and the small keyboard was uncomfortable, it sounded good, so I figured I'd give its big brother a shot. Immediately I was impressed with the screen - not something you see every day on a $500 synth. This makes editing patches easier, although there are some key functions that are not in the main menus and are thus unnessesarily hard to get to. I was also impressed by the two performance wheels. They feel great, look awesome, and open up a lot of performance options. However, the knobs, while they feel nice, are small and easy to knock into, ruining carefully made patches. Also, the Arpeggio and Effects sections are underwhelming and hard to edit, which is a major bummer since I'm an Arp and FX guy. Rectifiable with external effects processors, but irritating nonetheless. All the problems are with the software however, so hopefully Alesis will update the software to rectify all this.

8-voice polyphony. "Ugh," is my immediate reaction, but I use it mostly for leads and monophonic basses, so it's not such a major bummer. If you're really bent on getting pads out of this thing (and you can get some great pads), get a MIDI controller keyboard. 49-note keyboard, which is small, but there is octave control, and again, if you're bent on using this as a pad machine, get a controller. Keyboard is not velocity sensetive, but it does sense aftertouch. This seems odd to me - if you're including aftertouch, why not just throw in the whole kit 'n kaboodle? Again, if you're determind, you can imitate velocity with the mod wheels. It's all fairly basic, but there are ways around the cut corners, and for the price, there's quite a lot of beef.

Very nice synth sounds, not-so-nice emulations of acoustic instruments. Characteristically, the sound of this synth is very spacey, surreal, and at times unpredictable. Three fat oscillators per voice, which is impressive for a synth in this price rance. It also includes many "analog" nuances, including a fantastic analog drift emulation, which are delightful and very welcome. Many comment that this synth doesn't sound as warm as a real analog synth - I tell them to stop being snobs and accept this machine for what it is. Immediately delete all the presets and make your own sounds, because this synth has a lot of potential and invites one to reach out and twist some knobs.

It's made of metal, and holds up as one would expect. The plastic sides have been denounced by many as looking "cheap." I don't agree, but some wood paneling or "vintage" touches would have been welcome. Freezes are rare, but they do happen occasionally. The keys feel slightly spongy and overly delicate, but I've gigged with it and it holds up quite well. I have and would gig without a backup, if simply because I have several other synths that could substitute. It's definitely sturdy enough to stand up to whatever light abuse it may encounter.

Never had to deal with them.

The bottom line on this synth is that it's cheap. It's bare-bones, it cuts corners. Deal with it. Many people expect this kind of synth to have absolutely everything that those more expensive synths have. If you want a MiniMoog, buy a MiniMoog. If you want a reliable, excellent-sounding synthesizer for as little as possible, look no further than Alesis's excellent Ion. It sounds excellent, and although it has shortcomings (especially with the software), there are ways around everything it doesn't have. Even if it doesn't have the bells and whistles as synths twice the price, it sounds better than pretty much anything on the DSP analog-modeling playing field.

Only the Supernova II, with its gazillion knobs, is easier. Or maybe some vintage Jupiter or Prophet that can't do half what this synth can. Presets are pretty good, but it would be a shame not to program your own sounds into this synth.

The keyboard sucks. I've been spoiled by the Supernova II, which uses the same keyboard as the E-mu E-synth and the Kawai K-5000. They actually feel like real instruments, while this one feels like a toy. Polyphony is 8, which is OK, but 16 would have been better. This isn't a workstation, but layering, long sustains, and fast arpeggios eat up polyphony. I don't use the sequencer. The synthesis features are GREAT. I won't go through everything I love about it, because that list would be too long. I wish it had a few things, though: 3 LFOs instead of 2, a "random" wave for the LFOs (like a sine wave of randomly fluctuating amplitude) instead of just S&H, and digital waveforms or even real wavetables As far as the hardware goes, I love the feel of the knobs and wheels, I love having 3 wheels, I love the internal power supply, I like the colored buttons, and I like the size of the screen. I wish it had sliders for envelopes instead of knobs, tiny buttons in front of large knobs (not behind them where they're hard to see), 76 semi-weighted pro-quality keys, and I wish the screen were angled like the one in the Yamaha Motif.

The sounds from this synth give me chills, and every now and then I hit on one that gets me grinning like a lottery winner. It sounds utterly analog. I used to think that the specific filters and choice of envelope slopes would turn out to be useless novelty, but I was wrong. Those features, or something else in there, turn this into a revival of every great analog synth of the 80s. I'm all for synths that have their own characteristic sound, but you just can't pass up a Jupiter, Solina, Prophet, Moog, ARP, Oberheim, and Juno all in one box for $600! Of course it's not identical to any of those, and if you're one of those people who has to have the real thing, more power to you. (There's a Prophet T8 on eBay as I write this for $2,600 and counting, with no guarantees that it's 22-year-old circuits are working properly.) I just wish Alesis would add wavetables, so I could add "PPG" to the list above. Or even four oscillators per voice and a joystick or trackpad, so I could add "Prophet VS." My wish-list doesn't detract from the score, though--they set out to make a no-compromise analog emulation, and they succeded perfectly.

Too soon to tell. Seems solid.

I've never had to deal with them. Can they possibly be as bad as Roland?

Pretty close to perfect. Certainly the closest you'll get to analog without shelling out much more for an unreliable relic of uncertain history. I actually considered trying to find a good, used Jupiter 6 (my first synth, sigh..) until I listened to this. This is all the analog I need. I'd replace it in a heartbeat, unless Alesis made a rack version or a 76-key version, or a version with wavetables. I'd buy one of those even if this one didn't get stolen.

Just bought the unit about a month or so ago--Firmware v1.05. I had played the Ion at Sam Ash before and was always impressed with the patches. I've read a few other reviews where people complain that the presets are just OK, but I think that "out of the box," this VA synth is great! Of course I love tweaking, and all those knobs are a plus. This is the first synth I ever owned with this many knobs. If Alesis would have slapped some wooden end cheeks on the ION and given it a raised front panel, it could become "the poor man's Minimoog." Editing is a breeze, once you get used to the "soft buttons." There are extra parameters that the knobs can edit, which requires some manual reading and experimentation--well worth it.

By the way, the manual that came with my Ion was outdated. I was looking for the parameter to adjust oscillator detuning, and the manual's explanation inaccurate. I finally called Alesis' tech support and received the correct info. Alesis could have easily included a manual addendum page for this and other OS updates, but....

The Ion allows you to play individual patches and "setups," which are combinations of patches. You can do splits and layers in setup mode, which allows for some interesting sounds, grooves, and noises. However, the manual is not clear on how to go back and forth between the two modes. I also own a Korg Triton, which has clearly marked buttons on the front panel to indicate combination and program modes. The Ion is not set up this way, and its manual is vague on how to go from setup mode back to playing basic patches.

Polyphony is only 8 voices--but for $600......let's not complain. The keyboard action is OK; the keys themselves are a bit smaller than the ones on the Triton and other workstations. I like the design of the Ion, although I wish the front panel wasn't completely flat. Every other synth I've played has an angled front panel to facilitate operation and view of the screen. The Ion's effects are good, but lack a reverb. No clue why Alesis left this most important effect out. I will say though, that the unit sounds great with minimal effects.

No expansion capabilities that I'm aware of, except firmware upgrades via MIDI. I haven't spent much time with MIDI capabilities by the way.....just been playing the unit by itself. No sequencer, but the Ion does have an arpeggiator (not-user programmable though, yuck.)

This is a real synth-players synth. No piano presets here, thank goodness. It's designed to be played and tweaked.....and tweaked some more--that's why I bought it. There are some factory patches that are named after famous synth players, bands, or songs of the past (like "jump," or "car's sync," for example) that sound pretty good, but require some tweaking and effects to really nail the original sounds. The onboard effects are good, and the extensive choice of filter types, modulation routings, plus so many patches to start with is enough to keep almost anyone busy for weeks. The Ion comes with three mod wheels, which is a plus. All three wheels are large, easy to manipulate, and they light up. The synth really looks cool at night! Most patches are pre-programmed to be extensively manipulated via the wheels--a great learning tool.

Like I said before, the Ion comes with loads of presets. Many are extremely FAT sounding and warm. It's a great lead instrument. The pads aren't all I expected, although some tweaking and external reverb should improve those. The blips, bleeps and ethereal sounds are fantastic, and this opens the door for even more tweaking. You won't easily tire of this synth!

I haven't been out of the house with the Ion yet. It came with a nice gig bag and I'm looking forward to seeing how it integrates live with my other keyboards (mainly the Triton).

I've had to call Alesis twice with questions. The first time I called, the service was great (in reference to the osc detuning manual error). However, when I later called with questions regarding playing patches and setups, the person I spoke with sounded like it was his first day--not very knowledgeable.

Overall....it's a great little synth. I would replace it if it were lost or stolen. I've been playing keys for over 20 years, and like I said before, this is the first synth I've owned with real total front panel control--none of the "digging through menus" nightmare! I wish it had a screen that would tilt, built-in reverb, more polyphony and wooden end cheeks. But once again....$600 is a great price for this much horsepower. There isn't anything on the market in this price range that even comes close. Lots of people out there are opting for the Micron, but that seems like a toy. Yes, it has the same synth engine as the Ion, but with so few knobs and that mini keyboard, you're missing out. Being able to tweak "on the fly" is something you need to experience for yourself.

It's a keeper.

Not sure of software version, only had it a couple of days. Presets are ok, not a patch on my triton. This synth is excellent for those who are just starting out in synthesis, as each control is logically positioned. The best thing I find, is that each wave is shown graphically, and you can evan morph it into other waves, and this is also shown graphically. EXCELLENT!! I also like the way all of the filters are so easily layed out. My Triton is a bloody nightmare when it comes to editing patches, and I really appreciate the ease of use here. Not really looked at the manual as everything seems to be clearly layed out for you.

8 Notes, can't complain here. This is not a piano, nor is it trying to be a keyboard. It is simply a analogue modelling synth which is used to produce sounds. Effects are chorus and flanger and many difference variations besides very easy to use. Don't think there are any expansion capabilities (only had it two days). Usual MIDI stuff, although no aftertouch. But again, I cannot complain here. My only complaint would be the arpegiator. This contains some really complicated arpegios, and they cannot be edited at all. Don't mind though, as I have a decent arpegiator on the Triton which I can use to play the ION.

EXCELLENT SOUNDING SYNTH. (No more to be said!!!!)

Only had it 2 days, but seems to be very solid indeed for the price. I was also impressed with the keys on it. Other reviewers have said that the keys are rubbish, but don't listen to them. This is a #400 synth, and you cannot expect synth action keys for the price. Would definately use on a gig.

Don't know..

Love it. Until now I have owned the Korg Legacy Collection and the Microkorg. Both were great sounding synths, but for a beginner, were quite difficult to use (Microkorg especially). The ION on the other hand lays everything out in front of you, and you can tweak what ever parameter you wish without having to delve into complex menu structures. I would definately replace it if it were lost or stolen.