Alesis ION

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.

I think this synthesizer sounds like the 80s. Sounds interesting for me but i think it sounds a bit to cold for a minimoog-fan. The presets are avarage. The leads doesn't cut through without tweaking.
You can play very expressive with the 3 Wheels and it looks amazing in the dark!!!
I don't like the effects very much. They're not very extreme and for me there's missing a delay. This synth can sound awsome if you know what you're doing or you're like to play around. I don't think that you can get a synth like this for this price.

no problems

Just to give you a little background, I am a guitarist in a rock band (post-rock, epic rock, lo-fi influences), so was a TOTAL synth novice when I started looking for a synth. I posted messages on the vintagesynth.com site asking for advice and read as many reviews of as many different products as I could, finally settling on the ION due to its versatility and good price.

When I got it out of the box, I was a little disappointed in the presets - most seem geared towards dance music or cheesy soundtrack work. I was looking to emulate someting a little more organic - electric pianos, organs and the like.

As I am a novice when it comes to subtractive synthesis, it seemed a little daunting at first, but I started tweaking the few usable sounds I did like and soon enough I was coming up with the kind of sounds I was looking for. I have now programmed lots of electric piaon type sounds, fender rhodes type sounds, glockspiel type sounds and ambient sounds. Also a couple of electro Kraftwerk-esque sounds. I am very happy with them all. They really sound very organic and not very "digital". Nice.

Editing sounds is really easy to do - the only difficult thing is getting your head round the sheer number of optoins you have at your fingertips - the possibilities are ENORMOUS, which is great if you like to have as much control over the sound as possible (as I do). The good thing about the ION is that is has lots of dedicated knobs that make editing much easier for a novice. The graphic display of waveforms and envelopes are also great for learning the techniques of sound generation.

The manual is comprehensive, but the best way to learn this thing is get involved and start seeing what the different features actually sound like.

I'm not sure what software version I'm using for this - but I purchased it about 2 months ago. Sorry.

Polyphony is 8.

Keyboard action is good for a synth - but it doesnt feel anyting like a piano. Easily good enough for my needs.

Built in effects are pretty poor to be honest, the delay isn;t long enough and the other effects are fairtly cheesy. Distortions don't sound great - I wouldn't focus on this aspect when thinking of purchasing this. They are easy to use though.

MIDI capabilities/extensions etc are all greek to me at the moment, I'm not really up on this kind of thing and didn't assess this when I purchased the ION - I was interetsed in how it sounded.

No sequencer.

The best thing in terms of features is the sheer number of options you have to create sounds - 3 Oscillators, Pre-filter mix, 2 filters, post filter mix, then effects, arpeggiator, envelope generator, 2 LFO's - so much to play with and so much to shape your sound into anything you want!!!

The ION isn;t really great if you want to make realistic sounds of instruments like Piaon, Horns, strings. It's not what it's designed for. I'm also not really ananalogue synth enthusiast, so I can't tell you if it can realistically emulate the analogue synths we all wish we could afford! However, the sounds it makes are very very organic sounding and natural. Try not to base your initial thoughts on the presets though as they just sound weak.

I play rock music, influenced by bands like Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, Interpol... that kind of thing and it's great for getting Sigur Ros type organ, electric piano sounds and Kid A era radiohead sounds. Really nice. It fits in well with the style of music I play. I would imagine it'd be great for dance music too as the 'synth' type sounds can be very agressive and expressive.

Onboard effects - not great - don't consider this if that's what you're after.

feels pretty decent to play, but the keys are probaly not as weighted as higher-end models.

In the amp envelope generator, you have the option of setting keyboard velocity from 0 to 100%. This is absolutely delightful and the keyboard really responds to playing very well - no aftertouch for all you piano plyers though.

To me, once you start programming in your own sounds, this thing realy comes into its own - so many possibilities of creating great sounds - very impressive. It's a shame it can't do realistic pianos, horns, strings, but that's not what it's built for.

Had it for 2 months, haven't gigged it yet but I would do so without a backup. No problems so far (touch wood!)

N/A

I would buy it again if it was stolen/lost. Been playing for about 2 months - I'm really a guitarist who owns far to many guitars and effects.

I love the natural sounds it can make, I don't hate anything about it, but can get frustrated with my lack of programming expertise. Only ting I wish it had was a sloped top - can be difficult to see the display at certain angles, and the design is a little cheesy - looks too futuristic, I'd rather they;d gone for avintage look like Korg's MS2000B. I really had it down to either the ION or the MS2000 and went for the ION because it simply had a greater number of options, better polyphony and the Sound On Sound review was so great.

I wish it had better onboard effects I guess, but that's not such a big deal for me.

It definitely helps me make music. As a long-time guitarist, it is so refreshing to pick up a different instrument to seek inspiration - the different way of playing it and the huge variations of sounds you can produce really inspire writing. I love it!

I can really recommend this piece of kit - the sounds are great and it's a joy to play! P.S. Mine was an ex-display model so I got it less than RRP.

Very easy to use. Plenty of knobs.

The manual was useful for me. It explains every step of editing. Sometimes I'd like to have deeper explanations though. So you have to experiment a bit with the synth.

Polyphony: 8. Not huge but I record every track directly on an audio track so it's enough for what I do.

Keyboard action: bad. But I'm a synth player, not a pianist, so it's good enough for what I do with the ION. It's not meant to be played like a piano, so don't worry too much about the keyboard. No aftertouch but I never use it anyway. You can use an expression pedal if you miss the aftertouch that much.

Midi is easy to use. My ION receives data from my XP80 workstation and it has midi thru sending data to a sound module. I can set the midi channels easily (I push 2 buttons and it's done). It has 4 parts, you can assign any midi channel to each part. So with the sequencer of my XP80 I can trigger simultaneously the internal XP80 sounds, the ION sounds, and the sounds from the sound module.

The arpeggiator is bad. Never use it, though I may use it someday for very basic rhythm parts to add in a song.

The vocoder is a great bonus. I just need to find a sound that will allow me to do some intelligible speaking through the vocoder. You can process external signals with it too (not only the internal sounds), so I used a "vocoder patch" I did on my XP80 and I process it with my voice through the ION. My microphone goes through a preamp though, because the inputs are line-level.

It sounds very good but most of the presets are very bad.

THOUGH BE AWARE OF THIS: you must realise -and it's true for every synth on earth- that some sounds are terrible when you play them alone (when you try a new synth you usually check all the presets alone), but some very very bad presets can give very interesting effects in a mix.

THE QUALITY OF THE SOUNDS MOSTLY DEPENDS ON HOW YOU COMBINE THE SOUNDS IN YOUR ARRANGEMENTS. So you can take 5 bad presets and make a very listenable piece of music with them. But it's so subjective, and it requires some kind of talent I guess.

Does the ION sounds like the synths it tries to emulate? I couldn't tell, cause I haven't heard those classic synths in the same conditions. If you want to sound like a Moog... well, go buy a Moog. Personally I've bought a Virtual Analog to have a different approach to the sound than with my Roland XP80 workstation. I don't care about re-creating the sounds of older synth, I just want to make useful sounds for my music.

Now you can do a lot a great sounds with the ION... Just experiment and remember that the beauty of the sound lies in the way you combine the sounds in your arrangements!

I give it "only" a 9 because of the presets. With better presets it would have been 10.

By the way, expressiveness is great - with 1 pitch wheel + 2 mod wheels + expression pedal connection, be sure to play very expressive synth solos!

I give 7 because of the small buttons. One of them needs to be pushed a second time before it reacts and I bought that synth only 9 months ago. But the Ion seems reliable, it's not too lightweight and it's a mainly metallic instrument (except the solid plastic parts at both ends - and the keys of course). I would gig without a backup, though not as my main synth (which means I could carry on with my XP80 if the Ion let me down, though I don't think it would stop working just during a gig).

Only thing I had to do is download the most recent OS from their website. Very easy to do. I liked to have a lot of audio demos on the site as well, it helped me when I decided to buy it - I knew what I was buying. I've never dealt personally with the company.

I'd like to give a 10 because you have to consider the price. 1135 euros was interesting compared to other models, but I regret that the price is much lower now :( I could have saved 300 euros.

If it was lost or stolen, I would consider buying it again but I would consider many other virtual analogs. A V.A. is a nice addition to my music. Maybe I would buy something cheaper still (a rack unit), because I don't have the money to buy another synth right now.

I record rock/pop music with electronic sounds. I did some great sounding things mixing acoustic & electric guitars and the ION.

Other gear I have:
- Roland XP-80 (use it for acoustic and electric pianos, bass sounds, percussion and vintage synths such as mellotrons and roland d50, thanks to the expansion boards)
- Korg Wavestation SR (great for evolving pads)
- Soon to arrive from an eBay transaction: the Korg 01/W FD.

My XP80 serves to re-create "acoustic sounds", so all my other synths are there for their electronic sounds. I don't regret to have bought the Alesis ION.

I use OS v1.06

the presets just suck, just as they usually do on VA synths. my worst synth for this was the Waldorf Q and I must say the Ion falls quite near the Waldorf as far as presets are concerned. I mean these guys have not been out in a club or a concert since the early nineties.

but forget the presets, it's that kind of machine that begs to be edited. I usually start with the default patch (a plain sine , one osc, filter bypassed) to leave all possibilities opened, and I must say when I came back from the shop and started playing, I immediately wanted to hit that store button everytime I changed a parameter. always a good sign.
in the first hours I made a dozen of sounds just like that, from scratch. forget the presets. do your sounds and hit that "store" button.
editing is a joy and very intuitive. it's full of tiny little features that make you go "ahah" when editing. well done. for example, one neat feature I liked is that detuning an oscillator by more than +99.9% (% of a semitone) will automatically make the "semitone" parameter increment by one... and your detune back to zero.

clearly not your average virus synth as far as ease of use is concerned. the LCD is clear and does a good job of giving you instant visual feedback of what you're doing as well as extra editing features, not accessible via onboard knobs and buttons.

the manual is clearly written but if you 've ever used an analogue synth you won't need it.

polyphony is OK. you won't write whole songs on it like a workstation but it's clearly not the idea.

I don't care having gazillions of voices when I have 8 good voices like the ones on the Ion. plus if you think about it, how many hit records were written on a Jupiter 8 ?

effects are good, I like the solina string phaser, and the distortions/compressions are OK. They won't replace a good hardware unit but they do a good job at dirtying things up

the keyboard is ok for anyone who's not a good keyboard player (like me). friends of mine that are good keyboard players said the keyboard sucks but it does the job for me... I don't care not having aftertouch...

no onboard sequencer, but a neat little arpeggiator to throw ideas around. would not replace a good midi programming though.

overall the features are more geared towards analogue synth addicts rather than workstation lovers... having this synth is like capturing a bit of synth myths like the jupiter, moog, etc.

fat and ballsy

as said above, it's good for analogue sounding patches.

I have various analogue synths ( Juno 60 , Oberheim Matrix 6 , MacBeth M3X , Prophet , etc.) and this one has nothing to be ashamed of in comparison. the oscillators are just incredible. so are the filters. I agree though the best filters are the emulations of the vintage ones, the "Ion only" are slightly less useful.

it's NOT sounding exactly like a jupiter or a prophet but it's as good and a joy to work on.

will beat any DCO based polysynth from the eighties... and won't stand ashamed in front of a prophet or a jupiter.

What I like is when programming a sound, it's just sitting well in a mix, no need for harsh EQing like a VSTi , no need for compression and valve processing. it's just good as it stands. dreamy creamy pads ? just add a bit of reverbe and you're done.
rough basslines ? make it a unison patch.

oh and I also like the fact that sounds will play very well up and down several octaves with no apparent digital artefacts like aliasing.

mine has nothing to complain about. no ghost paramater bug, no self editing, no dodgy modwheel.

it was a bargain, I got it for #300 almost new from a second-hand shop in London...

n/a

I would definitely buy another one if it were stolen . In fact I'm considering its baby bother the Micron to add another 8 voices to the set up !

I compared this synth with a Nord Lead 2x and a 3 , a korg ms2000 , and various VSTi and to me it really beats all of them for pristine vintage synth emulation. I also compared it to an Andromeda and boy I loved the Andy but at this price, the Ion cannot be beaten.

I sold my Juno 60 and Matrix 6 as a result of a session where I successfuly managed to recreate a few of their patches on the Ion.

I'm using OS 1.06 and have had my Ion about a year and a half.

The Ion is a well laid out synth which makes sound design easier. I am an ambient musician and for the most part I find the presets not all that usable for what I do. There are a few which really are fine. But overall the presets seem to be dance-orientated.

Editing the patches is very simple. Many of the presets have some good ideas behind them, and you can find out how they were designed and tweek them for your own use.

The manual is pretty good and explains the workings of the Ion plainly.

The Ion has a polyphony of 8 which for most cases is adequate. But there are times on a multi where I wish I had more.

The effects on the whole are weak. The Chorus and phaser are Ok but the delay is weak and there is no reverb. I assume most players have an outside reverb that they prefer, but I wish the delay was better.

There is no expansion capabilities.

The keyboard is adequate. There is no aftertouch, but it is velocity sensitive. It has two modwheels which I find a great bonus.

There is no sequencer yet, although its little brother, the Micron, has one. I'm hoping a OS update will add one. The arp is not great and is limited in editing.

The Ion offers FM and a Ring Modulator which can add some color to your sounds.

I like the filters and the envelope generators. There are quite a few filters, but the Moogish LP filter is my favorite. The envelope generators have loops which I find very useful in making interesting sounds.

The Mod Matrix is fairly extensive and easy to use.

For an ambient musician this synth can really be a great tool. It is so flexilbe and can come up with some very unique and usable sounds. The Ion cuts through a mix very easily.

This is not an instrument for realistic sounds. It is very easy to create some unearthy sounds. The pads and drones are incredible as are the basses. But you really have to go into the Ion and create them yourself. If your are into dance or pop music you might find the presets useful. The experimental and ambient musicians are going to have to trash a lot of the presets and start from scratch. The sounds are there and the Ion can really excell in there genres.

It has always come through for me. I have gigged quite a bit with it.

I have only had to call customer service once with a question, and they were very helpful and responsive.

For the money I don't think anything can match it for its sound and capabilities. I would replace it with another Ion if this one was ever lost.

I love the sound and dependability. The Ion is well laid out and easy to figure out.

I think the delay is weak in the effects as is the arp.

As an ambient artist, the Ion has helped to inspire me musically.

It is certainly worth the money.

I also own a Waldorf Q rack, Microwave XT, Yamaha RM1X, and various soft synths such as Reaktor and Absynth.

I FOUND THE EASE OF USE FOR THIS KEY OK UNLIKE A REAL ANALOG SYNTH A DRAMATIC SOUND CHANGE OCCURS WHEN YOU CHANGE ANYTHING LFO RATE, CUTOFF FREQ. SOUND PRETTY MUCH REMAINED UNCHANGED NOT VERY FLEXIBLE.
BUT 2 MOD WAS A NICE TOUCH.

THE VELOCITY SENSITIVE KEYS ARE NICE, COMFORTABLE PLAYING ACTION BUT THERE'S NO USE FOR 3 DIFFERENT PHASERS IN A SYNTH IF YOU CAN'T MAKE THEM SHINE THROUGH, AND THE DISTORTION EFX SUCK!!

THE SOUNDS ARE NICE,BUT I DO AMBIENT MUSIC SO MY SELECTION IS A LITTLE LIMITED. THERE'S ABOUT 25 PADS ON THIS THING. THE JUPITER PAD IS DREAMY WITH THE RIGHT REVERB BUT ALOT OF THE STRINGS ARE POOR AND THERE'S A COUPLE CHOIR WHICH AREN'T THAT GREAT. THE FM SOUNDS ARE NICE BUT IN NO COMPARISION TO A YAMAHA DX-7 SYNTH.I ADMIT ALESIS IS RIGHT IT'S THE CLOSEST TO ANALOG SOUND, BUT THE FILTER MODELS ARE A JOKE. IF YOU CYCLE THROUGH THE GOOD PATCHES LIKE THE BASSES, AND PADS YOU'LL NOTICE THEY RELY ON THEIR DIGITAL VERSION OF THE MOOG FILTER WHICH MAKES YOU WONDER HMMM..WHY INCLUDE 17 FILTERS WHEN ALESIS RELIES ON A FEW FILTERS FOR THEIR SOUNDS(BECAUSE THEY'RE THIN AND LIFELESS)

IT'S BUILT TOUGH I ADMIT, ADAPTER FREE USE IS A PLUS.

N/A

I WOULDN'T BUY THIS PRODUCT AGAIN. I OWN A FEW KORG AND OBERHEIM PRODUCTS SO I WILL SIDE WITH MYSELF THAT I HAVE A DIGITAL SYNTH OR TWO,HOWEVER A SYNTHESIZER IS MEANT TO IMITATE A INSTRUMENT (PIANO,STRINGS,BRASS, AND MAKE SOME SPECIAL FX) HOWEVER WHY PURCHASE AN INSTRUMENT THAT IMITATES ANOTHER VERSION OF ANOTHER INSTRUMENTS SOUNDS? FOR INSTANCE, SOME OF THE PATCHES: ODYSSEY LEAD,OBERHEIM STRINGS,STIX MINIMOOG,JUMP,TOM SAWYER,MOOG TAURUS PEDALS,ETC. I'M GLAD THEY DIDN'T TRY TO IMITATE A MELLOTRON WITH THIS SYNTH, WHO KNOWS HOW MANY PEOPLE MIGHT CHUCKLE!!I THINK IT'S TIME TO STOP THE ANALOG-MODELING FAD AND START DESIGNING REAL SYNTHESIZERS AGAIN!!!

at first, this synth looks ominous, brooding. so many knobs and buttons and blinking lights, if youre a beginner, you'll probably wet yourself.

i did.

but once you get in there and start going crazy with the twisting of the knobs and whatnot, its really not a difficult machine to work. like learning piano, its fairly easy to play, hard to master.

its got 8 polyphony. only 8 voices.. a little limiting. but with some tweaking of your sounds, you can make anything sound like anything.

thats all i can say. you have almost complete, utter freedom to change everything. EVERYTHING.

the only thing this thing can't do is make you dinner.

and im sure they've got a patch for that.

okay, so the pressure sensitivity is iffy... but you can tweak that.
no Q-cards. but you have 127 slots to save your own stuff.
limited built in effects, but you can simulate them if you have the patience.

this is where this machine shines. you can't give this machine anything below a 10, because if you don't like the sounds, you can make your own. you can make what you want. so if you don't buy this because you don't like the presets, you don't deserve it in the first place.

so far, i've had no problems with it, and i've been super brutal with it. i've left it out in my car over night in the snow, and i've thrown it around at shows. it just keeps trucking.

about the only problem is the software, which is getting fixed bit by bit with the patches. so eventually, this will be a ten.

i gig without a backup, but if you can afford it, have one. make sure to customize both in the same way, otherwise, you have two completely different keyboards that just look the same.

never dealt with them.

ive had it for two months, and im nothing but happy with it.

i've made everything from grinding, horrible static-filled sounds to awesome rock and roll organs.

tweaking this bad boy is a breeze. doing so with any amount of intelligent agenda is another story. it just takes practice and time.

i looked at this and the Alesis 6.2 (two completely different keyboards), and decided upon this based solely on how it looked.

my vanity chose well.

i wish it was a 64 key keyboard, but aside from that, i love it.