Alesis ION

Pretty straight foreward. Just read the manual and everything is great. The fact that the screen changes to the set of parameters your tweaking as you do it is very nice. the arpegiator and LFO menus are kinda strange though.

THE KNOBS!!!!! are by far some of the sexiest feeling things in the world when it comes to synths. I love the fact that they are 360 endless rotation. 2 filters is also really fun. THE MOD CAPABILITIES ARE ENDLESS WITH 12 MOD PATCH LOTS.

Great sounding filters. Even though they are modeled they are modeled very very well and the two Mod wheels as opposed to one is always a bonus.

Great build. seems sturdy. its just been sitting in my studio so i havent taken it live anywhere but it seeems

Havent needed it.

Its a great machine and then its a Freaking amazing machine for the price. Great sounds. I would highly recomend to any musician wanting to add some powerful analogue (modeling) synthesis to theyre rig.

I'am using the new OS V1.03 which came with 3 new filter types and the aliasing was drastically reduced. (I couldn't hear any so far).
The preset sounds are Great; A lot of them sound like Vintage Classics. Editing Paches is easy, as you have all important parameters on the front panel. The Menu is also very easy to use. The Manuel is not bad, but there is no Index.

Polyphony is 8 voices, which isn't much but enougth for my needs. Built in Effects are cool; had no chance to try out the vocoder but a friend of mine took his Bass Guitar and pluged it into the External in. After 15min. of playing and sweeping filters up and down, adding chorus and distortion he said that he also wants to have an ION just as an effect board. Delays a missing, there is only a short slapback delay.
The keys are not poly-pressure sensitive but the verlocity works fine enought for a expressive playing style. (There are On-Velocity and Off-Velocity) There is no on board sequencer.
I'll give it a 9 becouse of the missing Delay/Reverb Effects.

Hui Hui. This is the category where I'll definately give a 10+!!!
Before buying the ION I was testing the competition-VA's. And I wanted a analog-like sounding Synth.
A good trick to compare Synths is to create a pgrogramm with bypassed, or completely opened Filters, no modulation, so that you can hear the raw Oszillator Sound.
The sound of the ION is brillinant, it has a good presence in an arrangement which gives it a character. Filters soung great, sweeping around with the Moog Filter emulation is my new hobby. Roland Tb303 sounds are very close to the original.
Th shorten this a little bit: 10+!

Seems reliable

Not jet needed

Great, it fits perfectily in my setup. Thats the Sound I was searching and now I got it.
This was the best musical investment I made so far.

Updated to the latest version (1.02) which fixes, among other things, the silencing of the oscillators when shifting octaves. Editing patches is easier than feces and better smelling, too. Patch editor might help, but the display jumps to the parameter being edited. This can get confusing if you're tweaking two knobs at once. If so, there's a global setting for LCD display "edit only" which will stop this flitting & flickering. The manual is OK. Never judge a synth by its manual, lest there be no synths for sale at all for YOU.

Downsides are polyphony and keyboard action; effects are nearly useless to me. Delay would have been appreciated. LCD panel should have been tilted.

Aah...now this is where the ION shIONs. Extremely realistic VA sounds with 17 filter types; any 2 being available in a given patch. Really kicks up the sound 4 notches (Doc Gibbs in tha house). LOVE the FM parameters in that they can truly make the ION sound MODULAR and give the most bizarre sounds in the Solar System. Combine that with the "hold" feature on the envelope, and that's a recipe for endless sickness...vast myriads of squeaks and groans and grelps that never repeat themselves. Arp 2600 fans will run and hide. None better. Virus schmirus.

No problems so far. Well thought out, and very well worth the long wait.

Easy upgrade. Alesis are great in customer service, but the synth is so reliable, it may never be an issue.

I would have paid twice the asking price for the sounds I get out of this. Extremely silly noises; joins my Korg MS2000 and Waldorf XTK in that arena. Absolutely essential for experimental or electroacoustic music. Move over SidStation...move over FS1R.

If you like analog synths, you'll find it easy to use. Pick a preset or dial up a waveform and twist some knobs :)

The presets are pretty good, but some are wrong (altho the vintage demo got me to buy it). The Styx Mini sound that is in there should be an Oberheim - just switch the filter and you're all set. Really, not a big deal. Small niggle. Many presets are usable out of the box, but where the fun comes in is creating your own sounds.

I'm in a Rush tribute band, and up until now, have been using a Roland JV-1010 with the Vintage Synth card and an Oberheim Matrix 1000. The Ion gets rid of the VS card, but I am still using the Matrix for some sounds.

I'd agree I wish the LED display was tilted, but you can still see it. Maybe Alesis will do that in the future.

I haven't updated the OS yet, so still using 1.0. I'll update sooner or later, but haven't had a big need yet.

If you want polyphony, go elsewhere. It's 8, but who cares ... this is a virtual analog. Alesis put its processing horsepower into making the Ion sound good, and if I want polyphony, I'll dial up the Roland.

No real effects, and it is what some will quibble about, but who cares? The Ion is feature packed. I've fooled around with but never bought any of the other VAs, due to sound or cost. This one is great - and you get Oberheim, Arp, Moog, etc. filters. It's like getting a room full of vintage synths in a box.

And the Mod Matrix rules.

MIDI is basic, and it integrates fine into my setup. I can trigger it from my other controller or MIDI bass pedals if I so desire with no problems.

I like the keyboard action, actually, and it's good for an $800 synth. I wasn't expecting much mor ethan I got.

My only gripe is the lack of a sequencer or something like that.

Awesome sums it up. I spent the summer programming the classic Rush sounds, and the Rush tribute band I'm in was knocked out. Night and day in some cases with the old Roland card, which I never thought was too bad. The smiles during the "Tom Sawyer" Mini solo said it all. Is it a Mini or an OB? In a live setting, you'd be very hard pressed to hear the difference. Alesis' processor power went into sound quality, so less polyphony, but it made a big difference. This VA sounds more analog than most I've heard. There is some aliasing in the very upper registers, but it is greatly reduced on the Ion. In normal ranges, I can't hear it at all.

The osciallators and filters are wonderful. Can't say enough about 'em.

So fart so good. I plan on gigging with it.

Haven't had to deal with Alesis yet.

Got it pretty much the week it came out from Musicians Friend. One of the best musical purchases I've made in a long time. A lot of fun! I would say if you're looking to get some analog sounds at a great price, definitely consider the Ion. When I started to look for something to compliment my setup, I first looked at the E-MU Vintage Keys Pro, and found it lacked a soul. Way too digital, and it was really samples. I had that with the Roland. The Ion - wow. I haven't had the chance to audition more expensive (i.e. $2500) keyboards because they were out of my range other than the Voyager, and as good as a Voyager sounds, the flexibility of the Ion makes it more attractive to me.

The knobs and the display interact very well. Turn a know, and the display jumps to the coresponding page displaying a waveform for example. Very easy to use. It invites you to change the sounds. The display is kind of hard to read from certain angles, and contrast settings don't make this better.

Polyphony is a minus, but I have other synths for parts where a lot of polyphony is important. The performances show you can do a lot with only 8 voices. For the money, it's perfect.

The transpose problem described below has been fixed in an OS update you can download on the Alesis website. I sold my Nord Lead 2 the get this synth, and like it a lot better. With the multiple filter types this synth has a very broad range of analog sounds it can make. The vocoder realy is something special too.

It arrived with one broken key... Feels sturdy though. A soon as I have a flightcase I'll gig with it. Looks great with the lighting mod-wheels.

Never dealt with them, but they already suplied a OS update wich even adds some new features.

As I've told I've sold my Nord Lead 2 for it. Didn't have any regrets looking back. I was pissed about the broken key, but the shop I bought it handled it fine. You can't go wrong buying this synth.

Using standard 1.0 version, waiting for more patches to be available, as promissed in the manual ;)

I bought this synth primarily because of the way presets sounded, though I wish it had just a tad more of them. Editing patches is extremely easy. This is a great synth to have in your collection if you're starting out because of the simplicity. If you're a pro - you'll find the sounds and features just as worthy of your attention.

I love the visual representation of ADSR, Filters, etc - I wish my Virus had that.

Manual is excellent, although a bit skimpy. I guess I am used to 2 Volume novel sets from Roland and Korg. It does not freak you out with bunch of engineer terminology and gets down to the detail without any nonsense. It's only 80 pages or so and I actually found myself wondering "hey, where's more info!". Start using it - chances are you won't need a manual

Polyphony is only(!) 8 voices. The rep who sold me the unit said it was 16, box came out saying 8. I almost didn't buy it, as I own bunch of synths that have 16 or more voices and I felt this would be toooo skimpy. Don't let the numbers fool you - think Jupiter 8... Did it sound fat??? This one does too. It tends to cut out if you stack several voice-intensive patches but I guess nothing sequencer and little elbow grease couldn't fix. For live performers this may be an issue, well for this price - buy 2 and viola! problem solved. ;)

Keyboard action is surprisingly good.... Keys are synth action and extremely responsive. Excellent for glissandos, portamentos, and really freaky jabs. I think it's a perfect tool for those applications. If you plan to use it to practice "moonlight sonata" or "Fur Elise" - you may wish to look elsewhere. I am also using it instead of MIDI controller for Propellerheads Reason and VSTi's - it fills that niche splendidly.

Built in effects are OK... But I am running it through other synths, such as Virus KC and Supernova - so I could care less. If it's the only one in your rig, you may wish to spend some time using software or hardware based effects. Personally, this is one of the few synths that can get on by without them - I hate most of built-in reverbs or delays and turn them off right away. I use Cubase VSTi's for that and comparing to $1600 Nord Lead (which has no effects) Ion just rulez. ;)

No expansions, Alesis promisses more sounds. I guess we'll wait and see.

MIDI is a standard bag - Sysex, knob movements transmit MIDI, etc. Keys are presure sensitive and you can turn that off if you like. Has your typical Local, Local+MIDI, Local OFF.

No sequencer, thanks LORD! If you ever used a built-in sequencer, you'll understand what a nightmare it is and how great that you don't have to pay for something you don't need.

I give this section a rating of 9 only because of polyphony. Don't let that discourage you - it sounds FAAAAAAAT.

No realistic instruments. Organs are pretty cool, strings are artificial but definitely have the "authenticity" to sound artificial yet cool at the same time. Some patches are just waste of memory - bleeps and fart-like noises. Hi hats sound like they were pulled from Cassio, with exception of few. Don't look for this one to be your drum module. Only few decent "Bass" patches and they sound a bit weak. Toms don't have the depth you'd hear with the likes of 909, Virus, or Korg... But keep in mind the price and don't forget that you could probably phatten up the sound by layering and distorting through external FX.

I would say that this synth is mainly geared for Trance, Techno, Ambient, Electronic. The sweeps and pads are your typical "candykid favorites". If you are into Trance - look no further. I will bet you my Ion that in the next year you will hear Ion sound in 90% of productions and trance musician's studios, just like JP8000/8080 was there a short while ago (and still is).

It may work for Classic rock, as there are plenty of Moog and kinda Oberheim-ish sounds. But by no means does it do justice to those legacies, it just kinda mimicks to the best of it's ability. It definitely would fit into the whole "Linkin Park" or "ElectRocknica" genre. On board FX are not bad, I actually think for certain applications they are great. YOu'd be surprised how many musicians use minimalistic approach. Think of Ion as your Chevy Cavalier that you are trying to supercharge as a hot rod. The FX on it are pretty slick, you just have to try to use FX, LFOs, and EQ to bring out the beast inside. And forgive my comparison to Chevy Cavalier, ION is definitely an Acura RSX, no doubt.

The look is what attracted me to the synth in the first place. I love the display, the iMac-like mod wheels and knobs, totally dig it's silver color and slim profile. One thing I wish was different is the LCD display should have been tilted at an angle, not flat as the rest of the pannel. Other than that, it looks like something out of a science fiction movie...

It definitely has a character... Under risk of pissing of Nord fans, I would say this thing has more personality and phattness than Nord Lead does. I absolutely love the sound of this synth and it is great bargain.

I do have one little complaint, which is preventing me from giving a 10 here: Transpose buttons cut all notes off. Let me explain, so it sinks in... Say you have a sustained chord playing... you want to go one octave down but out of keys (it is a rather small keyboard), so you hit Transpose button. At that point it just cuts all the sound out, something none of my synths do! I even called tech support to clarify if it wasn't just a bug, but got an answer "It's not capable of that, why not use the MOD wheel?" - huh????????? I guess I'll have to stay in the range or consider controlling it from bigger module. THIS IS MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT, I sure hope they "fix" it or find a way to add this feature. Nah, come to think of it, it pisses me off enough to give this section a 7... ;(

Reliability-wise, I figure it ain't Virus or Nord Lead. It feels solid, yet fragile at the same time. The plastic ends definitely add to my "worry list". Knobs feel like they will be the last ones to go in Ion but buttons feel like they are about to escape just below the skin, if you press them hard enough. I have no comment on a long term dependability but I would definitely have no problem using it without a backup.

Keep repeating this mantra, though: "It is the best damn synth of all time for the money. Period..." Nothing even comes close in sound. Keep in mind you have 3 OSC's, whereas Roland JP8000/8080 had 2 and original price was $1600! You get same poly, more patches, better arp, cooler look, and for $800 less! Buy 2, like I said before.

Dealt with customer support once - to find out about the transpose problem (see above). Got through in 15 seconds, spoke with a tech, had my answer 1 minute later. Support gets 10, so far. I didn't like the answer, but let's be objective here. ;)

It's worth every penny, but I'd try to find it cheaper and then I'll be in heaven. It's currently one of my favorites and definitely enjoys more attention than others... simply because of "novelty" factor. I may get tired of it but so far it seems like a powerfull little synth, with tons of potential. I can definitely see a long-term relationship building here. I've been playing for a while now, owned tons of gear, now down to ROLANDS: JD800, JP8080, XP60; Supernova II, Access Virus KC, Korg Triton Studio and of course my little silver beast Ion ;P

I do like it and would trade Nord Lead for it in a heartbeat... Oh wait, that's what I did! Returned Nord Lead 3 and picked this one up instead. I wish it had more patches, a tilted LCD pannel, more keys, and only 8 more voices... But then it'd probably be more expensive and not competitive.

I am not kidding about what I am about to say... I didn't have that many creative ideas with any other piece of gear as I do with Ion. I had about 15 different song ideas in only 5 hours with it - talk about releasing your creative juices! It is extremely easy to work with and you can see a visual of your modifications without diving through pages and pages of menus, like Access or Roland. This was the selling point. It is absolutely a gem in that sense and I give it a well-deserved 10.

If you're looking for serious sound, phatness, and overall well-rounded, intelligent synth - this one is it. You will not regret it.

Software release is 1.0
The pre-sets have maybe 40 that can be tweaked to usability, 20-30 that are usable, and about 10 keepers. Better than most other VA units.
Editing patches would be a dream if not for the control surface parallel to the keybed.
Manual is excellent IF you already have a handle on subtractive synthesis.

8 note polyphony w/4 parts.
Built in effects are what's expected for a "purist" VA. No delay or reverb.
No expansion.
Velocity sensitive keybed but NO aftertouch unlike what another reviewer mistakenly indicated. That is a real minus. Keybed quality is what you would expect at this price point.
No onboard sequencer. Extensive arps, but not programmable. That's OK.
None of that matters and the low rating because it really doesn't have many features shouldn't matter to you either. This isn't a swiss army knife design like the Virus or micro-Q. Like I mentioned above this is a purist analog design.

If you are looking for a minimoog, Oberheim SEM, Roland Jupiter, TB-303, and Arp 2600 without breaking the bank then your search is over. Nothing I've tried is even in the same league as far as the core sound goes. Aftertouch is available as a CV/mod source.

Seems very well built overall. A few of the buttons shouldn't have made it past QA but the knobs are top notch. Chassis is way beyond many others at this price point.

Have never had to deal with them. This is my first Alesis gear.

If lost or stolen I would buy it again that day. It is worth twice what I paid.
I've been noodling around for almost 25 years. I do not own any real analog gear and now I no longer own any other VA gear.

This is the synth I've been waiting for. The unfiltered oscillators sound better than any other VA I've tried. The mini filter is great and the SEM and ARP2600 are just plain fantastic. In this area it's only competition is real analog.

The ergonomics are just plain bad and it is entirely unattractive for real analog freaks like myself. Not the least bit sexy looking. How could Alesis have gotten the sound of the 70's so much better than anyone else yet the look is a euro 90's nightmare? The Virus Indigo Redback and MS2000B are much closer to "right" appearance. It sounds like a Moog Voyager and it should look like one, too!

How could I give it lower ratings in the other categories and still a 10 here? Other VA synths have a lot more bells and whistles, but none have the core sound quality of this thing. If you can't spend the $$$ on real analog from MOTM/Doepfer/Blacet etc. then the Ion is for you.

I have the first release of the OS. Everything works perfectly, and without any noticable flaws. Interface is really slick, everything is pretty obvious. I have only consulted the manual so far to determine how to split/layer parts. The manual is easy to follow.

The polyphony is 8 voices. Since i'm replacing a Roland JP-8000, that's exactly what i'm used to. Four part multi-timbral operation is nice, because i control external synths, and this way i can have one or two parts assigned to those midi channels. There is a tap tempo for the arpeggiators, lfo's, effects, etc. This is a beautiful thing. The extensive arpeggio patterns are nice, and the mod matrix is incredible! I only wish there were level knobs for the mod matrix on the front panel. But these settings are easy to access from the menu. There are lots of shortcuts which are nice, such as assigning split points by pressing & holding a button, then hitting the desired high-note, or low-note. Features aplenty make this synth an incredible value at $749!

This synth is, like all VA synths, designed to emulate subtractive synthesis. This means you have to create your own sounds. Though you can get close to simulating some acoustic instruments, the real selling point for this type of synth is it's ability to sound, well, synthetic! I can get great 60's transistor organ sounds, and with FM decent electric piano sounds. These are the only "real" sounds I ever emulate with VA. (because Farfs and Wurlys are heavy!)The ION has velocity & aftertouch, but I usually turn them off. Remember, we're going for synthetic, here! I'll give it a 9 because i have noticed distortion when using certain filter/effect combos. Speaking of filters, there are TONS of filter types available, and 2 filters are available simultaneously!

The ION appears to be built well, with a metal chassis, big chunky rubber knobs, and a minimal profile. (less things to break off!) I use three other synths on stage which in a pinch could back up the ION. (Novation K-Station, RedSound EleVAta, Yamaha DX-200) It's just not smart to gig without a backup. ever. I'm going to rate the ION a 10 based on it's build quality. I have faith that if I take care of it, it will last!

I tried e-mailing Alesis a few times, and they've always replied. Expect a few days wait for responses, but from what I hear, it's not that big of a company! Calling them directly is an option, and the person I spoke with on the phone was very helpful, and seemed to know what was going on!

So far I am extremely pleased with the ION. It's a very slick unit, and low priced to boot! Lot's of great features, excellent sound, and a unique charecter. It's OS is very intuitive, and the display is wonderful! I wish it had the following: Level knobs for Mod Matrix on front panel; Independant ModFX per part; A slot that spits out $100 bills every time you press a key. But taken as it is, the ION is tops. I would cry like a little girl with a skinned knee if it was stolen or lost. Fun to use, attractive, and fully-featured.

First off, I'm a guitarist who plays around with synths, so keep that in mind when you read on, I don't know the history or inner workings of a synthesisor inside and out, and I don't own any other VA or even analog synths. Also I'm not gonna waste time on specs, if your interested in this synth you probably already know them, if not check out www.alesis.com

Ok, first thing that strikes you is how killer this thing looks, lights are flashing and pulsing everywhere, the modwheles light up red as you move them, overall a very cool looking synth.

I really wasn't blown away with the presets in it, but once you figure out how to program the ION somewhate you can create most any kinda up patch you can imagine. I do have trouble getting good smoothe, evolving pads with the ION though, but that may be the norm a VA or analog synth, I'm not sure.

Editing pathches isn't terribly complicated, It did take about 2 days to really stumble on to most everything.

I'm really not big on manuals and only had to consult it a couple of times, but it seems pretty good.

The ion has a killer feature called the 'mod matrix' which allows your to re-route most any output from any stage to any other input, such as LFOs, filters, mod wheles, and many more.

It has no onboard sequencer, nor should you expect one, its just a synth, plain and simple. I use it with Cubase SX, works great, no probs.

One weak are are the effects, only flange, chorus, phaser and a vocoder. some reverb and real delays would be nice, but this isn't a big issue, for this bargin I guess we're lucky to get effects at all.

Of course theres no realistic sounds, its a VA synth. The quality seems excelent though.

I could see applications for this synth any any sort of music that facilitates analog sounding synths, from electronic to prog rock.

I am somewhat bummed out by the presets and the lack of smoothe creamy pads though, but maybe I should expect pads lie those in a VA synth.

The keyboard feels nice, not the best I've played but good.

Seems reliable. I would gig with it if I was a keyboardist. But I've only had it a few days, so I have to give it no opinion here

Haven't dealt with them for the ION, but I did try and contact them concerning another product with no replay to my emails. They also have a very slow to update website.

I like it so far. Im not a hard core analog freak but I like this synth for the most part. I may still play a few more since I have 45 days to return with www.musiciansfriend.com. But I doubt theres anything better in this price range.

If it got stolen or broken I would probably get somthing different unless I get really attached to it.