Alesis Micron

I thought it was pretty easy to use. The sounds and knobs are right in front of your face. You have to mess around with it a little to find effects. But, it's overall pretty easy.

I thought the features were very good. Though there are only 3 knobs in front of you the other effects are easy to get to.

I think this is the best synth I've ever heard for it's price. I've heard more expensive synths that don't sound comparable to this one. The sounds are all clear and can be used in multiple styles of music. I write ambient, techno, trance, IDM, ghettotech, hip hop, r&b, electronica, d&b, jungle, and some others. The sounds on this thing fit all these genres and some others.

I've only had it about a week but so far it is 100% reliable. No problems.

Never had to deal with costomer support.

I think it's excellent. The are some cons I think you should know though. The keys are full size, yet very flimsy and quite fragile. It is also pretty heavy for when you have to take it with you on the road. The knobs are also extremely fragile. Don't screw around with them. Everything else is perfect.

The menu editing is cumbersome and really kills inspiration. I have gotten better at it over time, but it just holds back my creativity in having to edit the synth this way. The presets are generally bad, so editing is a must. The manual is good overall, but I don't like reading manuals.

The keyboard action is good, but not great - I would rate it as "slightly above average". I'm a player, and don't just play around with this in the studio, so keyboard action is very important to me. There are plenty of other nice features about the synth, though, and Alesis (and by the way, I generally really love Alesis gear) has done their best to pack a lot into this unit.

Hmmm....well, this is the important stuff in my opinion. It sounds good, but, to be honest, not great (to me, at least). I have owned literally 100+ keyboards and synths since the early 1980's - no kidding - and I know what I like. Something has to really move me, emotionally, when I play a keyboard / synth for me to want to keep it and use it, and this one doesn't do it for me. This is actually the second Micron I have owned. I felt this way about the first one, but got a great deal on another that I couldn't pass up, and gave the little synth another chance. Again, it really didn't do it for me. Overall, I think the Micron exhibits a certain quality on ALL patches (no matter how much they are edited) that you just can't get rid of. I suppose all synths do this to a certain degree, though. Anyway, I would best describe the Micron's sound quality as slightly digital, thin, but "brassy" sounding. Approaching an FM synth, but not quite there. This isn't necessarily a BAD thing, but it just doesn't appeal to me, personally. Just a matter of opinion, and I know lots of people love this thing, but it's not for me. Believe me, I WANTED to like it....the size is perfect for gigs, especially the small venues I play! I also own a Korg MicroKorg, which is the main competitor of the Micron, and really prefer the Korg's sounds. The Korg is simpler, in many ways, and more straightforward (as compared to the deep complexity of the Micron), and has a more grainy, aggressive sound, which I really like. To me, the Korg is more raw and "analog" (and I have owned many, many analog synths over the years so I have an excellent basis for comparison).

The main control knob, as everyone knows, is very fragile. In fact, the first Micron I purchased had a broken control knob right out of the box! Otherwise, it appears very solid. Because of the knob, I must give it a lower than perfect reliability rating.

Alesis customer support, when I have had to deal with them in the past, is generally very responsive.

As I said above, I really wanted to like this synth. The idea behind it, and the overall design of the synth, suits my needs for a live instrument. But, it all comes down to 1) the sound, and 2) the difficulty in editing the parameters. These are deal-killers for me. I may keep this one around to play with for awhile, but will most likely be passing it along. Once again, though, this is my opinion, and I truly do think that Alesis has packed a lot of great stuff into this synth. It is very usable. It's just not for me.

Really good presets. Editing patches is simple once you read a few quick directions. The manual is VERY helpful. Whenever I have a question, it's answered in it.

The features of the Micron are great. The setup function (a mini-sequencer more or less) is great for coming up with ideas and writing new ones. Everything is editable with a few button pushes and a knob turn. 37 keys is a great size for the Micron. Easily transposable by octave (just one press per octave). Three knobs is definitely sufficient for a beginner/intermediate synth user and they can easily be mapped to different functions.

This board is geared towards the electronica crowd judging by the presets, but is fully capable of adapting to any environment. The effects included are great (I use the fuzz pedal effect a LOT). As close as I have heard to analog on a digital board. Sounds even better through tube preamps.

I have heard of the main knob breaking from overuse, but I have had no problem as I am VERY careful with my instruments. I think the Micron is very reliable.

Haven't had to talk with Alesis. So no opinion.

If I had to buy again, I would go with a Micron again. I love the ideas that Alesis put in it. Rhythms, step sequencer, vocoder, yeah, it's all great. It makes a great complement to the rest of my equipment for very little cost for the features it has. I honestly can't think of anything they could add to it that would make me happier.

Straight away, it is incredibly easy to dive in and start using the vast array of voices, rythyms and patterns. These are very diverse, from deep moog-like sounds to baba o'riley, to your typical dance club beats.

As for the patch editing.. well, you can't just create from scratch (as far as I'm aware!). You need to copy another patch and then edit and tweak that. Obviously a basic knowledge to Pulse, Sawtooth and Sine wave sounds are needed here, and the booklet doesn't make clear what the LFO filters exactly do, so if you're a bit of a novice (hands up on that), you do just have to play about but this works just as well..

Polyphony varies from voice to voice. I have to say, it would be nice to hear some chords with some of the bass voices but even on their own, its an incredibly irresistable sound.

Effects.. well, there's a basic vocoder. Unlike the MicroKorg, this doesn't come with a standard mic, so you have to supply your own. It's not fantastic but if you're looking for a vocoder, a microKorg might be a better bet.

You can split the keyboard. I'm not sure how many parts but I'm sure it's at least 4, which is incredibly useful. If you're looking to make some solo stuff, having a beat, rythym and still having almost the whole keyboard still to use the voices..

No expansion capabilities, as far as I know.. although I'm told you can transfer voices over a MIDI-to-USB cable.

Velocity sensitivity is assignable on each voice, and is very good. Some voices have it and some don't, but you can change that. No aftertouch though.

Sounds.. well, there's a vast range. Bass, Lead, Brass, String, Pads, Comp, Keys, SFX, even drums.. The organ sounds are good, strings are alright, as are brass (I don't want to comment on these too much because I tend not to use these!). The Bass and Leads are very varied, and have very nice sounding settings. One thing I did find myself needing though was a piano sound. Nothing even close... and I couldn't find anyway to model it! The thing to remember is, as much fun as the existant sounds are, you can always create new ones.. (although it does take a while!)

I play it for a pop/rock function, but I can see it working well for anything in a kind of electronic vein, so trance, dance, hip hop.. the settings and sounds seem just to be made for that.

Once a setting is saved, you can forever rely on it to be there.

I've not (yet) played a gig with it so I don't know how it goes, but I am lead to believe that The Automatic's keys player's top keys is the Alesis Micron. It can't be that unreliable..

Right, yeah.. this was a bit of a let down for me. I bought mine from America, and they obviously have a different voltage and power system to us. Well when mine got here, the keyboard wouldn't work. It would turn on (so I thought) but the screen as unreadable and it wouldn't produce a sound. Apparently, according to my eBay seller, this could be due to the power pack. You can't run an american power pack through a converter.

Getting in touch with alesis was slightly difficult, but I did find an email address and contacted them. After a few days, they referred me to a company which could sell me an English Power pack. It cost me ??40 for a new power pack. Not nice.

It's a very enjoyable synth to use. My family loved it even though they can't play and its controllable, assignable knobs make editing the sound easy. Worth the price.

I've only played Keyboards about a year now, self taught without books or any helpful material. I bought this keyboard as a synth that had a nice "synthy" sound, and it certainly does what I expected and a whole lot more!

The micron's user interface is crippled by design. Fortunately the shortcuts make it at least usable. The idea of managing programs by name and category instead of fixed banks is very cool. The setup mode lets you keep ideas together and adds much to the usability.

These features really rock:
+ setup mode ??? very powerful
+ built-in sequencer (only good for realtime-recording and I love it big time)
+ mod-matrix (+++)
+ 20 filter types ??? some of them sound great!
+ rhythms / very cool drum sounds
+ compact size, desktop-friendly


Missing features:
- no usb connectivity
- effects per program: there is only one global effects module - which means your programs lose their effects in a setup ??? which means most probably you wouldn???t want to rely on effects???

The micron ist the poor man???s substitute for Arp Odyssey + Mini Moog + Oberheim OB8 + Roland Jupiter ??? so this is basically what it sounds like: old style, 70- and 80-ish. Of course the real thing sounds different???
In theory 8 voices polyphony should be just okay. The trouble is that in reality you have less than 8 voices. In a setup with different parts playing simultaneously the micron sounds lo-fi beyond recognition, especially if you have it play more than 4 voices at the same time. Rhythms tend to consume a lot of dsp resources.
You can record slider movements in patterns. Unfortunately those high-res sliders often produce very ugly crackling noises in recorded patterns ??? especially when recording slow movements.
The filters sound good to superb and so do the raw oscillators. This does not mean that you can create very complex sonic textures. Somehow the micron sound always remains ???micron???, soft, silky, wannabe-analogue, old, a little bit warm and also friendly. When creating a new sound you will probably spend most of the time in the mod matrix which lets you do a lot of really interesting things. The more I play it the more I like it.

Dear KNOB, please don???t let me down! The knob story is a real design flaw???..BUT: No problems so far!

If it was lost or stolen I would maybe go for a Waldorf microQ or Blofeld this time but I have absolutely no regrets about the micron. For my purpose it???s much better than the ???synths??? that I owned before (Korg EA-1 MKII and Yamaha CS1x)
I am a bass player and the micron is my backing machine. It does a great job. The built-in sequencer makes sure that ever single tone and chord comes perfect - especially when things become a little complicated. It plays all the stuff which I would not be able to play myself too well ??? no creativity-killing pc required. The sound is good, funky and interesting enough for me.

OS 1.10 My first impression was "wow", my second one was "get f...". But after a few month of using it i??am quite fast editing the patches and make them wired or smooth or anything between it. Of course.. when you got this little silver-dart first and you spent a whole night on it, it maybe a little frustrating, but then when you learned the interface-concept it is easy as hell. The presets can give you a good intro in "how-to-create-this-and-that". But consider - you could make it better. Some presets like those in the string-section are at a good quality. And yes - ALESIS - when you ever again creat a synth like this, take a deep look inside yourself and programm an editor for those many people out there in the world which using software for editing! In some cases it would be realy useful!!! The manual itself contains enough info for understanding how this little engine works.

8 Voices, 3 OSC/Voice (SAW (TRI), SQUARE and SINE can be waveshaped), NOISE-Generator, 2 Multimodefilter and 3 ADSR, an INSERT per voice, 2 LFO??s, a SH-Generator, a Tracking-Generator, 12 Modulation-Options/Patch and 2 FX-Modules (i like the superphaser most with its 64stages) which are usefull but an outboard-fx would be definitly better. I am missing a second pair of audio-out. The Micron has also two Mod-Sliders which sadly don??t show their values and three endless-knobs (three more would be a hype)! You have some velocity-types for keyboard-action but i don??t use the keyboard very much because i sequence the Micron from my PC. Therefore i can??t tell you very much about its onboard-sequencer ... so far i??ve seen it is very basic and i only use the SetUp-Mode for external sequencing ... also no comments. MIDI on the Micron is a extra theme. You can??t controll it??s paramteres via NRPN as it seems that they are some sort of strange programmed (negative NRPN-values - never seen before). But you can assign CC??s from an external knob-box as modulation-sources operating on Mod-Targets you defined.

Well the Micron doesn??t sound like synths starting with 2000 Euros and above. But with patience you can get some very smooth sounds out of it. In the higher octave-range, but this is my personal opinion, he sounds realy great whereas at lower levels and specially for deep basslines this isn??t the right synth at all - use real analogue gear instead or another VA which is capable doing this stuff. I mainly using this synth for leads and pads or FX and other things. As i mentioned before - outboard-FX and a second pair outputs would do there job well ... the only FX which i like most is the superphaser. Overall i would say the MIcron is capable of many type of sounds ... but it also depends on the quality of your monitors you are using in your studio

The Main-Knob seems to be problem at extensive use. I hope this nightmare never came true - A BROKEN MAIN-KNOB

Nothing to do with Alesis since i bought it

I don??t know if i would by it again - maybe. Over the time i was getting into an interesting releationship with the MICRON ... Yes i would buy it again :-) Well i use Waldorf/Korg-Gear, and some exotic synths like the SoundArt Chameleon DSP (Monowave II). I am doing electronic music since 2002 rising fast from software to the hardware-universe. The Tracking-Generator is a cool addon ... none of my synths have it.
Overall: EDITOR for LOW-KNOB-AMOUNT-SYNTHS - ALESIS - EDITOR and improvements for a next OS (if it happens - you should do it - there are many customers in the world - consider that). The synth itself - well done ALESIS

This is my review for the Alesis Micron. I`ve got it 2 weeks now and now it is time for a few words.

The features can be read on the other reviews so i comment the sound and the use of this unit. First i must say that the micron defently sounds a kind of LO-FI. It had its charme. For those people who write that this synth is nearly as possible on analogue emulation: wash your ears!
I own a minimoog voyager and a Roland Jupiter 4 beside a XBase 09. Compare some of the presetzz from the Voyager vs the Micron, the Micron sounds not nearly analogue. It sound more like a mix of the sid chip from the C64 and a old casio CZ 5000 synth. If you compare the two things (real analoge vs digital) it is like to compare a "Dresdner Butterstollen" vs "Pumpernickel".
The moog filter of the micron sounds completly different from the moog. It pumps up the volume at hight resonace levels and give u a not very musical siren tone. The real thing sound silky and fat while the micron sounds LO-FI and digital.

The other drawback are the crappy keys. Compared to good keys (again Voyager) you fingers hurt if you playing longer than 5 minutes. Fast playing is nearly impossible cause the action is spongy. I dondt like the keyboard at all.
A design drawback is also the bad placement of the mastervolume knob. Every time i want to add vibrato when i play my finger touches this volumeknob. That sucks.
This pitchwheel is also placed wrong. Normaly you play with the right hand and pitch with the left hand, so why the pitchwheel is placed in the middle of the board?

BUT:

The micron in perfect for other things. I use it for C64 like sounds and connectet to a sequencer this mashine rocks!!!!! You can use 16 midi channels to creat 16 instruments in the setup mode. I come from old style seq.music so i use the awesome "renoise" tracker programm to sequence the micron. I have built a lot of cool C64-basses, snares, kicks, leads and more. This synth have alot of great noise sounds. The cool thing is that you can create the typical arpeggio sound of the c64 using the trackinggenerator triggerd by a lfo routing to pitch and synced to tempo. Great! I composed complete chiptunestyle tunes with the micron. 8 voices are more than enough for that. The sid only has 3 voices.
I wish the FX1 unit have a reverb and i can use the FX2 for tempo delay. Effects on FX1 are most useless and cant compare to real effect processors. But, hey for chiptune all i need is a tempo synced delay.
The micron responds very tight for midi commands.

So i cant recommend the micron for analogue tone. Buy the real thing! The difference is huge!!! But i can recommend the micron for 80`lo-fi sounds.. Gamemusic, effects, weired noises, fat computersounding basses and cheesy leads.
I guess you can make the soundtrack of "tron" only with that mashine.
Funny thing....

built cheap - you get what you paid for.

This is ridiculously easy to use, Its fast too. I just got mine yesterday, and I was making a patch and then the note sustained forever, which is something I didn't mean to do, but it was unfixable till I shut off my micron, so other than that, i have had no problems, it was likely something on my programming (obviously)

Presets are for the most part cool

8 not polyphony is fine what this synth does, analog drift sounds wicked, but I can compare its analogue-ness to real analogue synths, cause i havent played one of those before. no expansion. midi in out thru, rythm sequencer and arpegiator

amazing!!! I love it, I have it set up on my kitchen table and have been playing it all day. Its really good for beginners who are just learning how to use synthesizers. its straight forward, and the menus are well laid out. You can make some good sounds from it. Mostly geared towards tecno, electro, trance, dance electronic music, it certainly has room for other genres.

Im assuming you could rely on it fine but have not used it in a gig yet

N/A

Really really good, if your deciding between this an a microkorg, I would pick this. Easier to program, better sounding, more sounds (im pretty sure, including user patchs) better vocoder, normal keys

YOU SHOULD BUY THIS. If your in the "thinking" or "research" stage, debating whether or not to get this, various soft synths or buying a vintage analog one off ebay, don't. Get this. I'm not sure what software version I have but I can download the latest software update at the alesis website anytime so doesn't matter much. The presets are awesome. You can tell who ever did these really loved old analog mini korg (k 700) arp odessey, Roland juno and jupiter and mini moogs. Within seconds of turning it on they are all there. I've played drums, keys, bass and guitar all my life and I BA in broadcasting. I know my way around equipment and sound processing. "Back in the day" hehe I owned analog units, earliest classic digital ones, then various sound cards with built in synths and finally soft synths. I am so pleased and tickled with the micron. It's like a new girlfriend I find myself spending every second with it. It's possible to edit on the unit itself but so much easier and fun if you download some of the software for this. There is microzune on ebay for $33 or there is this free one I think called the micronizer that I have. I will get microzune soon. I imagine otherwise can be a daunting task with that little knob but can be done. I liked the way the manual was written out. It's very readable and will tell you everything you know. If you lose it can download another from the alesis site. There is a unofficial micron site up too. Endless resources for this unit which is good

It has 8 voice polyphony. I read somewhere someone griping it didn't have 16. It is designed to replicate early classic analog synths and part of the reason the early analog synths sound that good and is the limited voices. If you slapped 16 on this it would not sound as vintage and would defeat the purpose. Action is great. The set up reminds me so much of a Korg k700. You have the sliders there and minimal knobs, 37 keys. The pictures for this unit are very deceiving. It does not photograph well and looks cheap in the pictures. When you get it you will be shocked. It's a nice looking, classy looking little synth. The colors always look garish in the pictures but in your hand very pleasing. Seems very sturdy. Looks like it can take a lot. Like everyone else though I do worry about that little knob and I really suggest to everyone use with care and download that editing software to save the wear and tear. I would chose this unit over the ion for a lot of reasons one of them being size and weight. It's about the size of 2 laptops placed next each other and 14 pounds. In that small space you have everything need to record or play out and I don't think there is a synth out there that can touch this. This little synth does a lot of things great and is dead on for any type of music you want to use. I love the fact you can use this as a sound module for computer sequencing or to plug into another controller. Actually it's only slightly bigger than some sound modules I've used. But, in a pinch or if your on a budget you don't need a computer or a lot of gear here. It has all the effects built in (sound great and I am vintage effects collector, I've had everything good efx with this one.) You have MIDI, stereo outs and a on board sequencer. Also, easy to download any updates. No one should have any complaints about this unit because it truly can do anything you can conceive. If you can't find your sound on this synth maybe you should give up because it has everything and it's easy to use. I love the fact I can sit on my bed with this and watch tv and workout songs. I guess I approach keys in a very musical way. Sometimes I will get an idea or a melody in my head at an odd time. It's always a race to get to the instrument to get it down before I forget it. What I love about the micron is that it facilitates creativity. You just turn it on and can get your idea down. If I was working on my pc or with some of my other synth equipment it's such a job to turn everything on, open programs and set up mics. I even have a project studio but it's still a job. With micron just turn on and play.

First off, let me tell you something about this unit. If you want a synth that will exactly replicate a tenor tuba or triangle get something else. Hell, you can get all that stuff from GM on your computer or with just about any budget synth out there. A Korg x5d is a good example of this. It's a great workhorse I used it for years and is a great all around synth. It doesn't have a special sound of it's own just does realistic replications of instruments which was kind of a 90s thing. Let me tell you what the micron does. It pretty much duplicates mini moogs, early Korg, roland, arp, prophet analog synths. Does really good vox contential/farisfa 60s transistor keys too if the "Doors" or new wave bands (blondie, elvis costello, b-52s) are your thing. It's nice to have on there to play around with but can get a little scooby doo after awhile. The micron will cover all synth sounds from classic rock and all those early 80s synth songs (cars, flock of seagulls, human league, cure.) Nails them. Let me clue you in on a little secret about the micron. As soon as I got mine the first thing I did was turn off the digital effects that came with it (they are great and I would use them for playing out because that way I don't have to take stuff with me and can just save/store as presets and pull up with no problems.) For recording or home practive I would use old analog effects. I have a pretty good collection of early 80s guitar pedals and part of what made the old Korg/Roland analog synths sound so great were the built in analog effects. I threw together a quick set up of analog delay, chorus and phase and ran the micron through it. Instant Korg k700. Couldn't stop playing Cars, Cure and all the early mtv classic songs from the early period. Another trick I used for both the analog presets and vox organ sounds was running the micron through my Tech 21 GT amp simulater. It's simulates all old classic amps (vox jmi, fender blackface, marshall, etc) perfectly and with analog circuitry. I notice the micron does the best on the "classic" or "off axis" setting on cabs. I've pretty much owned everything in my life: vox jmi amps, marshalls, vintage fenders. This little pedal does them all and with any piece of electrical musical equipment the sound is not just the unit by itself but the processing gear, the amp and the speaker. I ran everything through two practive amps. A little peavey solid state one with reverb and a epiphone valve junior tube amp and the micron sounded more analog right now to every blip and bleep, every filter sweep than any I've ever used. You couldn't tell the difference with a blindfold on. Unit is quiet. Recorded with it allready sounds awesome. Best synth sounds I ever heard. I researched for over a year before I bought this thing. The micron does sound better than virus or nord to me. I think that Alesis has a better sound engine and understanding what analog is I guess because of they made the Andromeda analog synth (I think that's what it's called.) This is my opinion. I also tried every soft synth I could and they are good and fun. But, for so many you are dependent on your CPU, need to buy a half way decent soundcard, have the right interface, etc. But before you buy a soft synth do some searches online because you can find a lot of free analog mono synths and vst host software out there that will do the same thing as arturia or some of the others for free. I'd rather have the micron though because it sounds warmer to me, more analog, has everything I need or will need, is so portable and easy to use I can take anywhere. I'd get the micron before you get a soft synth you can always use midi and use your micron on your computer if you want. With soft synth you get a CD and a picture of a synth. You can make the same software/skin with synth edit and do your own. I'd rather have a real hardwared synth. Long live hardware.

k. hehe. Like everyone else I worry about that little edit knob. It doesn't seem very rugged to me and I'd like to buy a couple to just keep in my supply section of my project studio just in case. Besides that the unit seems as rugged as my old Korg P3 module which is like a bathroom scale. I think this unit will go 10-20 years easy and survive a few drops. Not so sure about that little knob which is why I suggest to anyone who has this unit to get the software online and save some wear and tear on the unit. I think the micron comes with a year warranty. I am not worried about it

they seem good. I like there website

Yes, I would buy again even if I had my choice of virus or nord. I would also take this over a vintage analog unit because it exactly duplicates there sound, has great effects and sequencer built in. And, can cover several analog synths instead of just one. In fact, I do definitely plan to buy a second micron just in case. It's great I love it totally satisfied. I've been playing since I was five and from a musical family. You know, most analog synths were not designed to have 30 year life spans of gigs and use. I would not buy one because if the ICs go out on that you have yourself an expensive piece of junk. Micron will do everything any of the old units will do and more. I do have 2 suggestions for the Micron. I wish it had a USB out in addition to the MIDI also that it came with a CD software for the editing so I wouldn't have to download micronizer or buy microzune. Alesis should have there own edit program for the micron you can just download. No big deal though. I love this. I've owned all the classic gear and I can tell you that not only is some of the new stuff as good as the old stuff it's better. Along with Sansamp Tech 21 GT 2 pedal, epiphone valve junior (it's like a mini marshall and loves pedals) I would count Micron among my best gear purchases ever. I get all the synth sounds from classic rock and early 80s MTV classics. As well hip hop, rap, techno, dance sounds. This is just a great synth and the best VA out there. Yes, the best VA sound engine out there is just $399. I don't want to start any opinion arguements with virus, nord or soft synth owners. This is just my opinion. My suggestion to anyone considering a synth purchase is to try them all and let your own ears make your decision not a bunch of reviews. Also listen to as many analog synths as you can so you will know what they sound like it. It's really easy to just name a present "moog something or other." Doesn't mean that it sounds like it. Micron is so analog sounding I can't tell the difference between it and a real one which is why I say buy it

OS 1.1
I would say the presets are pretty much useless for electronica
It is very poorly set up for editing with the one knob. Thankfully there is a new editor out called microzune which makes editing patches very easy and nice. It also integrates the micron as a vst plugin. without the editor I would say 2 or 3 - midi knob controller + microzune 10 so a 7 to even it out.

I like the keyboard action a lot. Great size.
Again brutally hard to edit on its own.
The sequencer is a shining feature and the drum section is surprisingly great.
The Micron is all about the size!!! Very small indeed.
As far as raw synthengine features this thing is probably the most powerful little guy of all time.

I like the sound. Unique, it compliments my sizable collection nicely. Offers things that I can't get on any other synth. This actually sounds very close to analog to me. Especially the basses. Compared to my other VA's anyways.
It's no virus though that's for sure.

I know other people are complaining but I've banged mine around tons and it just seems solid. I really do trust it for some odd reason that I can't explain. I saw a display model in the store about a week after they came out with a busted slider so only a 7 here.

Asked for some NRPN info. They responded in a timely fashion but didn't go out of their way at all to personalize the experience or help me along at all. THey could have been more helpful

If you can afford it, skip this one and go for a virus.
Otherwise this is way way better than the MicroKORG but only with the editor. This thing is so annoying to edit on it's own that it is rediculous. I'm surprised I kept it so long but I had already made quite a few great patches and was holding out hope on an editor. I have to say, the editor is a big winner.
I'd definately recommend it but only to people with a MIDI computer setup who can run the editor. I'm giving this a 9 but without the editor it would probably be more like a 6 or 7. It really is retardedly set up!