Alesis Micron

Preset sound are no joke.
Editing patches are not hard but gives you step by step clear info.
Manual very helpful.

The built in effects are very very easy to use.

The heavy drums sound and the sfx etc. are once again GREAT.
It works well for dance, hip hop, nrg, techno, trance, ambeint, house, gothic, trip hop.
Onboard effects are excellent no question.
Reacts 100% to my palying.
Velocity and aftertouch are way out there (on time)

It'a a depedable equipment yes indeed.
I will use straight on with no backup.

Never dealt with the company. This is my first equipment from alesis.

NOOO way stolen I dont think so, it's worth every penny. I've been playing keyboards for 15 years but nothing like the Micron it's has a funky approach towards sounds which is way out there. I had a Casio WK3500 which was diffcult to lay music down dont get me wrong it's casio top brand but the functions were to much to handle. The alesis has a classic 80's sound but one hell of a kick to all its patterns and setup's Plus the programs are of the chanin. I can tell you this the micron can really make some music by itself with some mix down it hold its own on a cd.

I've got version 1.02. Its very easy to use, but there is a short learning curve. You'll have trouble auditioning it in a noisy music store like Guitar Center, especially if others before you have modified the presets. Once you get it home, you'll learn it very quickly.

Speaking of the presets, they're ok--certainly good enough to show off the sequencing and other real time features of the instrument. You'll definitely want to tweak them. Still auditioning the presets and patterns is straightforward and fun.

Editing is fairly straight forward and Alesis has done an excellent job of navigating the various parameters. Using the (music) keyboard to enter in patch names is a brilliant idea. I also like the calibration in units like hertz for the filters instead of plain numbers. One thing they could have done better was to provide shortcuts for editing values. Changing a parameter from, say, -100% to 100% takes a lot of spins of the data knob.

The manual is poorly written--I teach programming and my students can write better documentation (that's a double insult: both students and programmers tend to write poorly). The information it does contain is useful, but it is incomplete.

Polyphony maxes out at 8 voices though you can assign multiple voices to a note for a thicker sound. Each voice has three oscillators, a ring modulator, and noise. Each oscillator's waveform can either be sine, triangle/saw, or pulse. The selected waveform can be further waveshaped; for example, you can continuously deform a triangle wave into a sawtooth. The oscillators can also be sync'd or fm modulated by each other in various configurations.

The ring modulator is a wired to the output of oscillators one and two. The noise generator can generate pink or white noise. It would have been nice to put the noise through the ring modulator, but the feature list is already incredible for a $400.00 synth so this is not a big deal.

Rounding out the signal sources is external audio coming from two 1/4" jacks on the back panel. This source can be fed through the filters and/or the effects section.

These sources are then routed through two filters which can be configured in any mixture of bypass, parallel, or series. The two filters each can be separately set to one of nine modes including an 8 pole low pass and a 6 pole band pass filter. Realtime control is available for the filters' cutoff, resonance and modulation by various sources. The freq of filter 2 can be sync'd via an offset (calibrated in fractions of an octave!). The output of the filters is continously mixable with each other and the bypassed signal.

The output section has a rudimentary amp modeller with a choice of compression/limiting/tube amp/distortion. This feeds into two independent effect units each of which can provide a single effect. The first provides "pitch" type effects including chorus, flange, phaser, and a 40 band vocodor. The second provides "time" type effects including delay and reverb. The reverb sounds like the typical Alesis reverb (which is pretty good).

The modulation system is extensive. There are 2 LFOs, 3 envelope generators (1 for the amp, 1 for filters, 1 for general purpose modulation), a sample and hold unit, and a 12 route modulation matrix. Nearly every parameter can be modulated. One notable exception is the center frequency of the vocodor filter bands. Modulation sources include many all of the real time controls, external midi controls, and many of the internal signal sources including a global and per voice random source.

Many of the previous reviews expressed disappointment at the number of real time controls saying "you could always hook up an external midi controller...". Well the modulation matrix is where you'd program external control. Since you are likely to program 2 or 3 of the routes (at least) for your patch, your external midi control is will to be limited to 9 or 10 parameters.

Next up is the pattern sequencer. It is not a full sequencer as you only get up to 4 bars. But it is very useful and easy to program. Besides 4 bars is plenty for what you're likely to use it for. You can sequence drum rhythms, melodic patterns, and arpeggios. You can even add phrases played in real time. The bars are 4/4, but you can do some odd meter stuff by playing with its quantization (into steps divisible by 3,5, or 7) and its ability to program 1/4 or 1/2 bar. Furthermore you can program a different pattern in each part (up to 8 parts).

Finally, there's the keyboard. It feels better than the cheap M-Audio type synth controllers, but it is not as good as, say the Roland Juno-D, or a QS keyboard. There are two modulation sliders, a pitch wheel, and three continously variable knobs. External control inputs include midi, an expression pedal, and a sustain pedal (pedals not included).

This synth does an excellent job of modeling a classic analog subtractive synth. Its FM is good enough for making weird noises and percussive instruments, but it's not as flexible as the FM found in Yamaha's DX synths. The Micron is not as phatt as a Mini-Moog, but it sounds at least as good as the classic Korg and Roland synths. It should work well with classic and progressive rock, jazz fusion, classic (Stockhausen, W. Carlos, Tangerine Dream) and contemporary (hip-hop, techno, ambient) electronica. If you play jazz or rock, it would just supplement your rig as it can't do the piano/organ sounds as well as a typical sample playback device or classic keys emulator. Want a (relatively) cheap rig for rock keyboards? Buy a Nord Electro for piano/organ and a Micron. With an amp and stand the list price is under $2000.00 and you've covered all the bases.

The effects are good except for the vocoder. It claims to be 40 band, but it sounds kind of grungy. This knocks its rating down a point.

Don't know yet as I've only had it for a week. Many of the previous reviews expressed concerned with the data knob. If it broke, the synth would be useless, but it seems reliable to me. Recall that earthquake proof buildings are also wobbly: they bend rather than break. Hopefully Alesis considered that in their design.

Regarding backups: who can afford backups? Even if I bring multiple keyboards to a gig, they aren't backups: each fulfills a certain function. I would have no problem bringing just the Micron to a gig.

Alesis seems friendly enough--but my experience is limited to meeting a rep from the original company. I've never had trouble with Alesis equipment so I've never needed their support.

I'd probably buy another Micron if it went missing. It is definitely worth the money. In fact, I'd refuse to trade it in for its big brother, the Ion, even as a straight swap. Reason: the Ion doesn't have the cool pattern sequencer and can only do four parts instead of 8 (though it has 8 voice polyphony).

Its scary to consider how long I've been playing, around 40 years. I currently own a Kawai studio upright piano, an unamed accordian and cymbalon, a Alesis QS7, a Roland VK7, a Roland amp, a Motion Sound rotating speaker, and too much audio and music software to mention, though probably less than some readers(hey, at least mine's legal!).

Before I start I just want you guys to know that originally I'm a guitarist occasionaly playing synths, not a keyboard player. So my approach to every synth unit I use is defined through sound for the biggest part.
Editing patches is not that easy on the MICRON, you'd find yourself scrolling through parameter menus. If can't get used to that, save some more money and buy the ION. Same sound engine but much more knobs and wheels to tweak. As far as using presets is concerned the MICRON is really easy to use, there is a main data entry knob giving you access to virtually everything in the heart of this machine.
The MICRON comes along with a fat user's manual (the whole story, not very useful for unexperienced people) and a quick start guide which gives an idea about the very basic functions and lets you explore the synth yourself.....which I prefer to do!
The presets are good in general though I tend to think there are too many fx on most of them. Good for all those techno people, but not always useful in a band context. But that's a question of taste, I guess.

8-voice polyphony (which is definitely enough for this small buddy) on a three octave keyboard with full size keys. Keyboard action is surprisingly good, I've tested a lot of really expensive Korgs or Yamahas which don't get near to that action. But again this might be a question of individual preference.
Built in fx are good, nothing spectactular but if you like to freak out get external fx and be happy....
Expansions? No, don't think so and also not needed.....buy another MICRON if you need expansion, hahahaha. Basic MIDI features, but hey, it's a small VA-synth not a masterkeyboard. If you need something for your computer, you might be better off with sthg like the PHOTON or similar.
It has small but useful sequencer (even the ION doesn't), so you may create like basic drum tracks etc.
What might be annoying for the 'real' keyboard player is the horizontal position of the bending wheel left of center above the keyboard, which is very unusual. Of course this is a reminessence to the small dims of the MICRON but with a little practice everybody can get used to this, especially all those Roland-Fanatics who are used to the horizontal bending usage.

WWWWOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!! This thing really rocks, but don't anything like realistic sounds on this machine. It is an analog modelling synth, and despite the digital technology behind it, it sounds truly analog. Way back in the late 80's my best friend owned a Roland Alpha-Juno2 and the MICRON is reproducing the warmth and specific character of these types of sound. It is amazing, Oberheims, PPG's, Jupiters....it's all there, including loads of lead sounds which may sound familiar to many people. And of course all that contemporary stuff, you'd find in techno, trance and house (if you go for it). Don't be fooled by the small size of the MICRON, it doesn't sound small at all....it's huge!!!
It fits my strange playing style very well, responsive to velocity, no aftertouch (which I don't need). I think, whichever musical direction you're into, you'll find something in this small buddy to induce creativity.

Dunno, have it only for a short period of time now. It seems very sturdy, chassis is metal (aluminum, I guess), only the cheek parts on each side are made of plastic colored red, looks great and reliabale. I don't think I need a backup.
I'm not too sure about the multifunctional knob on the top right side of the unit, which is turned and pressed all the time because you need it for many things......maybe only time will tell.

No idea, hope I never need it.

I love this thing. If someone tries to steal it......that guy will be in deep trouble. I'm making music for more than 20 years now, mainly prog and rock. As I said, I'm doing keyboards only in a supporting role. I also own a Kawai KC-10 Spectra, 6-Voice PCM Synth from the early 90's which can do those realistic sounds which are needed sometimes. They build a good team because they are soooo different. Sounds weird? Not for me. I have a wide range of sound options in two very small boxes....perfect for me, end of story.

Version 1.02
I've had this keyboard for less than a month, so I've probably spent about twenty hours using it thus far. I purchased it new. Out of the box the preset programs sound (in my most humble opinion) very "ambient" and lend themselves to the "electro" sound. The Drum pads and sfx imparticular... very trippy and quirky. I honestly think that most of the prewritten program sounds are verrrrrrrrrry cheesy, and in a lot of ways, musically useless. ei. monophonic, poor attack, no definite pitch to speak of. Just slowly-unfolding noise.
Yes, I am aware that this is an analog modeling synth, not an ASR-10 or a Triton. So I understand that the sound capabilities are going to be open-ended, virtually infinite, and may not necessarily lend themselves to musicality. I do feel though, that with enough tweaking that this synth can be taken to whole new level. I've actually found some really bad-ass parameter edits for a couple of the voices. The power is there... but I think that the guys who wrote the factory presets were wearing horn-rimmed glasses and pocket protectors when they did it.

As far as the user interface is concerned... Gotta love that little green screen. Takes me back to my first Nintendo Gameboy... but hey, at least it's backlit. Oh, and then there's that overworked control knob that let's you tediously navigate through hundreds of menu options and setup parameters. I think that one of the selling points of the Larger Ion Synth is the hands-on controls and larger screen. But this makes sense for twice the price. One other person on this forum said this about the Micron: "It's great to play, but it's hell to edit." (Paraphrasing)
I'm still learning how to get in there and tweak everything, but my efforts thus far have proved to be rewarding. My ultimate goal is to rewrite the entire tone-bank and have my own personalized, compact monster synth. Gee, I might as well name the thing.

As far as the manual goes: It reads more like a big tutorial than a reference guide. What I mean is the sections tend to bleed from one into the next. The flow is very logical, but there are cases where you will want to flip directly to a specific function, and the writer bears the assumption that you just did whatever was explained in the previous section. It's all very sequential. If you have time, I would reccomend starting at the begining and going through the manual from front to back. I'm kind of a trial and error guy so I learn better when I do as much as I can on my own and then ask the teacher when I get stuck on something. The manual for my MPC 2000 is written more to my taste; very choppy, clearly-defined reference sections.

Oh, and there's no vocoder section in the manual, but a tutorial can be downloaded at the Alesis website. http://www.alesis.com/products/micron/index.html

It has eight voice polyphony which is fine. It probably won't even be an issue unless you're doing a lot of layered sequencing. For playing riffs it is very ideal... there's only so much you can do with ten fingers on three octaves. The keys are big and springy, so it's a great keyboard to leen on while you smoke and talk to your roommate/girlfriend/golden retriever.

I'm pretty sure you can upload new versions of the software when they
come out, but I haven't gotten to that point yet. I'm still learning latest one.

I have let to explore it's Midi control features, but I would asume that it works as well as any other keyboard.

The onbord sequeuncer is very useful and relatively powerful. Conceptually it's a verry simple pattern sequencer, but again the user interface and tiny screen make precise programming tedious and confusing.

Hey, for what it's capable of and how compact it is, it's worth the trouble.

Nothing in the user presets sounds like a "real" insturment per se' (except perhaps the drums, but those are still very techy) , but it's a synth. And it's a good synth.

Again, it lends itself to an amdient/electro sound. Probably good for New Age, techno, Jungle, New wave, psychedelic, or Indie electro-rock (The Faint, Trans Am etc.)
Probably NOT as compatible with hip-hop (popular hip-hop), RnB, Jazz, Clasical or anything with a real organic feel. Get a Triton or a Motif Module if you want strings and keys.

The Micron is very expressive. The velocity sensitivity has several different modes.

i don't like a lot the presets. But with work, this board has a lot of potential. Just be patient.

No complaints yet.
We'll see how it holds up.

I'm using it at a gig with no back-up next month.

Never met the people at Alesis. Hope I never have to.

This keyboard likes to sound weird. If you want a compact, weird sounding noise box with a lot of possibilities then this might be a good investment for you. If you want a slick, user-friendly keyboard that you can plug in and start churching out conventional, musically accessable beats that all the kids will want to dance to, then your money would probably be better spent elsewhere.

This is a REAL synth. nothing else. The presets are a little nerdy, but it holds a dark side that I hope to unlock.

Presets are the standard fare offered by most manufacturers, most are no different than what I've heard on other VA synths, though there are some which are quite interesting. Patch editing is a complete pain in the ass with the endless array of menus, but with time and patience you can get some rewarding results. The manual is o.k., I tend to use it as a reference for anything I may have a question about, though it was helpful in first trying to figure out how to edit the patches. One complaint I do have is that after going through the manual several times I could not find any mention of how to turn off the memory protection, just had to start messing around with the various editable parameters and figure it out on my own.

8 voice polyphony, full-sized keys, which is definitely a plus over the Microkorg (which I also own). Haven't really messed around much with the effects, from what I heard didn't sound all too impressive, and at any rate I have tons of outboard effects I can use with it. Not too concerned with the MIDI functions, won't be using it as a controller or as a sound module.

Again, a virtual analog synth, so it is not designed to reproduce authentic-sounding instruments, but great for any electronic based music. With enough tweaking I'm able to get some truly unique and bizzare sounds out of the Micron, stuff that's very glitchy and expressive with the right parameters assigned to the slider controls... sounds which put a big smile on my face. This makes up for the fact that editing itself can be a long, drawn-out process, and the Micron is quickly earning its keep among my other gear.

The construction is fairly solid, all metal housing except for the plastic caps on the ends of the unit. The sliders, mod wheel, and the three control knobs all feel quite sturdy, as do the keys. My main concern is the editing dial/switch combo, which is very wobbly and feels like it might break or fail with extensive use. I've had it a month and so far no problems to report.

Have not had to deal with Alesis and hope I never have the need.

If lost or stolen I'd have to seriously consider having it replaced, but I'd probably be hard-pressed to recreate some of the sounds I've made without a detailed set of notes for all the parameter settings. Great for the variety of sound-shaping potential, just a pain getting to that point scrolling through all the edit menus. A couple more real-time control knobs would have been nice, though it is a plus to be able to assign any editable parameter to any of the three contol knobs which are available. Initially purchased to replace the Microkorg, but realized it is a completely different sounding synth, so both remain in the arsenal.

I am shocked... how did they do it?! It does sound analog!
I had a number of analog keyboards in the past and still do - Juno 106, Alpha Juno 2, Jomox 09 and the Micron simply does not sound digital or artificial next to them.
Software synths are cool (MinimoogV, CS80, etc) but not fully there yet... they tend to sound somewhat flat in comparison.
The Micron has this awesome presense, body to the sound that the VST Instruments lack.
Nord? I am keeping my Nord simply because it is Nord. It does not sound analog - it sounds Nord:)

Easy to play, a nightmare to edit!

Sound is good

no it is not reliable

Over 10 weeks ago I bought a Micron which had faulty controller knobs. I informed support of this fault 2 days after purchase.

After emailing Alesis directly and then returning the unit for service,it was agreed the unit is faulty- it took 10 weeks to get that far! 2 days back I got another call from another different person who didnt even know what the fault was. That makes 5 different members of staff I had dealings with as well as emails to Robert Ray of Alesis USA. Over 10 weeks and I am told nothing can be done about this fault.

Yesterday I was told by the local distributor that even though they have inspected the Micron and agree it is faulty, no fault source can be found and no guarentee can be given that the knobs will ever work properly. No guarentee can be given that this will be addressed or that a replacement unit would work correctly.

The only way I could get this answer from the local distributor was to choose to exercise my consumer rights. After suggesting that I would progress my complaint to the Court of Small Claims I was told I would be getting a refund and that "our paths will then go on their separate ways".

This is not service- this is shit!

Selling any equipment that is not of a merchantable quality and cannot be serviced/ replaced is a clear violation ot the Trades Practices Act here in Australia.

I have waited patiently for an acceptable outcome to be reached , I was willing to try my luck with a replacement or service but now things are finished I have to warn others from falling in the same pit I ended up in.

DONT BUY ALESIS. I did and only ended up with problems and frustration.

If you buys Alesis expect the following-

If it breaks or is faulty- expect service to be hell!

Dont expect anyhting more from Alesis than what you get when you buy the unit!

Dont expect any OS upgrades!

Dont expect any bugs to be fixed!

Expect that Alesis will make no attempt to communicate with owners of their product.

Expect that end users will have to do their own support. The users groups are more productive than the manufacturer.

This all could have been handled so much better but I have been subjected to over 10 weeks of mushroom treatment- kept in the dark and fed shit.

I like the sound of the Micron but this is not enough for me to conceed to own faulty equipment that cannot be serviced.

I know there are a lot of users who have no problems- lucky you. As for me and anyone else who has faulty knobs, you can either make a stand and say its not good enough or open wide and eat the shit they are serving!

With very little experience with a synthesizer making my own sounds seemed a little bit overwhelming at first. After playing around with it for a while i feel pretty comfortable with just about everything. Anyone with some experience making your own sounds on a synthesizer will have no problem with this.
the manual leaves something to be desired. seems to be layed out incorrectly and the index sometimes doesnt match up.
a lot of the presets are cheesy, but they're a good starting point for tweaking them and making your own sounds

keyboard feels much better to play then any other that i've played before. the keys feel very solid.
the menu knob does feel a little bit weak, but i dont think they're any danger of it breaking off.
the effects sound really professional, but i havnt spent much time trying to play around with them myself.

like i said before, a lot of the presets are really cheesy.
the best sound i've discovered so far is turning off all the effects and filters for a really realistic analog sound.

there isnt a lot of audio demos available for this keyboard so i threw one together, you can download it here : http://www.angelfire.com/ill/hart/micron.html

if you're willing to spend the time, there's no limit to the sounds you can make.

havn't taken it out of the house yet

havnt dealt with them

i wasn't really a keyboard player before i got this except for playing around on some casios, but i love this keyboard.

I'm still using software version 1.1, but I will get round to
up-dating my Micron!
The presets give a very good indication of what the machine can do. It's a very in-depth synth so unless you're a full-on synth head, the presets are a good place to start. That's how I'm doing it anyway. Taking a preset and learning how it does what it does and editing it to my taste.
It's not so hard to edit the patches as Alesis have given you short-cuts to all the editable parameters, which works well and is a great idea as there are not so many knobs & buttons etc.
The manual isn't too big but is informative and does assume you have some grounding in using and programming synths.

Polyphony is 8 voice which might not seem too much but really it works fine. There are three oscillators per voice so you can still get fuller sounds if you wish. I'm not a keyboard player so to me the keys feel fine.
Effects are fairly basic but to my ears sound good enough at enhancing the sound.
No expansion capabilities but hey it's a stand alone synth. There's enough potential as it is. Plenty of memory space for saving your programs etc. You can sys-ex between your computer/sequencer painlessly.
The on-board sequencer though basic is a nice addition and does the job well. Easy to use and you can get some interesting sounds going with it.

It's a pure analog modelling synth, so nothing too realistic here. To my ears it does a real good job of emulating that analog sound. It can sound tight like a digital synth or nice and loose like synths of old! It really does seem to have a life of it's own if you program and play it right. It has a personality!
Only velocity is available on it's own keyboard. That's okay. There's lots of modulation posibilities, so that sound doesn't have to stay static!

So far so good with reliability. Haven't had it for too long. It's built well enough it seems. The only problem I can see is with the main knob. You use this pretty much for everything you do with this synth. It doesn't feel super tough, so fingers crossed that it lasts the course.
The three black assignable knobs seem tough enough, but they aren't very sensitive. It can be difficult (nay impossible!) to get the exact value for a parameter, (i.e. filter frequency. You might get close, but so far I haven't got it bang on the value I wanted).
Yes I would and will gig with it.

Haven't dealt with Alesis direct so no comment.

Yes I would buy it again. For the money nothing new seems to come quite as close. (Obviously you could look at secondhand synths).
I did compare it to similar products from Korg & Novation but for the money you seem to get a more professional synth and more features that help you in the music making process.
To my ears it just sounded more like a synth that I could use. It has character and nothing too gimicky. Just a pure, solid synth.

Software version 1.0.2. Scince I owned the ION the presets (programs) are pretty much the same but somehow better sounding, as if there is more power behind them. I havn't edited sounds too much yet as I just picked it up 2 days ago. It'll just take some time getting used to like any other synth. The manual is actually pretty good. I did find when I looked up "metronome", the manual says its on page 29 when its really on page 25. Other than that its helpfull.

8 voice polyphonic synth - good enough for me. Keyboard action - I'm not a "keyboard player" per se. The keys are fine for what I do although I wish it had aftertouch. As far as I know there are no expansion capabilities. Midi is well implemented. This synth has what the ION needed - A Sequencer! I love it. Still learning the ins and out of it though. I lets you make some pretty complex rythems/beats, etc.

I've never owned a authentic analog synth although I've played around with them so I don't think I could accurately comment on how realistic or "analog" it sounds. From what I hear and the kind of music I make, this will work for me. I produce hard/psy/tech trance but I guess this synth could be used for all kinds of music. Velocity sensitivity seems fine. No aftertouch though.

So far so good. No glitches or crashes and I don't gig right now but If I did I think I could go without a backup.

E mailed customer support about my ION. Response was within 24 hours. Seemed pretty helpfull.

If ut were lost or stolen i'd buy another one or two. I've been around synths & keyboards for 19 years (off and on). I traded my ION and a Novation K Station for the Micron. I also have a Novation Supernova II (24 voice), Yamaha AN200, Mackie DFX 6, Fostex PM 0.5's, Dell 4600 w/ 1 gig RAM. I love the flexibility and tone of the Micron. I hate nothing about it although I'm a little concerned about the control knob and I'm not fond of wall warts. I compared this to the ION and the K station. I will be picking up the V Station soon (software version of the K Station). The ION compared to Micron seemed like it was unfinished. The sounds were there and I like the panel layout but I wished Alesis would have added the delay/reverb effects. The rythem sequencer would have been a plus also. I'd also like to add that although the ION and the Micron have the same "engines", the Micron sounds cleaner or crisper. Kind of hard to describe. Maybe its because of the delay/reverb. Anyway, It's a great synth and I wont be parting with this one.