1 Topic by Fossa (edited by Fossa 2009-05-18 11:42:54)

  • Fossa
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Topic: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

http://www.drumza.com/images/AlesisMicronAnalogModelingSynthKeyboard.jpg

I'm trying to find a cheaper little poly synth to use on live gigs, and I'm thinking of buying the Alesis Micron synth.

It seems to have nice features (analog modelling, full sequencer and a vocoder), but all the example videos i find are some super crappy trance shit.

Have any opinions about it if it could be nice for electro, techno, skwee, italo, chiptuneish stuff or other electrixxx what you often hear in the context of these forums and ifm?

Note that I'm not trying to find any super featured and full control workstation groovebox, i just want a cheap synth with an adequate sequencer and nice and editable sounds, which i can hook up with some other machines.
So tell me what it sounds!

http://fossa.bandcamp.com
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  • From: m.s.e.
  • Registered: 2008-07-08
  • Posts: 471

Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

Found some stuff on youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtoC1ekkqKo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4vItkoMv2Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7ekcs9u7gc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s05jpnZ8IA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDMTUhTmpuw

and there's even more wink

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  • Fossa
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

what i'd really actually like to know is if the sequencer has more than one part.

I mean it's 4 part multimbral synth, but nowhere is stated if i can do more than one sequencer parts.

http://fossa.bandcamp.com
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  • From: North Sea
  • Registered: 2008-11-06
  • Posts: 172

Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

its the same synth engine as the alesis ion so try some searches for that too. most reviews of these things say they sound great although i tried one once and it was just full of flashy dance demos. one patch sounded very 'arpanet' i thought though.
check sos for reviews.
i think its one of these strange sequencers that forces you to work in a defined way. i.e. there is a rhythm track, lead track and accompaniment track. i think some of it relies on keyboard splits etc. i think when it says 4part its including fixed drum samples too.
i would guess it would be ok for live stuff if you can work out how to sequence a few independent sounds and set up the controllers to useful functions.
maybe download the manual and have a check

  • Registered: 2008-07-08
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

I've been on the lookout for an ion.  Pretty interesting synth with fm capabilities and stuff.

I think the difference between the micron and ion are just effects and knobs, no?

i could be wrong.

I'll probably end up getting a micron one day though.  The thought of three knobs just irritates me ...but then again ive been messing around with rackmount synths so it cant be that bad.

  • Fossa
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

maybe i should just wait for a good opportunity to get a nord micro modular or something, because that lead track + accompaniment track sounds bad sad

Do you have anything to recommend if i'd want just a compact synth with a sequencer that i can record chords with.
I hate it that all grooveboxes for example are just mono or 2-part mono. OR they have megasuper everything features and cost like 1000

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  • SOS
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

nord micromodular is a way better purchase, imo, and should cost you used about the same as a micron.
micron is really a chore to program, making the simplest patch takes 3-5 minutes, easily. if it had a software editor maybe it'd be interesting. the presets are abhorrent.
maybe just get any decent, fun polysynth w/ midi and a cheap sequencer like the alesis mmt or something.

  • MrWho
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

the problem with the micromodular is that no one wants to sell one...ive never seen any for sale

9 Reply by Squadra Smackos (edited by Squadra Smackos 2009-05-18 22:46:48)

  • Registered: 2008-07-08
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

Fossa wrote:

I hate it that all grooveboxes for example are just mono or 2-part mono. OR they have megasuper everything features and cost like 1000

expand your total self

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  • Fossa
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

maybe i'll just get a sampler wink
but that's no fun anymore.

gotta check those rolands

I have the yamaha an-200 which i'm selling because it's kinda stupid. I thought dx200 and an200 were almost same, only differing by the FMsynth thingie.

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  • Registered: 2008-07-08
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

yeah they are the same, but controlled externaly they are polyphonic I am pretty sure, only the internal sequencer is not.

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  • From: 0172
  • Registered: 2008-07-07
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

DX200 is polyphonic for sure via midi.

  • Fossa
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

yea its i think 5 sounds polyphonic but the sequencer is not.
Or it actually is a 4 part sequencer but the 3 are only for crappy drum sounds wink

I've been searching and wasting my time for many hours today and i still cannot really figure out if there is such a thing i need.

A box. which by it's own, can play at least 4 or 5 note polyphonic melodies. And is analog or analog modelling.
Those rolands are nice but i'm not really sure if that sampling synthesis is what i want.

Do you think i'm being a hifistelij

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  • Registered: 2008-07-08
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

A Roland JX3P has a polyphonic step sequencer which you can play over with the keyboard (but the same sound only) you can trigger it with Roland trigger. The Korg Poly 800 has an internal polyphonic sequencer but again same as the JX3P not multitrimbal. Sixtrack and Multitrak from Sequential Circuits are multitrimbal and have sequencers maybe thats something?

Like SOS said maybe just get an Alesis MMT8 or old Roland MC500 and hook it up, those things are so cheap today.

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  • From: Rotterdam
  • Registered: 2009-02-14
  • Posts: 1,149

Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8Kiw4aoex4[/youtube]

that's a nice demo from a guy I know, makes some crazy idm stuff!

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  • From: Minnesota
  • Registered: 2008-07-16
  • Posts: 592

Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

i was in a similar predicament, and bought a nord micromodular. super coooool. lovely sound, kinda lame at first to program, but it is really flexible after a bit, plus there's a million cool patches online for it. Plus it's not to hard to assign more midi controllable knobs for parameters, as only having 3 does blow.

Plus two of my favorite musicians use them, Rude 66 and Terrence Fixmer!

A friend of mine has the micron and likes it, but 2 more of my friends have micromods and love them. wink


@Mr. Who, that's weird that they are tough to find in germany/europe, i got mine about a week after looking for it in smalltown usa. the shitty part was that it was a lil' over the price i wanted to spend on it, but it has definitely been fun.

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17 Reply by Prince of Pizza

  • Prince of Pizza
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

I like the micron sounds,  i kinda want to get one just to see how many bugs i can find.

  • From: North Sea
  • Registered: 2008-11-06
  • Posts: 172

Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

what about a roland mc-303. cheap. 8 part , plenty poly. 8trak sequencer.  kind of like the rm1x i guess.
sounds aren't hugely editable but probably functional enough for live stuff if you want basic basses, strings etc.
its sequencer is actually quite like an mmt8 and really good for live muting.

the dx200 is 16 note poly if you control externally. but the 4 sequencers are really 1 mono sequence and 3 rhythms from samples.

  • rude66
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

heh heh, i only use mine as a vocoder. it's programmed at preset 1, and for the rest, well.. i never do naything with it because i don't like its sound. but as a vocoder, it's unbeatable.

i tested the micron and the ion here.. i found the ion a very cool machine, get behind the crap presets and there's actually a very nice sounding machine. as i remember the micron has the same synth engine as the ion. all that sequence stuff is fun, but use a decent sequencer instead of all that phrase stuff and youre sorted. it sounds light years better than something like an mc303, and i found it a lot fuller and analogue sounding than a micro modular too.. but i dont know if thats what youre looking for.

maybe one of these days i'll translate all these reviews and put them online somewhere..

  • Registered: 2008-07-08
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

ekranoplan wrote:

what about a roland mc-303. cheap. 8 part , plenty poly. 8trak sequencer.  kind of like the rm1x i guess.
sounds aren't hugely editable but probably functional enough for live stuff if you want basic basses, strings etc.
its sequencer is actually quite like an mmt8 and really good for live muting.

Its cool but the RM1X is lightyears more advanced as in that its a real proffesional hardware sequencer...the MC303 has a lot of weird quirks.

expand your total self

Squadra Smackos's Website

  • Registered: 2009-05-23
  • Posts: 49

Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

Squadra Smackos wrote:
ekranoplan wrote:

what about a roland mc-303. cheap. 8 part , plenty poly. 8trak sequencer.  kind of like the rm1x i guess.
sounds aren't hugely editable but probably functional enough for live stuff if you want basic basses, strings etc.
its sequencer is actually quite like an mmt8 and really good for live muting.

Its cool but the RM1X is lightyears more advanced as in that its a real proffesional hardware sequencer...the MC303 has a lot of weird quirks.

I've got both of these, selling the MC303 as it definitely does behave strangely sometimes.  The buttons don't seem too responsive, not sure if that's dirt or the processor not scanning them fast enough.

The RM1X is amazing for doing live arranging but getting the music into it is a bit of a fiddle, it's very start/stop when you want to change tracks, quantize or pretty much anything else.  Timing is super tight though, maybe that's the trade-off.

  • Registered: 2008-07-08
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

rockmanrock wrote:
Squadra Smackos wrote:
ekranoplan wrote:

what about a roland mc-303. cheap. 8 part , plenty poly. 8trak sequencer.  kind of like the rm1x i guess.
sounds aren't hugely editable but probably functional enough for live stuff if you want basic basses, strings etc.
its sequencer is actually quite like an mmt8 and really good for live muting.

Its cool but the RM1X is lightyears more advanced as in that its a real proffesional hardware sequencer...the MC303 has a lot of weird quirks.

I've got both of these, selling the MC303 as it definitely does behave strangely sometimes.  The buttons don't seem too responsive, not sure if that's dirt or the processor not scanning them fast enough.

The RM1X is amazing for doing live arranging but getting the music into it is a bit of a fiddle, it's very start/stop when you want to change tracks, quantize or pretty much anything else.  Timing is super tight though, maybe that's the trade-off.

I don't think there are any hardware sequencers like that that can do that realtime, I have no problems putting music into it, its the fastest and most intiutive sequencer around imo

expand your total self

Squadra Smackos's Website

  • Registered: 2009-05-23
  • Posts: 49

Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

Squadra Smackos wrote:

I don't think there are any hardware sequencers like that that can do that realtime, I have no problems putting music into it, its the fastest and most intiutive sequencer around imo

How did you find the MPC60? I like sequencers that do auto-quantize, think Yamaha added that with the RS7000 but they're a) expensive and b) huge!

  • Registered: 2008-07-08
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Re: Any thoughts on Alesis Micron?

MPC60 is ok but the RM1x is again lightyears more advanced. I like that it doesn't do that quantize straight away you can get these really loose feelings "grooves" with it, and if you want to quantizise just hit job and quantizise, enter.

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