Just got me one of these babies as a fun to play rhythm box and a serious portable keyboard. What am I going to do with 3 octaves? Will I ever be able to play a serious tune on it? I dunno. The thing's small, got some knobs, and the pitch bend lights up. That was enough to win me over.
Oh, by the way, I did also check out its sound. It's a VA, after all. 3 osc with sync and FM, and a bunch of matrix capabilities that I'd never figure out on a tiny LCD. They have a windows editor called Microzune, so I think I'll have to buy that for any serious editing. The overall sound of the presets weren't too exciting. I think I've made 1 osc basses that sounded more exciting. So, micron's hurting a bit in the character department, but oh well, I guess we're all a little spoiled here.
It's strange though, because the Micron is my first real VA hardware synth. And I seriously was expecting a little more "attitude" from a hardware based... well, basically anything hardware. Anyway... the sounds isn't bad by any means. It's really, really, good for the price and especially the size. I'm sure it's the "defacto" sounding presets that's not showing its true potential. I think I need to dig in and do some surgical maneuvers.
What's cool is the recording function on the step sequencers. Pushing buttons and twisitng knobs to create patterns is cool and all, but the additions of "just play the frickin' pattern" was a great feature that I've always wanted, but never had on any of the stuff I've owned. This mixed with the "setups", which is Alesis' versions of multis make for an interesting workflow that, in my opinion, is super fast. Make a beat, throw on a bass line, throw on some arpeg sequence, and wala, you've got a very typical sounding electro track. I'm not making fun of it at all, it's cool that all this can be done so fast, on such a tiny machine, with passable sound quality.
The keys feel like crap. It feels like they're not using springs, but some sort of elastic sheet or stick, I'm not sure what's going on. But it's definitely one of those spongy keys. The build quality of the keys aren't that bad though, definitely much better than the other microscopic synths.
I guess in the end, the Micron's strength is in its size and weight. It's portable, period. Shove it in your socks, stash it in your pockets. The things is a performer that seriously might fit in a nutshell. It's one heck of a toy. I'm lovin' it so far. It's not perfect, not a powerhouse, but its' a very fun instrument.
Alesis Micron impressions
-
kensuguro
- Posts: 4434
- Joined: Sun Jul 08, 2001 4:00 pm
- Location: BPM 60 to somewhere around 150
- Contact:
Alesis Micron impressions
- Attachments
-
- fits awesomely well on my p-250
- IMG_0004.jpg (30.45 KiB) Viewed 935 times
nice review, i like reading stuff like this...the micron is indeed a cute little machine, i was tempted for a while myself (back before i started using scope)...most of the demos i have seen do make it seem a little bland sound-wise, except for this one (its an ion, but as stated in the link they have the same engine)...im also looking to get a cheap portable synth, though id prefer something other than the same old va sounds, ill probably get a cz101 (casio) when i find one in my area on ebay...
Re: Alesis Micron impressions
yeah, whenever I hear (or read) the infamous sentence '...you have the possibility to...' it makes me want to turn right away from it.kensuguro wrote:...What's cool is the recording function on the step sequencers. Pushing buttons and twisitng knobs to create patterns is cool and all, but the additions of "just play the frickin' pattern" was a great feature that I've always wanted, but never had on any of the stuff I've owned.
..., it's cool that all this can be done so fast, on such a tiny machine, with passable sound quality...
Which is in particular true with some (supposedly) omnipotent PC apps.
It's not that you have 'a choice' - in fact you're condemned to actually take care of all that stuff ...
Mr.Prawn - a CZ101 isn't a toy, but a serious investment...
here they rarely go for less than 300 Euro in good condition (on eBay)
garage sale or flea markets might be better locations to pick one up
cheers, Tom
-
kensuguro
- Posts: 4434
- Joined: Sun Jul 08, 2001 4:00 pm
- Location: BPM 60 to somewhere around 150
- Contact:
hehe, choice is the ultimate control! Would you like coffee or tea? You think you have the freedom to choose coffee or tea. The correct answer is either coffee or tea. You've 1. limited your choice, 2. either way will drink something. This coffee or tea thing is a tactic used by realtors in japan to get you to sit down and stay at the office. You can say "no", but it's implied in the question that that isn't an option.
>astroman
>astroman
well, i wasnt suggesting that the cz101 was a toy, just that they are relatively cheap (especially compared to what you pay for other 'vintage' synths from the same era), and quite small...actually im not interested in its portability either - i woudltn be using it away from my other gear (maybe in the loungeroom) - but it has to be small becuase i have very little space. perhaps ill make a post like this one if i end up buying one 