Alesis Micron impressions
Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:42 pm
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.
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.
