Kara-Moon Forum

Does anyone had a chance to try out an Alesis Fusion? The specs looks great, but what about the quality of this gear (hardware, sounds,...) ?

I've found this demo video of the Winter NAM

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/shownews.cfm?newsid=2739#

Gives some ideas maybe, I understood there is a sampler in it, so basically you could make any sound with it.

kara

Did you listen to those ?

http://www.fusionsynth.com/audiodemo.html

These are the ones I listened to. Sounds ok, but not convincing. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a great synt, but can it compete with the likes of a Roland Juno G, Clavia, Virus... The fusion seems to be aimed at people looking for "one box solution", but for those seeking great sounds, I think they will find more at the competitions? I could be wrong of course...

I believe those sample, but also let you record audio tracks (which is different). Just sampling is audio recording, but it would be done as a solo recording so no synch going. The audio tracks let you record like a multitrack recorder would....in realtime while the sequence is playing. The big Roland sampler can do that (MV8000 I think is the name). It has a hefty price tag, but probably comprable, and probably a lot more capable as an all in one solution.

And it seems that they're updating on a regular base...

Kara

Hi folks,

If there is any question about Fusion don't hesitate to ask. Here is 8HD.

Aha, I think that Moon wil be very interested !!  :D

Yes, I'm interested.  ;)

I've been looking out to the Fusion since it came out. The specs of the keyboard are amazing considering the pricetag. When you read reviews about this synth, it seems that people have very strong opinions about it: they either "LOVE" this thing, or realy "HATE" it.

I havn't bought one (yet). I'me using a Motif rack in combination with a Yamaha AN1X and am still wondering if the Fusion would be a good replacement. ??? 

Yes you would be missing a sonic character of Motif and AN1X, but I believe that Fusion covers much wider sonic palette.



Is good to mention some things I like:

-you have 8envelopes (with adjustable shape), 8lfos (with ramp, phase etc.) and modulation matrix with 32 rows  so you can craft some really complex patches

-dependence (source>target) in mod matrix must not be linear but you can write a dependence table with 16 break points. This thing still amazes me.

-you can layer up to 32 patches with very big polyphony. Yes, really thick sounds.



And things I don't like about:

-sequencer (its pain to use)

-CC is not implemented

-UI of workstation (you know I was used to work with NL2)



But anyway I love it. Its capabilities are much more wider than my practical knowledge of synthesis.

If you don't need to use a sequencer on Fusion, go and get it.

I got a Juno-G about the time this thread was active.
 I'm very pleased with it, especially with the expandability of it using DIMM, SRX and compactflash. I've expanded it every way you can and my only complaint now is the bootup time due to the large volume of sounds it loads up.  I don't have to have it set up to load everything at once, but I do so my work flow isn't interrupted later.

Just curious, did get anything yet Moon?
About the time I got the Juno-G the other keyboardist/singer in simpletonguru got the Yammie Motif... so we've been having a lot of fun with all the new sounds.

The Juno G is a machine I've been lurking at for quit some time, I must admit that I'm a Roland fan.
Back in time I was one of the first european owners of the Alfa Juno2, still regret it that I've sold it...
I bought allso the SH101 bass synth when it came out, and was stupid enough to sell it  >:(

I love the sound of Roland synths and allways disliked a bit the korg sounds, just personnal taste of course...

But TBH if I could afford it, I would buy a Korg OASYS. I've played with it in my local music store and boy what a machine. But way over my budget  >:(

k

Well, the choice is difficult: I'm still considering which keys to get. I'm still playing on my Yamaha AN1X and Motif Rack but am thinking about an upgrade...
By the way, there is a nice article in "Future Music": Korg M3 versus Yamaha XS. The Korg M3 is taking the pole position...

Moon

I'm a Roland man too, Kara. I had one Korg (the old poly800) but once I got a Roland Juno106 it was such an improvement that I've stuck with Roland all along.  I still have the Juno 106 and it still works. So do all the other Roland items I've bought along the way (including some Boss items too, since they are actually Roland)

We have a TV show here at night that features Paul Schaefer on keyboards (I read that they make him paint his keyboards or hide the logos so they are not advertising for one company over another on the popular show). I know he has a lot of keyboards by many companies, and can pick whatever he wants since price doesn't matter. And since he doesn't show the logos I have to believe he isn't using one brand over another due to being given things by a company.  That said I notice it's always the new Roland in front of him as his main board for the last few years..says something.

I've heard good reviews on the new Korg, too, Moon. And my parents now sell Yamaha instead of Roland, so I had to get my Juno-G elsewhere! I tried the Yamahas, but the sound wasn't 'better', just different, and I didn't like the way you programmed in it. It seemed very clumsy/complex. Probably because I've used Roland for so long that their systems seem intuitive to me.

Hi Francis,

I don't own a Fusion as of yet,but I have done an awful lot of research on this keyboard-reading various articles,discussing with seasoned Fusion owners in various forums,speaking with the sales staff of Sweetwater.com & just endless searching for any info I could get my eyes on everyday for the last 6 weeks and I must say that initially,I was not impressed with the original factory presets & the fact that it did not have a pattern sequencer,along with the fact-(as it were 2 years ago,had alot of tech problems due to software issues.

As you may or may not know,now,the Fusion with it's current software operating system,along with the vastly improved sound updates in the HollowSun software
packages-the Fusion is an entirely different keyboard today, then it was 2 years ago.
Once I decided to take the time to really get to know the keyboard from all the research I've done,I realized that the Fusion in my opinion,is the most amazing keyboard on the market for it's price.
The Fusion is the only keyboard that I know of,that can actually save all of it's information on it's 40GB hard drive,such as program sound edits & this info can be downloaded at any time-which is a great way to have all your creations all right there within the keyboard at your disposal.
Kara's link to the Winter Namm show,only shows just a small example of what the Fusion is capable of & because that video is 2 years old,it does not do justice to what the Fusion is like today.

I completely agree with Moon's statement about poeple either loving the Fusion or hating it,largely due to the fact that there are still quite a few people that can't get beyond the Fusion's jaded past.
Unfortunately,there is still alot of negative buzz about the Fusion in other forums,but this is a keyboard that you eventually have to get more familiar with on your own,because it is a very complex,in-depth workstation.

The only tech issue that remains to be a problem is people having to bring thier fusions in for repair,only because of Fusion users haphazardly downloading software programs incorrectly.
The software downloading process is actually very simple from what I've read,but the critical thing is,is that the instructions need to be followed exactly & carefully to avoid any corruption of data.
I think it would be extremely helpful to you to listen to all the user demos you can find on the Fusion,such as Emptysound ;D,Rich Menga's website that can be found
on the Alesis's website & also checking out HollowSun's website.

HollowSun has a upcoming software release for the Fusion titled "Nebulae" and there is an audio sample of it on HollowSun's website.

I hope this info helps you make a decision,as it did for me. :)

Good information Tom, thank you

It will certainly interest Moon,who is on holliday at the moment.
At a certain time i was interested in the fushion, until I bought my Clavia Nord modular G2X
Now i have everything i need  ;D

k