All user reviews of 3/5 for the Alesis Micron

Everything has already been said, and you affirm Google.
Little more compared to its big brother, the Ion: the beatbox setups and sequencer very handy, but beware you have to see under what conditions.

The plus is the Vocoder, but good, not fantastic, I prefer that the Microkorg for the same price. Those who take to the vocoder, go your way.

UTILIZATION

The interface is fairly clear, and it would be easy to use if only the screen was bigger.
CA GIVES a headache to program above: tension in the neck, cervical, aie aie aie ... but efforts are often rewarded. I, who love to create sounds, I find my account and the difficulty of menus that it prevents me back too much on a sound, which is a good limit.

Not wholesale, we completely lost in the interface pages, knobs are often imprecise, plus I already bad contacts on the black knobs, etc ...

The sequencer is easy to use setups (program several sounds) are very convenient, you can make all wonder and assign different parts of the keyboard, but attention is limited to a dozen sounds!

I use it for 4 years, bought used, it was quite a scene.

The pitch wheel is ideal, the sliders too, but the rest is crappy, it has happened to me to change a sound full song by touching a button ...

The keyboard is not cool at all, it is soft, it is fragile, we dare not type on it, it says it may be my role model, a friend had one with a hard keyboard.

The big problem is all plastic, it really is junk and it feels.

Polyphony ON CAN NOT SHITTY! unless use while monophonic, then no problem, but if we setups, we find ourselves having to remove the unisons on sounds. For more sounds are more complex, there oscillators and effects, more sounds are polyphony and place.
And on top of that, the memory is still full that it is level sounds, setups, sequences (less any transfer the factory presets) and that is to pull your hair ... . you have to make too many compromises. In addition, you desfois delete sounds, and he always told you that the memory and full, and the only way I've found is to reboot, and sometimes you press the button 10 times and suddenly it works!

Else, due to the memory.
When you do a setup with a rate 1 or 2 pads and a bass guitar and you're done well, especially live. Polyphony is reduced and it's been glitch aphex twinesques the rhythms, and the worst is that sometimes the kick goes out the window once 3, the snare goes out the window at random, in short: ASIIIIILE!
on the other hand is what may also be the charm of the machine. It annoys me and it makes me laugh.

SOUNDS

So here we arrive at the best chapter!
As the micron has a very digital sound (bcp subs and extreme treble, mids are struggling to be heard in the sense that it is not greasy at all, it is 10 km from Ensoniq SQ80 or other Digital. but Hot, hazy, with hard, but not super accurate coolos!

No "realistic" is a synth sounds, impossible to imitate a real Grand Piano trumpet and much more!

I am rather new wave or the Indus, this synth is really correct.

The presets are shit 70%, I would say ... but the sounds that remain are large killings ... the "low" section is really great, there's a lot of fat sounds good. Brass and lead are sometimes very original.
The SFX are really funny, but good fun to test some gadgets
The drums are really not terrible, it's too typical electro clash / techno, too cold, icy, even without consistency
That said, connected to a good sound in a concert hall, the kicks can be extremely effective and rich in subs! hi hat and great claps, snares but you have to forget within the program as a king (I will not find my account, because they are too too synthetic). But hey, this is perfect if you want to do Schwefelgelb beginnings of Adult or minimal wave, eg

A micron is a synth that sounds very "Techno dance trance 2000s" a user has already said, that's exactly it. But like a lot of synth, you can dodge if you know programming sounds. So do not buy it if you have no concept in programming or if you make the variétoche.

The expression of the synth is not terrible but the knobs are really accessible and useful, especially the sliders that I love, perfect for evolving a sound live.

Modulation matrices are excellent
Filters, not terrible, flat and inconsistent, but hey, come on, it's nice.
FM is very interesting, it's really unique to Micron, nothing to do with the FM Yamaha for example, it sounds plastic toy, smooth but not in the pejorative sense.

Having fun with sync, FM and oscillators that have fairly standard air, and although we are able to create innatendus sounds, hallucinating, erratic


OVERALL OPINION

A wild and sweet beast in both a body of discount toy.
A synth ideal studio level sound design and creativity is great but you have to have time to program it.
To live is fragile, a lot of small bugs (even if they are not very serious), but it is useful for the bass and kicks ... on the other hand for the rest, we do not hear much, mediums go down 200 to 5000Hz DAMAGE!

I keep it because I managed to create sounds that I cherish and that I would never be able to recreate it with another synth. I think a few pads that sound like voices of monsters or bizarre human voices, sounds minarets glitchants, well solid bass, progressive and aggressive, leads a little distorted ... I also care because he is light , practices, and setups, sequencers and other troubleshoot well and are a pleasure to synchronize MIDI!

Small recap

The +:
- Sounds, diversity, unique creativity is the Micron and it is no one else!
- Low
- The sequencer / setup
- The sliders and Pitch Bend
- The unison, the detune, FM, the matrix of practical edition


The -:
- Plastic, plastic buttons, plastic
- The ultra limited polyphony synth scene with setups (otherwise it will if you stay on one preset)
- Keyboard memory too limited, o s, no usb for backup sounds..
- Menus, small bugs
- Vocoder unintelligible
- Sine, Square, Saw ... with wavetables I would have taken my foot more

I do not have that choice, the problem is that I did, I created incredible sounds and that pleases me and suddenly I can not separate it just me (and also because it s' abyss aesthetically fast enough with the scene).
For creating sounds, I would recommend saving up for a Alesis Ion (I tested, it's downright more lively and fun for editing, and still crazy for the sound), and if you really want the Micron, go for the AKAI Miniak: This is EXACTLY the same circuit as the micron, the same OS, all the same, except that the packaging is much stronger, it's AKAI is less cheap, c eastern metal.

Rather I seek synths Rack, more convenient for the stage, less fragile, can buggers MIDI keyboard ...
And suddenly I'm going to turn to the old Waldorf, much more granular, Korg Wavestation (although quite ... ringuardos) or KURZWEIL K2000 that I recommend to those who seek the micron is more versatile, we can integrate samples and create new sounds really weird and (if we do not focus on the demos sound lurking on the net, with realistic sounds very dated nickname) for the K2000 can be used as well as Celine Dion Skinny Puppy, to mention only Canadians.

It is fragile especially at small rectangular buttons that are likely to remain depressed and endless knobs can have the game (to check for a purchase occasion).

UTILIZATION

The opportunities are theoretically sound synthesis huge but in practice it is editing on the machine or a software vendor, we are quickly discouraged because it is too much time for a result rarely interesting.

SOUNDS

I always found it amazing reviews saying that VA is the one who came closest analog.
With some other analog and VA, I absolutely do not agree: the sound is cold, rigid and not alive.
More envelopes I have always been very soft blies (attacks little faster).


The absolute sound is not so bad in itself but it is still a synth that disappointed me the most at this level.

OVERALL OPINION

In general, I do not usually put negative opinions on the machines, but hey I'm not going to lie and say it is excellent.

Well, it certainly for him to its low price, especially now secondhand but should happen to a beginner? not sure as too complex to handle.

At the time of its release there in 5 years, he had great success in large part due to its small size and low price.

But in 2012, you can not even buy it for twice the price "new" (€ 300) a Minibrute Arturia much more interesting and powerful because it is a true analog (albeit mono).

You to see if you really do not have the money and you can buy it for € 150 maximum.

Small keyboard synth type without interest.
Two octaves and a half
many sounds and especially an infinite number of possibilities to the edition.
Pitch weel (which illuminates! Useless but nice) 3 encoder "infinite" assignable, 2 assignable sliders as well.
Complete connectivity.
Without the PC utility, the edition is fastisieuse and very motivating! with the synth editor finds its place in the Swiss Army analog modeling! ($ 38 the software! Not kool!)

UTILIZATION

Not because the screen is too small.
The manual is comprehensive and well (but it is a rectangular style "Bible")

SOUNDS

Sounds (original) are really good and really different!
little while we edit, so the range of sounds is almost limitless!
the keyboard is not good so ...
the sounds are quite realistic in the category "good imitation of analog. but ... it's not analog!)

OVERALL OPINION

Fair price for quality sound. occas on, not nine!
Against by the very big problem of this machine is the build quality is below all!
despite the sound quality of this little beast! mediocre quality of component selection is really tiring. even in making sure the audio output FETs jump without reason, the volume pot "crackles", the encoder has a very short lifetime (too bad it's the only way to sail in the settings!)

1 year in brief I already opened 3 times and it's not really encouraging for the future!
With the experience I will take a rather ION (see Andromeda) is not the same rate it is on the Micron but it was just too "cheap" (quality level of manufacture)

Rf. product. Trs complete as his great ERRF the Ion. Manual means.
The editor Mac / PC is a great consolation.

UTILIZATION

The edition is an ordeal. One menu for all custom settings! Fortunately there are shortcuts. The keyboard is enjoyable and trs Controller also even if the small buttons are a bit temperamental. However, the possibilities are standard with the rhythms, the mini squenceur splitage and keyboard.

SOUNDS

Not bad for the modlisation of analog. Powerful and prcis APRS is not the analog. I find that the more pchu microKORG. It has the characters and many presets.
Effects not so good.

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for several months.
I like the concept with the options, size, design.
For 250 I do not do it again yet this choice. It is convenient but too tedious to program and if the house we draw something INTERESTED, live it gives very little I know is in the grain of the sound. Frquences should be treated as normally, hardware synths are well balance.

CHARACTERISTICS good because of normment paramtres ... may be even too much!

UTILIZATION

It sucks!

Of course, the problem is highlighted dj CSTA to paramtres via a single knob. Even with keyboard shortcuts is annoying. But is the price paid for the small size and low weight of the machine (which is a good choice CRITERIA scne to make, or even for ct practice).

But this is not the main worry for me: you see, we see that this type of instrument has been designed by the Next-Generation ingnieurs who swear by the computer.

Indeed, the management of MIDI sounds great Relva of anything! Instead of like everyone is saying organize the sounds you want to save in locations that can numrots commnander MIDI (with the well-known numrotation 0 127), our computer scientists are ALESIS alls imagine dbile logic, where the sounds are stored in an endless series of "gender", in which certain sounds are found on several occasions (eg for FAV " Favorites ", for sounds RECENT utiliss" recently ", etc.).. So when you send via a keyboard or other source matre MIDI control change to a program changes the MICRON is placed anywhere without any logical! This means that it is impossible to properly control program changes on scne matre via a keyboard.

This is serious since trs in my case I drive all with a Roland A90, so I have to change the sound by hand (like the old days you might say, but when even!) During together. This limits greatly the advantage trs the device, because of the sudden the possibilities become trs limits on scne.

SOUNDS

Trs good sound type "analog modlise". At the landed cost (with DIFFERENT headphones good quality), yet skeptical j'tais dpart: I found way too gnreux the top of the spectrum, giving c Does a little chilly, with also a lack of mdium, tessitura which is often the charm of the real analog (TB "hot").
However, in situations of group play, I'm surprised trs enjoyable: the synth lines dlivre thunder ffective clear, either with LEADS like "antics" in Rick Fawn MINIMOOG Wakeman, or LOW with fleshy. It possde a espce of "aura" particulire, we peroit on all types of sounds, even trs DIFFERENT them, a kind of signature sound if one wants, which gives it a "frank" and "white" to make it stand out as it should in a set. At least the impression I rptition in, I did not test as part of a mixing in the studio.

OVERALL OPINION

I use just a few weeks, but I feel that DJ is a good buy in terms of its ...

As against this problem by MIDI control makes me really dbile the use of basic Manir trs scne: change sounds by hand (!), Which is a shame in 2011!

So, I can not use background.

To hell with computer logic and illogical!