in terms of synthesis, i expected the architecture to follow a similiar style set by the novation k-station. you have 3 oscillators, which can have different modulation,lfo, and envelope depths applied to each independant oscillator. however, only one filter, lfo, and 2 envelope settings can be applied to the overall program. well the micron is a lot more powerfull in that area. you can apply a seperate filter, lfo, and 3 different envelope settings per individual oscillator. this allows for some complex sounds, particularly very intense pads. overall, the sound is very clean and unmuddled.

unlike the k-station, editing is not as straight-forward. everything is based on multi-function controls, you have to scroll through menus, and you select the parameters you are editing by using keys on the keyboard. its not difficult to do, but you do need to be patient and have some understanding of synthesis.

despite it's entry-level price, its a powerfull synthesizer which may not be so great for the beginner. don't base anything on its presets because this synth is ment to be programmed despite its hidden interface.

Since it's affordability is incredible it will attrack many beginners but they may have a second look before they purchase this. Like everybody says the downside of this little monsters is the lack of knobs; programming and editting isn't nearly as intuitive as it should be for someone who wants to pick it up and start jamming right away. For myself using the buid-in stepsequencer is still a bit of a pain (but that can be mostly my own fault).

My conclusion: very, very lovely synth which can sound either brutal or sweet for a lovely. If you are into electronic dance music and you're known with the basics of synthesis this one's a nice addition to your studio. If you're a beginner; this is not the most intuitive synth and be prepared to get frustrated once in a while but the reward is one of the sweetest :)

i wish i had the time to use sounddiver or unisyn, on it. ya know, really get into the synths programs.

they go for $300 used on ebay, for the money i'd buy two. they have great little sequencers built into them, BE SURE TO GET THE NEW FIRMWARE UPDATE ON THE ALESIS SITE! it allows you to setup sequence's that are 16 bars long.

Another cool trick is to sync it to ext. midi clock and put a peizo on your drummers kick drum (as long as he hits the 4's your micron stays in sync to him!). go to the Alesis website links page to get the info on building your own piezeo drum triggers.

Its taking me to the next step and thanks to this bad boy i got a record coming out soon i love this thing its really opened my creativity.

:)

The flexibility offered by 3 oscillators, hard and soft synching, 6 different kinds of FM, 18 filters , and an extremely open mod-matrix is fantastic. From what I've seen so far, the Micron isn't a synth that will become stale in a few months. I have a microKorg, which was great to really learn analog synthesis on, but the Micron really says 'come play me' in a way the microKorg doesn't.

As far as the quality of sound coming out, I'm more than happy with it. I don't particularly care to compare it with vintage analogue synths because it isn't one. The audio coming out isn't thin or "digital" (whatever that means), and you can make a hell of a lot of noise with it.

The FX are nice, I have no problems there, nothing out of the ordinary, and I find that the patches often don't need much more than a little reverb or delay.

The sequencer/pattern player is a nice bonus. It's very basic compared to what you'll find on workstations, but it makes things gel: You make a bunch of precussion patches, and you can put them together in a drum loop then and there to see how they all sound together. Instant gratification! I haven't used this thing live, so I don't know how useful it would be in that situation, but it's definitely great for jamming at home.

So, there must be some catch? Well, yes, there are 2 things that aren't great about this synth, but whether you find them a real problem depends entirely on you. Firstly (the one you can't get around), the buttons on this are a little cheap. I would have been happy to pay an extra $20 if it meant that the control knob (a turn-and-push dealie) felt a little more solid. I don't live in fear of it breaking off in my hand, but it does mean that you have to be a little more careful taking it gigging or just generally throwing it around. Secondly, there aren't that many knobs on the front. In the ideal world, every synth would have a knob/slider for every parameter, but in this case, they have to charge you nearly double for that (when you buy an Ion, which doesn't have a sequencer in it). I found the menu system very easy to learn (1 day) and the shortcuts make editing pretty fast; but if you aren't good at this sort of thing, then you will get annoyed.

To sum up, if you want a nice VA synth that's small but won't limit your ideas, this is the one to go for. If you have 2 or 3 times as much cash, other options open for you, but I personally won't rush out to trade this in for a NordLead3 as soon as I have the extra 2 grand. To the people weighing up the Micron/MicroKorg choice: I have both, and they're both fun, but the Micron will do a lot more as a stand-alone and in the studio.

Don't even think about the microkorg, it is a total joke compared to the micron. Trust me I have some classic analogs that don't leave the house... this guy can sound like them all. Buy one, you will not be disappointed!

this is a very, very loud puppy. coupled with a 300 watt sumo amp from alesis, this thing stole the show. the backup board i used, a Roland Em-20 (i know, i know. a Micron and an Em-20?), was completely outclassed. dust fell from the ceiling. my little breadbox pwned.

my only recommendation is get another board to go along with it. it only has 3 octaves which can be a little restricting, but when used in conjunction with a bigger system, its simply amazing.

where this thing really shines is in the setups mode. you can assign all your patterns to specific key ranges and play a whole song just by pressing keys. kind of like the feature on the korg trinity and triton. the drum sounds are great for analog sounds. i have just scratched the surface on the vocoder, but i have to say it puts the ms2000 and micro korg to shame already. it has 4 outputs! how cool is that its a rare thing nowdays for a $400 synth to have more than sterio outputs. the only drawback is the second pair of outputs are pre effects section so none of that killer delay and reverb(good for the drums)

tech support has answered every question i have had and been real helpfull. os update is a must! the slow parameter changes people are complaining about have vanished after the os update. i was worried about build quality after reading about the other peoples stories about theirs breaking off knobs and having ghost parameter changes, but mine has been solid and never malfunctioned. all in all a great deal. i can see m yself playing mine for years to come. i actually prefer mine to a virus now. i'm not saying its better, i am just saying that i prefer it.

1. the addition of a wondaful reverb effect 2. a step/pattern sequencer 3. more memory programs 4. a (phatsounding)beat/rhythm section

Else, they're prettymuch the same.

It sounds VERY analogue, and with 18 (!) filtertypes to choose from,...well, there's not many synths that cannot be replicated on this little gem. The (always greatsounding Alesis) reverb adds that little magic touch to some of the sounds, esp pads and strings. And the step&rhythm seq is a marvel. Yes, it is better than the Ion in ther sound department! Thank you, Alesis, for makin' the greatest synth of the 21st century!