I just can't believe that it only rates 3.6 out of 5.0. And, yet, I'm surprised there are 105 reviews at all. That's a lot of FIZMOs! Considering how many players don't contribute for every one that does. Way popular! Of course it's going to generate controversy. Only milk and cookie keyboards like Yamaha and Roland get universal approval. Nobody goes for those things expecting anything beyond spectacular mundanity. Plain vanilla gets plain vanilla, nobody's complaining.

But, when someone gets a FIZMO, and it shatters their sensibility, or doesn't, when they were expecting some kind of god box, well, the opinions will fly fast and furious. Does anyone expect enormous philosophical controversy and intellectual challenge from Star Wars? It's a Western with droids instead of Indian guides. But, show the average audience The Man Who Fell To Earth and they'll be arguing into the wee hours and there may be blood.

The FIZMO challenges everything, preconceptions, misconceptions, scales, timbers, tonality, sonic construction, meter, intent, and genre. It would only have been disappointing had it NOT generated fierce argument. That would have been a sad failure. I like it, I use it, I sweat over it and I want to punch it sometimes. But when it gives, it's like stepping out of the forest and seeing the Rift Valley with human eyes for the first time since life began. You stand on a precipice of your own making, and only your artful hand and eye can fill the gap. It is exciting. When was the last time anyone could say that about a musical instrument?