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Average rating:
3.6 out of 5
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The Fizmo definitely is an acquired taste. It isn't the easiest one, it seems to have some power issues (not from personal experience, here it's been working flawlessly) the sounds can be outlandish, but i agree with vx-5's review. It isn't for the loopers, for the ones that rather like presets and huge roms. Nevertheless, Fizmo is a purple blue beast. The sounds and transwave synthesis is simply excellent for fat and original sounds which range from basses to atmospheric pads. Once you get the hang of the work flow, one will start to appreciate the possibilities. It really is a shame that the marketing for this one was flawed because of the impending takeover of ensoniq at that time, but in my eyes it still has become somewhat of a cult classic on its own merit. A 3,5 average is vastly underrated when it comes to the soundengine and reading the reviews i indeed suspect some people just not knowing how to make use of it, or making loopbased trance music and only want detuned saws... It's not a synth for beginners, but when you know what you do then i'm sure you can fit it to your needs. It will definitely suit any kind of electronic music, but the more original your music is, the more i think you'll appreciate this synth. The sound is digital but can warm up very nicely, which is a combination not so easy to find. The interface is for me pretty simple, but others seem to have some other opinion on it. ok, there's no big lcd screen but how many older synths do have one. i don't mind putting some effort into getting the sounds i want if it pays off. in short: vastly underrated, excellent sounds.
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So In my opinion the people who trash the fizmo are the people who make songs with Acid Loops and call them their own. I love a good groove synth but for my really whcked out and aggressive thick sounds it my fizmo all the way. Yes of course it has its drawbacks. Just like any synth does. I had my power supply fixed and havent had problems since. Ive been using one fizmo live for 9 years now and it stills works perfectly. Aside from a few broken keys and scratches. I use many other synths from Korg, Emu, etc... but my fizmo is my main synth and will remain so for many years. Thats why I bought a second just to keep in my studio. And if anyone has a rackmount let me know and I will happily take it off your hands.
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Fizmo is good synth, not easy to use, indeed. Maybe some people like only the preset machine, with "pappa-pronta" sounds. With this machine must know about programming. Not for all. I've a lot of gears: VCS3, Prophet5, OBXa, Korg Trident, Lambda; A/D, Polisix, Clavia NL 2, Roland D50, juno 60, Yamaha CS-50,SY77, YC-45D, A5000, Elka x705, Gem Challenger, Crumar T1/c, Logan Strings, Arp 2600, Akai x7000, Emulator II, Elektor Formant modular, Jen SX1000 and Gs3000, MicroWave I, Moog Sonic Six and others..... not last the Fizmo.
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It's a cool synth.. Positives: you can get cool sounds if you put some effort and go where the synth wants to go. you can get good ambient textures. the effects are top-notch (except the vocoder). the keyboard mechanism is nice. negatives: Definately not the easiest as far as knowing what knob will get the desired effect. having to use the computer to change some parts of the patch is bad. the "FIZMO" lettered knobs are obnoxious. (having 2 hp cutoff knobs is stupid).
the synth has lots of cool stuff packed into it, which makes up for the fact that it can feel frustratingly obtuse when trying to get it to respond quickly to something you want. maybe the former causes the latter...........
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A totally unsatisfactory synth in every way. The sounds are so so. The build is rubbish. The wait for something to happen is laughable. The cost is embarrassing. They are offered for the same price as a Korg Z1 which is sooo superior.....a mini moog compared to a plastic Bontempi chord organ. This is a very disappointing and annoying and frustrating piece of nonsense. How can people say that this is good? Must be they have never played any other synth. Where did they make this thing?? Clearly made in China or somewhere with similar design and construction ethics. Does it have a vocoder?? The effect is pointless and worthless. When you turn a pot you really..actually...amazingly have to wait 10 secs for something to happen. No, really, you do!!! How can that be acceptable. Amazingly bad. It gets 2 marks...my lowest score. 1 is reserved for the polymoog!
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