if you have had any doubts about this unit, You obviously havent splurged into the MODULATION MATRIX!!! Dip into a TB303 acid sound and "ENTER THE MATRIX" I only wonder about my arpeggiators true strength, and the tempo seems to float a little. I have upgraded to version 1.14, I hope they keep up on the glitch fixin'.

I beleive that the 75 voice upgrade will make this unit like the Q rack. If you are going to buy one, GET THE Q RACK FOR TRUE STRENGTH> NOT "NEGOTIABLE VOICES"

1)Overall for the price- 5 of 5 (749.99) 2)sound quality - %110 3)Sound integrity while tweakin knobs- %110

I got this beast 1 week ago. The quality/price ratio is very high. The synthesis is powerfull,the effect are good not amazing, the presets are good, the vocoder presets could be better, but the vocoder section seems to be great (don't test this section anymore, just listen to the preset !) This synth must be programmed. The polyphony is enough. Like real analog, don't use synths from an unique manufacturer, use others modules, others synthesis, everything is good. My MC307 has a beeter sound when it is mixed with the microQ. Everything is good to make beautiful music. Have a good week !!!

The drums in the preset drum maps are pretty pussy but don't let this fool you. This machine can generate some serious thuds. The vocoder sounds marvelous, very clear and has a lot of tweakable parameters to get the sound just right. The other effects are halway decent, I like the delay, but as people have said they could have done a bit more with them. The much maligned FiveFX has a sample rate degrader that is really sweet; you can get some serious Atari dirt out of it using this. I'm rambling. To sum up: this is an amazing synth for it's price, it has a lot of power, and totally blows my mind. It sounds awesome.

Soundwise, I really like it. Yes, it has a digital edge to it, no doubt about it, but it can sound warm, rich, lush, full or whatever. It can also create clear, icy, cutting sounds while also providing sounds which are shimmering, ethereal, foggy soundscapes. To cut to the chase, it's incredibly versatile soundwise while still maintaining it's own personality.

Operation-wise, I would like to have seen more knobs, but then again, it would have jacked up the price. Even without really reading the manual, I'm getting around quite easily on it. I will, however read the manual to get the most out of it, which will be a lot as this is quite a complex synth.

My main gripes are a time delay when effects kick in when changing from one sound to the next. This will be corrected in the next software revision. Also, some patches were carried over from the Q, which provide static bursts at times. I would give it a 5, but until the bugs are addressed, it gets a 4.

I haven't even delved into the vocoder, multitimbral capabilities, or other features yet as this is just my initial impression. Can't wait to explore more of it. An incredible value.