eric Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 One of the guitar players in my band has a Micron that he bought years ago and never used it. He's practically giving it away and I was thinking about trying it out for a bit. I recall buying one when they first came out and I used it for one gig when a mysterious situation occurred where the data wheel was sheared off, rendering it basically unusable (kind of like a PC without a mouse). Alesis sent some replacement parts, but the one thing I needed was out of stock. The dealer that sold it to me ended up taking it back as I complained about the quality of the board. Well, here I am 10(?) years later, thinking about trying it again as I don't have anything to lose and I remember this thing having a funky sound. Anyone using a Micron these days? Any feedback about it? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I remember it, but not fondly. Good sound with the Ion engine, coupled to flimsy hardware and crippled by the single data wheel interface. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe P Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 One of the guitar players in my band has a Micron that he bought years ago and never used it. He's practically giving it away and I was thinking about trying it out for a bit. I recall buying one when they first came out and I used it for one gig when a mysterious situation occurred where the data wheel was sheared off, rendering it basically unusable (kind of like a PC without a mouse). Alesis sent some replacement parts, but the one thing I needed was out of stock. The dealer that sold it to me ended up taking it back as I complained about the quality of the board. Well, here I am 10(?) years later, thinking about trying it again as I don't have anything to lose and I remember this thing having a funky sound. Anyone using a Micron these days? Any feedback about it? Thanks! Hey Eric, I use one in my regular rig. It was a good bang-for-the-buck and it is very useful as my top board in a three tier rig. Mate is right about the good sounds and the user interface, but the build is more than adequate. If you are looking for something tweakable this is not a good choice. The action is a little spongy/sluggish too, and the pitch bend wheel is horizontal. But it has very good bass, pad and synth sounds. I use it for pads, leads, voices, horn stabs and specialty synth textures. It's a good utility player! Regards, Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piano39 Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I have owned one for about ten years. It is the second keyboard that I perform with (Motif XF the primary board). It is one of the funnest keyboards that I ever owned. It is very tweakable, cause you can assign the three knobs to whatever you want on any patch. Great filters. The action sucks, though. Yamaha Motif XF6, Yamaha AN200, Logic Pro X, Arturia Microbrute, Behringer Model D, Yamaha UX-3 Acoustic Piano, assorted homemade synth modules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I use a Ion at school - two actually. I've never been in love with its sound, but I appreciate its flexibility and complex voice channel very much. The two Ions that I use have revealed to be totally unreliable, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 Thanks, guys. Your feedback is in line with my expectations. I may get this one for like $50 and use it with my NS2 to have a spontaneous fun synth available. I bought D-Bon's MicroKorg XL last year for this reason, but I've been a slacker on making many changes to my rolling rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAD Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I used an Ion for my synth board for quite awhile. It's extremely flexible and tweakable, and well over a decade later still sounds great to my ears. "Jazz is the only music in which the same note can be played night after night but differently each time." Ornette Coleman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnchop Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I may get this one for like $50 At that price, absolutely. I make software noises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I use a Ion at school - two actually. I've never been in love with its sound, but I appreciate its flexibility and complex voice channel very much. The two Ions that I use have revealed to be totally unreliable, though. Carlo -love the avatar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seannn Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I've seen/heard it used live and on recordings, and I think it's a great synth. $50 is a steal! ~ Sean Juno-60, Juno-G, MicroBrute, MS-20 Mini, PX-5S, R3, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanV Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Yeah, I'd jump on it for $50. I still use my Ion frequently and it's aces. Nord Stage 2 SW73, Kurzweil PC3LE7, Moog Sub 37, Alesis Ion, Rhodes Stage 73, Moog Werkstatt-01, Yamaha CP-300 ------------- Knock knock Who's there? Interrupting synthesizer Interrup-MOOOOOOOOOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthizen2 Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Ion user here. Best $400 I ever spent. Has something like 50x the programming capability of a Nord Lead, for one-third of the price. It was a no-brainer. Sounds great too. I mainly use mine as a monosynth (mostly for leads in solo or unison mode)... It's basically my digital Minimoog. Wonderful control surface with nice big rubbery knobs. With the Micron you lose that wonderful control surface and the extra octave on the keys -- but hell, at $50, I'd snap that puppy up. On the plus side, Micron has proper delay and reverb, and a step sequencer (all missing on the Ion). Kurzweil PC3, Yamaha MOX8, Alesis Ion, Kawai K3M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted April 2, 2014 Author Share Posted April 2, 2014 Thanks for all the feedback. We settled on $100 after he had figured out the going rate for these which is certainly more than $50-100. It is dead mint with everything included. I have not yet played it, but looking forward to a fun little synth. Now I just need to find a suitable case for it. Hopefully I can repurpose something in my arsenal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Guys, he's buying a MICRON, not an ION. Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Ion user here. Best $400 I ever spent. Has something like 50x the programming capability of a Nord Lead, for one-third of the price. I've owned an Ion for several years now as well. It's nice, but I wish Alesis had developed it a bit more--like including better effects, user-programmable arps, and a sequencer like the Micron had. That, plus a slanted front panel. The Ion's flat, slab design just isn't that appealing. Wooden end-cheeks would be nice as well... but I digress. When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Guys, he's buying a MICRON, not an ION. Going a bit OT is the norm here, though... When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Guys, he's buying a MICRON, not an ION. Same engine with a few differences - and you have to use an editor to program the Micron. But I guess the OP knew it already... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridog6996 Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I actually see these little guys around quite a bit, although to a lesser extent than the MircoKorg. Obviously, not a great main ax, but should make a great little supplementary synth. Well worth $100 for sure! My YouTube Channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe P Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Guys, he's buying a MICRON, not an ION. Same engine with a few differences - and you have to use an editor to program the Micron. But I guess the OP knew it already... There's an editor? Please, share.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAD Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Guys, he's buying a MICRON, not an ION. They have basically an identical sound engine. The Micron has fewer keys, fewer knobs, adds a sequencer, some effects, and a few other small differences, but otherwise they sound the same and I believe you can port patches between them. "Jazz is the only music in which the same note can be played night after night but differently each time." Ornette Coleman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Guys, he's buying a MICRON, not an ION. Same engine with a few differences - and you have to use an editor to program the Micron. But I guess the OP knew it already... There's an editor? Please, share.... I'm sure some Googlage will help with that. When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charleston Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Same engine with a few differences - and you have to use an editor to program the Micron. But I guess the OP knew it already... You can edit from the front panel: [video:youtube] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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