Alesis ION - The Virus Killer?

[2TIM316]

The ION is actually out. What do you all think? At around $800 will it be able to kill the Virus or just mame it? Does it sound more "analog" than other VAs that are currently out? Looking forward to hearing your responses.

For purposes of comparison, let's all begin by agreeing that the ION has only 8 voices of polyphony and no built-in reverb. I hope we will not be debating based on those attributes. IMHO the price more than compensates for these arguable deficiencies.

The Alesis web site www.alesis.com has ION info and demos. There's also an ION discussion group over at Yahoo! Groups.

[MK]

As a former Andromeda owner, I was curious about the ION. I listened to the demos. Some of them were interesting. This synth is not in the same league as other instruments. A second reason I would not buy it is that I have owned a couple Alesis products, and they tend to have Quality Control problems. The A6 is a typical example.

No way is the ION a Virus killer. The limited polyphony on the ION places it way below the Virus. I used to own a Virus kb. That synth (and the newer Virus kc) is much more capable than the ION. The Virus interface is poor. However, Access Music did a good job of perfecting an excellent sounding VA. I had planned to buy the Virus kc, and just never got around to it. You will not be disappointed with the Virus. It is extremely rare for someone to complain about its sound.

If you like the ION, that is fine. Take your time evaluating it, if you are interested in buying one. A few years ago when the Micro Q was released the ION would have been an instant success. But these days the limited polyphony on the ION is an important concern.

[silvertouch57]

About the ION :
I've heard a demo from the NAMM, and 2 ways are possible :
either the guy, who demonstrate the ION, was a beginner
or this new synth is a sh.. !
8 polyphony voice, 3 oscillators, for the price you can get a 16 polyphonic voices synth (KS rack from Novation)
ION is a DSP synth, it's not a real analogue synth like the ANDROMEDA.
Try to listen to others gears before buying it !!!!!

Peace.

David.

INDIGO productions

[MK]

The ION is an inexpensive synth that should not be mistaken for something in a higher price class. While listening to the demos the limitations of the polyphony and other design constraints can be easily heard. ION designers created a few impressive demos, but the sound is clearly thin. They tried to disguise this by duplicating parts of old popular songs. That marketing trick will convince some potential buyers to become customers.

Visit this demo page: http://alesis.com/products/Ion/Demos/
There are pictures of Muppets next to the sound file links. What does that tell you about the potential customer?

I was one of the early buyers of the Andromeda. It could be a separate discussion by itself. The A6 has its problems. Most people are unaware of these issues. You would not believe how many times these problems have been reported.

Avoid the ION. Put your money into something else, such as sampling disks, SRX boards, or a DAW.

[2TIM316]

Hi everyone. I'm hoping we can ignore the polyphony comparisons, the lack of reverb on the ION, and comparing the ION to non-VA synths like the Andromeda, Voyager, Romplers, etc... The issues of polyphony and lack of reverb are so apparent as to IMHO need no further debate. And comparing the ION to non-VA synths would seem to blur the comparisons.

Instead, I hope we can focus this discussion on sound quality, range of sounds able to be produced, ability to duplicate analog polysynths (something all VAs seem to be evaluated on at some time or another), and ease and facilitating of creativity which the UI allows.

BTW the Novation KS Rack and KS4, the latter being IMHO the more similar comparison to the ION since it has a 4 octave keyboard, retail for $1099 and $1399 respectively, while the ION retails for $999, all according to the Sweetwater website.

[Lord of the Badgers]

what are your views on the KS rack/keys guys? what WAS wrong with the Andromeda.. ?

also, the (now discontinued) Novation Supernova II.. any comments? looking to add to me FS with something like this.

I had a go on the KS and really liked it - my main taste is pads, not so much bass

[2TIM316]

Figured I'd reply a little late and bump this post up. The Supernova II is a worthy sibling to the Virus. Many dance producers (with the financial resources) have and use both. I don't know if the KS series has the same sound as the Supernovas. I have heard some complaints about the KS series sounding "thin", but have never heard these complaints about the Supernovas.

[Steph3dfx]

The sound of the Ion is very good IMO and a nice replica of analog synth and the design unit is cool.
The synth section is very powerfull and flexible, the filter options are very sexy.

BUT the lack of reverb/delay section is a no go for me.
And most importantly is the ALESIS built quality, I heard a lot about bad stories and defective units. (oversensible knobs, that change data without touching them)
The kind of basic construction flaws that you will not see from the big 3.
(Access QA seems to be good also)

[Steph3dfx]

By the way altough I love the Virus KC, I think it's overpriced.

a KC would be nice next to my FS tought ...........