Tried the ION last week...

[MK]

When I was in Guitar Center recently I had a chance to try the Alesis ION. During my recent visits I noticed that no customers were playing the ION despite the seemingly high interest expressed online.

I thought the lack of customer interest was unusual, considering that Guitar Center stores have positioned the ION directly under a spotlight. As I stepped in front of the ION I understood why the store presents the synth in this way. The ION display is low contrast. The extra illumination from the spotlight improves readability due to the low lighting the store has in their Keyboard room.

Red panels give the ION a toyish appearance. If this synth had been placed next to a Casio in a Target store, very few people would know the difference. The knobs are well sculpted. If I remember correctly, they are rubber coated like the wheels on the Andromeda. I hated that awful rubber texture on the A6 wheels, but I did not spend enough time with the ION to notice it on this synth.

Speaking of wheels, the ION has three of them. This is excellent design. It reminds me of my old Yamaha EX5. Wheels bring out the expressiveness in my music. I have never been able to make the transition to pitchbend sticks. The stick was a small concern when I chose the Fantom-S88. I recently bought a microKORG. The presence of wheels on that synth influenced my decision to buy it.

As I began playing the ION the instrument had been set to a bass patch. It took me a minute to learn how to change patches, and I can no longer clearly remember the control that I used. From what I remember bank switching was done by pressing small, light colored switches. These controls are too small, in my opinion. Recently, there has been a trend by electronics manufacturers to reduce costs by using very small switches to control parameters of various products. If this size reduction trend continues, in the near future we will be using a paperclip or the tip of a pen to change settings on our synths!

Running through the patches, I observed that many of the presets sounded thin, as others have learned. It would be interesting to hear how the ION sounds at high volume in a large space. I kept the volume low while in the store because I did not want a salesman running over to ask me how I liked the unit.

With 49 keys the ION keyboard has a nice size. It could be an ideal size controller. I have never liked the USB mini controllers that are popular with laptop users. An ION-size board provides more range without the weight of a larger, more expensive synth. Indeed, the ION weighs only 20 lbs. -- about the same weight as a red bag of clay cat litter from Wal-Mart. Not exactly the kind of keyboard to carry on the subway train, but a good match for the trendy Volkswagen Beetle owner.

Would I buy the ION? Not at $799. Not even at $699. For $499 it would be a steal, and at $599 I would seriously consider it. I do not doubt that the higher prices are fair. I just do not care to pay that amount for something for which I have no firm interest.

If any of you care for my thoughts about the microKORG, let me know. I bought one recently.

[rf_]

Definately interested in the MicroKORG. Where did you get it? How much. How does it feel? How is the programability of it? Setup? Drivers? How are you using it? I am very interested. Please advise.

Thanks,

Ron

[bjork01]

I bought the Ion on the strenght of the mp3's on the website, when I got it home I couldn't find them, at least not the way they sounded on the website! It was easy ti program and sounded o.k. but the lcd was horrible, it was dim and poorly situated. The person who programed those great synth sounds heard on the website also programs for the Motif(I have one)and the patches on the Ion's site sound more like the Motif than the Ion..hmmmm!
I sent mine back and got the Korg MS2000, it was great but for the polyphony..the sound and the features(except for the polyphony)are super. the vocoder? Tremendous!

bjork01