Moog Music Forum

Micket,
This is a bit off topic, but how is the Ion? I've been considering getting a Micron to sit opposite the Voyager. At less than $350, how could I resist?!

Is the Micron already that cheap?

Yeah, I've seen them that low from dealers on eBay. They're even cheaper used.

Doki Doki wrote:Micket,
This is a bit off topic, but how is the Ion? I've been considering getting a Micron to sit opposite the Voyager. At less than $350, how could I resist?!

I had a micron in my studio for a while. On the whole I was very impressed with the sound of it. It's really good for single oscillator stuff especially (little less so for multiosc, funnily enough - I didn't get any really nice pads out of it, for example) and it has loads of modulation possibilities. Its envelopes, particularly, are brilliant, and the filter types are genuinely different. There is a lot of mooginess in the moog one at least Alesis have implemented a lot of very clever shortcuts that, for the most part, suck the pain from editing. Pretty nice sounding reverb for such a cheap unit.

Negatives:
- the main rotary encoder represents a very significant single point of failure and the one on the test unit I had (which was new out the box) already felt a bit dicky
- to make matters worse, you will be using it a lot: for some parameters it requires a huge number of turns to get from the lowest to the highest value (e.g. modulation depth: lowest val = -100.0%, highest = +100.0%, each click represents .1%!) and, at present, there is no shortcut to speed this up
- the xyz encoders are not good: you cannot adjust parameter values if you turn them very slowly
- no aftertouch

The only modeling synths that I know of to include aftertouch are the A6 Andromeda (which isn't considered a modeling synth in sme circles) and the Novation X Station series that came out, last year.

Actually, the Voyager is said to toat a preasure-sensitive keyboard. Is this so?

Actually, the Voyager is said to toat a preasure-sensitive keyboard. Is this so?

Yeah it does.

Quote by Doki Doki:
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Micket,
This is a bit off topic, but how is the Ion? I've been considering getting a Micron to sit opposite the Voyager. At less than $350, how could I resist?!
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As previously posted, the Micron has been having some problems with the main control knob breaking off. Its on a plastic shaft and has a push function as well as a rotary function. So people have been snapping them off. Too bad, what a value for an 8 voice VA.

The ION is excellent, especially when you consider what it costs. The Micron wasn't out yet when I bought my ION, but no matter, I wanted all the knobs and programing capability it offers. Mine has v1.05 OS and I've haven't had any problems with it at all.

Positives: Ingenious user interface. I wish some of my analog gear had the controls and the LCD screen the ION has. 3 OSC, you can have 2 different filter types on a patch, endless modulation options, built quality if about right for what you pay. 8 voice is nice because it can cover more ground than a mono, and its got enough balls to do splits and layers and not come off whimpy. Very snappy envelopes, minimal effects, but who cares?

Negatives: Early models had some encoder problems, it would "ghost" Some parameters would change without you touching them. If you buy a new one with v1.05 OS, you won't have any problems with it. Some folks complain about the endless rotors have to be turned too much to get them to do anything. The other side of the coin is when you are fine tuning things, you can be a LOT more accurate and get better fine adjustments. Can't have it both ways.

The only real different between the sound of the Micron or a ION, or most any VA for that matter is in the filters. If you try to do a dynamic filter sweep like you can get from a Prophet 5, the ION or the Micron come up short. However, for most things you do with it for playable sounds, its pretty hard to distinguish the ION from an Analog, it really doesn't sound Digital at all. Its not quite as gutsy as some of my Analogs, but when I start to take gigs again, the Analogs are staying home and the ION goes out to play. If it were whimpy, I would have sold it.

Don't expect a build quality anywhere near the VOYAGER, you get what you pay for. That being said, the ION is built really well for what it costs. The Micron looks good too, except for breaking the main control knob.

I would suggest you try to get a USED ION instead of the Micron, OR wait until Alesis fixes the problem with the main control knob before buying the Micron. The Micron is more difficult to program than the ION, but Alesis has done a great job in making use of the controls it does have in order to edit patches. I've seen IONs going for 475 and up on Ebay. Just be sure to ask for the serial number to see if its an early one, and be sure it has v1.05 or higher of the OS and you're good to go.


Mike T.

I've been considering the Ion since it was reviewed in Keyboard, two years ago. Then, as soon as Micron came out, last fall, I saw it as Alesis' answer to the MicroKorg. (It seems to have two things over the MicroKorg: double the polyphony and the rhythm / pattern sequencer.) But, is sound quality sacrificed in the Micron, because of the extra features? Let's have a comparisson, please.

Thanks for the responses, I'm looking to get some pads and organ-type sounds (I've got bass/leads/FX covered!). As for the filters sounding digital, not a problem as I can just run it through the Voyager or MF101 if need be. Digital filters, although they may sound good, will never sound or behave like analog. I've never had a problem with digital oscillators, though (e.g. Roland JD800).

Suthnear, you said you couldn't get a good pad out of it. Can you explain why?

As far as the sound quality being sacrificed on the Micron, tough to say. Alesis added the reverb chip to the Micron that the ION doesn' t have, so probably not. The processor power is still used for the SOUND on the Micron as it is on the ION. If there's any decline in the sound of the Micron it would have to be very minor.

Pads- you can get good synth pads on the ION engine, so it depends on what your expectations are. You won't get the ION to sound like an Oberheim in terms of ballsy synth strings, but there's one factory patch called "OberPad" that has a pretty good string emulation. You can also get a few sounds similar to the Arp Solina, the only thing that is sort of missing is the LFO combo you got out of the original. Organs-the ION does a better Farfisa than a Hammond organ sound. Don't settle just for the factory patches. Many of them can be beefed up with increasing overdrive, changing effects or increasing the MIX on a few of the OSC to fatten the sound. You can use different filter combinations and change effects that are compressed to Chorus or Flanger and that can make a dramatic improvment. It depends on what sound you are trying to get whether you will be 100% happy with the results.

The main thing about the ION or the Micron is the TONE is very analog. I don't think the filters sound "digital", they just don't carry the ballsy sonic power of an analog. So if you want to do hair raising filter sweeps that will shake the walls, you're out of luck. But for very musical sounds the ION or the Micron sounds really like the original analogs.

Doki, running the ION or the Micron through the Voyager is the BEST of both worlds. You still CAN'T MATCH a Moog filter, end of story. But what you get for what you pay is a nice addition to any KB rig if you know what to expect and you play to its strengths.


Mike T.

Thanks for the info. I'm not looking for super ballsy pads, more like subtle ambient stuff. Just ambient sounds, organs (non-hammond) and maybe some strings.

I was under the impression that the Ion and Micron used the same sound engine, with a few additions to the Micron since it came out after the Ion. I think that the Micron has an arpeggiator, but the Ion doesn't. I could be wrong though. The real reason I'm interested in the Micron and not the Ion is the size. I like my studio to be compact.

ebg31, the Andromeda isn't a modeling synth, its all analog. Its also the last synth Alesis released before they almost went under. So all you people saying Moog should make an analog polysynth, be warned it is not a wise commercial move!

Doki:

You are correct, same engine in both synths. The Ion has "set" arps, you can pick for a list of different types. The Micron is more flexible in that respect, has more memory locations, reverb chip. Just a lot less controls. You can edit patches relatively easy though. If you're going to keep it in a studio and not move it around, less chance of breaking the control knob off.


Mike T.

Thank you Doiki.

Now, can you tell me if the nasty thing includes a vocoder? One reason that I've focused on the "more affordable" digital gear is that the MicroKorg, the Micron, the MS-2000, the Ion and the Novation X-Station all include a vocoder. To me, that'd be a crucial feature (as well as an alternate lead sound), if I bought one of those.

After all, I think I already have the one for pads, sweeps, pads and other effects.

The Andromeda does not have a vocoder. I was going to buy one, but I got the Voyager instead. The A6 is a great sounding synth, but it has such poor build quality. I would like to have one someday, but honestly, I don't think they will stand the test of time very well.

One thing I can say is AVOID the MicroKorg. I had an MS2000 for 3 or 4 years (my first synth) which has the same sound engine. I thought it sounded awsome at the time, but grew to dislike the synth once I found out what a real synth sounds like. Vocoder is not good, and the zippering effect of the filter is just ridiculous. NOT good for pads or strings. The only good thing about it was the built in step sequencer.

I am not an analog purist in the least. In fact, I find digital synthesis can often sound more "organic" and "real" than analog. Ever used granular or wavetable synthesis? Unimaginable! Completely unrealizable through subractive analog. The trouble you run in to is when you compare digital and analog. I'm a 4th year EE student and I know enough about both to know that their behavior is completly different. I think digital should be celebrated for its "digitalness" and the same goes for analog. Many modern digital synths sound awsome and many sound terrible. Many vintage analogs sound awsome and many sound like crap. It should be left at that.

soapbox off.

Doki Doki wrote:Suthnear, you said you couldn't get a good pad out of it. Can you explain why?

In the light of the fact that my favourite type of pad is one where you allow the natural variances in oscillators to play against each other to create the movement in the pad (rather than stacked modulations), I had a few reasons:
- there's not quite enough movement in the individual oscillator. Listening to a single osc over an extended period (as one is wont to do with pads) I could hear the period in each waveshape repeating itself. Ironically, because the micron's basic oscillator model has quite a bit of presence, this quality seemed more obvious than in VAs like the virus or nord, which are equally static (or even more so in the case of the virus), but which seem less obviously so for some reason. There is an analog drift (or suchnamed) parameter but it doesn't introduce the minute imperfections in the waveshape (NOT the pitch) that are occurring all the time with an analog wave. Even with this parameter on I could hear this period. This is a pretty fine point but when I returned the micron I did a quick comparison with the andromeda they had at the shop. Immediately I heard the movement I felt was lacking in the micron. It's a very subtle thing, though and this might not bother you at all.
- to my ears, the oscs don't stack up right. Whereas one osc on the ion and one osc on the voyager sound fairly similar, 3 on the voyager is a totally different prospect to three on the micron. Perhaps it's due to the periodicity I was talking about but there seems to be a far greater degree of synchronisation between the micron's waves. If anything, 2/3 oscs confirmed my feelings about its inherent periodicity rather than dispelling them
- I didn't like any of the preset strings or pads. Normally, I would expect to find at least one, but none of them grabbed my attention at all.

Still this criticism should be seen in light of the fact the micron didn't represent enough value to me, given my existing setup, to really warrant getting into it to see if I could create the sound I was after. So perhaps it can, but good pads didn't tumble out of the unit the way that, say, good basses or leads do. However, I would still recommend one highly.