I've had the Ion in my studio next to a several DCO Rolands (Juno 60, JX3P, MKS50) and in basic sound character it struggled to keep up with all of them. I can program a simple sync sweep with the filter fully open on a JX3P, and it immediately sounds great. If I program the same sound on an Ion, it sounds dull and weak unless I spend an hour tweaking it. It's simply easier to make real analogs sound good.
The Ion clearly wins out in terms of features and the range of sounds possible, but that isn't what I was talking about (as I stated in the original post!).
― jng (jng), Thursday, 30 March 2006 11:40 (seventeen years ago) link
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 30 March 2006 11:52 (seventeen years ago) link
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 30 March 2006 11:53 (seventeen years ago) link
I guess maybe we're judging the Ion's sound in different ways. I'm a total oscillator snob. The filters in the Ion sound good, but the oscillators sound lacking to me. There is a kind of dullness to them which I don't like. I reckon Alesis overdid the anti-aliasing. I'd post some sounds to illustrate what I mean, but I don't have an Ion anymore.
― jng (jng), Thursday, 30 March 2006 12:18 (seventeen years ago) link
the king of all analog oscillators
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 30 March 2006 12:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― jng (jng), Thursday, 30 March 2006 12:43 (seventeen years ago) link
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 30 March 2006 13:29 (seventeen years ago) link
― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 30 March 2006 14:06 (seventeen years ago) link
― gbx (skowly), Thursday, 30 March 2006 14:23 (seventeen years ago) link
― File13, Sunday, 9 April 2006 16:33 (seventeen years ago) link
― jng (jng), Monday, 10 April 2006 07:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― naus (Robert T), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 00:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― File13, Wednesday, 12 April 2006 02:54 (seventeen years ago) link
― jng (jng), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 06:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― file13, Wednesday, 12 April 2006 16:59 (seventeen years ago) link
1) Automate changes in envelope filter settings? It's hard to play and twiddle knobs at the same time.
2) Set a synth sound to decay (like hitting a piano or guitar string) rather than sustaining infinitely? It seems like this should be doable, but I haven't been able to accomplish it).
― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 18:11 (seventeen years ago) link
I'd go for the Microkorg/MS2000 over the Micron from your description of what you want to do. The DWGS waveforms in the Korgs allow you to get dirtier than the basic analog-style oscillators in the Micron.
If you want really dark and gritty, look out for a second hand Ensoniq ESQ1 (or the SQ80, which is basically the same). It's an great sounding analog/digital hybrid synth from the late 80s, and I think it'd suit what you're doing really well. You can probably pick one up for less than the Micro or Microkorg (£100-£150 in the UK, less in the US).
― jng (jng), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 18:48 (seventeen years ago) link
― File13, Wednesday, 12 April 2006 19:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― naus (Robert T), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 23:29 (seventeen years ago) link
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 13 April 2006 08:40 (seventeen years ago) link
press the mod matrix button to the left of the LCD, you can route various midi control ##s, footpedal, mod wheel 1 or 2 etc to any of the envelope parameters
go to the envelope generator section, press the "amp" button, and turn the "sustain level" knob till it's at zero. The decay time knob then adjusts the time it takes for the sound to die away.
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 13 April 2006 08:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 13 April 2006 12:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― file13, Thursday, 13 April 2006 17:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― Earl Nash (earlnash), Sunday, 16 April 2006 04:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― rio natsume, Thursday, 20 April 2006 20:25 (seventeen years ago) link
revive ion/micron vs ms2000/microkorg debate
which sounds more analogue
― ( ´_ゝ˙) (Dr. Phil), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:17 (fourteen years ago) link
also are there others that have surpassed these? nord? novation?
― ( ´_ゝ˙) (Dr. Phil), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:28 (fourteen years ago) link
imo the microkorg has higher quality, crunchier sounds but the ion is more versatile (so many of the microkorg's presets are very lol '90s). also it seems easier to mess with the parameters on the ion, but i haven't gotten too deep with that on either one.
all that said, i don't regret trading in the ion for the microkorg, which feels more fun to mess around with.
― Ømår Littel (Jordan), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:29 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah i've heard that they sound good but yeesh:
http://media.createdigitalmedia.net/cdmu/images/2008/12/genreselect.jpg
― ( ´_ゝ˙) (Dr. Phil), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:42 (fourteen years ago) link
honestly i stick to about four sounds (from the "hip-hop/vintage/retro" banks) and fuck around with those, a lot of the other stuff sounds corny to me.
i was thinking of asking IMM to recommend another keyboard to me that would complement the microkorg and not be too expensive...
― Ømår Littel (Jordan), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:48 (fourteen years ago) link
you should look into loading the presets from the ms2000 onto it which are supposedly less cheesy
― ( ´_ゝ˙) (Dr. Phil), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:54 (fourteen years ago) link
Anyone wanna buy a Korg MicroPreset?
http://www.vintagesynth.com/korg/micropreset.php
― MaresNest, Saturday, 22 August 2009 12:52 (fourteen years ago) link
I just got one of these! Only 12+ years late to the party, haha. Still sounds v.good, imo
― Dan I., Tuesday, 5 March 2019 20:19 (five years ago) link