i just bought a fusion!

[hephiroth]

i decided to go for it. after a gig saturday night and trying to lug my 88-key triton in its 30 pound hard case, i can't take it anymore! i spent a long time testing out the fusion, and was really impressed with the sound (and the light, compact size of the 88-key Fusion8HD!).

it's supposed to arrive on Tuesday...i'll have to post pics. assuming i don't run into any unexpected problems, i'll be selling my triton soon...anyone interested? :wink:

now for the waiting...

-jeff-

[normthesamurai]

Thats awesome I can't wait to hear more about it. I've been interested in what the fusion is like but haven't really heard that much from owners.

[hephiroth]

check out this forum:

promusicproducts.com/forum/phpBB2/index.php

pretty decent forum for the fusion

-jeff-

[RayMan]

i decided to go for it. after a gig saturday night and trying to lug my 88-key triton in its 30 pound hard case, i can't take it anymore! i spent a long time testing out the fusion, and was really impressed with the sound (and the light, compact size of the 88-key Fusion8HD!).

it's supposed to arrive on Tuesday...i'll have to post pics. assuming i don't run into any unexpected problems, i'll be selling my triton soon...anyone interested? :wink:

now for the waiting...

-jeff-
Hi Jeff! I know exactly what you mean! My 88-key Triton Extreme in its 30 pound hard case is a real monster gigging with! Trust me, I know all about that frustration.
I hope you'll enjoy your fusion, and looking forward to seeing some pics when you get it:smile:
Raymond

[Michael Troy]

i decided to go for it. after a gig saturday night and trying to lug my 88-key triton in its 30 pound hard case, i can't take it anymore! i spent a long time testing out the fusion, and was really impressed with the sound (and the light, compact size of the 88-key Fusion8HD!).

it's supposed to arrive on Tuesday...i'll have to post pics. assuming i don't run into any unexpected problems, i'll be selling my triton soon...anyone interested? :wink:

now for the waiting...

-jeff-


Let us know how the Fusion "measures up" with Triton. Hope it rocks for ya!

[hephiroth]

yeah i'll definitely let you all know what i think.

and, yeah, the triton series are great, but SO heavy in 88-key models. plus, i also own a Karma (and i'm holding on to that one!) so i'll still have all the triton sounds at my disposal for live or studio. and the Karma is easy to take to gigs or wherever.

in fact, the Fusion8HD is, i'm pretty sure, the smallest 88-key workstation, a fairly large factor for me. i also considered a Yamaha MO8, but actually preferred most sounds on the Fusion (and i spent about 2-3 hours testing these boards pretty thoroughly with my own headphones and the store speakers). i will say i liked the motif piano better, but at the same time, i was not unimpressed by any means with the fusion's piano--it's a nice sounding sample, but i guess not the best out there. however, the fusion has a lot more power under the hood, plus the 8-tracks of audio with a 32-track MIDI sequencer (40 total tracks!). and, the audio tracks will adjust themselves if you change the tempo after you record them without pitch being affected...pretty useful!

from all my research, it sounds like the fusion started out rocky but has been fixed and improved upon by alesis, and they seem to be really standing behind this board. of course, i have a 30-day return policy if it doesn't live up to my needs, but i think it will:wink:

-jeff-

[rifaa]

Congrats on your new board!

I also sold my TEx 88 because of the weight some time ago. I played a Fusion 6HD in the store and liked the sounds (as far as I can tell from noodling around for 30 minutes of course!). Unfortunately they didn´t have the 88-key model available. I would have liked to give that a try.
How do you like the keybed? I found the 61 key model not very convincing (compared to the Extreme or the Motif), did Alesis do a better job on the big one?

[jeebustrain]

yeah i'll definitely let you all know what i think.

and, yeah, the triton series are great, but SO heavy in 88-key models. plus, i also own a Karma (and i'm holding on to that one!) so i'll still have all the triton sounds at my disposal for live or studio. and the Karma is easy to take to gigs or wherever.

in fact, the Fusion8HD is, i'm pretty sure, the smallest 88-key workstation, a fairly large factor for me. i also considered a Yamaha MO8, but actually preferred most sounds on the Fusion (and i spent about 2-3 hours testing these boards pretty thoroughly with my own headphones and the store speakers). i will say i liked the motif piano better, but at the same time, i was not unimpressed by any means with the fusion's piano--it's a nice sounding sample, but i guess not the best out there. however, the fusion has a lot more power under the hood, plus the 8-tracks of audio with a 32-track MIDI sequencer (40 total tracks!). and, the audio tracks will adjust themselves if you change the tempo after you record them without pitch being affected...pretty useful!

from all my research, it sounds like the fusion started out rocky but has been fixed and improved upon by alesis, and they seem to be really standing behind this board. of course, i have a 30-day return policy if it doesn't live up to my needs, but i think it will:wink:

-jeff-


that's awesome. I've seen your posts around the Fusion board the last few weeks and was wondering if you were gonna actually take the plunge. I've been thinking about it for myself, too. I'm tired of the action (and the weight and programmability issues) of my M-Audio Keystation and would like the range of another 88 key board. I'm looking at selling the Keystation to a guy in my band, and I can put that towards the Fusion. Plus, with me dumping my Trinity Rack, I'll have a little extra cash, too. I've got a friend who's the keyboard dept mgr @ my local GC who always sells stuff to me at cost, so I'm gonna see how much (or little) he can get one for me. I've been really impressed after spending some time @ the Fusion forums at the capabilities of this board. I'm not a preset guy, so I could care less about all the bitching that's gone on about the stock sounds. I want the engines so I can make some nifty new noises.

[Airspeed]

Well at least if it does'nt work out for you it will make a really cool replacement dashboard for your car. At least that's what it looks like to me. He He!!!

[Liquid Shadow]

I've considered an 88 Fusion lately. I've considered a lot of shit lately though. Hopefully I'll make up my mind...


But the Fusion is bitchin. I love that it has FM and VA power, and then also does the bread and butter sounds, even if some (like the piano) are a little subpar by today's standards. If it works, then you can't really complain too much, especially with the bang:buck ration on this thing now.


Congrats, enjoy your new beast! :D

[hephiroth]

yeah...unfortunately i slept through the UPS guy coming today! so i have to wait til tomorrow morning to get it. i was SO mad at myself!!!

but, yeah, the action on the 8HD is waaaaaaaaay better than the m-audio keystation (no offense, but that board has, in my opinion, the worst action i have literally ever felt). also, as far as the piano goes, i was doing some basic EQ fiddling in the store when i tested it, and i was already making it sound better. i figure i'll spend some time tweaking the piano til i get it how i wanted. you can tell the base samples are pretty decent, it just needs to be "caressed" into a better sound.

12 hours til it comes again...and this time i will DEFINITELY be awake!!

-jeff-

[Liquid Shadow]

Ha that sucks. Be sure to get back to us on how it is! :)


And I agree about those M-Audio things. M-Audio: you get what you pay for.

[lighthouse]

Totally agree, I sold my keystation crap88 a few months ago, aweful thing...



Juan Pablo

[hephiroth]

so i finally got my Fusion today, and i had the same problem as someone else on the fusion so i finally got my Fusion today, and i had the same problem as someone else i'd seen on the fusion board (http://www.promusicproducts.com/forum/phpBB2/index.php)--when i started it up it said:

"Illegal OS Firmware!" and then took me to a page that said "Boot Mode...Waiting for MIDI Code ... 0% ... Boot Version 0.80a ... Model: Fusion 8HD"

so, i tried updating it (i had to go buy a CompactFlash card reader since i was planning on using the fusion as my card reader), so i made sure i unzipped the image file, then put it on the CF card in the root directory, put it in the fusion and held B-7 while turning it on.

it brought me to the ERASE/UPDATE flash screen, i said "yes" and it said "No Valid ROM Image can be Found", then takes me right back to the illegal firmware screen!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

i called alesis and they said it sounds like a faulty fusion...so, zzounds.com is sending me another one. should be here tomorrow (i did 1-day shipping)

asd;lfkjasl;dfjk i just want to play this thing!!!

so...no solid review yet, as i have only a very large paperweight that lights up cool. in alesis' defense, however, this was a "b-stock" unit, not factory fresh...but it should still work!

-jeff-

[The J-Man]

Wow, that sucks that it didn't work out of the box...you'll love it once you get a new one.

You should immediately download all the new OS updates and new sounds so you can load everything in all at once. A company called Hollow Sun puts a lot of work into making awesome FREE patches for all the Fusions out there. As of now, most of what they do is emulate some of the old synths that were great in their time.

PM me a price for your Triton...I'm very interested in picking one up actually.

Good luck!

-Joel

[Maximus]

dude that really sucks i cant think of anything that would hype more the anyicipation, but its probably worth the wait

[hephiroth]

fusion came on friday! it's fantastic...been playing with it constantly. more to come soon

-jeff-

[Michael Troy]

fusion came on friday! it's fantastic...been playing with it constantly. more to come soon

-jeff-


Haha...dont give yourself tendonitis.

[Grey Loki]

i called alesis and they said it sounds like a faulty fusion...so, zzounds.com is sending me another one.

Wait..So you have...two fusions?

[Michael Troy]

Wait..So you have...two fusions?


Im sure they made him send the broke one back...

[losmusicanos]

I wonder how the internal hard drive will behave in the long run... Will it be possible to have a replacement in 10-15 years? :confused:

[Liquid Shadow]

I've read about some guys swapping out the HD at home, and I guess if you have the 40 gig one you can send it in to Alesis and have them put in either 60 or 80 (dont remember). At least that's how I think it goes. You're suppsed to have them do it, according to the warranty, but one guy wanted to put 120 gigs in it.


Dont quote me on it, but I dont think that replacing the hard drive is an issue...its just storage for samples and such. That is, if I understand it all correctly.

[hephiroth]

yeah, they're sending me a postage stamp to ship the first unit back to them (i have too many large Fusion boxes right now in my living room, anyway!).

as for hard drive replacements, they are certainly possible and i don't think they're all that hard (it's the memory upgrades that are really hard and recommended to be done by alesis). as for the hard drive, the fusion supports up to 128GB hard drives.

the hard drive is actually used for a lot of things--you can make an infinite number of sound banks and programs/mixes (you're not limited to something like banks A-D on a triton, for example), you can save multisamples (which will load into the flash rom memory or whatever when you call the program up), and you can save songs (including MIDI and audio tracks).

i did some test songs with the sequencer, trying out the integrated audio track recording, which is pretty cool. the one problem is that it doesn't have built-in mic preamps. however, surprisingly, if you record a track with like a regular dynamic mic, you can use an audio gain feature to bump it the 30dB or so to make it a usable volume, and there is basically NO noise added when you do that. i was really expecting to hear some loud hiss or something after such a dramatic gain increase, but it's barely, if at all, audible. certainly good enough for doing some songs at home.

i also programmed my first sound with the VA engine. did a 3 osc lead that sort of sounds JR-ish. pretty slick sounding. i also tried tweaking a few of the physical modeling programs just to get an idea of what sort of sound changes the different parameters create...it's pretty weird and unusual, so i imagine it will take some time to learn. i haven't really gotten into the FM stuff yet, although i think that will take some research as well. the VA engine is really well put together in my opinion. i got a good sound in about 5 minutes, and it's easy to tweak things to get the sound you want from what i can tell.

so far i'm really enjoying the fusion. i'm still getting used to its piano sound (i'm so accustomed to the triton exb08 piano sound at this point). although i don't like it as much, it does seem to sit pretty well in a mix from what i can tell so far. i've also been working on tweaking some better organ sounds, but there are already a TON of great synth sounds in the preset banks.

pix and sound clips soon!

-jeff-

[normthesamurai]

Oh man you've got me want ing a fusion so bad. I can't wait to hear some of your sound clips!

[Omega Monkey]

Can you integrate the other sound engines together? For instance have a sustained VA lead sound with like an organ click attack or something like that? That is actually one of the areas I havent delved too deeply into with the EX5. But its a cool capability to have.

[hephiroth]

you can integrate the sounds in the MIX mode (which is like a performance/setup/combi mode). so...if you programmed a sample-based organ sound to have just a click attack and then cut off right away and then layered it with a VA pad, you would have what you wanted! just a little program is all it takes.

i took a look at the FM synth architecture last night after my last post, and it's easier than i thought...at least the basic part of it. you just select up to 6 oscillators (you can only do sine wave variations, i think...) and then you select which ones you want to be heard (carriers) and which ones you want to affect other ones (modulators). then you can add a filter and i think an envelope on top of that..and FX of course. it's really surprising how many different sounds you can get out of this technology, just from what i'm hearing on the presets.

-jeff-

edit: until i get some samples up, check out the song on this thread:

http://www.promusicproducts.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=834&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

it's a much better demo than i could make featuring synth sounds

[jeebustrain]

hey, I had one question... When you update the OS via compact flash, does the card have to be empty (short of the OS file) like it does on my Motif? I want to take my compact flash card down to Guitar Center w/ all the updates (Hollow Sun sounds too) and update their Fusion so I can see how some of the new sounds and capabilities are. I've only been able to play with one with the original 1.00 OS release

[Grey Loki]

They'd let you update the firmware on one of their stock models? What if you break it?

[jeebustrain]

They'd let you update the firmware on one of their stock models? What if you break it?


I have a friend who is the keyboard dept manager... He is a "preset" guy and judges synths mainly based on that... They ship them stock w/ the original OS and all the base sounds suck on there... I tried convincing him that it looks like it's actually a good board with a lot of potential, but he doesn't believe me. He said that he would let me upgrade the OS if I want. He trusts me....

[hephiroth]

you know i'm not sure. i think technically as long as you have the .bin file in the root directory of the card, it should find it even if you have other folders in there. however, to update it with new sound sets, like the hollow sun ones, you need to only have one "Volume" folder in the root directory. you then have to copy that to the hard drive, then "process" the samples and programs, etc. for some reason it doesn't seem like you can really explore the card on the fusion, the "Volume" folder just has to be in the root directory. i tried putting all the hollow sun folders on my CF card at once to do this, and i had to go back and do it one by one. what WOULD work is downloading all of the hollow sun .zips, then making one "Volume" folder that had the stuff from all of them (there are a few other folders in each of these and you'd need to combine each of the individual subfolders' contents as well). if you did this it would probably work (you'd end up with one .bin OS image file and one "Volume" folder on the card)...but i'm not 100% for sure.

-jeff-

[jeebustrain]

hmm... either that or I could bring my laptop to guitar center :)

[hephiroth]

haha, that would also work!

-jeff-

[Syrinx]

Congrats on the FUSION. Enjoy it. But if you have the time, pics pleeeeeze :)
Also how do you find the key action? I mean how does it compare to hammer actions from Roland, Yamaha for instance?

Best.

[normthesamurai]

Actually yeah I was wondering how it felt because as far as 88 key synths go its relativaly light isn't it (well more light then a triton) and having a realistic feel usually means it weighs more doesn't it?

[hephiroth]

honestly, i got used to the action really quickly. it does feel different than a triton, but it's a nice action, IMO. one thing i liked better about triton is that the black keys are glossier and have softer edges than the fusion, but like i said, i'm completely used to the fusion just after a few days.

here's the pics:

https://oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/jhpalmer/fusion1.jpg

https://oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/jhpalmer/fusion2.jpg

https://oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/jhpalmer/fusion3.jpg

https://oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/jhpalmer/fusion4.jpg


i have a microphone plugged into one of the audio inputs and i'm using a LowZ to HiZ converter, so it looks funny...hehe

-jeff-

[Staccato]

I want! The triton looks better.. but all the possibilities with the Fusion sounds sooo good!:)

[hephiroth]

you know what? it looks better in person, and i have had completely unbiased people say that when they've seen it face to...keyboard...

-jeff-

[Staccato]

Ohh.. have never seen it face to keyboard so I can´t tell.. I´ll just have to look it up then:P

[Grey Loki]

Nice pics. How does it sound?

[Piranha]

Wow, that looks VERY hot.

[hephiroth]

Nice pics. How does it sound?

great! Fusion Sound Test.mp3 (https://oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/jhpalmer/Fusion%20Test.mp3) a little something i recorded testing out some sounds.

-jeff-

[Grey Loki]

Dude...

Nice sample. Alesis should host it on their website :)

How many of those patches are presets? I get the feeling the JR one isn't.

[hephiroth]

thanks! the piano is a tweaked preset, the main b3-type organ is a mix of 4 organ presets (3 from the factory presets, 1 from the hollow sun multisamples), the lead that i play a bit of the Beyond this Life solo was my first attempt at programming something with the Analog modelling engine (it started out as an emulation of the JR lead, but it ended up having a bit of its own character, which i liked, so i've kept...i also adjusted the aftertouch feedback layer on it after making this mp3), and then the clav at the very end is a mix of a preset clav with a preset harpsichord underneath.

the rest are all presets, although i'm including a number of hollow sun sounds in that category (like the pipe organ, some of the mellotron stuff, the choir, and some of the strings).

all the sounds from 5:24 - 5:55 are done on the Reed Physical Model for an example of what that can do.

i really like some of the drumsets on this thing, too...and hollow sun also gives you virtual every old "beat box" sampled, so those are fun, too. check this out:

http://www.alesis.com/index.php?id=21,80,0,0,1,0

it's collection #5, but it's really interesting to read about all the various hollow sun collections. they are a REALLY cool addition to an already good collection of sounds. alesis also provides a whole bank of "synth drum" sounds using MIX mode you could totally put these together into a kit (because they're drum sounds actually programmed with the analog model, it's only one sound per program...like all closed hi-hat).

-jeff-

[Grey Loki]

I really like the way it sounds - that lead does have some character to it, but it seems a little bit...thin. I guess that's nothing that a little chorus or something can't fix.

I'm actually thinking of getting a Fusion 8HD to complement my VA-7 and AX-7 - VA, FM and PM, plus some damn fine samples, as well as what I have on my VA-7; all for £999. Nice.

Shame i'm off to uni, and have to save my money.

[normthesamurai]

I really like the way it sounds - that lead does have some character to it, but it seems a little bit...thin. I guess that's nothing that a little chorus or something can't fix.

I'm actually thinking of getting a Fusion 8HD to complement my VA-7 and AX-7 - VA, FM and PM, plus some damn fine samples, as well as what I have on my VA-7; all for £999. Nice.

Shame i'm off to uni, and have to save my money.

Man I know what thats like, having a bar and newsagency on campus is a deadly combination for my bank!