What's so special about the Alesis Micron?
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- Опубликовано: 22 авг 2024
- Here's a closer look at what makes the #Alesis #Micron #synthesizer tick.
Table of contents:
00:09 Hello
00:31 overview
01:06 patch editor
07:55 drum patterns
08:49 setups
10:00 pattern sequencer
11:20 important considerations
11:50 demo track (incl. vocoder demo)
13:25 bye bye
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I would love more in depth tutorials on creating set ups, editing sounds, navigating the micron, assigning different features to different knobs/sliders etc
Thanks for watching! Unfortunately, I won't be the person to do this - I already sold this synth again (I keep this channel going by buying and selling interesting older hardware). When I released this video, it looked like noone's going to watch it ...
Read the manual.
@@vjrei Alesis, unlike some manufacturers, seems to put a deal of effort into writing readable, informative manuals. I would not, for example, recommend someone just read the Roland D-110's manual to figure out the instrument. It's approximately as impenetrable as a white-out blizzard in a Rocky Mountain pass. :D
@@mrz80 Who buys a D-110. That thing was garbage when it came out.
@@vjrei Well actually my "D-110" is actually a GR-50 guitar synth (think a GK pickup interface grafted onto the front of a D-110 sound engine). I kind of like some of the sounds you can get out of the thing, but what really sells me is the tracking. It tracks REALLY well, maybe even better than my SY-1000, but of course since it *is* at soul a D-110, its user interface (such as it is and what there is of it) is brain-numbingly awful.
I was expecting you to start with "at the first glance, the Alesis Micron is ticking all the boxes" - Friday is Bad Gear day after all!
Best comment 😎👍
"bad gear" was RUclips's first keyword suggestion for this video ;-)
Florian **did** do the Micron. ruclips.net/video/n3yduBE7vqU/видео.html
I used to sell these in a music store years ago. It was easy to sell, just an amazing synth for the money when new vs others, like the Microkorg. I do regret not buying one myself back then. Many manufacturer's would've taken most of the features away when dumping the flagship ION engine into the entry level Micron, but Alesis kept everything intact for the most part, it's just hidden with menu diving - having said that it has a great and capable UI which isn't a nightmare to work with once familiar.
Thanks for watching! I agree, there's a lot of good stuff hidden underneath the seemingly sparse UI.
I still own one. Love It
I think it was that the Micron wasn't "entry level" as much as it was "more compact/portable", which was a coming trend around then.
The micron is such a blast from the past! Floyd, thank you so much for continuing the journey and sharing with us 🙏❤️....I watched your earlier videos, and was so pleasantly surprised to see this one !
Thanks for watching! The late 90s / early 2000s gave us so many interesting synths that are largely forgotten today. Once RUclips my budget is up to it, I'll explore more of those...
Neat synthesiser - all in all a great package. It looks like a lot of fun from one device.
Thanks for watching! I agree, it's a nice compact synth that can do a lot of things.
Nice to see this synth get some extra love. Feature set is quite competitive even today, if you can buy it used for a fair price.
Thanks for watching! I agree. This is a great synth.
Excelente, adquirí uno hace poco tiempo y lo estoy descubriendo, por lo que este video es muy valioso y sería genial tener más del Micrón en profundidad en próximos videos. Muchas Gracias Floyd.
Thank you very much! I'll try to. :-)
Thanks for showing how editing works. Lots of people have slept on this machine because they claim the editing is too hard despite there being PC editors and the fact it's not difficult, just tedious in some ways to use the single knob. It's better than hiding features, I think, such as how Roland hid 75% of the Zencore engine in MC101 despite it having an interface that would actually work pretty well for editing.
Thanks for watching! I think getting around on this synth is quick enough. One more customizable knob wouldn't have hurt, but overall, there's only so much you can tweak "live". ;)
What a powerhouse! I liked the looks but never looked much further.
Great video as always.
Thank you! Yes, I like the design as well. A bit lego-inspired, but cool looking nonetheless.
my first one and even though ti has been boxed for years at a time I'm ALWAYS happy to play this synth. all the music I did that people seem to really like was played on this. I never got round to actually programming my own new sounds, but now I've nearly 20 years of experience messing about with daws and synths maybe its time to dive really into this synth engine and modulation matrix.
I would love to see you more in depth things on this one!
Thanks for sharing!
At the moment, I have quite the to-do list, but maybe some time in the future there'll be more on this synth.
Great playability for its multitimbric feature and lots of patterns and rhythms.
I agree!
OMG. If I could have found one when I first started, I would have bought it for sure.
Thanks for watching (once more ;-) ) - it's never too late to get one.
I missed this video of yours with the legendary Alesis Micron. He was my companion for a long time. ...I regret selling it. Nice final demonstration 🙂
Thanks for watching! It's a great synth hidden behind a tiny LCD ;-)
I absolutely love my Micron, and you've reawakening my interest in it. Just pulled it out from its sleeping spot.
That's great to hear! :)
I bought my Micron broken and only recently got it all sorted and working again. Now I'm waffling over keeping it or selling it. 😀
One of the best videos on RUclips that opens up the potential of this machine for sculpting incredible sounds👍👍 … thanks for showing areas of this beast I haven’t yet explored … after almost a year of tinkering about … Maybe I need the computer Micron editor to get the best out of this?🤔
Pity you sold your Micron … I was hoping you would do more instructional pieces … sequencing and layering sounds … set ups for the best controller mayhem etc! …
Have the manual on my iPad … which is well-written and clear … just have to dive in daily and get into it deeper.
Thanks! I sometimes buy older synths just to make one or two videos and see what's up with them. I'm not a collector (and my space for hardware is quite limited). The Micron is cool, but it roughly covers the same territory as my Novation Peak - so I couldn't justify keeping it.
I've spent a lifetime picking up interesting gear along the way, struggling with programming and the complexities of editing software and song composition, ... just noodling around to limited effect ... but have only created one album worth of rough cuts ... not for commercial release, unpolished, unfinished ... and the only reason that got partly finished was by using the simplest keyboard and effects box ... and trying to squeeze something a little different out of them.
You soon learn less gear and options makes you more productive!
... it would have helped if I had mastered piano as a youngster.
Your video really helped open up the Micron's potential.
Now I'm retired ... I need to extract the sounds from this beast and make real songs out of the fragments.
You’re the best Floyd!!! Keep making amazing and fun content my friend
Thank you ;)
I just picked up one from eBay yesterday, it’s a superb sounding synth, with great patches…. I might get a vst editor, but so far it’s not complicated ….great overview of the synth. Cheers 👾
Congrats on your new synth!
awesome video as always Floyd. I've got the Akai Miniak. Got it a few months ago. When i first started playing it I was turned off by its sound. But once I dialed in the first phrase sequence patch I was blown away.
Thank you! Yes, the multitimbrality is a great thing. Panning the filters is another great feature.
The Micron shines when you run the filters in parallel and pan out the is oscillators for binaural sounds with the classic filter emulations ;)
Thanks for pointing that out! That's a great idea.
Great video thank you 🎧🎹🎹🎧
Thanks for watching!
Damn this is a popular little synthesizer
It certainly is. As are it's competitors, the Mininova and the Microkorg. Need to take a look at those, too... One day.
I have had one of these for ten years, just digging into it now, also have the software editor.
Thanks for watching! That's great. There's a lot to uncover here. :-)
Hi, same here xD, would you tell me where can I get the editor?
Good review 👍. A nice retro sound to go with the retro-future styling.
Thank you! Yes, it is. (Though the retro sound is my fault - I think you could do the modern baroque sounds as well if you wanted to)
I had no idea that the Micron is considered "vintage gear". I've had mine since it was marketed as the "mini-ion" and I tried playing the Ion at Sam Ash Music store once and it didn't seem as intuitive as a Synth should be, but I really didn't have loads of time on it. I bought the Micron for the sole purpose of having greater polyphony than the MicroKorg. I liked the feel of the Micron better, but I found the sounds to be not nearly as striking as the MicroKorg. I had a MicroKorg too and loved how intuitive that was, and it was fun to play. I lent it to my cousin who has kept it going and it has made him love music, really!
I must admit that after all of these years, I haven't spent the thousands of hours needed to master the menu system, but what I have found was a way to create a patch with the help of a software tool, which I believe is 20 years too late, but much welcome because that is the tool I can use to actually figure out what this synth can actually do!
The real second life of this Synth is it's MIDI keyboard function as it feeds my software synth engines and that is what it does well.
I think the build quality is pretty good. I like the design overall, It has a lot of sound capabilities, has a few quirks, and honestly this thing may need to be connected to an effect box that can soundshape it's output for either added punch, or more quality after effects that are better than the built in ones.
Would I buy this unit again? I don't know! I think I'd get it fixed if it broke, or find a midi keyboard that is superior to this Micron. I'd love to own a Moog of some kind, or I feel like I would love a Roland Juno that resembles their old school Juno keyboards. I remember playing the Juno-6 when my friend had one and it was dope in every way. So many sliders to get a sound out of it, and all the hands on every control to dial in something special. I know the Micron can make something cool, so I will keep tinkering with it. I think the weirdest thing it does is feeding sound through it. This thing is a special piece.
Hello, thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts! Well, what can I say, when I hear someone say "the nineties" it's "the last decade" in my head. But alas, it isn't :-)
I agree to your thoughts an the UI. It's too condensed. A larger display would have gone a long way to make this UI concept more bearable.
Which software system did you use to make patches? Thanks!
Powerful little thing isn’t it , to think people lusted over the microkorg and the mini nova over this way more powerful synth
I don't remember, to be honest - but yes, this synth can do just anything and it's converters have that satisfying oomph, too. :-)
That thing would be amazing if you put through a good reverb box.
Thanks for watching! I'll do that eventually.
Damn now I want one 😅
Thanks for watching! Haha, well, ok. It's a nice synth for sure.
What did you have to fix? Was it the JFETs on the outputs by chance?
Hi, thanks for watching! No, it was a transistor blown up because the previous owner had reversed the pitch bend wheel. I made 2 videos showing my thought process and the actual repair after a knowledge boost by one very skilled and knowledgable viewer. ruclips.net/video/QVA3pyN42T8/видео.html ruclips.net/video/B0daZaWLsoI/видео.html
It's a cool little package for its time, but... IMO... Now that computers are powerful enough to emulate pretty much any synthesizer sound, the only reason for having external hardware is for an instantly approachable, dedicated physical interface (and I am totally fine with 'VST in a box' if the interface is good.. it's all about the interface and the immediacy for sound manipulation for me at least) - life is too short for dealing with sub menus and shift shortcuts when you don't need to. Still.. good RUclips video material :) (nice presentation BTW) - I have the Korg Micro X.. it's also a very powerful mini synth you can pick up for around 300$ used.
I think we have to factor in nostalgia, plus low used market prices plus the fact you're getting a fairly competent MIDI controller - and suddenly, things don't look _that_ bad (in case it's the only hardware synth with a keyboard you want to buy).
But other than that, yes, you're right, if you want the best sound and the most modern technologies for the lowest amount of money - PC and DAW it is.
Great tutorial. Loving mine just got it. The Black fader/sliders fly off when I'm jamming. Any substitutes people use? Also, any idea if two Microns can be polychained?
Syntaur has got your back: syntaur.com/keyboard.php?keyboard=Alesis_Micron
Well, you can always use MIDI thru / MIDI out with two microns...
I'm on my second one, the blue trim edition.
Nice! Are there other differences than colour?
All the functions, and layout are the same, all the plastics, and printed text are blue
@@mr_floydstI had the red and the blue Micron. The blue has better (failsafe) encoders, better audio (balanced audio out!) and if I remember right, more presets. It’s a little workhorse. But the menu diving was killing me.
Have you ever thought of buying a esq-1? I have a esq-80 you could probably program cool sounds with it.
Hi, thanks for watching! I'll consider it. There are so many interesting synths from the late 90s/the early 2000s. I'd like to try the Korg Z-1, for example.
Great take down - yep I think my m2 slider doesn't work - could you tell how do you find init patch?
Hi! I can't check at the moment, but if I remember correctly, there is no init patch function and you have to create a pure saw wave or something yourself, store it as "init patch" for copying to other slots later.
@@mr_floydst many thanks 😁
Check different sounds before deciding to fix your M2 slider … some sounds are edited where the slider (s) and knobs don’t change anything.
Maybe a factory reset will restore it’s function?? See online manual … to select that MENU option.
Oh another weird question: have you ever had one crash? I've seen it happen twice now, once on a Miniak and once on a Micron.
No - never happened.
@@mr_floydst Uh oh. I better open it up and check my pitch wheel! :D
Mine is kind of crashed at the first screen. Might be regulators due to wrong PSU.
I'll never sell my MiniAK. Such a great engine for just making angry.
I agree, this synth just covers any synthesis technique you might ask for (except from wave folding, perhaps). :-)
Hi. Nice review! Can I ask you how do I save a preset?
Hi, thanks for watching! Once you made changes to a patch, the STORE button will start flashing. Just press it to save your edit.
@@mr_floydst great!! So easy.... Thank you 👍
I was knew this guy was a complete idiot when I saw him flying through the UI after just getting done saying "I decided to take a look".... next thing you know he'll solve WorldHunger during his next toilet break. - CaptainSarcasm
But seriously, hearing that option encoder click every time I move it has me counting the days until I'm yelling at my solder iron trying to replace it without ripping out the PCB pads while whatever moronic clamping device I employ apparently causes anti-gravity and flops around like its alive. So by all means would recommend one of the VST panels for it, if only for patch management and automation in your DAW.
nice tutorial friend!
Thanks for watching - I never intended to have the Micron around for long, it's sold already ;-) I bought this as a damaged synth and repaired it with help from some mysterious online benefactors (there are two videos on my channel describing the repair)
@@mr_floydst lol.. hope you picked up on my horrible attempt at wit brother. While the video was exceedingly informative, I kept getting distracted with how well you ran through setting it up after what seems an afternoon at best. Saw the EX5 on your about page BTW - one of my favs before they started dumbing stuff down. About to hit your lovely sub button friend.
Oh, the EX5. My all-time favourite synth. It'll keep you occupied for years if you truly want to understand everything built into it :-)
@@mr_floydst lol... couldn't find your message about the MC303... but one landed in my lap - albeit somewhat wounded. I'm starting to wonder if I'm your doppelganger b/c I keep crossing your path with the same hardware. Cheers!
@@mr_floydst oh yeah... so far the score is Micron:2 Me:0... I develop software so at a bit of a loss why I can't 'get into the mindset' of this Micron. I spent about a week of evenings ploying through the rather "aloof" manuals & had to set it down for a while after sucking morbidly with the Phrase recordings - I couldn't manage to get a clean 'loop'. I get around on the Digitech Trio+ & SDrum ( FFS I get around on the EchoPlus better ), so I'm confident I'm not full-on tarded...
will try again in a few months!