Argghhh! I was just coming here to ask whether I should sell my AN1x
and buy an Ion. I have an EX5R, so I still will have the AN sound.
I'm very tempted.... and I haven't even heard the Ion yet.....
Where did you get to try one out???? :)
Sayer
--- In AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com, "Jon" <jondl_2000@y...> wrote:
> Yesterday afternoon I had an opportunity to play the new Alesis
ION. Here are some
> 1st impressions:
>
> It sounds pretty darn impressive! Much more 'phat' then an AN1x or
a Nord Lead (or
> Virus, near as I can tell.) Very convincing analog emulation - you
won't be
> disappointed. And the price point is incredible - under $700! The
user interface is
> straight forward and the encoders have an excellent tactile feel.
The keyboard is only
> so-so, no aftertouch but two assignable mod wheels in addition to
the pitch wheel
> (they illuminate when moved!) The presets are okay - pretty much
knock-offs of
> classic analog and digital analog hybrid sounds. The mod matrix
takes a bit getting
> use to. Example: on an AN1x there are haf dwired depth parameters
for Pmod, Amod,
> & Fmod that are affected by LFO1. On the ION you have to route
either LFO1 or LFO2
> to one or more of those parameters THEN make a setting for depth. A
little more
> flexible but also more labor intensive since the mod matrix
settings are the most
> menu driven feature on the synth. Kind of odd given how user
friendly the OSC and
> Filter sections are. The EG Controls are 'shared' by the Pitch,
Amp, and Filter sections,
> i.e., dedicated select switches are used to determine which section
is currently
> affected. I didn't really get my head wrapped around the FX
section - it was fairly
> modest in comparison to other synths. Maybe if I'd had another
thirty minuets or so
> to play with it I might have figured out more use for the FX. The
ION really does
> sound as good as the hype.
>
> regards,
>
> Jon