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Alesis Fusion 8HD Update?


King Conga

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I was at a Guitar Center in Raleigh, NC this wkend wanting to look at the Fusion 8HD. The salesman, who I know to be very knowledgeable said they had sent ALL their models back about a year and 1/2 ago because too many customers kept coming in saying their units would freeze up for no reason. He said their may have been a firmware update since then that he wasn't aware of, so he said come check on the forums. I told him I had already done some checking and found raving reviews. I wasn't sure how old they were, though. So, has anyone bought one in the last year or less? Did the last firmware update fix all those problems? I just wanted to know before I plunk down my $$$.

 

For what it's worth, he was NOT trashing Alesis, in fact, he had nothing but GREAT things to say about the I/O controller series.

 

Tanx,

KC

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...too many customers kept coming in saying their units would freeze up for no reason. ...KC

 

 

 

 

I got my Fusion a little over a year ago. It has the latest OS. I've never had it 'freeze up for no reason'.

I have had some problems with it occasionaly losing samples, but I suspect it's something I'm doing wrong. I don't use the sample part of it that much - more the synth stuff.

 

Alesis made a statement a while back (at another forum), that they would fix any bugs that were found, but would not be adding any new features.

 

 

 

So - if they sent all their Fusions back, you'd be looking to buy used? Or at another store?

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MildBill,

 

Thanks for expounding on that pt. I also wrote Alesis Tech Support and here's the reply I got.

 

Hello George,

 

This is the first I have heard of any freezing issues on the Fusion. If they are running the latest 1.24 OS, you should not have any problems.

 

Best Regards,

Justin Baro

Alesis Technical Support

 

That's great news because there are some HUGE features on that model that I intend to take full advantage of. Actually, while I've got your attn I'd like to tap your brain for some questions I had.

 

1.) Does the OS allow you to make partitions on the hard drive? I wanted to keep my samples, and sound separate from the partition where I might record live tracks.

 

2.) Are the effects global only or do I have the ability to apply a different effect to ea. of the 8 ADAT ch.s?

 

3.) How's the weighted-keys action? I've played a QS8 that the action was a little bit like peanut butter, which makes it a little tough for playing drum parts.

 

4.) Is it possible to use the Stereo In as an Insert Pt. for extra FX?

 

Thanks for the help and advice thus far.

KC

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Make sure you check out how the Fusion does ADAT ... it DOES NOT send out eight channels of audio as you might expect ... more like left/right, insert 1, insert 2 ... it's a little bizarre IMO and a big letdown in that dept.

 

there are two global effects (bus effects that can be applied to the eight mono inputs and the mix in general) and four insert effects that can be applied to the synth engine ...

 

However, one of the Fusion's strong points, for me, is its ability to route audio out of the main or aux sends and then re-route to the stero inputs or the eight mono inputs ... lots of options and workarounds there ...

 

Can't comment on 8HD key action ... never played one ...

 

The file system is pretty open ended ... but it can get fiddly when dealing with patch locations ... i.e. once you start creating SONGs/MIXes ... DON'T start moving patches around ...

 

Good luck!

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  • 3 years later...
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It's 2011 now have they fix all bugs/probloems now?

I have seen Fusion HD8 at music store here for $699 used but looks like new.IT charge too some sounds a little slow but that maybe because it's running on OS 1.02.

IS $700 a good price now for a used HD8?

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I'd get it. Mine still has a few hiccups now and then, but for that price, and all the sounds it can handle it's great. One of the issues I have with the Alesis products is with drum samples. The samples sound great, but the velocity sensitivity is VERY limited. I was using DR-008 as a s'synth to get much more realistic responses. That's all I got to say 'bout dat.

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Well, my Fusion 8HD has OS version 1.24, and boot loader version 1.10. I've never had any kind of problems, but I don't record or use the sequencer, I just play.

Its a good board for $700. The main weakness, from my point of view, is the piano isn't well implemented, it is really abrupt when it changes velocity levels. Overall, it has a lot of good presets, but a fair number of weak ones. But it has hundreds of presets to choose from. If you get it, make sure it has the free Hollow Sun soundsets, of which there a about a dozen or so. Go to the KVS Hollow Sun Forum, and search for the Fusion to find a link. Another thing to consider is if this board has the memory expansion. You don't need it, but it will speed things up, and let you load more samples at a time. This is a board with a lot of possibilities and power, if your willing to put the work in.

 

Here's a couple of Fusion Forums, Fusionzone

http://promusicproducts.com/forum/phpBB2/index.php?sid=8d3d5707df257257b71b731c44385081

 

and the Fusion Club

http://fusioneer.proboards.com/index.cgi

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I haven't found the sequencer to be buggy at all, but I really haven't dug in either. One thing that has been said is that the fusion needs clean power. I've read several reports on those boards above where people have solved intermittent crashing and overheating by using a power conditioner.

 

The thing I love about the fusion is that its essentially a custom ROMpler with an 80gb ROM... I've got about 400 custom patches loaded, plus about a half gig of my favorite one shot drum sounds and other samples.

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The sequencer is an utter disaster ... The problem for many is that they expected a "digital audio workstation" like it says right on the machine itself ... Think of it as an digital synth with four knobs -- if that appeals to you -- and you're likely off to a much better start ...

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Here's a song done (not by me) on two Fusions... it showcases pianos, strings, analog sounds and other types of sounds, so I think it's a good representation of some of the sonic possibilities... there's of course a whole lot more you can do with it...

 

[video=youtube;TZ-qulhb5b0]

 

Oh and my Fusion has been pretty stable. I'm running the newest version of the OS, 1.24. I even use the sequencer!

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Not too many synths that I miss less than the Fusion. To my mind, the only reason for buying something like this (as opposed to just using software) is that you specifically want a hardware synth/workstation/keyboard. But I found the interface on it to be rather annoying. At some point, sitting at a hardware synth doesn't really have too many advantages (to my mind) to working solely in software if the interface is a pain in the ass. I thought that it sounded pretty good, though, but certainly not better than lots of software synths. On the other hand, one could probably pick up one of these for dirt cheap now, I'd guess.

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Well yeah if you can load up a computer with Komplete and all the Spectrasonics libraries and Sonar/Cubase/Pro Tools, you'll have something better sounding and more featured, but you'll have spent a couple thousand dollars (not to mention the price of the computer and controller).

 

Bang for the buck is definitely what you get, and to be honest, the keybeds alone are worth what these synths are going for in the used market... and as you mentioned, it does sound good.

 

It's interesting how we adapt, when our budgets are small. As much as people complain about the sequencer and workstation features, I'm finding ways to make them work for me :)

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I'll agree with practically everything said here ...

 

The only thing I'll add is that, of course, there will be differences good and bad with going either route ...

 

That was a nice demo, C.R. ...

 

That's actually a pretty cute setup ... 6 and 8 ...

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