Members sneakyjesus Posted June 25, 2004 Members Share Posted June 25, 2004 I just bought this alesis Ion synth. This thing, might I say, is way too powerful for me to even grasp onto. sadly, I'm not a big fan of the pre-programed sounds. I mess with this and that, and I know what most of the buttons and knobs do.. but I'm not really sure of things like... say... I needed some sort of piano sound, like the water piano sound, which is really cool. Well I'm not sure which wave forms or... where to even begin when making a sound. I've read the manual, and can undertstand most of it, but I mean, there's so much i've yet to discover, but I'm bored by these sounds, because in reality, they seem useless at most. Well.. a lot of them. Can you guys just... gimy some newbie tips as to where to start? And I was looking to get just one good piano emulation, although, I've found some really cool stuff, like the stereo mw2 sound, which is like an elecric piano syth, I've yet to find something I could use to pull off a piano sound. And whenever I try to modify a crazy sound, to make a cool effect or this or that, I find myself just make slight variations on the crappy sound, until I turn a knob too far, and am just in a different world. Help please guys... I'm so lost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GlassPrisoner Posted June 25, 2004 Members Share Posted June 25, 2004 Another ION owner here. IMO, if you want good Piano sounds, you're using the wrong keyboard. As far as the presets, not all are that bad. Tom Sawer, Fooled Again, Twin Mini, O'Reily, and a few others are pretty decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sneakyjesus Posted June 25, 2004 Author Members Share Posted June 25, 2004 True True... but I mean... I just wish I could create something new.. but still interesting. And you're right about the piano thing, but, since my investment, I was more interested in getting a cool synth than a fancy all in one package that lacked ont he synth part and had more of a old school keys feel... like the motif and what not. I was hoping to just dial in a poor imitator for the time being. But still... what the hell am I doing with this thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AgtOrange Posted June 25, 2004 Members Share Posted June 25, 2004 Try Sound On Sound's technique articles. They should give you a good start on crafting specific sounds. Scroll down to the articles that don't have the little eSub icon next to them. As far as getting a general feel for how to program the synth, just start making simple patches. Don't mess with effects or mod matrices right off the bat. Initialize a few of the patches you can't stand and try making very simple patches using just the oscillators, filters, and envelopes. You're not going to come up with anything to write home about right away, but you'll get a feel for how things sound. The envelopes in particular are something you'll want to learn to use. Then move on to LFO's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sinner6 Posted June 25, 2004 Members Share Posted June 25, 2004 ...OR conversely, you can find a patch you do like and reverse engineer it to see how it was made. Out of curiosity, what prompted you to buy the ION? It is a very nice synth...did it sound better to you at the store? How interested in "un-realistic synth sounds" are you? Do you ENJOY the proscess of fiddling with it an learning how it works? Synthesis is just as much a science as it is an artform. Twiddle knobs till you find something that makes your ears happy while you're learning. ...oh and you'll always be learning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sneakyjesus Posted June 25, 2004 Author Members Share Posted June 25, 2004 well, I've been playinbg bass for about 6 years now, and I started on upright. I made my way around to electric, and I've been in and out of bands. Now I'm into a lot of experimental rock music, and I thought a synth would be a good place to start. The Ion matched all of the criteria I needed, completely flexible, and editable, and strong sounds out of the box, plus a good price tag. But, I just feel lost, you know, diving intot this head on. But I do enjoy noodeling around, and I'm making my way to understanding what I'm doing with this thing. But there's just so much, I was hoping I could get some basic layout really. Like.. I know this thing has stereo outputs, but I play bass... so I just used my hartke kickback practicing, and my 2x12 stack for a show. I can't really get stereo can I? or... I duno what I'm doing at all. And I need a volume pedal too, because I have this sustain, but controlling expression with this thing is kinda hard when both hands are tied up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yoozer Posted June 26, 2004 Members Share Posted June 26, 2004 Originally posted by sneakyjesus but I play bass... so I just used my hartke kickback practicing, and my 2x12 stack for a show. I can't really get stereo can I? 2 x 12 means 2 speakers... or? Excuse me, not well-versed in guitar terminology here . or... I duno what I'm doing at all. In that case the whole deal about Sound Secrets might go a bit too deep - but it's useful anyway. Aren't there ION user groups over at Ampfea.org? Might try that, there... but a primer into synthesis works regardless of the machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.