Quick question about Xiosynths and/or Microns

I want a unit that I can use live just for cool synth sounds (on its own, I don't want to drag around my laptop with it, happy just to use the onboard sounds) and at home to plug into my macbook and write/record (i guess as a MIDI keyboard?) I think I want a Novation XioSynth 25 or an Alesis Micron, do these 2 units offer both features? Or do i need the X-Station or something like that?

Thanks

You don't need the X-station, but you might want it if you actually try it personally. All those controls, the extra USB audio, and the better keybed are all very useful. All you might need is a nanoKEY and/or nanoKONTROL at home.

I actually played one yesterday and it was pretty awesome. what would the nanoKEY or nanKONTROL allow me to do?

The Korg nanos are ultrasmall and lightweight midi controllers for use with a laptop computer with softsynths or sequencer/DAW software. You can make tracks in a coffeeshop without needing larger/heavier controllers, for example.

bump

Yes - either of those will do what you want. Nano key is a controller and won't make sound on its own.

I like the Micron the better of the two mentioned.

Ok so just to clarify: either of these units will work live as a synth and also at home as a MIDI keyboard? Sorry to sound thick, just dont wanna get this wrong

Ok so just to clarify: either of these units will work live as a synth and also at home as a MIDI keyboard? Sorry to sound thick, just dont wanna get this wrong

What you want is a synth that makes sounds on its own as well as having midi to control other synths/modules/software.

If you want to control softsynths in your computer, you'll need either a midi interface or a keyboard that also has usb.

A board that's strictly a controller doesn't make any sound on its own and is used to control other gear.

Here's a place to start figuring what you want:

Keyboards:

http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/keyboards/professional-keyboards/buying-guide.php

Controllers:

http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/keyboards/keyboard-controllers/buying-guide.php

I think the X-Station is much better than the Micron for live playing and use as a midi controller. The Micron has a synth engine with good features and sound quality, very comparable to the X-Station or Xio, but it has minimal controls and no software editor provided for free by Alesis. The X-Station has knobs and faders for most everything you'd want to change when playing live. Now if you only use presets and pound on the keys like an ape, then these controls might not be useful, but having them are useful to those of us who like to change the sound in interesting ways when we're playing. Other synths in the "knobby" category are the SH-201, Radias, Nord VA synths, Ion, etc.

The VA synths like the Micron WITHOUT lots of knobs require menu diving to change anything, unless they have assignable knobs that have been setup in advance for live tweaking, which is where the software editor plays an important role. In that category, the R3 is significantly better than the Micron because of it's better layout with pitch/mod wheels on the left, 4 assignable knobs with LED feedback and LCD displays to describe the parameters that they've been assigned to modify. The R3 also can use 64 digital DWGS waveforms on OSC1, while the Micron only has basic sine/saw/square-pulse kind of waves, which is a huge difference in versatility. The Micron can do more timbres, but the R3 has better timbres and doesn't need more - quality is better than quantity.

Not all midi controllers are the same, either. The X-Station is a fully featured midi controller with fully assignable controls and saved controller configurations for softsynths. The Micron isn't and doesn't. The Micron will send midi, but it doesn't know a softsynth from a soft pretzel. The X-station also has a full USB Audio I/O interface with effects. The Micron doesn't. That doesn't make the Micron a bad synth, it is a fine mini version of the Ion. But perhaps a miniversion of a full synth isn't as good as a small full synth with lots of controls and features, not just good sounds.

Thanks so much for this info guys, mega helpful

Honestly, I don't think a lot of knobs and sliders are necessary for me, I'm only new to keys/synths and so I think too many controls would freak me out and just result in me leaving the board under the bed for fear of breaking something lol. I'd like a few knobs to fiddle with live, but in general I just want to "pound on the keys like an ape", as you put it I'm hoping that if I just pick up a decent-quality unit, most sounds that it creates will be good enough without me having to {censored} with it. As I said, I tried an X-Station the other day and it was cool being able to change the sounds a bit, but live I don't think I'd bother, I'm going to be using the unit alongside singing and playing guitar so fiddling with sounds wont be my top priority.

However, itd be cool to be able to craft and develop those sounds using my computer at home, before the gig, so all the fiddling is done. I'm not sure if this is at all a possibility tho.

Now when you say that the Micron will send MIDI but can't handle softsynths... that kind of loses me. Is there a quick easy way to explain what exactly you mean by that?

If you want the Micron but want to add a little "real time control" I would suggest looking at the Novation Remote SL Zero or the Behringer BCF2000. You can also control softsynths with them.

Honestly, I don't think a lot of knobs and sliders are necessary for me, I'm only new to keys/synths and so I think too many controls would freak me out and just result in me leaving the board under the bed for fear of breaking something lol. I'd like a few knobs to fiddle with live, but in general I just want to "pound on the keys like an ape", as you put it I'm hoping that if I just pick up a decent-quality unit, most sounds that it creates will be good enough without me having to {censored} with it. As I said, I tried an X-Station the other day and it was cool being able to change the sounds a bit, but live I don't think I'd bother, I'm going to be using the unit alongside singing and playing guitar so fiddling with sounds wont be my top priority. However, itd be cool to be able to craft and develop those sounds using my computer at home, before the gig, so all the fiddling is done. I'm not sure if this is at all a possibility tho. Now when you say that the Micron will send MIDI but can't handle softsynths... that kind of loses me. Is there a quick easy way to explain what exactly you mean by that?

If you aren't going to be using the vocoder or editing/tweaking the sounds, then a VA synth probably isn't the best choice. The X50, MicroX, Juno-G or other ROMpler will give you a lot more presets and a wider variety of sounds, including everything you'd want to do with a VA synth.

The Micron will send midi events resulting from what you play, but you can't change anything on it to reassign all the controls and events to map to different softsynths. The X-station can map everything differently for individual softsynths. For example, you can dial a knob and choose 'Massive' or 'Absynth' or whatever configurations that have been loaded onto it. It also comes with software to make your own configurations to load on it. In other words, the X-Station was designed to be a midi controller, unlike synths that have no configurations, like the Micron. That's not to say that you can't use the Micron with softsynths, just that any mapping has to be done within software (or not at all for controls that don't generate midi events).

The Micron is a good value, so if you like it's sounds, layout, and features, it remains a good option. It certainly sounds good. There have been quite a few reports of the audio outputs dying on it, but it's hard to tell if the owners might have contributed to the failures or not.

Whenever I see one of these morons, I consider to 'stumble' and empty my triple cap on their notebook.

So far the need and my high regard for coffee in general has prevented this from happening.

Whenever I see one of these morons, I consider to 'stumble' and empty my triple cap on their notebook. So far the need and my high regard for coffee in general has prevented this from happening.

lol I'll make sure to remember that

I'd suggest getting a Micron and giving it a go. They're fun to play around with, give you lots of options to try like phrase sequencing, programmable arpeggiator/sequencer, drum/rhythm grooves, and superb programming options. They make a great 'couch synth' (carry it around and use it while being a couch potato).

They're useable for controlling softsynths too, but aren't focused on that purpose.

They're cheap enough that if you find it's not really what you want, you probably won't lose much if you sell it.

right on!

I think that the micron is one of the most underrated VA drumsynths in existence.

interface, knobs yada yada yada - I know - its been in this forum repeatedly, again and again.

the point is: its fun, it sounds superb, its cheap.

This guy does a short demo that shows some of the stuff the Micron's good at:

Drums come in at 26 seconds.

Xiosynths and/or Microns

Both are fine instruments. I 've had the Micron for 3 years and I'm still discovering new programing directions to navigate to. Amazing filters and an awesome modulation matrix.