Why do I have GAS for a Micron?!

I know the functionality is severely limiting, but man, I love the sound, look and overall vibe of this thing. I love the size and portability of it, I could play it on my lap with a pair of headphones in any room of the house.

I've been saving up for a bigger 61 key synth with a more tweakable, knob-laden interface, but I am tempted to just say {censored} it and get a Micron. Since I'm pretty new to synthesis, I could see this being a problem because it looks tedious to program.

It would be very difficult to program and would probably impede your learning how subtractive synthesis works. I'd be surprised if you couldn't get a secondhand Nord Lead 2 for not much more money, for example.

I've toyed with the idea of getting one several times, just for the effort they've put into vintage emulation, but various things, interface, more interesting original synths, etc stopped me.

B>

Get an Ion instead

You need to examine why you want it ... You CAN edit on the Micron, but if total sound creation is what you're after, you should wait for the Ion.

However, if you want something small, with great sounds and a mini-sequencer, you could do A LOT worse ...

On the other hand, if you don't have a board yet, three octaves would be fairly limiting ...

Basically, I use my Micron (fed into my KP3) as a landing pad when creating ensembles on my synths ... It's easy to find a usable sounds ... and then the Koass Pad usually takes it in an unexpected direction ...

The one thing about the Micron -- in terms of learning synthesis, though -- is that it can help in a way because the way you edit is sequential ... that is, you must cycle through ALL the parameters (there are keyboard shortcuts though) ... but why it could help is because you can't skip over anything ... you see all the oscillator, filter and envelope parameters ...

That said, I'd still rather have a Ion if I was doing any serious sound creation ... but in the context of my setup, I like it ...

You know, though ... there ARE a lot of other choices ...

I'm kind of gassin' for another Micron myself, but I'm gonna wait a couple days to see if Alesis comes out with something else I can't resist.

I didn't have any trouble editing it, and didn't find any limitations in its functionality - everything can be done fairly quickly on the board itself without having to use a computer editor.

Of course, it's not as quick to edit it as if you had a knob for every function (and what synth has that), but with a little practice, you can fly around on it pretty easily.

The Ion is nice because of the extra knobs, and information in the display, but the Micron isn't bad at all when you compare it to editing some rack modules and such.

If you don't have any other boards, and want to learn to play keyboards, you're going to need something a bit bigger, but OTOH, its small size is really an asset when you want to carry it around and use it in different areas and such.

Anyways, I still think the Micron is one of the best buys available.

Damn you, Micron!! Why must you be so cool?

is it battery powered?

Once i get all the software I want, all my gear will be either racks, or these small take along type synths I can throw in my laptop bag.

No unfortunately it's not battery powered but one could make a battery pack easily enough... if one were so inclined.

yea but how long would the life be, thats my question ..

Whats the input? 9v? 12v? what's the draw?

if the draw isn't too heavy it could be done..

The Micron is a great little synth with huge sounds. I really like the interface and it's simple to program. Working on the couch makes it all worth it.

It's 9VAC, so you can't make a battery pack easily.

Oh well, I assumed it would use direct current like my other two keyboards

micron + Behringer BCR2000

wasn't the micron systex though ? will that thing send sysex?

The Micron uses AC, not DC, so hacking together a battery pack is not as easy as you'd expect. There has been a lot of discussion about it on the Ion/Micron forum but I haven't heard of anyone successfully doing it yet.

I go through phases GASing after a Micron. I owned one but I didn't use it too often. After I sold it, I found myself wanting one again. What I'd really like is an Ion rack-mount or Ion 2 (an Ion with more polyphony, effects, sequencer, etc).

Mark

I wish Alesis would have gone to slightly greater extremes- a 5-octave Ion and a rack-mount Micron module (with a software editor). The Micron does sound pretty nice, however!

Well I love my little Micron... though 90% of it's use is live use. It's my third synth I gig with (along with a Triton Extreme and XP30) and I have to admit.... the great sounding presets and lack of time I haven't dug below the surface too deep for editing. For $400 it is still a great deal (used I've seen as low as $250). Fav patches... Junkie bass, Growl Bass (perfect for playing 'Relax'), Tom Sawyer sweep, Taurus Pedals. Live it sounds FAt and HUGE.

One comment... unfortunately the build quality isn't the greatest. I've gigged with mine for 2 years now and the control knob is busted and the pwr supply input is flaking. I complemplated sending it to Alesis for repair, until I discovered a drink straw fits the same space as the control knob stem perfectly. . I will likely play this into the ground until it blows up. Then I'll likely buy it again. Fun synth.

its NRPN actually, and a fellow called Godric Wilkie posted 3 BCR setups for use with the micron at the Ion/micron yahoo group.

here's the readme:

"Read Me 5th Feb 2005

BCR2000 presets for Alesis Micron (Ion as well I guess)

This document and the associated sysex presets and PDF templates currently named