Anyone using the Alesis Fusion?

SonicAlbert

SonicAlbert

Super-Sonic "Herb" Albert
I'm looking for a new keyboard for live gigging and the Alesis Fusion 6HD and 8HD caught my eye. Anyone using this, and if so, what do you think of it?

What appeals to me is that it can be expanded to 192 megs of sample RAM, and it will load my Akai S1000/S5000 libraries. Plus the onboard sounds that use various forms of synthesis.

Just interested in any comments on it.
 
I still don't think it's quite a match for a Kurzweil K2600, at least when it comes to Synthesis... OK so it can do PM which the K2600 does not (although there are some limited ways of pulling that off with KDFX)... but overall it sounds just ... eh...
 
I have the 6HD. Like it, don't love it. As usual with Alesis, you have to do a lot of digging to find a good patch, though the basic piano patch is pretty nice. The 40GB hard drive and sampling capabilities are promising - but I don't have time to work with it like that.
 
Thanks for the info, I appreciate it!

I've used the Kurzweil K2500/2600 quite a bit and it is a great synth/controller. The main issue for me regarding the 2600 is it's price, which is still sky high. I'm hoping to get similar capabilities for less money. The Triton series is also pretty expensive if you get a maxed out unit.

I'd be using the Fusion mostly to play back my Akai S1000/5000 samples (and would get the RAM expansion), although I'd probably use some of the internal sounds as well.

dafduc, I've read about bugs and instabilities regarding the operating system. Has the 6HD crashed on you, or have they worked that stuff out by now? I know they have continued to develop the OS.
 
Hey Albert

I almost bought one , once ...

the local place that a frequent for my gear is actually pretty honest with me and told me that every Fusion or Q series Keyboard they sold , the purchasers tried to bring it back because they were disappointed with it. The one left in the store had returned twice and i would have been it's third owner in as many months.

I did try it and didnt like the quality of the actual keyboard action much but then again i'm easily put off in this area .

I think that any instrument must excell in one way or another and it seems the Alesis Fusions , while not being bad in any particulary area , dont really excell at anything either .

If you want it for stage performance why dont you check out a Roland fantom ? it pretty pricey though if you get the X8 .

You may also want to check out the Nord stage 88 , although i think its maybe a little over priced for what it is. It's in Fantom territory for price .
 
SonicAlbert said:
Thanks for the info, I appreciate it!

I've used the Kurzweil K2500/2600 quite a bit and it is a great synth/controller. The main issue for me regarding the 2600 is it's price, which is still sky high. I'm hoping to get similar capabilities for less money. The Triton series is also pretty expensive if you get a maxed out unit.

I'd be using the Fusion mostly to play back my Akai S1000/5000 samples (and would get the RAM expansion), although I'd probably use some of the internal sounds as well.

dafduc, I've read about bugs and instabilities regarding the operating system. Has the 6HD crashed on you, or have they worked that stuff out by now? I know they have continued to develop the OS.
Click to expand...

Nope, pretty stable. I should go check for an update, though.
 
SonicAlbert said:
mostly to play back my Akai S1000/5000 samples.
Click to expand...
My question is, why don't you just get an S5000? Or a soft sampler? Is this going to be for studio or stage work? Anyway, either a soft sampler or an S5000 would be much cheaper than any of the other options.
 
I already have eleven S5000's, an S6000, five Emu Ultra samplers, plus Kontakt 2 and a bunch of virtual instruments! What I'd like to do though is simplify my live gigging rig, while at the same time be able to use my Akai libraries.

I currently use a Roland XV-5080 as my main live gig ax. It's maxed out with eight expansion boards and the 128 megs of RAM. However, that means I'm using a module, an external hard drive, and a controller keyboard.

Likewise, setting up a laptop for live work is even worse. I use an external hard drive with it as well, plus you need an audio interface. I've been using a MOTU Traveler, but will probably get something smaller like the Echo AudioFire2. Still, there's a significant amount of setup, plus a laptop is much more fragile than a rack box like the XV-5080.

This is why the Fusion looks pretty good to me. It seems like I can take a single synth that has an internal hard drive, use my samples, and avoid the whole controller/rack module/laptop/external hard drive thing.

I have a show coming up where I'm pretty sure I'll use my laptop with Kontakt 2, but there are plenty of gigs where I'd love to walk in with one keyboard, a keyboard stand, and an amp. That seems so simple and nice to me.
 
SonicAlbert said:
I already have eleven S5000's, an S6000, five Emu Ultra samplers, plus Kontakt 2 and a bunch of virtual instruments! What I'd like to do though is simplify my live gigging rig, while at the same time be able to use my Akai libraries.

I currently use a Roland XV-5080 as my main live gig ax. It's maxed out with eight expansion boards and the 128 megs of RAM. However, that means I'm using a module, an external hard drive, and a controller keyboard.

Likewise, setting up a laptop for live work is even worse. I use an external hard drive with it as well, plus you need an audio interface. I've been using a MOTU Traveler, but will probably get something smaller like the Echo AudioFire2. Still, there's a significant amount of setup, plus a laptop is much more fragile than a rack box like the XV-5080.

This is why the Fusion looks pretty good to me. It seems like I can take a single synth that has an internal hard drive, use my samples, and avoid the whole controller/rack module/laptop/external hard drive thing.

I have a show coming up where I'm pretty sure I'll use my laptop with Kontakt 2, but there are plenty of gigs where I'd love to walk in with one keyboard, a keyboard stand, and an amp. That seems so simple and nice to me.
Click to expand...

Hi, I'm curious what you ended up getting. I am interested in Fusion and have searched the net and found that the new OS and new Sound sets are excellent. Did you get a Fusion?

Just curious,
Dennis
 
I have not gotten the Fusion, as the gig that I was going to buy it for has not materialized yet. The job may still happen, and at that point the Fusion will be at the top of the list.

At this point I'm using my laptop with Kontakt2 as my main live sampler. It's been very stable, but setup takes a little while and I don't like dragging around the external hard drive and all the cables. It looks messy, too.

If this other gig happens eventually it will be videotaped, so I need a cool looking synth rig that I can set up quickly. And still be able to use a good amount of my favorite samples.
 
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