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Post by kpr on Oct 22, 2008 16:58:43 GMT
The Fusion future is golden, and we know it. We are a pretty small community of Fusion owners, perhaps a few thousands worldwide. We share all the hidden secrets about the Fusion, this is keeping us together. And she is like a woman: looking rather gorgous and sexy, timbre is really mature, and sometimes she is doing things we don't like that much. But she is way too charming to tell her this.
So, the number of Fusionists will remain at the current status, and we can watch the second hand price being stable on a surprising high level. Why this? Because the hidden secrets! Like other discontinued synths the Fusion will take place in the Olymp, besides the JD800, the SY99, Wavestation, just to mention a few.
As we are gathering here all the user tricks, data handling issues, free sounds and commercials the available stuff is just increasing and makes the live with the Fusion even more comfortable. There is no reason why we should not collect all the infos here for quick access for everyone who needs it, at a 24/7 service online.
All this, and much more, is making the Fusion future golden. And you can be really happy to own one!
Cheers
Klaus
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rainbow
Junior Member
It's not where you take things from ... it's where you take things to ...
Posts: 227
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Post by rainbow on Oct 22, 2008 17:42:07 GMT
Bravo Klaus!! Mine's a keeper Cheers ... Rainbow:)
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Post by mstsfreak on Oct 22, 2008 19:47:10 GMT
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christianrock
Junior Member
Banned at User's own request
Posts: 282
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Post by christianrock on Oct 22, 2008 20:54:25 GMT
Right on. Every day I find something that I love about the Fusion!!! Not only does it sound great, not only does it have the best classic synths available to it in uncompressed sample form, not only does it have what might be the best digital filters in the business (as do all Alesis VAs), not only does it have a community of the highest quality sound developers anywhere, it has a lot of untapped non-advertised things. Like once I upgraded my memory to 192Mb, all my patches now (as long as they are in memory already) are "patch remain" - meaning, I can play one program over the tail end of another program. Not even the Motif XS and Korg M3 has this! And it's supposedly one of the biggest selling points of the new Fantom G. Yet the Fusion (and all Kurzweils, I know) had it already. Roland talks about their supposedly "superior sound engine" but to my ears the Fusion sound engine is a LOT better. A good-sounding synth will always sound good. That's why minimoogs, Oberheims and Jupiters will always hold their value. I believe the Fusion will too, become collectible items one day. Remember even minimoogs could be found for 300-400 dollars each in the early 90s, and Jupiter 8s were also only a few hundred bucks because everybody looked down on them. It will be a LONG time before the "big 3" catch up to what the Fusion does (hard-drive based workstation with uncompressed sounds and various engines), at a reasonable price point.
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Post by lildave on Oct 23, 2008 0:42:24 GMT
I've posted this on the other fusion forum a bout a month ago....
I've been playing the big three workstations today finally with some headphones on so I can finally hear what the sounds truly sound like in stereo and in a quiet store instead of that noisy *ss Guitar Center. So, here's my conclusion of the Motif XS, M3, and the Fantom-G versus Fusion. I'm not wowed by any of them to be honest with you. But if I had to choose one for sounds it would be the Motif XS. For features I think the Fantom G would win. But other wise the M3 really is amazing feature wise with KARMA and the touch screen. The dealer used to have an OASYS there that I had played many times before but never with the headphones but it sounds really nice as well. I wasn't all that impressed at first, though. But anyway, I think the Motif XS would be my next board because of the sounds but here's the thing, I'm still not just blown away by the sounds of any of these boards because I've been spoiled by the free sounds that are available for Hollow Sun, KPR, and V-Stream. So, this much is certain for me, the Fusion is going no place EVER. I want more sounds for it and I want to learn how to use it to it's fullest, but even then, it stays. So really I think the only other keys I'm just wanting more than anything are the Korg Karma because of the KARMA feature, Korg Oasys for everything it has to offer, Fender Rhodes or just a regular Rhodes for sentimental reasons, and the New Rhodes Piano. I haven't seen the new Rhodes piano in person yet but I would really like to have one. I'm glad I had the opportunity to play all of these nice boards but I feel like I'm not missing very by not having one of the big three. Once I figure out synthesis I think I'll be able to duplicate most if not all of their sounds on my Fusion. Just thought I'd share.
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Post by Hollow Sun on Oct 26, 2008 2:09:34 GMT
Getting involved with Fusion was one of the best decisions I have made in my career not least of which because she is the kind of product I have been wanting since as long as I can remember.
When I worked with the 'old' Akai, we were forever trying to create a perfect all-in-one product based around their sampling and sequencing technology. Perhaps the closest they got to it was the MPC4000 but it wasn't a 'true' MPC in the traditional sense of the word (which I think was a mistake but there ya go).
But with Fusion, here were all the bits and pieces I've played with over the years in one convenient unit ... as we know. Ok, she ain't perfect (as we know) but these are all things I can live with.... most others appear to as well.
I liked the thing immediately and made half a dozen analogue sounds up in the first evening (Freepack #03) and it was onwards and upwards from then on. Even today, I still find things about her that fascinate and delight me. Anyone who picked one up cheap before she was discontinued picked up a real bargain. In fact, that period was very interesting - people I know who said they would never buy one were contacting me asking where they could get one!!! Of course, this was helped by those who bought one with a "What the hell - at that price" attitude and were suddenly on forums saying "I don't know what all that crap was about Fusion - it's bloody great"!!! I also believe The Club helped so everyone here deserves a pat on the back - I only wish I'd set it up earlier. However, that said, The Club will soon be celebrating its second birthday and we have close to 1,000 members now.
It's a great community we have here I think - very strong and united and supportive overall. Quite an achievement for a product, especially one that is discontinued! The fact that it's often very quiet here is a good thing I think - I am hoping/assuming everyone's just getting on with it and enjoying Fusion.
I think it's great as well that Klaus continues to support Fusion and the users - he has pushed her more than anyone else especially with his OW series.
I have more stuff in the pipeline as well but I am very busy right now and don't know when I'll have time to put it up. Soon though I hope.
In the meantime. let's continue to enjoy this very special bit of technology we have. The fact that this place is called 'The Fusion Club' is actually quite appropriate now - we are members of an exclusive club and we have something quite unique which in turn allows us to do stuff that is different from the rest of the pack and that in itself can only be a good thing. The fact that sonically it can continue to expand almost ad infinitum means that Fusion is something that will (theoretically) never become redundant.
For me (and like a lot of women in our lives!!!), she has certainly put the brakes on my gear lust - I see this new thing or that new thing come out, be it new software or a new piece of hardware and I read the reviews and and whereas before, I'd be rushing out to check it out and then figuring out if I can afford it, now I just go "Yeah - looks nice ... don't need it though" - I sometimes can't even be bothered to read the review! Perhaps the only exception to that is the Blofeld but I think I had my fill of that sound when I owned the original PPG Wave 2 and I have loads of wavetable samples here that suit me just fine (yes - I know the Blo can do much more than that but I don't really need it). Neither can I get too moist about 'OmniSphere' because I have 'Nebulae'. Sure, Neb's not in the same league perhaps but it does me ok and Fusion's VA and other things go some way to doing some of the more 'traditional' stuff OmniSphere (and the their previous 'Atmosphere') can do. That's not to knock any of those excellent products and I really do wish them every success with them ... and my friends at Korg and Roland and Yamaha - they make really great stuff and I know the amount of work (and budget) that goes into those products. But then I've never felt 'in competition' with any of these people - they do their thing, I do mine and we both have our specialities ... we sometimes meet up at trade shows and have a beer and a chat or we sometimes keep in touch via email - it's all very friendly with little or no rivalry. In fact, I've always thought it would be good if we could collaborate ... but that's just naive and ain't even gonna happen
But anyway, I'm rambling. It's late, I can't sleep, it's as windy as fuck out there which is shaking our old house and rattling the windows (maybe I should sample it on my Zoom and release some Gothic Horror SFX!!!) but Radio 4/The World Service is always a joy to listen to with a beer at this time of night/morning ... and the clocks have just gone back so it's technically not THAT late anyway!!! Well - that's my excuse!!!
G'night!
Steve
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Post by djnorythm on Oct 26, 2008 3:53:19 GMT
everyone gets a hug.
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Jamie
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by Jamie on Oct 26, 2008 11:57:16 GMT
I would never part from my Fusion, though I have to admit its been a slow, tear filled affair, which only in the last year and a bit has seen me fall head over heels in love with my little monster.
When I first purchased mine, I did so on sound alone, I spent a good month or so repeatedly visiting Turnkey and a few other shops around London, spending as long as I could demo-ing all the keyboards on offer, every time I would end up back at the Fusion. I would come across one sound that I would spend a good hour tweaking away, getting deeper and deeper into the Fusions warmth. The other keyboards just couldn't stand up against the Fusion, it was just bigger, and more ALIVE!
Unfortunately, when I eventually got mine home (on my 32 birthday!), I started to find out about the "issues" we all well know.
I had a specific idea of how I was going to use the Fusion (mostly as a workstation, without a computer, which is how I used to work "back in the day"), and it just couldn't do it. Error messages, lost work, emails to Alesis... etc etc. Subsequently there was a period where my Fusion sat redundant in my bedroom, untouched for months.
I guess a lot of the reason for this was all the bad press, the more I tried to get help from the internet, the more rubbish I would stumble upon. I started to believe I had purchased a real "turkey" (a turkey from turnkey!).
Anyway, the saviour was you lot, the people who not only believed in the Fusion, but who KNEW it was a genuinely brilliant synth. Your views turned me around. It was like "these people don't seem to be mad... maybe I need to re-think this".
Add to that the free sounds from Hollow Sun, the sound sets from KPR and V-stream, and I was a changed man.
I think its a shame the Fusion had its problems at the beginning, but we all know that these things make a classic, its always that problem ones that we end up loving, and that inevitably give us more pleasure. My fusion has a personality, every time I mess around with it, it ends up surprising me and making me smile. Its a friend for life that I'm sure I'll never tire with.
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Post by dazznutts on Oct 26, 2008 16:00:45 GMT
Same i got mine from turnkey an upgrade from a Roland RS70, didn't realy get to enjoy much at first as a number of faults were present, i have tried out a few new synths/workstations recently and nothing comes close to the fusion just wish it was a bit more straight forward to use on the workstation side of things.
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Post by mickydireland on Oct 26, 2008 16:29:05 GMT
You know what? I fucking love this keyboard!! (Pardon the language!) But I do. It has everything going for it. The sounds, versatility, looks, engines etc. It is like the Ferrari of synths. I have taken it to a couple of studios that have all the other big name synths, and the engineers there have always been overwhelmed by the Fusion. If this club was not here, I would not have bought it. Still a novice at the programming, the wealth of sounds and features more that outweighs my shortcomings. Currently, I'm in the studio doing a couple of tracks, and through the SSL, it sounds awesome! I'm glad I'm part of this exclusive band of people. All nutters, all very intelligent and all extremely creative. I will never get rid of her! Thank you Steve for getting us all together, and happy second birthday! Micky! ;D
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Post by Hollow Sun on Oct 26, 2008 17:03:24 GMT
I always thought Alesis were wrong to market it as a 'workstation' (in fact, I find that word overused generally). I mean, the EMu E4K was a capable multi-timbral sampler/synth and had a sequencer but they didn't market it is a 'workstation' - it was a sampler that happened to have a sequencer. I think Alesis might have been better off doing the same with Fusion - sell it as a 'multi-engine synth/sampler' (that happens to have a sequencer ... of sorts).
However, I suspect they (or at least the marketing/sales people) wanted to go head to head with the big three which in hindsight was possibly not a good idea ... I am sure as well (remember - I wasn't there at the time) that some perhaps thought they could go head to head with the contemporaneous Oasys and I imagine (along with the fact that the project was overdate anyway) there was pressure to get the thing out at the same time as Oasys. Maybe not a good idea (although, interestingly, this £7,000 monster had bugs and problems in the early releases and it was supported by paid-for add-ons ... and yet no-one threw as much shit at it as they did Fusion!).
But hindsight is always 20/20 of course ... and I know sweet FA about marketing anyway so who am I to comment?
Perhaps this is why I didn't have a problem with Fusion as it stood - I knew before it arrived that the sequencer would be (ahem) 'challenged' but not for any other reason than the sequencers in nearly all 'workstations' are a bit crap (with the exception of the Ensoniq ESQ1 which was terrific ... albeit from a much simpler time). I also knew that I'd be using my trusty MPC as my sequencer. I also knew that my involvement with Alesis would not require me to use the sequencer. So all I was interested in was its sound making potential and on that score, she just did not disappoint and I still don't think I have even approached any limits - I haven't even really done much with the FM or modelling (such as that is). As I say, Klaus has done much more on that score than I or my cohorts here (but in a way, my brief was different to what the independent Klaus can do).
My one regret with Fusion is that I just don't have enough time to really do much with her just for the hell of it for my own enjoyment. This is partly the downside of being a 'pro' in the industry - having spent all day making sounds to order, there's little inclination to then make music on the gear. You'll find that most decorators' and builders' houses are a mess for the same reason - after a busy day hanging wallpaper and decorating someone else's house, the last thing you want to do is the same in your own place in the evening and weekends!
But I digress...
What's interesting is that here we are, some months after it was discontinued, talking with optimism for its future!! Very few products achieve that - there's almost no doubt that Fusion will achieve some kind of 'cult status' amongst those who appreciate her. Like the Korg Z1 - there's a synth that failed spectacularly in the market but people who know it, love it.
Steve
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Post by lildave on Oct 26, 2008 20:03:27 GMT
Personally, I don't think the sequencer is all that bad. How it compares to the other workstations I don't know since I haven't used those at all. I think my Fusion is very unique and looked down upon from gear snobs at music stores. But like I've said many times people don't care what the gear looks like only how it sounds. I'm still having a blast with my Fusion and I don't ever plan on getting rid of it. I don't have gear-lust for any of the Big 3 workstations because of their sounds. To me they don't sounds any better than the Fusion and even the Oasys, which to me a very nice board, doesn't WOW me. I didn't have a Korg rep to demo it for me so you know there's a lot I didn't did into on it. I like the the Big 3 boards though just not enough to get rid of my Fusion. It's not perfect but it does what I need it to and plus I have it hooked to my MPC1000 so I can use it's sequencer and sampler if I don't want to use the Fusions. Honestly I was unhappy with the Fusion because of the way the sounds lose their effects when in song and mix mode but I didn't know that the other mods are still in tack. That still makes it worth it to me. Oh, and plus I've just started layering sounds on the Fusion and all I can say is WOW. I layered four string sounds and guitars and man I couldn't believe my ears and I couldn't believe that I did it. It sounds great even without the effects being added. Oh, and these were the preset sounds by the way. I'm greatful for this board because every question I've had in the past has been answered. Even my questions about the MPC5000 which I seem to fascinated with. Thanks Steve, Robo and anyone else I'm leaving out for all of your help through the years even on the other forum.
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Post by bluesplayer on Oct 26, 2008 20:06:09 GMT
.... All this, and much more, is making the Fusion future golden. And you can be really happy to own one! Cheers Klaus I'm very happy and proud to own one! I have learned more about synths using the Fusion than I have using all previous and other currently owned equipment. Above Steve mentioned about the on-board sequencer. Actually I find this amusing since when I visit my Yamaha boards for my much more expensive, touted, and "mainstream accepted" Motif XS - there are two big complaints. First is no step sequencing. Second need to use a Cubase for even mundane but useful sequencing - Yamaha now owns Steinberg and at the rate they are moving stuff into the PC (Cubase only) you will be forced to use/own Cubase to in next Motif version to get max utility. PS the Motif file system for user banks especially if non-ROM samples are involved at all is a true PITA! Rock On Fusion! Larry
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Post by Hollow Sun on Oct 26, 2008 20:47:18 GMT
Honestly I was unhappy with the Fusion because of the way the sounds lose their effects when in song and mix mode That seems to be a bone of contention with others but... It's the same on ALL 'workstations' in varying degrees.
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Post by lildave on Oct 26, 2008 23:14:25 GMT
Honestly I was unhappy with the Fusion because of the way the sounds lose their effects when in song and mix mode That seems to be a bone of contention with others but... It's the same on ALL 'workstations' in varying degrees. That's what I've heard. I wonder if it's the same with the Oasys. I heard the Fantom G keeps all of it's effects for up to so many patches. I think its 8 or twelve or something. Ahh, well, who cares.....
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