Post by pev69 on Aug 9, 2007 23:16:53 GMT
Here's another (mostly) happy new Fusion owner 
. By "mostly" I just mean that the Fusion is very nice but has its faults and irritations (as most embedded electronic devices do).
I am very meager with my music playin/making, using only one workstation, compared to many of you guys/girls with your multi-equipment studios. Here's some background anyway for you to skip over (just felt like typing).
I am 38, my musical background is playing classical piano since about 7 years old, first took lessons with the school's music teachers and in my teens joined the music academy. At about 18 I finally got bored with playing only classical pieces and left the academy having completed 2 of the 3 basic classes. My parents sold our piano and I bought a Yamaha PSR-70 keyboard to quench the occasional thirst for playing.
Then in 1991 got interested when I saw an article about the first "complete" workstations (Korg T1 - T3 and Yamaha SY77 were the main competitors). It seemed a very technical and compact way to making music and as I have always been into technology as well, I bought the Yamaha SY77 (15000 Finnish marks = 2500 euros in 1991). It was a nice "toy" for a while and I made some small incomplete pieces with it.
As years went by, my playing slowly diminished. I always hated the fact that the 61-key keyboard was not enough, especially when playing classical piano pieces, but was never that keen on getting a new full-length keyboard. And the high-flying partying life of being a University student just took interest away from any serious music-making.
Fast Forward to about a year ago, when I stumbled upon a review of the M-audio Keystation Pro 88, a full-length weighted MIDI master keyboard to be had for only about 500 Euros! I started dreaming about rekindling my piano and keyboard playing. Then, about a month ago I found the Fusion 8HD in Thomann Cyberstore when researching alternative 88-key keyboards. I could not believe it was a full and feature-jam-packed 88-key workstation for 999 euros, only a little more expensive than the master-only Keystation!
After reading much about the Fusion and about some low-quality issues about the Keystation, it was clear I wanted the Fusion. The added bonus being that it might also prompt me to start making music again with its new features and fresh implementation (compared to my old SY77)
So, I've had the 8HD for about a week now. I love the keybed feel. I think it (the wonderfull keybed response) actually helped me remember some of my old classical pieces
. One more thing I specifically like is having virtually unlimited storage with the HD. You can just always store a program or song as a new copy and not be restricted by some fixed amount of memory positions as with the SY77 and most older synths! It's a bleedin' miracle!
I do not like the feel of the rubbery buttons (especially the T-buttons, they are too hard to push and too soft for such big button area necessitating precise centered pressing) compared to the hard plastic buttons in the SY77 that are almost perfect. Another poor thing is the manual, but this has already been discussed in the forum.
It came with an 80 GB HD (Western Digital Caviar SE, a nice surprise not being some low-quality unknown!), the OS and sound ROM were v. 1.21, I immediately updated to the newest 1.24 (by a nice coincidence I have an old digital camera with a 128 MB CF card, heh). I have encountered some bugs (a couple that I did not find reported here or Fusionzone). I will perhaps post an article in the general section detailing my findings and questions.
Anyway, glad to be a Fusioneer!. Cheers everyone, and thanks for a great forum!
PS. I have seen that the SY77 is still sought after by some. I will consider selling it after I transfer my songs and perhaps sample some of its voices into Fusion. And also after I delve into the Fusion's sequencer and see if I need the SY77 along for its missing-from-Fusion sequencer features (mainly step recording and pattern-based compositing).
. By "mostly" I just mean that the Fusion is very nice but has its faults and irritations (as most embedded electronic devices do).I am very meager with my music playin/making, using only one workstation, compared to many of you guys/girls with your multi-equipment studios. Here's some background anyway for you to skip over (just felt like typing)
.I am 38, my musical background is playing classical piano since about 7 years old, first took lessons with the school's music teachers and in my teens joined the music academy. At about 18 I finally got bored with playing only classical pieces and left the academy having completed 2 of the 3 basic classes. My parents sold our piano and I bought a Yamaha PSR-70 keyboard to quench the occasional thirst for playing.
Then in 1991 got interested when I saw an article about the first "complete" workstations (Korg T1 - T3 and Yamaha SY77 were the main competitors). It seemed a very technical and compact way to making music and as I have always been into technology as well, I bought the Yamaha SY77 (15000 Finnish marks = 2500 euros in 1991). It was a nice "toy" for a while and I made some small incomplete pieces with it.
As years went by, my playing slowly diminished. I always hated the fact that the 61-key keyboard was not enough, especially when playing classical piano pieces, but was never that keen on getting a new full-length keyboard. And the high-flying partying life of being a University student just took interest away from any serious music-making.
Fast Forward to about a year ago, when I stumbled upon a review of the M-audio Keystation Pro 88, a full-length weighted MIDI master keyboard to be had for only about 500 Euros! I started dreaming about rekindling my piano and keyboard playing
. Then, about a month ago I found the Fusion 8HD in Thomann Cyberstore when researching alternative 88-key keyboards. I could not believe it was a full and feature-jam-packed 88-key workstation for 999 euros, only a little more expensive than the master-only Keystation!After reading much about the Fusion and about some low-quality issues about the Keystation, it was clear I wanted the Fusion. The added bonus being that it might also prompt me to start making music again with its new features and fresh implementation (compared to my old SY77)
So, I've had the 8HD for about a week now. I love the keybed feel. I think it (the wonderfull keybed response) actually helped me remember some of my old classical pieces
. One more thing I specifically like is having virtually unlimited storage with the HD. You can just always store a program or song as a new copy and not be restricted by some fixed amount of memory positions as with the SY77 and most older synths! It's a bleedin' miracle! I do not like the feel of the rubbery buttons (especially the T-buttons, they are too hard to push and too soft for such big button area necessitating precise centered pressing) compared to the hard plastic buttons in the SY77 that are almost perfect. Another poor thing is the manual, but this has already been discussed in the forum.
It came with an 80 GB HD (Western Digital Caviar SE, a nice surprise not being some low-quality unknown!), the OS and sound ROM were v. 1.21, I immediately updated to the newest 1.24 (by a nice coincidence I have an old digital camera with a 128 MB CF card, heh). I have encountered some bugs (a couple that I did not find reported here or Fusionzone). I will perhaps post an article in the general section detailing my findings and questions.
Anyway, glad to be a Fusioneer!
. Cheers everyone, and thanks for a great forum!PS. I have seen that the SY77 is still sought after by some. I will consider selling it after I transfer my songs and perhaps sample some of its voices into Fusion. And also after I delve into the Fusion's sequencer and see if I need the SY77 along for its missing-from-Fusion sequencer features (mainly step recording and pattern-based compositing).
