Alesis Fusion

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Alesis Fusion 6HD
Alesis Fusion 8HD

The Alesis Fusion is a Synthesizer - Workstation with 4 integrated sound generation method , a 32 track MIDI + 8 track audio sequencer . It was presented for the first time in 2005 and production has since been discontinued. The instrument was in competition with long-established workstation concepts from the major workstation manufacturers: Korg Triton , Yamaha Motif and Roland Fantom-X and ultimately could not prevail against them.

According to the manufacturer Alesis, it offers a generous polyphony, which is specified for the individual synthesis types as follows: A total of 32-fold multitimbral , sample playback 272 voices, FM 240 voices, VA 140 voices, PM Reed 60 voices and PM Wind 48 voices . Depending on the type of synthesis and the complexity of the sounds used, the number of maximum voices is reduced dynamically. Alesis offered the instrument in two versions: the Fusion 6HD with 61 lightly weighted keys and the Fusion 8HD with 88 weighted keys. The design has a quite independent character and the controls such as rotary controls and buttons are particularly clearly worked out. These operating units consist of a controller block including 2 wheels (pitch bend, modulation), the illuminated display with several buttons to the right and left of it, as well as a control panel for program selection including a conspicuous data entry rotary wheel plus buttons. On the back there are a number of connections (audio, MIDI, pedals, power supply), etc. a. USB for connection to a PC / Mac, and a slot for a CF card .

The instrument has a built-in hard disk (40 or 80 GB in later models) for "everything", i.e. H. Extensive sample libraries with instruments, drum loops, sound effects as well as songs and synthesizer programs recorded with the sampler can be permanently saved there.

The sound spectrum is unusually versatile, as new samples can also be loaded in addition to the supplied sound store (ROM). If necessary, the samples are loaded into the RAM, which is 64 MB in the basic configuration and can be expanded to 192 MB. To transfer the samples to the instrument, the software Fusion Converter (PC / Mac) is available, which can import various common sample formats and convert them into the Fusion format. The synthesis types VA, FM and PM are also equipped with a large number of parameters and functions, as well as a modulation matrix. The instrument was delivered from the factory with around 1000 ready-to-play presets. The sound supply can, however, be expanded considerably by the owner and archived on hard disk or CF cards. In addition, the data can be transferred to the PC / Mac via USB and saved and managed there. The free Fusion Sort (PC) software allows you to easily reorganize and rearrange existing presets on the computer screen, which is larger than the built-in LC display.

structure

There are basically 4 operating modes (modes).

  1. Sampler mode
  2. Program mode
  3. Mix fashion
  4. Song mode

These modes can be selected directly with the buttons to the left of the display.

  • In Mix Mode and Song Mode, you can use the "Mixer" button to call up quick access to the most important mixer settings.
  • “Global” is a special mode for basic settings of the Fusion.

Sampler mode

In the 16-bit sampler mode, sounds or instruments can be recorded, edited and looped in order to then assign them to the desired keys. A multisample consists of several individual samples .

Program mode

A “program” is a single sound, e.g. B. piano, violin, synth bass. In the Alesis Fusion, 4 different sound generation processes are used:

  1. Sampling  : Up to 4 multisamples can be played back simultaneously, which allows dynamic and complex results. Each multisample (OSC) can be controlled separately (volume, pitch, filter).
  2. VA ( Virtual Analog ) see also virtual-analog synthesizer : 3 oscillators with 3 changeable waveforms each (sine without PWM, triangle with PWM, square with PWM) plus 2 times noise.
  3. FM ( FM synthesis ): 6 operators can be linked in structures and individually mixed to the output.
  4. PM ( Physical Modeling ), there are 2 physical models available
    1. wind
    2. Reed

The sounds can be modulated with up to 8 envelopes and 8 LFOs , for which a complex modulation matrix is ​​available. The filter section offers many different types from lowpass to highpass to band boost and is switchable up to 8-pole. There is a filter for the whole voice and additional restricted filters for the two oscillators in the sampled sound generation. There are 64 filters available for drum kits, one per oscillator.

A powerful multi-effects device with 2 bus effects and up to 4 insert effects as well as an equalizer are used to fine-tune the sounds. The range of effects extends from reverb programs, echo and delay effects to chorus, flanger, organ rotary and various amp models (for distortion and overdrive effects) and decimators (intended reduction in sound quality). There are a total of 80 effect types plus master 3-band parametric equalizer.

Mix fashion

In this mode different sounds are put together and either distributed in definable zones on the keyboard (split) or layered (layer). Up to 16 different sounds can be played simultaneously with the keyboard, 16 more can be controlled via the MIDI interface.

Song mode

The sequencer is activated with the song mode . A maximum of 32 MIDI tracks and 8 audio tracks are available here.

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