Released in 2002, and according to Alesis the Ion offered State-of-the-Art Analog Modelling at an Affordable Price. Developed by innovative Alesis engineering and DSP technology, the Alesis ION is a high-resolution analog modelling synthesiser offering breakthrough processing power, real-time control, and great value. Alesis proprietary DSP Analog Modelling. You can think of the Ion as their Next-Gen Alesis Andromeda flagship synth, but using modelling rather than a real analog signal path.
Built on a 500 MIPS processor platform with a custom DSP for each of the 8 voices & sporting high resolution control pots & 24-bit audio i/o, the Ion was generally considered to be one of the most warm & realistic analog impersonators at the time of its release & included in it's 512 presets a variety of classic emulations of Oberheim, Roland Arp & Moog etc classic sounds.
The ION is an 8 note poly 3 oscillator synth with its oscillators being continuously variable for wave shapes. You also get Osc sync and FM synthesis. The basic Ion synth structure is oscillator mix including any external signal, noise & ring-mod mixed into 2 multi-mode filters, with 3 envelope generators, 2 LFOs, programmable effects and an extensive modulation matrix to sculpt the final sound. There's also a 40-band vocoder in the Ion which is part of the Effects section processing & thus that doesn't use up any polyphony.
One of the big selling points of the Ion was it's twin filters offering an extensive 17 choices of filter type, seven of which are models of classic filters such as the MiniMoog's 4-pole, the TB-303's 18dB 3-pole, as well as several Oberheim, an ARP & Jupiter 8 filter emulations. The envelopes are another much praised section of the Ion with very detailed options & the 3rd freely assignable envelope affords a wide degree of creativity & control to sound design & creation.
The ION keyboard has 49 velocity-sensitive keys (but no aftertouch strangely), there are 4 analog outputs and 2 stereo analog inputs (all balanced 24-bit), and controls and editing is by way of buttons & 30 rubberised control knobs with parameters displayed automatically on the LCD screen when a control is moved. The pots themselves are a high-resolution 360 degree type and transmit NRPN controllers
Specifications
ALESIS ION - Analog Modeling Synthesizer, 512 preset programs (all user re-writeable), 8 voice polyphony, 4 parts multi-timbral, 3 oscillators per voice (with continuously variable wave shapes, sync and FM), 2 multimode filters per voice, 16 filter types to choose from, 2 LFOs, sample and hold and arpeggiator - all sync to MIDI Clock, 4 mono/stereo insert effects and stereo master multi-FX processor, fully featured vocoder with up to 40 bands, performance friendly interface with 31 knobs, 69 buttons, sustain and expression pedal inputs, pitch bend wheel and 2 assignable mod wheels, high resolution graphic LCD, 49 velocity sensitive keys, 4 analog outs and stereo analog ins - all balanced 24-bit, internal universal power supply.
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