Alesis Fusion Owners?

[finelytuned]

I'm just wondering who is out there using the Alesis Fusion ?
Lets swap ideas and stuff.

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[rainbow]

Hi,
Just spotted your posting ... I've been using the Fusion 6HD since 2006 along with the Korg Karma and some sound modules but only started recording stuff half-way through 2008 when I 'wandered in' to this forum!!
I'd be pleased to help on questions (if I am able) and you might like to visit/join the Fusion forums ... I've been a member of those since 2006 ... if you pm me, I'll send you the link (not sure if it is protocol to link to another forum in a posting)


On that forum you will find a wealth of Fusion specific material including a ton of absolutely pro sounds to download. If you haven't done so already, you need to download and install all the Hollow Sun collections for free ... absolutely all the vintage instruments you could wish for and more ... also check out the kpr sound collections which lately I have had the pleasure to beta test ... there are some free downloads from kpr but in the main you would need to purchase those ... they are great value for money though, in my opinion, you will also find a bunch of people there ( as I have found on this forum) who have a fund of knowledge and are pleased to offer help and tips.
Cheers ... Rainbow:)

[finelytuned]

Thanks for responding.

Yes i 've been to both Fusion forums and the have all the sounds.


Do you play live with midi?
If so, I was wondering how to incorporate the playing of the keyboard while
playing the midi tracks. How do I turn up the keyboard while keeping the midi tracks at
a set volume?

Thanks for your help.
Michael

[rainbow]

Hi Michael,
Glad you spotted the reply and glad you've already found the Fusion forums and sounds. In answer to your question, I never play live in the sense of playing to an audience ... I'm just a home musician so everything including the recordings is just for the pure fun of making music either original or covers. However, if you are asking how to play a midi file within the Fusion itself, as a backing, and still have access to all the Fusion sounds to play along with, then I don't believe you can do this ... only mute a part on the midi and play a melody maybe. It is my experience with the Fusion and other keyboards that this is not a fun or effective way to play and the result is not great either.
My own solution to this is to take a midi file into GarageBand and edit/arrange the sequenced midi file and change instrumentation and remove the melody part(or mute within GarageBand) then export this arrangement to iTunes which results in an m3a file which I then convert to mp3 as a backing track which can be played in a stand-alone player. I can use up to 99 of such files saved on a IGB usb memory stick and played through my Roland Sonic Cell connected via mixer to my monitors and I can play all keybooards and sound modules 'live' ie in real time to the backing track. You could use an iPod or similar mp3 player in a truly live situation I believe, put thro' a pa, or something like the Sonic Cell. There are several postings on this forum on that topic which you might find useful.
If I want to record with the backing track instead then I convert the file to wav instead of mp3 and I can then import it to my stand-alone Boss BR1200CD digital recorder and record real-time guitar/keys/vocals into the Boss BR1200 and build recordings that way.
This is just my solution at the moment and I am looking at ways of recording within GarageBand for the future.
I'm sure there are other (probably simpler) solutions, but this is mine at the moment. Hope that helps!!
Best regards ... Rainbow:)