The Alesis Fusion has a newly developed synthesizer engine that employs a Coldfire processor surrounded by seven high-performance DSPs. This massively powerful processing core starts by giving you the following four synthesis types: Sample Playback, Analog Modeling, FM and Physical Modeling.

The Fusion’s synthesis engine is whatever you configure it to be. Maybe you just want regular sample playback synthesis for all of your instruments in one song. The next song has sampled drums and an analog synth lead. The song after that is more esoteric and combines physical modeling and FM synthesis along with analog and sample-based synthesis. It all can happen on the Fusion because of our Dynamic DSP Synthesis engine.

Extended information

The Fusion has a unique new approach to the concept of sample playback synthesis. Unlike our competitors’ sample-based workstations, the Fusion is designed to be extremely flexible. Sounds in the built-in 64MB (comparable to 128MB linear) Flash ROM can be exchanged for other samples that are stored on either Compact Flash or the internal 40 Gigabyte Hard disk. This means you have access to a virtually unlimited library of sounds.

You can also easily create your own custom instruments. The Fusion allows you to sample through the analog inputs, or to load in WAV files from your computer via USB (or Compact Flash) to create your custom soundset.

Our optional E2 memory module allows you to expand internal memory. This will add an additional 128MB of RAM on top of the internal 64MB giving you a total of 192MB of memory for sample playback sounds.

Alesis has created a completely new soundset for the Fusion. Our newly developed libraries offer the absolute best collection of top-quality instruments for realistic performance.

Alesis has a very strong background in Virtual Analog (VA) synthesis. Over the years we have researched and built many synthesizers (including the real analog monster called the Andromeda) with massive sounds and extremely accurate emulations of classic analog filters.

The Fusion contains a very flexible virtual analog synth. The VA engine offers three oscillators with ring modulation and lots of flexible routing as well. The engine features multiple types of filters with variable poles to emulate the characteristics of many vintage analog synths. The Fusion also offers in-depth modulation assignments of countless parameters. The VA engine in the Fusion goes far beyond other VA synths—even ones that only do virtual analog synthesis. With the user defined modulation table assignments it’s like having a modular analog synth that can remember all your crazy patch cable routes every time you call up the program.

The Fusion is the first keyboard in Alesis history to offer Frequency Modulation (FM) synthesis. This radically different and sonically diverse form of synthesis was introduced in the 70’s and has made a major impact on musicians and producers alike.

FM is fundamentally different from our subtractive sample-playback and virtual analog synth engines. Unlike many other kinds of synthesis, FM uses at least two oscillators to make sound. Traditionally, FM uses one operator oscillator that is modulated by a carrier oscillator, but depending on the sound you are looking for, you can have multiple operators or multiple carriers (or both). Each additional oscillator greatly affects your overall sound. While FM synthesis might be a little more complex to understand than other synthesis types, it can produce very unique timbres that just can’t be created using any other methods.

The Fusion’s FM engine is designed to be straightforward and easy to operate. There are six oscillators that can be flexibly routed to either generate sounds or work as carriers. The oscillators can output the following waveforms: sine, sine square root, sine squared, sine warp or white noise. Each of these waveforms offer distinctive sonic variations and give you a wide palette of sounds to choose from.

Our FM signal router is a handy menu that has preset templates allowing users to quickly assemble programs without the difficulty of traditional FM programming. Additionally, you can add envelopes and an LFO to further modulate and shape your stunning new FM sounds.

The fourth and final synthesis type on the Fusion uses cutting edge Physical Modeling algorithms. Physical modeling is an advanced new approach for creating sounds that is vastly different from all the other synthesis types found on the Fusion. It uses complex mathematical calculations to compute how a sound wave behaves inside an instrument. This lets you create a “virtual model” of an instrument that you can play and modify in real-time.

A real world example of this is when a flute player changes the pressure and shape of his lips on the mouthpiece while blowing into the instrument. This results in minor changes in the nuances of the flute’s sound. These changes are easy to create using physical modeling but very difficult to do using any other form of synthesis.

Many musicians cringe at the mention of mathematics and algorithms, but they have nothing to fear with the Fusion. Our synth designers carefully created an interface with simple and intuitive parameters that make sense to musicians. This means users can tweak their sounds without having to deal with any complex math or confusing parameters.

A physical model has several real-time parameters for a user to tweak such as Breath, Noise, Jet, Curve, Frequency and Bore Filter. With physical modeling all of these parameters can adjusted in real-time to affect the sound. Traditional instruments such as digital samplers have no way to alter the specifics of the sound because samplers only play static recordings of a sound that can’t be modified by the input parameters.

The Fusion contains two core physical models including “Wind” (flutes) and “Reed” (clarinet, Oboe and Sax). Both of these models are fully adaptable and can be set to model instruments that do not (or can’t) exist in real life. This gives users the ability to tweak existing models or create totally new sound timbres using the powerful physical modeling engine.

The Fusion’s synthesis engine is whatever you configure it to be. Maybe you just want regular sample playback synthesis for all of your instruments in one song. The next song has sampled drums and an analog synth lead. The song after that is more esoteric and combines physical modeling and FM synthesis along with analog and sample-based synthesis. It all can happen on the Fusion because of our Dynamic DSP Synthesis engine.

Now that you understand the different components that make up the Fusion’s synth engine, it’s easy to imagine the kinds of music you can create with it. Each synthesis type can be played individually or can be mixed together with other types to form new, composite sounds.

The Mix Mode of the Fusion can have up to eight different instruments (each with a different synthesis type.) This lets you layer and mix different synthesis types to make incredible new sonic atmospheres. Imagine your custom samples, mixed with real world instruments, layered with FM percussive textures, modeled wind instruments and a thick stew of analog filters all in one workstation. The Fusion makes all this possible.

This is the next step in synthesis.

Technical specifications

Tone Generator: Fusion Engine Synthesis - Sample Playback, Virtual Analog, FM, Physical Modeling

Polyphony: Dynamic processor allocation. Up to 180 voices of sample playback.

Multitimbral Capacity

Mix: 8 internal/16 external, Song: 16 internal/16 external

Waveforms- tones: 120 MB (when converted to 16-bit linear format)

Sounds:
Preset Instruments: 800 Programs
Preset Drumkits : 64 Drumkits
GM: 128 Programs, plus 8 Drum Kits
User: 40GB of whatever you want

Mixes: 200 Mixes

Filters: 13 types

Effects- types and amt: 20 Reverbs, 10 Chorus, 50 Insert Effects, 4 Band EQ (low shelf, low, mid, high mid, Hi shelve

Sampler:
Multi-samples (waveform capacity)
128 samples per Multisample
Sampling sources:
Analog Input L/R, Stereo Output (resampling)
A/D Conversion
24 -bit, 64 X oversampling
D/A Conversion
24 -bit, 128 X oversampling
Sampling Frequencies:
44.1 kHz

Memory: Memory 64MB installed, optional expansion to 192MB

Sampling Time: 11 Min, 53 Sec (with onboard memory), 37 Min, 15 Sec (with full expansion memory)

Sample Formats: Alesis format, wav

Sequencer:
Note Capacity
Unlimited / based on HD limitations
Note Resolution: 480 ppq
Tracks: 32 Tracks
Songs: 40GB of whatever you want

Arpeggio:
Preset: Preset 1000
User:User Unlimited

Sequence Format: SMF
Controllers: Pitch Bend Wheel, Modulation Wheel, Aftertouch, Assignable Control Knobs (4), Assignable Trigger Buttons (4), Assignable Switches (2)

Display: 240 x 128 backlit LCD

External Storage: Compact Flash Type I and Type II (Flash and Microdrives), SATA HD and (by Fall 2005) CD-RW

Connectors: Stereo Input L-Mono/R (Standard 1/4 Jack), Stereo Headphone Output (Standard 1/4 Jack),Stereo Main Output L/R (Standard 1/4 Jack), Stereo Aux Output L/R (Standard 1/4 Jack), S/PDIF Output (Coax/Optical), ADAT Output (Optical), MIDI In/Out/Thru, Sustain Pedal, Footswitch, Expression Pedal, USB (to Host), HD Recording Inputs 1-8 (Standard 1/4 Jack), External Drive (SATA), AC Inlet

Power Consumption: 50 W

Dimensions:
Fusion 8HD: 51.5x14x5 in, 130.8x35.6x12.7cm
Fusion 6HD: 35.5x14x4 in, 90.2x35.6x10.2 cm

Weight:
Fusion 8HD: 58.4 lb, 25.6 kg
Fusion 6HD: 30.4 lb, 13.8 kg