Micron VS Miniak

[Shleed]

This is an interesting one, since both synths share the same engine.

The reason why I have made this thread is because I noted that some people prefer the Micron over the Miniak despite the Miniak being a rebadged Micron, and I always wondered their reasons why.

Personally I don't get it, since both sound pretty much the same to me. Sure there's slight differences in terms of features and such, but that's pretty much it. Is it aesthetics for the most part, or is there other reasons?

[_dan]

Viewing the led display is a little easier on the micron when its on a flat surface due to its shorter depth.. but I've heard solid arguments that the miniak wheels are better than the micron sliders, plus the goose neck option is nice. For me its just stubornness. If the miniak went with TR outputs instead of TRS I'd get it in a snap. But yeah same engine, I loaded the miniak OS into my micron to get the extra sequencing bars and midi out options.

[Silverfish]

As a Micron fan, I can say that I don't dislike the Miniak, per se. I'm just rather indifferent to it. Something about it feels insincere. Imagine if Korg rebranded the DSI Mopho and called it the Korg Mo'Tron. Does it change the synth? No. Does it change the perception of the unit? Probably. For whatever reason, the Micron is charming to me, but the Miniak is just trying to fit in with the rest of the Akai product line. Also, as a Micron user first, I can't say that the Miniak offers enough improvements to make it worth switching.

_dan, how is that Miniak OS working out for you? Can you share more about the extra features?

[tallowwaters]

As a Micron fan, I can say that I don't dislike the Miniak, per se. I'm just rather indifferent to it. Something about it feels insincere. Imagine if Korg rebranded the DSI Mopho and called it the Korg Mo'Tron. Does it change the synth? No. Does it change the perception of the unit? Probably. For whatever reason, the Micron is charming to me, but the Miniak is just trying to fit in with the rest of the Akai product line. Also, as a Micron user first, I can't say that the Miniak offers enough improvements to make it worth switching.

_dan, how is that Miniak OS working out for you? Can you share more about the extra features?

They're all owned by the same company, Numark.

[_dan]

I got a 'RTFM' response when asking this on the yahoo group . The answer can be found on the alesis micon web page under documents and downloads -> OS release notes. Now that I'm looking at it I'm not sure if its simply a Miniak copy or just a Micron update.

The big advantages for me: Up to 16 bars in pattern mode, and the option to send only one midi channel out when using multi channel midi in. The midi channel: if you connect your micron midi in/out to a 16 channel sequencer/daw , and use setup mode/midi control only, then you would normally transmit as many channels as you have parts per key. So if you have sixteen parts that all use one key, pressing that key would send out 16 notes, one per channel. By sending out one part/channel you can select/play a specific micron part by arming a track track in your daw/sequencer. Very handy if you want to use your micron as a self contained controller/ tone module. There are a few other advantages as you will see from the release notes below...

There are disadvantages. A failed OS update could turn your micron into a paper weight. If you are not comfortable with sysex, or you have technical problems when sending sysex, you should definitely iron that out before updating.

Here are the release notes, it looks prettier in PDF, but links break so now its archived in VSE:

FEATURE UPDATES AND ENHANCEMENTS:

(latest OS)
Longer Patterns and Rhythms – Rhythms and patterns (including phrases) can now be as long as 16 bars.

Expression Pedal Mode – New config param: "ExprPedal: Route" / "to mods only", "to volume & mods". This provides a means to enable/disable the hardwired route from expression pedal to volume.

MIDI Solo Part – New config param: "MIDI: Send part" / "all parts", "part A only", "part B only", etc. If set to "part x
only", only part x will send MIDI data, although all parts will receive MIDI. This is useful when recording a
multitimbral arrangement with an external sequencer.

New LFO Reset Modes – New reset modes for LFOs and S/H: "legato mono" and "legato poly". These are similar to
"key mono" and "key poly" respectively, except instead of resetting on every keypress, they only reset on non-legato keypresses. As long as you play legato, the LFO will not reset.

Unlatch Part – In a setup, hold down a key and press [latch] to latch parts mapped to that key. Hold the key and
double-click [latch] to unlatch those parts. The first few times you latch, a message will pop up to remind you of how to unlatch..

One-Handed Phrase Record – To record a phrase, double-click the [phrase] button and start playing. The old method of holding down [phrase] as you start to play still works as well.

"Use As Drum" Controllers – When a setup part is set to "use as: drum x in beat", the part's pw/m1/m2 controller
enables are now applied to the overridden drums in the beats. This allows you to affect the sound of a rhythm using the pitch wheel and sliders.

Control Knob Response – The response of the control knob has been improved for large ranges. By turning the knob quickly, it is now easier to scroll through long menus or make large adjustments to highly granular parameters.

BUGS FIXED:

Mapping Knobs to FX and Mod Params – FX and mod parameters could not be mapped to the black xyz knobs.
Now they can. As with all other parameters, turning the knobs sends MIDI NRPN data which can be recorded and played back.

Negative NRPNs – The MIDI data sent when a knob was turned to negative values could not be received correctly. This has been fixed.

Tempo Memory – The tap tempo setting was not retained when the Micron was turned off. Now it is.

Phrase Key Range – When phrase recording in a setup, all keys played were recorded to the phrase, even keys in other parts. Now, just the keys within the recording part's key range are recorded. This allows you to play on multiple parts as you are recording on one of them.

S/H Startup – The sample-and-hold generator would always start with an output of zero. Now it captures a sample at the start of a voice.

Portamento Legato – For monophonic programs with a long release time, portamento "legato only" mode would always portamento, even if the notes were not played legato. This has been fixed.

Q01 Firmware 1 http://alesis.com/downloads/software/Mi ... ev1.10.htm
2 of 3 2/19/08 1:30 PM

VelociUp Mod Source – For monophonic programs with a long release time, the "VelociUp" (key up velocity) mod
source would accumulate each time all keys were released. Now, the mod source returns to zero when all keys have been released.

LFO Reset – For monophonic programs, LFOs and S/H in "key mono" or "key poly" reset modes would not reset if the voice was still playing. They now reset on every keypress. However, if you made use of the old behavior, see the new "legato mono" and "legato poly" modes described above.

[store] Light – The [store] button would not light up when changing a pattern or rhythm note's velocity, changing an unquantized note start time, or removing an unquantized note. Now it does.
Envelope Velocity Setting – Changing the envelope 3 velocity param would affect the playing voice's envelope 2
velocity setting. This has been fixed.

v1.02 Released September, 2004

“Arp Send MIDI” Feature – A new local control mode allows notes generated by the sequencer to be sent out through MIDI. The “Kbd: Local control” config parameter has a new option, “off + send ptrns”. This mode behaves like Local Control Off, except that the individual notes of patterns and rhythms are sent through MIDI, and received MIDI data always plays individual notes.

“MIDI: Pgm Change” Config Parameter – A new config parameter allows the send and receive of MIDI program
change messages to be disabled.

Drum Hits Send MIDI – In Rhythms mode, individual drum hits played on the upper octave of the keyboard now send MIDI data and obey the Local Control config parameter.

Latch Button Sends MIDI – The [latch] button now sends and receives MIDI data, so recorded performances that use this button will play back correctly.

Quick Key Range Entry – When editing the “low key” or “high key” parameters for a part or beat in a setup, both sides of the split can be set at once by playing two keys simultaneously.

Smoother Setup Browsing – Scrolling through large setups and rhythms is now much faster and smoother.
Send Sysex Request – Micron now accepts MIDI-based requests to send out programs, setups, patterns, and rhythms as MIDI sysexes.

BUGS FIXED:
Program Parameter Mislabelings – Noise type and three filter types were misnamed. The names are now correct. This does not affect the sound of any program.

Knobs in Setups – When a part’s program was changed, its knob mappings became inactive. This has been fixed.

Receiving Setups Via MIDI – When receiving a long list of setups via MIDI, some setups would not be received if the
PC was sending them too fast. This has been fixed.

All Controllers Off – Micron now properly responds to the All Controllers Off MIDI message (CC 121).

Q01 Firmware 1 http://alesis.com/downloads/software/Mi ... ev1.10.htm
3 of 3 2/19/08 1:30 PM

v1.01 Released July 12, 2004
First production release.

[Shleed]

As a Micron fan, I can say that I don't dislike the Miniak, per se. I'm just rather indifferent to it. Something about it feels insincere. Imagine if Korg rebranded the DSI Mopho and called it the Korg Mo'Tron. Does it change the synth? No. Does it change the perception of the unit? Probably. For whatever reason, the Micron is charming to me, but the Miniak is just trying to fit in with the rest of the Akai product line. Also, as a Micron user first, I can't say that the Miniak offers enough improvements to make it worth switching.

_dan, how is that Miniak OS working out for you? Can you share more about the extra features?

It's not a matter of switching, but a matter of why a person would prefer one synth if both are basically the same. A recent thread on here is an example of this, the person wants to find a Micron to buy yet won't accept the Miniak as an option. Other threads on other forums shared the same view; one was a guy who had a broken Micron and can't buy another Micron anywhere, but refuses to get a Miniak as a replacement.

I understand if a person owns a Micron, they won't get a Miniak. There is indeed nothing really new in the Miniak compared to the Micron apart from slight differences. An Ion would make more sense due to more hands on controls and bigger keybed.

For myself, I chose the Miniak because the Micron seemed to be discontinued in a lot of online shops ie. Thomann. It was also strangely enough cheaper, even though the Miniak was originally more expensive from what I heard.

[Silverfish]

They're all owned by the same company, Numark.

LOL. I forgot about that.

[_dan]

Yeah if anything, not having to update the OS would be a reason to get the Miniak. Still I stubbornly prefer the micron for aesthetics.

[edfunction]

I don't own either, but if I had to choose I would get the Micron because it looks nice. The Miniak looks c**p IMO.

[Shleed]

Aesthetics seem to be one of the upcoming reasons on here. I can understand that, the Micron is not as bulky and has a nicer profile.

Personally, I don't really mind how it looks. It's not the best looking synth, but it does the job well. I am thinking of getting an Ion later on though to replace it, since I don't use the effects on it much. The Miniak and Micron are cumbersome to program due to their "one knob does all" interface.

[_dan]

The Ion was a good time, the knobs especially. Best thing about em was being able to use the sides of your fingers to roll up and down on more than one knob at a time, or even use your forearm to adjust all of the oscs or filter freqs. I had a 'ghost edit problem on mine (random parameters would modify all on their own at very small increments). I remember working around it by de-activating the parameter jump option, and I think I may have fixed it with an OS update and knob calibration. I miss that synth... alesis/akai/numark (I think they bought avid too) would have a huge customer base if they created an updated Ion like synth.

[Re-Member]

1. Three modulation wheels vs. two awkwardly placed horizontal sliders.
2. Design aesthetics that match the Death Star vs. design aesthetics that match Legoland during the Christmas season.
3. Convenient XLR input on front panel for gooseneck mic to use with vocoder vs. 1/4 input on back of synth.
4. Uniform rectangle buttons vs. a combination of Tic Tac and asprin sized buttons laid out to make you feel like you're playing connect-the-dots.

The Micron was powerful for its time, but the style and interface is an even bigger joke now that the MINIAK exists.

[_dan]

the death star chassis was 1970s grey, like the Micron...just sayin... But yeah I definitely dig the 'toyish' look of the micron, its more fun than it is business. (and two sliders + one wheel vs three wheels)

[Re-Member]

I was thinking of the Death Star's control panel. The MINIAK wouldn't be out of place sitting right in the middle.



Forgot about the Micron having a mod wheel though, which is still awkwardly placed.

[_dan]

I know, I was just being a jack a*s. Some one has got to stick up for my favorite synth (and chassis) . Great pic btw.