Alesis Photon X25 & Sonar

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cupax
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2006/01/21 17:19:48 (permalink)

Alesis Photon X25 & Sonar

Hi guys.

If anyone of you got this keyboard could you please answer some questions:

- How is the ASIO audio performance of this keyboard, what is the minimum latency you can get?
- What is the sound quality, especially if there is any noise at high volumes?
- The rotary knobs are endless, but DON'T receive feedback when you switch presets. Is it true?

Thanks!
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    b3gsus@msn.com
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    RE: Alesis Photon X25 & Sonar 2006/01/21 18:46:19 (permalink)
    I run 2 of the Photon X25s in my Studio & they do fine with ASIO & though I don't use the Audio Interface, all of the knobs, buttons, pitch bend, mod wheel & XY controller do whatever you assign them to do.. HTHs, Wildman

    Wildman,,aka,,,"Nick Danger"
    Studiocat Core2Quad Q9550 w/P45 Cset XP-Pro Sonar Pro 8, 2 FF 800, Wclock, Avalon VT-737, Focusrite V Master,Eureka, 2-LA-4s, Neumann U87,TLM-103,Rode NTK,MCU,Event SP8s, DynAudio BM5As VS-2480 4 DA88
    2-Mackie 24/8buss
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    cupax
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    RE: Alesis Photon X25 & Sonar 2006/01/22 08:17:12 (permalink)
    Thanks b3gsus!

    But could you confirm if the endless rotary knobs receive fedback or not? Do they adjust to existing values when you switch soft synth presets or they make the synth "jump" to the old value that the knob had from before?

    Explanation:

    - Feedback enabled:
    You have a knob assigned to volume. In preset A the value is 50. When you switch to preset B, which has a volume of 100, the controller will read the 100 value and adjust the knob to that value, so if you turn the knob down it will move the value to 99, 98, 97...

    - Feedback NOT enabled:
    You have a knob assigned to volume. In preset A the value is 50. When you switch to preset B, which has a volume of 100, the controller will NOT read the 100 value, so if you turn the knob down it will JUMP to the volume value from preset A and move the value to 49, 48, 47... This happens with all controllers which doesn't have endless knobs or motorized faders.

    So which case is Photon X25?
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    cupax
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    RE: Alesis Photon X25 & Sonar 2006/01/26 06:54:37 (permalink)
    Ok, I just got my Alesis X25, test it for an hour and return it immediatly!!!
    There are 2 major drawbacks to a otherwise great controller.
    You all know what it has, I'll tell you what it doesn't have:

    - The first really important thing it lacks is a real ASIO driver. The latest ones from Alesis website still doesn't support ASIO that great, they lack any ASIO control panel. While it may work fine for a synth or two, adding more instruments and effects in your DAW makes the audio dropout pretty quick because YOU CAN'T INCREASE THE LATENCY!!! This makes it totally useless as an audio card.

    - The second thing, which is not that vital importance, is the lack of MIDI data feedback on knobs. This means the keyboard doesn't read the soft synth or DAW values and doesn't adjust the knob values to them. Actually this is a problem with ANY keyboard/controller on the market by date that I know. There are some controller only products like the expensive Mackie Control, Tascam and yes - Behringer BCF/BCA2000 - once in a while they do a great product.

    So a great keyboard on paper.... pretty useless in pro life.
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    b3gsus@msn.com
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    RE: Alesis Photon X25 & Sonar 2006/01/26 08:57:48 (permalink)
    I don't use the Audio Interface on the X25 rather just for Midi Controllers & mine work as I've set them up for each Preset & how I assign them. I also use a Mackie Control Universal, & a BCF2000 & they all work according to the assignments I've charted. I also have an Oxygen which in my humble opinion is 10 times more difficult to navigate even just changing Midi Channels.... The Mackie is by far the best Controller & the most expensive & I'm waiting for the new Novations to come out. They have a much finer feel on the keys & I don't remember the name of the new ones about to be released but they have a real versatile array of faders, knobs, & sliders. Wildman

    Wildman,,aka,,,"Nick Danger"
    Studiocat Core2Quad Q9550 w/P45 Cset XP-Pro Sonar Pro 8, 2 FF 800, Wclock, Avalon VT-737, Focusrite V Master,Eureka, 2-LA-4s, Neumann U87,TLM-103,Rode NTK,MCU,Event SP8s, DynAudio BM5As VS-2480 4 DA88
    2-Mackie 24/8buss
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