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In today's world of powerful home computers and affordable music production software, the idea of an all in one workstation can seem a little peculiar.

Most of us already have a computer DAW running a dedicated audio sequencer, loads of instruments and effects and a sampler that can use endless gigabytes of hard drive as its available memory.

All of which leads us to ask, what use can inevitably compromised versions of these functions be within a workstation?

Such cynicism is clearly not shared by leading music tech manufacturers though, as competition in this area is rife.

Alesis is the latest company to jump onboard the workstation wagon and the fruits of its labour is the Fusion 8HD workstation.

Make no mistake, with this box offering various synthesis types, sampling, onboard audio recording and sequencing at a hugely competitive price, the Fusion is here to give the other workstations a run for their money.

Sounds

The onboard synthesis engine is comprehensive, with four separate sound modes packed into the machine.

Sample Playback, turns the Fusion into a kind of hardware ROMpler for the onboard sample library and Virtual Analog is Alesis' take on classic subtractive synthesis with a number of waveforms available as starting points

Full FM synthesis mode makes use of the Fusion's intuitive onscreen display to render the complexity of traditional FM synths a thing of the past, while Physical Modelling is capable of some impressive real-instrument simulations.

All these modes add up to a wealth of sound-making options, mirrored by the onboard presets, which demonstrate each approach effectively.

Straight out of the box, these sounds don't quite do the Fusion justice, but once you start noodling, you can tweak the presets to produce some stunning results.

Some sounds sparkle immediately, whereas others need a little work – which is potentially a good thing, as it'll force Fusion owners to get their hands dirty with some programming.

There's probably a little too much reverb on some of the presets but that's easily rectified. One sound worthy of note is the really excellent sampled piano. Every workstation needs one, but few have one of this quality.

Sounds begin as programs, constructed from pieces relevant to the synthesis type. Thereafter, they can be arranged into a performance-type master program, which Alesis calls 'Mix'.

Here, sounds can be assigned zones, effects, arpeggiators and the like. All of this means you can have some monstrous noises available across the keys at any one time.

The 8HD has 88 keys and is fully weighted. One word of warning – 'fully-weighted' is an apt description. It's a wonder the 8HD doesn't arrive with it's own JCB for installation in your studio.

Sequencing

Once you've spent some time with the programs, you can start building arrangements by channelling those sounds into the sequencer.