Alesis

[Taurus]

Does anybody own an Alesis? Are they any good? I heard one on a recording of a progband and the sounds on it sounded really typical, as if the board was -made- for progmusic.
Any recommendations? Im really new with this brand.

[Deceit]

Well, there ARE many good sounds, almost no techno-dance garbage in it, so you'd call it "rock-oriented". I play an Alesis QS 6.1 and it is indeed a good board, but I haven't programmed many sounds - the presets work fine enough since I use it for acoustic sounds (pianos, organs). The FX unit is somewhat complicated, maybe even stupid but...who cares...and the QS is great as master keyboard too, can send in 16 channels simultaneously and therefore divide in 16 zones the keys.
If you want demos, tell me :).
Deceit.

[Taurus]

Deceit, yeah i'd defenitly like to hear the board. The demos i found on www.vintagesynth.org are realmedia, badquality, and tranceoriented. So they're crap.

Could you make some demo's of some pianosounds, strings, some synthleads, some kevinmoore-like sounds (cause i think it has them on it) and stuff you think is worth listening? That'd be great thanks.

Ah, and how is the key action? Often with keys they get slippery when your hands get sweaty. How is it the case there? Can you perform classical music on it a bit decent too? (judging from the keyaction..)

Thanks !

[Tusker]

David Bryce, (Who moderates keyboard corner @ Musicplayer.com) used to be head of marketing for Alesis. And is definitely a Genesis/Yes/ELP fan. There are also a number of other ex-Alesis prog fans and players like Erik Norlander. (That's Erik with a stack of Alesis synths below. Andromeda is under the Ion. The QS synths to his right. For local gigs he also carries a dot com modular ... very reminiscent of Emerson.)

David helped voice the QS with a number of proggy sounds. In fact he sampled some of the stock sounds from Emerson's modular moog, and there are some B3 patches that recall some prog settings. When Andromeda was developed by Alesis, (David helped name her) the goal was to get a powerful sounding synth that could dominate a mix ... a role that was evident in prog. First with monosynth like the mini, and later with lush polysynth textures from Prophet 5, CS80, etc.

So yes, I'd say Alesis has always been conscious of the prog rock sensibility. 8)

Jerry

http://www.thetank.com/graphics/asch_mm_erik1.jpg

[Daniel Buck]

I have nothing bad to say about my QS8...

I once played an ANDROMEDA! It's just f*kn amazing! You can make coffee there, if you want! :lol:

C'ya...

[Bastardo Demono]

Does anybody own an Alesis? Are they any good? I heard one on a recording of a progband and the sounds on it sounded really typical, as if the board was -made- for progmusic.
Any recommendations? Im really new with this brand.

my only two keyboards are of the alesis brand, the qs 7.1 and the ion, and they have been awesome for me so far. Theres plenty of great sounds for prog. At least 10 of the patches are samples emulating sounds from keith emerson's rig for example (109 preset 1: Aqua Tarkus, user 22: keith's C3, 90 preset3: touch & go), and there are plenty of other good organs, pads, analog synth, and piano tones that work fine for progressive music. Also, for like 50 bucks each, you can get the vintage keys and vintage synth qcards which have some really, really awesome sounds for prog and give you pretty much everything you need. Of course the patches wont blow you away and make you think your playing a modular moog or or hammond c3 orsomething , but if you had to say that it focuses on one certain genre, id say it is for prog dudes with a budget.

if you want to hear a good demo of it, look no further than our forums own pedrokey, he did some real awesome shit with his qs8 http://jordanrudess.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2292

[Taurus]

Daniel, does yours have 88 weighted keys?

If so, are they nice and realistic enough to play with? How good are the keys in comparision with other 88synths/dpianos?

[Kirby]

I tested the Alesis QS 8.2 in a store a few times, it has a lot of cool sounds. The key action is nice, not so heavy, usable for all kinds of sounds.

[Liquid Shadow]

Can somebody the differences between the QS models? I don't mean like 6 7 8, I know what that is (how many keys), but what the difference between say an 8, an 8.1, and an 8.2 would be? I asked Enigma about it last night and he told me that the .2's are stripped down a bit, but that's the only thing we could come up with. I'm considering buying an Alesis in the not too distant future and I'd like to know the specific differences between the models so I know what to look for.

Thanks in advance to anybody who can help me out.

[Enigma™]

just found it dude ;)

"Let's fast-forward five years to the present day, where we encounter the latest stage in the QSs' evolution — the QS6.2 (and its 88-key sibling, the QS8.2 — curiously there is no QS7.2). Cosmetics aside, the QS6.2 is in most respects identical to the QS6.1. The voice architecture has remained unchanged — this is surprising in that one would have expected some refinements by now, such as an improved filter. The one here is still a single, low-pass non-resonant affair, with not even a hint of high- or band-pass types. This does seem remarkably backward-thinking, considering the class — and price — to which the QS synths clearly aspire. The 16MB internal sample ROM remains the same, as do the effects and the polyphony. So what are the differences? There is now a full trio of MIDI In, Out, and Thru sockets, the User programs have been rewritten, and the navigation buttons flanking the LCD have been regrouped more ergonomically. The casing of the QS6.2 is now a sleek silver, with silver plastic end cheeks and a splash of blue on the panel. However, the computer serial port is gone, and expandability is halved — the QS6.2 has only one PCMCIA slot as opposed to the QS6.1's two. The most substantial difference that the QS6.2 has to offer is that the older 18-bit D-A converters have been upgraded to 24-bit, which should in theory deliver a wider dynamic range and a lower noise floor. Although higher bit-rate designs seem to be increasingly in vogue, is this factor enough to warrant the QS6.2's existence? The answer to this is clouded by several factors — in particular one glaring, missed opportunity..."

This was retrived at: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Jun03/articles/alesisqs62and82.asp

So it seems the only thing that is really downgraded is the upgrade ports, otherwise they seem pretty intact from each other, but the QSX.2 has 24 bit output which is always nice...

I'd like an alesis as well, used the QS7.1 for some time and really enjoyed it.

[Tusker]

Ironically, even though the Ion and Andromeda have resonant filters (DSP and analog respectively), the QS series ... well they are great for mixing and matching rom ... but they have no resonant filters.

The Alesis QS synths are a great complement to a VA or Analog synth which would have the resonant sweeps some desire. Resonant filter sweeps aren't used that much for for prog, they are more for dance type sounds. But I thought I would mention it.

Jerry

[Liquid Shadow]

just found it dude ;)
I'd like an alesis as well, used the QS7.1 for some time and really enjoyed it.


That's what I'm looking at, mainly because I prefer semi-weighted keys to anything else. Do you happen to know what the plain old 7's are like? I saw a few of them on Ebay as well, and I don't know if they're worse/better/whatever.

edit: screw it, found what I needed to know on that website

Thanks for the info :)

[augerinn]

I think my ION us the coolest keyboard I've ever owned.

[ChrisMcCoy]

I borrowed a Quadrasynth Plus Piano from a friend for about a year (doing classic rock) It had some really decent piano sounds. I liked the feel of the keys too. (Eventually had to give it back, and replaced with a Roland RS-9).

[Awake]

I'd previously heard bad things about Alesis keyboards, both the sound and the action; but I've got to say, the keyboard player in my last band swore by his. He used a Micropiano for pianos and a Native B3 for organs, but everything else was the Alesis, and he held it in pretty high regard.

I would attest to the quality of Alesis kit in general; I 've used a MidiVerb 4 multieffects, a 3630 compressor and an RA100 amp in a bass rig several times, and short of a nuclear war, I don't think anything could stop them working. They're tough, versatile and simple to use; my impression is that those are the watchwords for Alesis as a company.

[Taurus]

Thanks folks, im looking for one to play in a store or perhaps somebody who wants to sell it second hand. I think it will be a very add-on.
I only very hope for a good way to play piano on it as well.