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Alesis Q Cards


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Every time I remember that my Vintage Synths Q Card exists, I get happy. I plug it in to one of my QS synths (believe it or not, the Quadra Synth Plus Piano's keybed makes it a fave), and get lost in it for an hour or so. We had such a good time making that card, and there are so many cool samples on it, including the big ol' GX-1 we had for a few months. Lotta interesting programs as well - it was way fun to have sounds from all those classic instruments to be able to combine.

 

Anyone else still have/use one of these? Or any of the other QCards?

 

dB

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

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I still have a QS8 hooked up to an iMac. Generally use Pianoteq, but still use the built-in sounds sometimes.

 

I think I have the Latin and Classical QCards still plugged in; went looking for the Jazz Stereo Piano card a year or so ago but couldn't find one at a reasonable price.

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I still regret selling the QSR. I had the vintage synth card, vintage keys and eurodance, which I bought pretty cheap. The vintage synths and keys sat in the slots, i hardly ever used the eurodance. I really enjoyed the vintage synths.

 

I didn't really need the money, it was in prime shape and only occupied 1 space in the rack; but i was all about streamlining my setup. The sounds weren't flashy, but they mixed well with other synths.

 

People remember the old classics, but the QS series for me have their place. You couldn't get another 88 key weighted action synth with a decent piano sound, built like a tank with plenty of synth sounds when they came out for close to that price.

Korg Kronos X73 / ARP Odyssey / Motif ES Rack / Roland D-05 / JP-08 / SE-05 / Jupiter Xm / Novation Mininova / NL2X / Waldorf Pulse II

MBP-LOGIC

American Deluxe P-Bass, Yamaha RBX760

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While my QS88 is long gone, I still occasionally use my QSR that has a Sanctuary Q-card loaded on it. Still some of the best pipe organ sounds I've ever heard on a ROMpler board. I did try out the Vintage Synth card and remember some really good sounds on it, might have to get one to supplement the limited synth sounds in my Kawai MP7 if I need them in the future!

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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Here's my two. I've always wanted the Vintage Synth card but it was too expensive.

 

http://i.imgur.com/GHsxJwI.jpg

The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers

 

People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin

 

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I still really like the QS' "Dark Classical" piano.

 

My QSR is a go to when I want someone quick, down, and dirty.

 

..Joe

Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4.
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I never had any QCards, but I remember back in the day doing my research and finding a third party flash RAM card that was compatible and loading Mike Pinder's Mellotron samples onto it. I probably still have that card lying around. Good times!

Nord Stage 2 Compact, Yamaha MODX8

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I had a QS 6.1; it was the 2nd biggest POS that I ever purchased (Korg Poly 800 being #1). The only "+" was that I sold the Q cards for more than I paid for them ......

57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn

Delaware Dave

Exit93band

 

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The Jazz Piano card revolutionised my QS6.2. I was (surprisingly) disappointed with the stock piano (got lost in the mix), but the Jazz worked well, despite being light in the bass.

 

I've said it before, but the QS series got so much right (from .1 onwards): quality action with aftertouch, wheels-above for compactness, light weight, internal PSU, expression pedal inputs and four sliders. I'm keeping mine as a controller now.

 

 

Cheers, Mike.

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I have a QS6.2 that I still haul out on gigs when I have to do 80's and 90's tunes.

I have the "Vintage Keyboards" card that is a lot of fun.

 

Quick QS story: when the QuadraSynth first came out in 93 or 94 I just HAD to have it. Saved my dollars and bought one. First gig I go to, I powered it up and the display was COMPLETELY scrambled, no sounds, no nothing. Did a system reset and managed to get enough of the ROM accessible so that I could at least play the gig.

Sent it back (I think I bought it from MF). Got another one. Practiced with it, set up my "user" patches and went to the gig. SAME THING - all scrambled. This time a system reset brought it back to factory settings, but I lost my user patches.

As I was loading it into the car (a CRX hatchback), I noticed that the coax for my ham radio antenna was run directly under the carpet where the "brain" of the QS would be when the keyboard was loaded into the car. OOPS. When i transmitted on the ham radio, I was sending enough RF into the QS to scramble the brains of it! I re-routed the coax and no more problems. I still have that QS. Great board. I'd like to find a dead one though because it has a few broken keys.

Muzikteechur is Lonnie, in Kittery, Maine.

 

HS music teacher: Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Chorus, Music Theory, AP Music Theory, History of Rock, Musical Theatre, Piano, Guitar, Drama.

 

 

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I had a QS 6.1; it was the 2nd biggest POS that I ever purchased (Korg Poly 800 being #1). The only "+" was that I sold the Q cards for more than I paid for them ......

I'm with you on the Korg, but have to disagree on the Alesis. I loved my QS7.1. For one thing, I found the user interface to be very easy and intuitive to navigate. I wouldn't call it a one board solution, but some of the sounds were remarkably good for a low cost synthesizer. I used to like "Keith's C3" for example. It absolutely ripped through a live mix and got right up in your face.

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Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

-Mark Twain

 

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I have an S4+ and a QSR in my racks. My Quadrasynth + I gave to my son a couple of years ago, which I sometimes regret. A Vintage Keyboards, Eurodance (which I never use) and an eight bank Expando card complete the Alesis set. The S4+ has easier patch selection than the QSR and why was that wonderful flute sample ditched in later incarnations? That "Moody Flute" patch still sends shivers!

 

This thread has reingnited my curiousity about the other cards and I'm unsure whether to thank or blame you Mr. Bryce.

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I The S4+ has easier patch selection than the QSR and why was that wonderful flute sample ditched in later incarnations?

For the same reason the Bosendorfer sample got shrunk in the transition from QSPP to QS - the system only supported 32MB max. In the QSPP, there was 24MB of wave ROM and one slot...QS series, 16MB and two slots. With the QS, we decided to lean more towards customizeability aspect, trimming the wave ROM from the QSPP back and adding the new Emerson organ and modular samples as well as some new orchestral stuff. No way we could do that without trimming a bunch of stuff from the QSPP wave ROM.

 

The thinking there was that just about everything that got trimmed was then made available in bigger and better forms in the Q Cards. The Moody Mellotron flute, for example, was on Vintage Keys IIRC.

 

dB

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

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Yep, I still have my QS8.2 with the Vintage Synths, Vintage Keyboards, Jazz Piano, and Sanctuary Q-cards. Although, as of last Xmas, it is no longer my main ROMpler board. Now using Yamaha MOX8.

 

Additionally, about a decade ago I created two custom "Q-cards" - one for Rhodes and one for acoustic piano... and used those sounds for gigging for many years. I am still selling the Rhodes card on eBay.

 

Yeah, the Vintage Synths card is killer! Always a good thing to have some of Emerson's GX1 sounds in there!

Kurzweil PC3, Yamaha MOX8, Alesis Ion, Kawai K3M
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Yeah, the Vintage Synths card is killer! Always a good thing to have some of Emerson's GX1 sounds in there!

I wrote a whole bunch of those programs. I think I did more programming on that card than any other, with the possible exception of the Sanctuary one (which I still think was one of my best ideas for a QCard).

 

This tune is almost entirely the Vintage Synths card, with Nick D'Virgilio triggering the beat box samples from a DM Pro kit. The only other synths I used are the "Nanites" sample and hold sound at the very beginning (Andromeda), the "voice" solo (JP8) and the resonant filter sweep at the end of the "voice" solo (Andromeda)....and, of course, the real guitar track. You can hear the GX-1 in the bass sound that comes in at 1:35, and in the last synth solo that starts at 3:20.

 

FWIW, the GX-1 we sampled belonged to Hans Zimmer at the time. The thing was at Alesis for months. Brother Erik Norlander (who was running the synth engineeering group back then) even used it on his Threshold record...because he could. :cool::D

 

dB

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

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Bought a QS8.1 in 1998 and gigged with it for a couple of years. I had some extra money coming in and chose to get the QS8.1 over the more expensive Triton Pro 88. The "award winning" ac pianos were pretty bad, thin like tissue paper. And after a year of use, I started getting a "metallic" like sound with each note I press in the 1st octave. I took it to the local music store/repair shop and they couldn't get rid of it, even after reloading the OS. Eventually, I sold it to get a Yamaha S80.

Kronos 88 Platinum, Yamaha YC88, Subsequent 37, Korg CX3, Hydrasynth 49-key, Nord Electro 5D 73, QSC K8.2, Lester K

 

Me & The Boyz

Chris Beard Band

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My QSR and the two cards that were in it at the time didn't get lost in the house fire and subsequent Hurricane Sandy. I play my QSR at least once a week. I've though about replacing all the missing cards (I had the whole set plus some blank RAM cards) but the aftermarket is just too steep.

 

Carl

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Hello all,

 

I've played a QS8 since 1999, and still love it. Bought it for the piano and EP sounds, and am still learning about everything else it can do, even now.

 

Also have been using the Vintage Synths Q-card quite extensively for the past five years. It has provided a great set of useful and authentic sounds, alongside the generous helping of synth samples already in the QS8 itself.

 

So Dave, a big "thank you" for your efforts in designing both the QS8 and the Vintage Synths card!

 

This is my first post, though I started visiting about six months ago (man, that CPS Spacestation thread is a doozy!) So Dave, a second thank you for running the forum, and thanks also to the members who have shared so much expertise. I hope to contribute where I can.

 

In the meantime, I will keep rockin' the QS8!

 

 

MODX7, Alesis QS8, Hammond XK-2, DSI Tetra

QSC K8.2 x2, CPS Spacestation v.3

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I have the Vintage Synths, Vintage Keyboards, Eurodance, Latin, Classical Instruments, Rap-Techo-Dance and Sanctuary Q-Cards. All work well on my DG-8. I think the highest I paid for a single card was $80.

Don

 

"Yes, on occasion I do talk to myself, sometimes I need an expert's opinion."

 

Alesis DG8, ARP(Korg)Odyssey Mk.1, Roland JU-06 & Keystation61. Stratocaster if I get tired of sitting.

 

 

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I've played a QS8 since 1999, and still love it. Bought it for the piano and EP sounds, and am still learning about everything else it can do, even now.

 

Also have been using the Vintage Synths Q-card quite extensively for the past five years. It has provided a great set of useful and authentic sounds, alongside the generous helping of synth samples already in the QS8 itself.

 

So Dave, a big "thank you" for your efforts in designing both the QS8 and the Vintage Synths card!

 

This is my first post, though I started visiting about six months ago (man, that CPS Spacestation thread is a doozy!) So Dave, a second thank you for running the forum, and thanks also to the members who have shared so much expertise. I hope to contribute where I can.

 

In the meantime, I will keep rockin' the QS8!

You're too kind - thank you, brother...and welcome to the forum! Always a pleasure to hear when someone has gotten enjoyment out of the work we put into those puppies.

 

dB

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

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Welcome to the forum. :)

 

Thank you Synthoid!

 

 

You're too kind - thank you, brother...and welcome to the forum! Always a pleasure to hear when someone has gotten enjoyment out of the work we put into those puppies.

 

dB

 

And thank you Dave! I certainly have.

 

I also have some thoughts on the Jazz Piano Q-card, which I've used for over 10 years. In particular, the program called "Warm and Clear" has been my standard piano sound when playing blues -- it's a thick, full-bodied tone that really lets you dig in, and it's very responsive. It seems to lend extra weight and authority to solos (which means I'm not tempted to over-play), and if I'm the only one comping while the guitarist takes a solo, this sound fills the mid-range just fine and keeps the band sounding "full."

 

However, for rock piano, or in layers with other sounds, or in a crowded mix with more than one other chording instrument, I have not found the Q-card sound to be a good choice -- it just takes up too much "sonic real estate" and starts to make it all sound like mud. In those situations, the internal "Stereo Piano" sound on the QS8 works just fine. It's a great sound in its own right, with more "bite" and less "body," and so it cuts through better, but then promptly gets out of the way of the other instruments. And it sounds nicer with other sounds in layers, like organ or strings.

 

I think, of the two, the Q-Card plays and sounds more like a "real piano," while the internal QS8 piano sounds more like a "rock piano" (this is not a knock.) But the extra responsiveness and "depth" of this particular Q-Card sound may be the reason why it has always been one of the more sought-after cards for the QS8.

 

 

MODX7, Alesis QS8, Hammond XK-2, DSI Tetra

QSC K8.2 x2, CPS Spacestation v.3

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I have the Vintage Synths, Vintage Keyboards, Eurodance, Latin, Classical Instruments, Rap-Techo-Dance and Sanctuary Q-Cards. All work well on my DG-8. I think the highest I paid for a single card was $80.

 

Found the missing card: Stereo Classical Piano Plus. (I knew there was something I was overlooking when "Dark Classical" was mentioned. I couldn't find it on the others.

I think there were 3 versions of this card made, but some didn't work with all QSRs (or something like that).

Don

 

"Yes, on occasion I do talk to myself, sometimes I need an expert's opinion."

 

Alesis DG8, ARP(Korg)Odyssey Mk.1, Roland JU-06 & Keystation61. Stratocaster if I get tired of sitting.

 

 

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Well, I still have my QS6 and a few QS7.1's kicking around. Aside from my two M3-73's I think the Alesis QS's have the best synth actions. I love to mess around and stack a lot of my older MIDI synths on top of the QS's. Nothing says "voices" like a EMU Proteus 2500, three 2000's and a Wavestation AD stacked on top of a QS. ;)
2 Korg M3-73's, Korg WS AD, Radias, , Kurz PC3LE7, Alesis QS6 + QS7.1 used for MIDI controllers. Omnisphere, Alchemy, Painoteq, Spacestation Amp and Berringer 14" sub
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There were three piano cards: the 8MB Bosendorfer in the QSPP which (IIRC) was originally made as a card because the S4 (QuadraSynth module) had no piano, the Classical Piano (Fazioli) and the Jazz Piano (K. Kawai).

 

dB

 

That makes sense to me. So,what is this guy talking about? (found at http://midiworld.com/quadrasynth/qs-forum/messages14/9579.html)

 

 

1. "Stereo Grand Piano" is actually a QuadraCard, not a QCard. It was designed for the older QuadraSynth. However, it works perfectly well in all other QS synths, except for a few sounds that only play correctly in an original QuadraSynth. It has 128 Sounds and 100 Mixes.

 

2. "Stereo Grand Piano Plus" was made more recently, for the QS synths. This QCard has 128 Preset Sounds with sounds 0-63 the same as 64-127. It has no 100 Mixes.

Don

 

"Yes, on occasion I do talk to myself, sometimes I need an expert's opinion."

 

Alesis DG8, ARP(Korg)Odyssey Mk.1, Roland JU-06 & Keystation61. Stratocaster if I get tired of sitting.

 

 

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