alesis QS series

[pinkfloydcramer]

I toured with the QS8 for about 3 years and kept a QSR identically programmed for fly dates. A great piece of gear in its day. I preferred it over the Yamaha that everyone in Nashville was schlepping around and used it on Jo-El Sonnier's "Cajun Blood" album. I sold the 8 but kept the R and use it from time to time as a vocoder carrier.

 

I mentioned this to you before (on HC I think) but I played 4 shows from '02 to '04, with Jo-El, subbing for Jesse who considers you a wizard. Was enlisted by my friend the guitar player Danny, who I was in a band with at the time. It's a good thing Jo-El didn't do anything from "Cajun Blood" because I would have been caught flat footed on the sounds, with my Yamaha S80. Never been a programmer, just occasional tweaker..

[Ed Segio]

Does anyone know how to connect a Windows 10 computer to a QS keyboard via serial cable?

[Dave Bryce]

As far as the hardware side, it should just be a matter of connecting the proper cable and throwing the switch on the back of the QS to activate the port.

 

dB

[stoken6]

You could use a USB->Serial adapter to connect. THe bigger challenge is running the software required (SoundBridge iirc?)

 

Cheers, Mike

[Dave Bryce]

You could also use the serial port as MIDi I/O as well, if memory serves.

 

dB

[tfort]

Another option might be to try running Win XP or something of the proper vintage via emulation?

 

I"ve still got my QS8, but mostly just use it with software now.

[Mantarkus]

Back in the 90s I couldn't decide between a Korg N1 or an Alesis QS8 so I went for the N1 because I preferred it's weighted action, but later on I bought a QS7. For my own band gigs I would haul both, even a Hammond M103 sometimes, for cover bands I got pretty good at programming so all I needed was the QS7. The main piano could cut through guitars and the sax patch was expressive with growl after touch, I loved the semiweighted action and rubber type wheels. Burning samples took some time but I had 2 cards with my own strings, choir, DX7 Pluck sound, acoustic guitar and some other effects. I was basically trying to follow Jordan Rudess one master keyboard idea which the Alesis worked for me very well, I even programmed a similar T Lead that many people liked in the old alesis QS yahoo groups. The last gig I played with it was my last gig in 2010, it was for a Symphony X tribute show where I programmed the set list in Mix mode and just pressed the INC button to take me to the next mix for that song (again, similar to what Jordan did with the K2600 concept) I flashed special loops and one shot effects for that gig and only used a Korg N1R rack for a Jens Johanson lead I had in it. The QS7 had some good and bad samples but for the price tag it was great, I loved the Keith Emerson programs and I doubt they sampled Keith's synths as the ads mentioned, but Dave Bryce programmed some very faithful to the original songs. My QS7 lives in a friend's studio now with a missing key that he accidentally broke (which sucks because it survived untouched for so many gigs other than a volumen and pitch wheel spring replacement I did on it) remembering better times.

[Threadslayer]

I gigged a QS7 and a Yamaha S90 interchangeably for a few years and I was always floored by how intelligently laid out and easy to program the Alesis was versus the Yammy. Both boards did essentially the same things but were worlds apart in their user interfaces.

[stoken6]

I still have my QS6.2. Best thing about it: the two-row patch selection - if I remember it was 00-12 on the top row and 0-9 on the bottom.

 

I used my QS with a lower-tier controller: when programming patches I channelled my inner AnotherScott: all patches ending in 0 would have AP downstairs. Ending 1 was Rhodes, 2 was Clav etc. Similarly on top 00 was organ, 01 strings, 02 brass etc.

 

This basically gave me independent selection of upstairs and downstairs sounds on the two rows.

 

I still miss the 100% wet reverb effect with slow pitch-LFO: sounded like someone screaming in the desert from 10 miles away. (dB wasn't there a patch called Mirage, or Oasis, or something, that used this effect?)

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Dave Bryce]

dB wasn't there a patch called Mirage, or Oasis, or something, that used this effect?)

If so, I don't recall it - sorry...

 

dB

[stoken6]

dB wasn't there a patch called Mirage, or Oasis, or something, that used this effect?)

If so, I don't recall it - sorry...

 

dB

It's cool, don't worry. I might dig it out.

 

EDIT: Found it - called "Water!!!" (Bank 1, Patch 089).

 

Cheers, Mike.

[allan_evett]

dB wasn't there a patch called Mirage, or Oasis, or something, that used this effect?)

If so, I don't recall it - sorry...

 

dB

It's cool, don't worry. I might dig it out.

 

EDIT: Found it - called "Water!!!" (Bank 1, Patch 089).

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

 

Okay, now I've got to check out that sound. Almost bought a QS7 back in the day, but did eventually end up with a QSR - in 2013. Display backlight's a little wonky, but the unit and both Q cards sound great.

[stoken6]

I remember trying to work out how that sound was created (before delving into the editing of the patch itself). It sounds like there's a swept formant filter in there - but it's the Alesis (Quadraverb?) reverb algorithm doing its thing. Switch to 100% dry and it's a very meh sound, but the 'verb is the secret.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[cooltouch]

Hello folks. Well, I joined this forum because of this thread. It would appear that comments with regard to the old Alesis keyboards are becoming rather thin on the ground these days. Too bad. I've wanted a QS8 ever since I played around on one at a local music store over 20 years ago. Never could or wanted to afford one, uuntil a few weeks ago. I picked up a QS8 in good condition from a local seller at perhaps just a bit under market for these old kb's. When you figure in the cost (and danger) of shipping, it became a much better deal. But, my God, is that dang thing heavy! Must weight at least 50 pounds.

 

I'm not much of a keyboardist. I'm a guitarist, but way back when I was a music student in college, I was required to learn piano and one other instrument. I was a music major for two years, so I got about two years of piano instruction under my belt, and I wound up being a pretty good player -- of classical piano. But since I had no kb of my own, my abilities gradually fell by the wayside. Nowadays, I use kb's for a variety of things. If it's a MIDI-compatible synth, there are times that I will use some of its built-in voices in my compositions. And, to be honest, that's a major reason why I acquired my QS8, cuz I remember from back when I just messed around with one at a music store that it had a lot of really cool sounding built-in voices. And, while I don't consider myself to be a keyboardist, I am a composer, and when it comes time to puzzle out aspects of a piece, I find it easier to do this on a kb than on guitar. Even though I know the guitar fretboard backwards and forwards, when it comes time to chart out harmonic movement on guitar, I've always found it difficult, whereas on keyboards, I've found it to be much easier. So having a kb with a decent piano action and a nice selection of voices is important for what I do.

 

So anyway, I'm glad to be here. And if I have any QS-related questions, I'll be sure to post them here.

[AUSSIEKEYS]

Hello folks. Well, I joined this forum because of this thread. It would appear that comments with regard to the old Alesis keyboards are becoming rather thin on the ground these days. .

 

Hi CT. How ya going?

 

I am a fan of the series. I first bought the original Quadrasynth then replaced it with the Quadrasynth plus (which I still have) and also still have a QS6, a nano synth and 2 S4 modules one in think is a plus.

 

I just pulled the Quadrasynth out of hibernation and haven't run it up to see if it still works and dragged the QS6 out of hibernation last year to use In my band. Alas I left the band 2 months ago so I haven't dug really into it enough yet other than programming some setups for band and using it to record two demos of my original songs to show the band.

 

To me I felt the original Quadrasynth was the first multitasking keyboard for a gigging muso. It did everything ( at the time) rather well in an affordable package. It gets slated a bit but I stopped using my Kurzweil K1000 because the Quadrasynth could do zoning far better and had more polyphony. I was disapointed the zoning of the K1000 was linear where the qs was overlapping. Something I had longed for since having the first zoneable synth the Korg Trident. The analogue trident although simple split and layer zoning took me on the quest for a zoning wonder which the QS was. I still believe the QS zoning is very usable today for gigging so many years later. The sounds are still usable and the build is generally strong with a decent keybed.

 

I never had an QS8 but apart from the weight It must be an impressive beast.

 

I may not be able to help you with many deep questions as I haven't had them out of mothballs for that long but there is enough people on here who can

 

Cheers from down under.

[Dave Bryce]

I'm glad to be here. And if I have any QS-related questions, I'll be sure to post them here.

Hi, Michael -

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

I used to be able to move around pretty well on a QS8, and I still have mine...so if you have any questions I may be able to help.

 

dB

[stoken6]

I still dig my QS6.2 out on occasion. Quality build, compact, nice synth action, internal power supply, pedals, wheels aftertouch, and - as a bonus - the sounds are nice too.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[ShadowMan]

This thread reminded me that I still had my old QSR in storage - so I dug it out and had a few hours of fun using it again. It was the backup for my long gigged Quadrasynth Plus Pianoâ¦a great board.

 

Kudos to Dave on all the very cool sounds.

 

Seeing all the love here for the Alesis gear, I think maybe it"s time to find it a new home where someone can enjoy it as much as I have - so keep an eye on the KC classifieds!

[area51recording]

I guess it's a case of "Horses for courses"....I bought a QS 7 and owned it for quite a few years before selling it to a friend. Only used it on a couple of gigs, I got tired of the piano sound REALLY fast, and live there just weren't enough sounds in the thing that did anything for me. I used it in the studio as a controller though, a lot of times with B4 and I dug the feel of the keyboard....

[stoken6]

I couldn't make the default piano work for me, but the Jazz Piano expansion card was the business.

 

Prize for the most remarkable piano sample to fit into 1MB still goes to the Ensoniq SQ1/2/KS32. Still holds up on recordings to this day.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Dave Bryce]

The Jazz piano card is a K. Kawai. I picked that brand because I own one (no, it's not mine on the card). The Classical piano card is a Fazioli 308.

 

dB

[Bosendorphen]

I first got the QS7 back in 1998 and still have it and still use it on occasion. At the time one of the best (yet only 8 MB) piano sounds in a synth. Still holds up live IMHO. I got the Classical and Synth Q-Cards. Love Dave Bryce's programs.

 

I later got the QS 8.1, 6.2 and QSR. Still have the QSR in my studio for "legacy" work.

 

I have some cool Mellotron samples on a burnable Q Card and a CP70 sample. Also used the MIDI file playback feature live playing original music sequences for the band to play along with.

 

A workhorse for 23 years! The QS7 still works fine and is a tank, yet only 25 lbs. Never let me down!

[Bosendorphen]

I couldn't make the default piano work for me, but the Jazz Piano expansion card was the business.

 

Prize for the most remarkable piano sample to fit into 1MB still goes to the Ensoniq SQ1/2/KS32. Still holds up on recordings to this day.

 

Cheers, Mike.

Agree with that! I had a KS32 and loved the piano sound. I got an SQ1 Plus, near mint for $113 a few years ago.

[stoken6]

KS32 was my first proper keyboard. Lots of good stuff on there - just too heavy.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[cooltouch]

Hi again everybody. I forgot to mention a few things about my QS8. The seller didn't have a manual, but I did find a pdf online. But I always prefer hard copy and I didn't feel like printing it out. And as fortune would have it, I found a manual on eBay and bought it. I'm about 20 pages into it so far and I've already found a lot of useful information. I have a couple of questions so far. One, the manual is dated 1996. I don't know when my QS8 was built, but assuming it was after that date, will there be anything significant included in a later manual that might apply to my synth that isn't covered in this 1996 one? Or can I pretty much neglect the copyright date?

 

Also, of all the PCMCIA cards available, which one(s) do you find to be the most valuable? I'm leaning toward the Classical Instruments as my first purchase, but I'm a bit unclear as to any others I should get. Since they're all so expensive, I can't afford to go out and just buy all of them. But I would like to have more than one. So, between the Latin, and the Pop/Hiphop, and Eurodance, and Sanctuary, and ??? -- which would you be inclined to add to your collection . . . or which have you added to your collection?

[Dave Bryce]

There weren't any significant changes to the OS during the lifetime of the QS8 that I can remember. I don't think we ever had to rev the manual or make an addendum for it...

 

Re: QCards - depends on your music tastes, of course. My two faves are Vintage Synths and Vintage Keys. Classical instruments and Sanctuary are also both very useful...but if you're more into dance/electronica, Eurodance and RTD are probably the way to go.

 

dB

Clan Synth

(Ex) Alesis

[Synthaholic]

One of the things I love about the 90s Alesis synths is that I can go to Global Send and send out the sysex of an individual Mix. Record that at the beginning of your sequence and you have unlimited Mixes, customized for each song, called up at the beginning of that song. You can do that with nearly any function. I've used it to change a MIDI channel's Output, like when I needed an additional percussion channel, say. And since the sysex strings are so small you can just drop them into a sequence anywhere for on the fly changes with nary a burp in the sequence. I just use a QS editor/librarian and record the moves into the sequencer, at the same tempo as the song, then manipulate from there. Such a versatile system. I got spoiled. There's so much user power in sysex that companies don't exploit.

[cooltouch]

There weren't any significant changes to the OS during the lifetime of the QS8 that I can remember. I don't think we ever had to rev the manual or make an addendum for it...

 

Re: QCards - depends on your music tastes, of course. My two faves are Vintage Synths and Vintage Keys. Classical instruments and Sanctuary are also both very useful...but if you're more into dance/electronica, Eurodance and RTD are probably the way to go.

 

Hello Dave, noticing your use of "we," may I deduce that you were an Alesis employee at one time and had some input into the design and development of the QS synths?

 

About QCards, I was leaning toward a Sanctuary card as my second purchase. I'm not a fan of Hip Hop, except as some beats are useful for some music I compose, and I'm equally not much of a fan of Eurodance or EDM, except as I've found limited use of some beats in some of my compositions. I guess I'm more of a traditionalist,. which is what I find appealing about the Classical Instruments card. For this same reason, I'm leaning toward the Sanctuary card, but I was curious if there might be something useful with the other cards out there.

[Bosendorphen]

On 6/1/2018 at 7:51 PM, Polkahero said:

I used to own both the QS7 and QS8. Still have my QSR module but it doesn't get anymore use these days (only used it for the great pipe organ sounds, now I play the real thing). Not sure what some of you guys are hearing, but this series has some of the worst sounding acoustic piano patches I've ever heard! Now I just learned that it's a Bosendorfer sample inside, you have to be kidding me! Definitely some cool synth sounds and the Rhodes isn't bad, but most of the sounds are pretty dated by today's standards.

I dunno. I've been playing piano for almost 60 years and all kinds of sampled pianos and the QS pianos (in all their variations) sound remarkably good for being just 8 MB and 26 or so years old. They can be warm or bright depending on the patch (or mod wheel setting) and cut through the band and sit in a mix quite well. I preferred the QS piano to my old Kurzweil SP76 (which I've sold to our guitarist).  

 

I recently bought a Roland FP30X which is terrific and of course the piano sounds are larger and more realistic. But I still enjoy the QS synth at rehearsal and gigs, not to mention all the other great sounds and SRAM card with Mellotron and CP-70 SampleCell samples I was able to get installed with Soundbridge. Old tech can sure be fun! AND reliable.

[stoken6]

49 minutes ago, Bosendorphen said:

I've been playing piano for almost 60 years and all kinds of sampled pianos and the QS pianos (in all their variations) sound remarkably good for being just 8 MB and 26 or so years old. They can be warm or bright depending on the patch (or mod wheel setting) and cut through the band and sit in a mix quite well. I preferred the QS piano to my old Kurzweil SP76 (which I've sold to our guitarist).  

OT but the 1MB Ensoniq piano in the KS32 is remarkable.

 

Cheers, Mike.