Which synth: Alesis 6.1 vs Yamaha S03?

[skier4467]

I can get either for $499. I'm looking for Rhodes, Hammond, Grand Piano, Electric Piano, Organs, Pads, and Synth sounds. Which is better? Or are there any new ones coming out I should wait for?

[Superbobus]

Dunno, didn't test 'em. But if the S03 has the same waveforms and samples as the S80 then you definitely can program some great Rhodes on the S03. Yammy Wurlis are unbelievable. Organs have a quite high suck rate though.

[Rod S]

Originally posted by skier4467:

I can get either for $499. I'm looking for Rhodes, Hammond, Grand Piano, Electric Piano, Organs, Pads, and Synth sounds. Which is better? Or are there any new ones coming out I should wait for?

What are you planning to do?

 

Soundwise, I would probably get the the s03.

 

Constructionwise, the qs6.1. If you're going to gig with it, I wouldn't do it with the yamaha. I felt it was too fragile. Plus, the qs6.1 has a much better keybed, IMHO.

 

It's all a matter of taste. I have a qsr and a cs6x. Overall I like the cs6x better, but they sound different, and i'm glad I have both. Let you ears and hands decide

[coyote]

All that follows is JMO of course.

 

The Rhodes on the Yamaha is definitely better. Each has a couple of useful, decent Hammonds but nothing real impressive. The Grand Pianos on both are pretty good. Electric piano - didn't we already cover that with the Rhodes? Both have a good variety of effective pad & synth sounds.

 

Originally posted by skier4467:

I can get either for $499. I'm looking for Rhodes, Hammond, Grand Piano, Electric Piano, Organs, Pads, and Synth sounds. Which is better? Or are there any new ones coming out I should wait for?

[keyoctave]

I have owned an S03 since October. I gig with it often. It has held up well. The Rhodes sounds are some of the best. The strings and pads are also good and lush. The piano and organ is average. (I use a wannabe for organ along with a Kurzweil for the piano so those sounds were not as important to me). The downside of this keyboard is the quality of the action. It is good for cording and some note fill but can be disconnecting if played like a piano (You may find that it works well for your playing style). I midi my Kurzweil into it which totally changes it's playability. It is easy to program and make changes to the sounds. (it also comes with software so you can modify the sounds through your computer). I look on the S03 as a sound module that happens to have a keyboard attached to it. I have never played the Alesis, so I can't give you any comparison. For the money, I think the S03 is one of the best sounding synths out there. Hope this helps.

[tenthplanet]

One to consider is the position of the wheels; if you use them a lot you might find the Alesis layout a little weird. The Yamaha wheel position is a little more traditional. Let your playing style be your guide. Remember if you start with the Yamaha you can always midi in an Alesis module later on.

For the sounds you're after I'd side with the Yamaha.

 

Michael

[steinwaym]

I have played both the Yamaha and the Alesis pretty extensively, and there are definite differences between the two keyboards. The alesis just simply feels and works much more like a pro line keyboard than the yamaha. It has many more controller options, and much more control over the sounds. The yamaha on the other hand feels like it isn't too many steps over a "home" keyboard.

BUT... having said that I would choose the S03 everytime, because the sounds are sooo much better!!! Especially the rhodes and wurli. I midi a Voce module to the keyboard, so I actually like the extremely light action for doing slides, (you do though need to velcro the keyboard to the stand!!) and it has held up well. I use a Kurzweil keyboard for piano sounds, so the weak piano sounds do not bother me.

[Byrdman]

Originally posted by skier4467:

I can get either for $499. I'm looking for Rhodes, Hammond, Grand Piano, Electric Piano, Organs, Pads, and Synth sounds. Which is better? Or are there any new ones coming out I should wait for?

I am using a S03 as a top board. I mainly use it as a controller to my hammond module, for which it works reasonably well. I have a QS8 for my main board.

 

The S03 is not expandable, lacks aftertouch, and the sounds are not very programmable. Its only got two pedal ins (the QS8 has three - not sure about the 6). The pedals are assignable which is great if you are using it as a controller.

 

The piano sounds on the QS8 are much better than on the S03. Those on the S03 are not very usable. I think the 6.1 has the QS8 pianos built in but if you are looking at an original QS6 you need an expansion card to get these.

 

The electric pianos on the S03 are good - better than the QS range. So are some of the pads. A handful of the organs are good but there is no controllability so what you hear is what you get. The pads are better than the Alesis.

 

So far I have not had a problem with the action, and I don't find it hard to play - its your standard light plastic keyboard action.

 

If you are planning to make this one of your main boards, the QS6 is clearly the way to go, simply because its expandible with Q-cards and more programmable and (I believe) has aftertouch.. However, I would suggest you look at other boards as well. There are lot of good boards available now under a thousand dollars.

 

Also, the SO3 uses a strip hogging wall-wart.