Alesis QS6.1

Editing sounds, not easy by any means. Playing presets easy...and making arrangements is very easy. I have yet to figure out the fx presets 10 years later just because it is THAT clumsy. I figured out how to use the Yamaha SY85 10x over compared to this synth.

No sequencer, no big deal...I knew that. That's why it has a PC interface. I love it but you need to use a roland serial device because Alesis gave up support fairly quick on that....very lame.
Expansion boards were good....I'd say better than the SY85 but that's about the only thing better but it's 3x as cheap.

Great bass sounds, orch, piano. I've found that in 2009 though it's only used as midi input and the controllers suck. You are only given 4 controllers unlike some cheap, tiny controllers which have like 8.

I also have no idea how to use the 1-4/abcd controllers with Cubase 3SX anyhow. The mod/pitch wheel works though.

A solid 10. As midi alone....flawless. I have not used it's internal sounds for a long, long time since computers became so fast. I did however have some great songs only using the sounds from this keyboard and there are a few I miss, but now I have gigs and gigs of samples and other synths that far outclass that synth in every way.

Never needed.

Overall it's a decent synth and I would be lost without it mainly because of the PC interface which I have grown to love. I have no idea what the actual midi-in/out cords do because I've never needed them.

Let me start out by saying that I do not want to use a laptop for live sequencing. They are unreliable and I want to have a quick set up and tear down with the minimum of crap. So I have the QS6.1 and a rack of vintage synths. MIDI out and audio out to the rack, rack out to the PA. Simple ad quick.

This synth has AMAZING potential for live MIDI sequencing. There is only one UGLY problem - there is a bug in the software that causes the last song's final MIDI data to be blurted out of the MIDI out data buffer when you start the next sequence. If you only use the QS as the sound source this is not a problem, but if you use external modules, then it is a BIG problem.

The fix for this is deceptively simple. You wire a temporary on foot pedal (like a sustain pedal) to short (mute) the MIDI out and step on it when you select the sequence. Email me and I'll explain, it's trivial to do.

Having fixed that, and also configuring Soundbridge, you are ready to ROCK...

Here's my workflow. Set up a multitimbral mix on the QS. Mine is Ch 1 through 10 play externally but not internally, 11 - 16 play internally. Then sequence on a computer (mine is Metro, or Cakewalk to you PC people). Save as a standard MIDI file. Upload the MIDI files to a flash ram Card (email me for more on this process) and play them from the QS. It works perfectly.

NOW it gets cool. You can load 127 samples on to the card and map 40 of them to a drum program, or 4 to a "musical" sampled keyboard program. I used sampled drums, and adding the verb to the sample before hand solves tons of programming problems.

So I have flash ram cards with 40 sequences and the accompanying samples. Pop em in and go. The flash RAM cards can be had for as little as $30 for the 4MB models. You can use 8MB, but I've never gotten past 4MB and I do A LOT of drum samples.

The internal sounds are quite good, considering. However, if you use sampled bass and drums (either from the QS card or an external sampler), and perhaps an analog type module for pads etc, the internal sounds fill out the remaining spaces very well. The QS drums tend to be too hi-fi, not enough middle, and using samples and adding verb before hand really makes a difference to the sound of the track.

The thing will last forever.

Never needed it. The web has all you need if you dig.

For the price, if you want to sequence live, there is nothing that can beat it. You have to overcome some tech (email me) but after that you will be soooo happy. No laptop is an excellent feeling.

See videos of my rig in action at myspace.com/petenkelly

If all you're doing is play the presents it's super easy to use. It's laid out in an intuitive fashion. Although splitting the board is a feat I've yet to accomplish, granted it's something I've yet to look too far into.

If you plan on editing the sounds... Well I hope you have a weekend to spend with the manual. You have to do EVERYTHING through the LCD menu, and it's TEDIOUS. There are NO programmers for the PC, so you're stuck mucking about in the QS's innards. It's supposedly quite powerful, with a full blown mod-matrix, but it's such a pain to edit I've yet to touch it outside of presets.

64 poly. The effects are easy to use if you use the effects set for the program. Once again, if you want to edit the effects or add an effect to the existing patch, get prepared to dig through the menus. It's a pain.

MIDI in/out/through. Easy to use. Also has an obsolete PC/MAC serial bus that I never even knew existed till I got this synth.

Can use Q-Cards, although you can only find them on Ebay, and then only rarely, and then they're (still) around $100 a piece.

No sequencer, which really bummed me when I received this synth. I didn't do my homework :(

Ugh. I should have done my homework. I bought this for electronic sounds, and they're there, but they're not great, and there's barely any of them in the board. It has physical modeling sounds out the wazoo, so if you're into that sort of thing you're gravy. Alesis claims this shipped with the most expressive and best sampled piano ever for it's time. I didn't think it was all that great actually. My friend's Triton sounded much better.

Once again, don't buy this for dance/electronic/techno/trance/etc. If you want a cheap 'keyboard' for orchestral or whatever else you'd use it for, you should be good. But then again, in this age there are much better boards for the price.

Oh and the drums. Boy oh boy are they weak. Same with the effect sounds. But the drums are terrible IMO.

This thing's a tank. I've accidentally dropped it on it's side and gigged with it many a time. I got a few dings in the bottom of it, and even a cut to the metal, but it's still a beast. Somehow one of my keys got stuck in a position that's a little higher than the rest, I think I dislodged the spring, but it still works 100% velocity /aftertouch and all.

-1 because I've run into a problem dumping my sysex. I can only dump/receive the first 1/3 of any sysex data I send/receive. I attribute this to the terrible program they give you. It's early 90's DOS quality if that helps any.

Have never had to deal with them.

Doesn't spur creativity. Editing the synth is just too much of a pain. I can't find much use for many of the sounds. I maybe used 20 of them ever. Now it's just my controller. Such a waste/shame. I wish I could get more out of this board. Maybe if I ever stumbled upon a Beatbox/Vintage Synth QCard I'd be in business. But thanks to their rarity that'll never happen.

I found it very easy to use if you're only using the presets. Programming is complicated & the manual doesn't help. I bought mine to replace a dead Korg-6000 2nd tier synth, and was pleasantly pleased with how it sounded much better than the expensive Korg.

64/32 note polyphony is plenty. Two card slots. I've never used the midi. No on-board sequencer which would have been nice.

It has a wide range of presets that cover just about any sound you need to play classic/alt./hard/pop rock, R&B, or blues. All the preset sounds are great. For the money you can't beat it compared to Korg, Kurzweil, Roland & Yamaha.

I've had mine now for 10 years, practiced/rehearsed with it 6-10 hrs./week, and have gigged with it about 300 times. I have never had any problem with it (knock on wood). I've never had a back-up for it, so if it had gone out on me I would have been SOL, but that's not been a problem.

I never received the free Q-card, but from what I've heard & read from many others that have experience with Alesis customer support... they don't have any. I hope I never need them.

I would most definitely purchase this keyboard again (if I could get it new). For the price you just can't beat it. As a matter of fact I'm about to go buy a new QS8.2 for $800 (now just $100 more than what I paid for my QS6.1) to replace another mfg. (I won't mention their name here) I used for lower tier which wore out in 4-1/2 yrs.

It's easy if you have previous knowledge about programming.

It has all I need, and more it has BUZZ in it's outputs.

Most of the preset sounds are great, and of course you can make better by yourself. But the sounds are useless because of the BUZZ !

No, you can not depend on it. Alesis QS6.1 has serious problems with the power supply. There is very disturbin buzz in most of the synths. Don't by it if you can choose !!! Read more: http://www.midiworld.com/quadrasynth/qs-forum/qs-forum.html

There is no customer support in Alesis. Read more about this in http://www.midiworld.com/quadrasynth/qs-forum/qs-forum.html

I would love this synth if it just would work. You can play with the synth but you can not or example use it for recording. Shame on Alesis for leaving the customers alone with the output buzz problem!

Excellent Synth, very easy to navigate presets.

The layout consists of 13 Sound Groups. Each group contains 10 user patches, 30 preset patches, and 10 GenMIDI patches. A total of 650 Sounds.

Piano and synth presets are great. But Alesis could have worked a little harder on the strings.

Editing patches is very simple, however sometimes its a little hard to get exactly what you want.

Manual is helpful if you know what your looking for. But I did notice that it said the synth has no aftertouch. But myne definetly has aftertouch and it works perfectly.

No problems with the 64 voice polyphony, even under heavy sequencing.

The Action is excellent, not like any other synth I ever worked with.

I wasn't very impressed with the effects. It also takes a while to fully understand the effects matrix.

There are two Q-Card expansion ports on the back, but i haven't had the chance to try them out yet.

The MIDI features are excellent.
I use it with reason 2.5 and was not the least bit dissapointed. MIDI in works great too.

No on-board Sequencer. But you can load sequences in the Q- Card slot and play them back on the synth.

All though my main interest is dance music, this synth is best for realistic sounds.

The velocity sensitivity is great but its almost impossible to reach 100%
without a MIDI controller. Release velocity and Aftertouch both work great.

Very reliable. No bugs, loose sliders, etc. It's built like a 68 pound steel tank.

I probably won't use this at gigs, but if i did I would definetly use it without a backup.

No reason to contact them so far.

If stolen, I'd definetly get another. I have only been using it for about a month and it has been a great source of inspiration. I would definetly recommend it to any keyboardist.

I have own this keyboard for 5 years. It is the easiest and most reliable key i have owned. The preset sounds are full and rich.The editing is simple and the alternate sound reinforcement adjustments help taylor the sound to your liking. The manual is very good as manuale go.

The action in not wieghted although there s an adjustment that simulate wieghted key action.The User presets are great. You can adjust the timber and atinuation for each and save it to a bay.The Qcards are great. additional rich full soundshere is standard key and presure sensitive for bending and attinuation

I have been told without seeing me actually playing the the individual horns and piano not to mention the organ sound are very real and convincing.Onboard effects are great many variables.Very clear sounds no interferance or static.The velocity and aftertouch are great. You can adjust the amount for each sound.

Very reliabele. The customer support is excelant. I do play this on gigs and I do not have a backup key. I do have two i work with but both are individual to the music selection and do not depend on each other for support.

The customer support and technical support is excellant.

If I have to buy again i would look for another of the same modle or get a newer version of the same.I have been playing for more than 30 years.GEM,Rhodes,Oberhiem,Roland,yamaha.I choose this one for the sound quality and dependability. All the formentioned keys did not have the full rich sounds.I wish it had a little better piano like a good grand sound.It not just helps me make music it is music. I use it in a band on the weekends and I write music scoring for local film makers.

The Alesis QS6.1 is a very easy unit to use as long as you only use the preset sounds. However, it is somewhat more difficult to try and create your own sounds on it. Overall, not the hardest to use.

Others have gone into great detail on the features so I won't get into it.

As most keyboards, some sounds are very realistic and useable, while others are horrific. To my ears, the guitar button should have been omitted! Most sounds are quite satisfactory - but some of the bad ones are REALLY bad.

This is my beef with Alesis! The first keyboard I got had a key which was not touch sensitive, it was either full on or full off. I went back to the dealer and exchanged it for another. Only this time, I got a photocopy of a manual inside the box instead of the original. The second keyboard had problems with the right main going out at about every 5-10 minutes or so. If that wasn't enough, the #60 Brass switch was jammed and would not go "on". What are the odds of a customer buying 2 keyboards and having problems with both?! In any case, I am not going to replace it with a 3rd one. As far as I'm concerned, I have had it with Alesis. Ironically, I bought this model because it was entirely made out of metal and I thought it would stand up against the test of time. Sorry Alesis, but your product sucks the big one and deserves the "1" in the reliability department. My only regret is that I cannot type in a "0" in this field.

Even though, as you can see with my reliability rating, I must admit that their customer support was decent. They did in fact refer me to a repair shop in my area and told me that I could pay to have my problems fixed. Ideally, I should never have gotten the opportunity to call them to begin with...

Due to reliablity issues, which really is "instrumental" - I would not recommend this keyboard. If you only play in your home and never intend to gig with it and have plenty of time to return it and have it repaired, go for it!

To an average pianist, the set up is very easy- sequential layot of banks, each with numerical presets. If you can navigate a computer keyboard, the QS 6 is cake. For a synthesist, things get a little hairier. Programming the unit through the LCD is hard to master, but easier once you get the hnag of it. The effects take the longest to master, but once you get them, you can assign any effect or envelope to any of the four sliders- very nice for live apps. The manual is very comprehensive, and if you don't have it, you can download it in PDF format.

This is your standard modern 61-note electric piano. Like any other keyboard in the size/price range (Korg X5d, Roland XP-30, etc), it had standard stereo outs, 16-ch MIDI, sustain and custom footswitch outs, as well as a serial port for docking to a computer. Like most synths, it is upgradeable via card slot (PCMCIA). There is no sequencer, but this is not a workstation, it's a performance synth. In MIDI slave mode, all key velocities and sliders/wheels are controllable.

I bought the QS8 in 98 when it first hit the market, and have been dying for something that is as beautiful sounding, yet portable. In all my travels through synthesizers, the QS6.1 has a better soundset for the gigging musician than any other synth for under $500.00. Some would say the Stereo Grand Piano is lacking, but trust me, I've played dozens of synths, and this one has an AMAZING piano sound, untouchable by any other company's lower-end synth. Do not compare it to a professional Yamaha stage electric, it will ovbiously not match up... However, if you play jazz or rock, fusion or funk, acid, house, trip-hop, and any other style that needs warm pianos, gritty rhodes organs, and low-fi sounding synths, this is a great tool. The touch sensitivity is not the best, but these are organ keys- my QS8 responds just like a piano should, so it's only an issue with the weight of the keys. The expressive control of your sound is more fufilling than any other plastic-keyed synth I've played (save for perhaps the Roland EP series, but those are not synthesizers).

This is not a specific keyboard- I've seen light jazz groups on stage with a QS... but I've also seen Black Metal bands with a QS synthesizer as well. The sound set is that diverse.

For those who bash the QS's sounds, comparing it to newer models, I don't think you can fairly judge the QS6.1 against a Yamaha Motif or Korg Trinity Pro... those boards are in a seperate league, and also run upwars of 1600.00+. The 6.1 is a $3-500.00 miracle machine.

I have owned at least 20 or more synths, and have taken a few of them gigging. I must say the QS6 stands in the top 20% of the pack, the Korg Polysix being at the bottom (Analog... went out of tune alot). Anyway, the QS6 is NOT an Ensoniq board, it's not built like a tank. It's a combination of sturdiness and small form, so take care of it. Get a gig bag. If you carry your synth open, spill a beer on it, and then drop it on the stage, you'll have to expect that something's going to go wrong. There's delicate circuitry inside these things, and it's crammed into the 6.1 especially tight.

The only issue I've had with this unit is the velocity on my 2nd C key has become a little odd, stricking slightly louder than the others. I don't think anyone but me notices, but I'm a sick perfectionist.

Basically, if you want a synth to throw off the stage, go buy a more tank-like Ensoniq VFX or ESQ1, or a Yamaha DX7. If you are willing to take responsibility for your gear, the 6.1 should be no problem on the road.

I have never dealt with Alesis, but have heard horror stories. If this breaks, I'll either take it to my local synth repair store (most big cities have a music store that can do synth repair) or eBay it to buy a working one.

I would definatly replace this unit if it were broken or stolen. It has become a valuble addition to my setup, and even though I already have a QS8, this one seems more important to me as the "go anywhere grand piano". This is no Korg Trinity. This is an Alesis, which has become synonomous with "no frills, just good." Alesis has a very limited product line, which I applaud because it seems they take more time to keep their products high-quality.

I've seen some complaints about the QS6, about it's programming difficulty, it's easy-to-break nature, and odd software issues it has. Trust me, go to eBay and type in "Roland" and check out how many broken Juno 106's are being sold. There will always be flukes in a product line of tedious electronics, it's bound to happen- especially if you buy a pre-owned board that may have been used and abused. Buying hte QS6 is no more of a risk than investing in a price-comperable Roland RS-5 or a Korg X5d... and the sounds of hte QS6 smack the other boards in the face.

As far as programming goes, HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TO PROGRAM A DX7? How about a Roland D50? It's hard! The Alesis, to me, is like looking at a kid's program, step-by-stepping you through sound creation... but that' just me.

All in all, this is a wonderful keyboard for me, Alesis has done nothing yet to proove me wrong... and I own a QS6, QS8, Quadraverb, Nanoverb, Nanopiano, and MMT-8 as well as Alesis monitors and power amp. It will never replace the strings of my Roland D-50, it will never touch the 80's saw waves of my Ensoniq ESQ1, it has no knobs like my Korg Polysix, but it, like the aformentioned synths, has a place on the musical wall, a place that you might find very suitable as well.

I'm a Professional Studio Producer. Over 2 years i have experienced the Alesis 6.1 Synth. I will give you the side by side comparison in complete form. Make sure you read this very carfully. If you know how to turn on a light switch it , then you will know how to operate the synt. Note i said operate not programme it.

Features are straight forward. You can take the basic 5 effect once you understand progamming and create what you want. Reverbs, Flager, Phaser, can all be programmed. Note you will need to know what you want and how to go about getting exactly that. Don't rush it takes time. The #1 plus to this board is you can load your own one shots or samples. If you dont know what one shots or samples are or how to do this you are truly a starter/learner. Get the lingo down and you will be impressed. You can take a sample from any drum machine and have the best drums in the world , never have to buy a drum machine that #2 . stay with me.

The sounds are not the best, honestly Korg has the best variety of sounds. The best quality of sound will have to go to a split. One sound is 16 bit=Korg Alesis is 18bit. Higer quality. Again, the Alesis have some sounds that would embarras korg and vice versa.

One the Modulation spring broke. I fixed it myself.

BAD

I'm constant in criticism. The board is damn good, if you are smart and know how to do one shots or multisamples you will not have to buy another board again. My advice is if you have question contact me. I will give you the truth. I dont work for Alesis Korg Roland Etc.. My adivce to Alesis is to come out with a better variety of sounds.