Product: Alesis QS6.1
Price Paid: Australian AUS$1350
Submitted
01/28/1999
at
03:04pm
by
Dale Smith
Email: cix78<at>ozemail dot com dot au
Ease of Use
:
9
I own a S4+ Alesis module which I really love and which made the decision to buy the QS6.1 very easy. I do not like the manual in that it is in separate pages and no index. I cannot understand why there was no preset listings. You can get this from the Alesis site off the QS7/8 listings. It is really easy to call up presets. I found it a bit tricky to hook up to computer sequencer. I have not tried to edit any patches. The 4 sliders add a greater dimension to the presets when used and I was most impressed.
Features
:
10
The action was okay, 64 note polophony is excellent, effects are excellent, 2 x expansion cards bay will be useful to some.It has great deal of potential for live use and recording via midi and audio.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
10
The sounds are excellent especially the wind types and individual strings. When blended they are very realistic. I love the various drum loops and samples. I wish you could adjust their tempo.
Reliability
:
10
I couls depend on this 100% without a backup. Being constructed with a metal casing without being too heavey restores my faith in purchasing lower end keyboards.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
The keyboard was shipped in 120 volt format and needed to be converted, this did take 3 weeks but this was not really an Alesis problem but the distributor
Overall Rating
:
10
I operate a small home studio and this keyboard is now the master keyboard in my setup. I still use my Korg X3 but it is starting to gather dust. I use the QS6.1 keyboard in church worship a lot as it has realistic piano sounds and really fattens the sound when we are a few musco's down. For the price I paid for it there is no other keyboard comparable in Australia.
Product: Alesis QS6.1
Price Paid: US $800.00
Submitted
12/10/1998
at
08:30am
by
Rob C
Email: RVamboRLZ at aol<dot>com
Ease of Use
:
10
I just purchased the Alesis QS6.1 (12/5/98) based on having a QSR. Basically it's the QSR's presets with a better controller than what the QS6 was. The keyboard has 4 slider/controllers as well as a larger backlit screen, programming buttons and a nice feel. I'm a guitarist that uses a keyboard in my project studio, but as far as keyboards go, I feel the QS6.1 is solidly built and has a nice response. It does everyhing a keybord in this price range should do. (and more!) I replaced my Kawai K1II with the Alesis. (I've had 2 other keyboards.)
Obviously I purchased it based on how much I liked the QSR sounds - particularly the synth and more animated sounds and pads.
It is easier to edit then the QSR because of all the 4 accessible sliders (which I can use to adjust parameters on my Yamaha MU50,Ultra Proteus, etc)and buttons on the keyboard . I also use MOTU's Unisyn 1.5 which helps if you want to get into some serious editing of sounds.
Although I've only had it less then I week I feel the manual is informative and well written, althouigh for some reason it didn't include charts with individul Mixes and Patches.
Features
:
10
It has 64 voice polyphony excellent action (for a synth), great effects, two expansion card slots (instant access, more sounds, more presets) and you can purchase Alesis cards for more sounds or to load your sequences on and playback from any of the QS series. Many extra editing, programming and sequencing features are there if you chose to go deep (and are a bit of a tech-head) which I'm not and I still like it a lot.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
10
Like I said earlier, I think the synth and "techno-based" sounds are very good as are the drums. Brass is next in line with orchestral sounds being the weakest. I think they are okay if layered but I really rely on my E-MU sampler and Ultra-Proteus for orchestral sounds. Very good for rock ,pop and dance/techno (particularly with the new QS Card series that's available). I use it for scoring and rock/pop projects. Plus with it's sliders, aftertouch and feel it's very expressive. (One of the main reasons I purchased it.)
I do think that on the factory sounds the FX are a tad heavy-handed but that's easily adjusted.
Reliability
:
10
As far as reliabilty we'll see. I've not had any problems with the QSR, but that's strictly studio use only. The QS6.1 feels pretty darn solid on the outside.
Overall Rating
:
10
I think there are other comparable keyboards in this price range (Korg and Yamaha come to mind) but feel this is an"easier" keyboard for me to use. It's straight forward and accessible. Wether coincidence or not it seems I started creating with it as soon as I plugged it in and feel it's sounds, editing controllers and feel have a lot to do with that. I 've always felt Roland is the king of sounds and one day would like to pick up a 1080 or 2080 ($$) when budget permits. But I really like the new QS6.1 and Alesis QS Sounds in general
