Alesis QS7

This keyboard is fairly hard to use for the MIDI impaired like myself. The total lack of a larger window menu gives it a cheap appearance but the onboard buttons do help you navigate through it. In defence of this keyboard, it does have some very nice presets and different synth sounds for it's pricerange. The manual is absolutely awful. It is more of an "explain what the features are" then a "tell me what I do next" kind of thing. I really went into this one cold and had to figure out everything by trial and error without much success at all....The Unisyn patch editor is quite nice as is the Cubasis program that came with it. However, it's not much fun reading a 450 pg. PDF file....however, manuals need to be read to understand what you are doing. I tend to enjoy the plug and play approach far better and this keyboard needs a little more than just doing that.

The features and sounds have been highlighted in other posts and I'm sure many have gone into great detail about these.....I don't like that fact that it doesn't have a built in sequencer, or a midi thru....I DO like the fact that you can purchase ROM cards and burn your own samples onto them with the Alesis sound bridge software.

The sounds themselves are very nice, but nowhere near what I expected. I owned a DM-5 for a while and the drums were quite good on that unit. However, the drums that they put on this synth are a bit lacking in overall quality. The keyboard, and synth sounds are quite nice though.....The outboard effects are also of high quality but difficult to program....

I own several Alesis products and they seem to hold up well......Didn't have this one long enough to deal with it although.....

never had a problem but I have heard from others that the customer service folks are nice but do not have a lot of knowledge on how to troubleshoot.

Hmmmm.....this is a tough one. Based on the problems I had setting it up and trying to get some music out of it, I hated it!!!! However, undoubtably this is due to my limited MIDI knowledge.....However, if a decent manual was provided, I would have read through it to figure things out!!!! This is total nonsense on their part. I wouldn't by another one. The other Alesis product that I own (MIDIVERB 4, 3630 Compressor, & M-EQ 230) all have excellent manuals that are easy to read and quite comprehensive. I realize that this keyboard is made for a price and I commend them on their job, however, certain things are overlooked. I took this back to the dealer where I purchased it from and got a Korg Trinity.......all I can say is.....I am in AWE right now.....it is fabulous. Head over to the Korg section to read my review of this BEAST!!!!

I would much rather program synths using a computer editor than any front panel display. I'm glad Alesis simply decided to include a good editor rather than spend R&D time on small screen layouts.

I like the built in effects. In mix mode I simply pick an unused MIDI channel to audition various effects patches. This way I'm not stuck with the effects that are available in the sounds I'm using. I wish there was a clean way to turn channels on and off (like to bring strings into a piano patch). I have come up with roundabout ways to do this.

All of the instruments except the electric piano. It is weak compared to the MicroPiano and others. The acoustic piano is really good although I created a brighter version to suit my taste. My friend doesn't care much for the sax and oboe sounds but I found them quite good.

I had a bad experience shortly before a gig...all of a sudden it went dead and didn't come back to life until I opened it up, looked inside, and closed it up again. It may have been caused by an AC spike/brownout. I should know better to always use a power conditioner. Also once in a while I the LCD characters get garbled when working with the computer. Also there seems to be a bug in using a controller to control portamento rate (I can't remember how it was set up now).

I talked to the Florida rep who was friendly but not real knowledgable.

I would definitely buy another QS-7. Nothing touches it for the price. Also I like the fact that the pitch bend and mod wheel don't make the keyboard longer than it has to be. This is handy to keep the road case as short as possible (I make my own).

Patch editing is a bit of a pain due to the small window and un-intuitive labels. But once you've done it a few times, you start to get the hang of it and can actually begin making good patches.
It's not impossible, but it is a bit tricky to get into (plus the manual is no help - waaay too technical for most beginning synth people)

64 voice polyphony is GREAT! Let's you build really thick layers of sound ... all on one key, if you're crazy! The keyboard leaves a little to be desired for ... it feels a little flimsy, and makes some disturbing noises sometimes. I'm hoping it's just a problem with mine in particular, in which case i'll get it fixed under warranty ...
Expansions via PCMCIA slots, blah blah, you've all probably read the specs.
No onboard sequencer, but you can connect it to your computer via a Serial interface (no need for a midi card) which I think is nice.
Wish it had four buss multi-effects when in mix mode!! When playing in mix mode from your computer, you seem to be limited to one effect group ... sucks!

The presets sound pretty good. I like the acoustic guitar sounds, and i can really get into some of the softer string/synth sounds. It's got some good analog-ish sounds, too, although better sound control would have been nice (filter sweeps, EQ via sliders, etc.)
The effects are good in program mode, but not very good in mix mode. The velocity is a little unresponsive, but the aftertouch is nice as well as well-implemented.

Like I mentioned before, the keyboard feels weak and flimsy and I'm wondering how long it will last.
Gigs ... hmm. I play guitar at gigs.
Sorry!

Once you get ahold of Alesis, they seem to know what they are talking about. I called to upgrade the chip in my Quadraverb II and they were extremely helpful and friendly.

Yeah, I would get it again. Hard to find another keyboard for the same price that has anywhere near the same features. I've only had it for about five months and I still love it (except the damn keyboard)
It sounds great, especially running through a big monitor setup. feel the bass rumble!
I wish it had a sturdier keyboard, and a bigger LCD screen (more on par with the HUGE one on the Quadraverb 2). Also, the little plugs that go over the Digital I/O port should not be so damn easy to lose. They're so small and fall off too easily.
Overall a good value. Get this is you can't afford a Trinity.

This synth is easy to use, but editing sounds can be a pain, especially the effects section. While very powerful, the effects parameters are rather unintuitive. A bigger display would help a lot.

Polyphony is excellent at 64. The effects are the best in any keyboard, basically a little Qverb2 built in. Expansion is quite good, with 16 megs of add-ons possible. The possibility of making my own card via Soundbridge software is useful. MIDI capabilities are pretty advanced, makes a good master controller. It lacks an onboard sequencer, but it can play back MIDI files from RAM cards.

Most instruments are fairly realistic, though some are clearly fake, especially some acoustics. It would work well for rock and pop, somewhat less well for dance, and not very well for classical. Onboard effects are excellent, though somewhat overused in the preset programs. The feel of the keyboard is nice, and it is very expressive, but somewhat clicky.

I had this for a month, and so far, it has been absolutely 100% reliable. No problems whatsoever. Seems extremely sturdy.

I tried to get some missing pieces(it was a demo), and the customer service guys were less than useful. First of all I had to hold for 30 minutes before I could talk to someone who: 1. Did not know what he was talking about 2. Did not want to help me at all They get a big thumbs down on that one.

It sounds great, and has the basic features I was after. I wuld buy it again. I really like the 4 control sliders. The display is too small, programming is rather difficult, and the keyboard feels somewhat cheap. Still it's a great instrument for the money

This keyboard is one of the best I've owned,I love it! Programming is not too fun but it's worth the effort and the effects are great too! I don't look at manuals so I can't vouch for it,I prefer to learn the instrument by exploring and experimenting.

With 64 notes you can layer to your hearts content,I've done some huge orchestral patches and they sound very full. The 76 note keyboard is o.k.(not real bad but not real great)but I worry about long-term use affecting its reliability.Expansions? This is another sticky point to me,you can expand it but the pcmcia cards are expensive and once you pull them out you have to redo your patch(sucks!). The quadracards I've heard are very good. No on-board sequencer and multiple button pushes are needed to access the general midi function.

The sounds are very good and some are very realistic,I think the ones I've downloaded off of the net are better than those originally shipped but I'm picky. I use this for all types of music,to me a hula-hoop can be used to create music if you have the right attitude so don't take my word for this. Oh yeah, I'm on my third QS7,friends keep buying mine from my house after I set it up so I'm keeping the next one!

This could be a problem area but so far no problems and like I said in the last section,I've sold two others and they are being used a lot with no problems so maybe it's o.k..

These people are really great to deal with,I appreciate their help and their professionalism.

Yes,I'd buy it again. No, it's not worth what I paid...it's worth more! I love the sounds,the company,and the look. I don't hate anything. I chose this over the Korg Trinity(my opinion,don't beat me up over it) and the Roland XP stuff(I had a XP-50 and two JV-1080's). I wish this had a disk-drive and an on-board sequencer. If a person needs technology to help them make music then to me they haven't looked deeply enough, music is not a sound or an gadget but an insatiable drive that compels you to create with whatever medium available. Hula-hoop sonata anyone?