Alesis QS8.1

Quite easy to use. Editing is fairly straight forward and comprehensive using the included software. You really have a lot of control over the sounds if you are into programing, but it does take some work to get the most out of it. The transpose button on the front panel is great.

64 voices, but programs can use up to four each. If this is your only instrument and you are composing, you could possibly run out of voices.
The keyboard action is great. Not identical to a real piano, but quick and lively.
Haven't tried expansion with the Q-cards, but I know they are popular. There are a couple of QS forums out on the web which can answer any questions about them.
Full MIDI implementation. Four control sliders. An excellent controller keyboard.

I myself love the sound of this synth. The piano is the best you'll hear in a general purpose synth. Beautifully sampled from a Bosendorfer grand. The preset pianos are excellent, especially PureStereo, but may not be responsive enough for classical work. This can be tweaked, and patches are available on the net.
EP's are great, organs are great, (except for the pipe organs - rotten) The control sliders act as drawbars - nice.
Strings are more orchestral than synthy, but no preset slow strings. Brass too are more orchestral. In truth there are a lot of limited use gimmicky patches, but this is true of most synth's presets.
Guitars a mixed bag. I guess you need to play before you buy. You'll love it or hate it, depends on what you're used to, your abilities as a player and programmer, and what you're looking for. I think there is a bit of unfounded snobbery toward the brand, but this is a lot of synth for the money, no matter where you're coming from.
One note: Many of the programs are stereo. A lot of sequencers will set the pans on these stereo patches to center, whether you want them to or not. This is ruins some of the patches, especially pianos, when the stereo channels get combined to center.
The solution is to send a sysex message after the sequence starts to reset the pans to the patch settings.
Too complicated for some users probably.

It's lighter than other 88 key boards, but I don't carry mine around.
No problems here.

I did a lot of research before I bought this. The only other 88 key synth I would have considered was the Korg N1.
The deciding factors were the piano sounds, the action, and the expandability.
I've had it for a while now, gotten used to it, found some of it's limitations, and my overall opinion is:
I love it. Love it.

Simple enough to operate. Of course, everybody should use software for editing. Manual seems quite comprehensible enought

Polyphony of 64. Key action is fine but will not satisfied everybody.
I used to own a fender rhodes many years ago, very hard action, the QS-8.1 made me relive those days. If you're going to use it for strictly piano, you'll probably like this board, but just as far as the key action. Of course it's very expandable, but why would shit for more shit? No sequencer

It took me more time to try to describe the sounds than it took me to decide to return it. I decide to return in about 30 minutes. Four I thought that would describe it best "Don't buy this piece of sh..."
Because like me, it will cost the return shipping cost.

It';s built and weights like a tank. I wouldn't have minded the weight
if it would have compensated for sound. So what do you do if you gat 64 pounds of sh.. sticking out of your ass, you get rid of it.

Did't have time to say hello. I should call them and try to get a refund for shipping charges.

Nobody steals a QS-8.1

As a long time Alesis QuadraSynth Plus owner/user, moving from that to a QS 8.1 was no problema. In general, the QS line from Alesis is very straightforward. It's straightforward subtractive synthesis using built-in samples with layering, cross fades, splits, etc. Unfortunately, no resonant filters! Aw, maybe next time... On the whole the presets are above average. The pianos/ep's are great which is probably a HUGE reason I went with this board. {Note to Roland, Yamaha & Korg: Invest the time and money in a good piano sound. Don't make it an option, build it in. (The XP-80 is a great board, but the built in pianos are just awful and no amount of effects processing can hide it.)} This beast has a wide variety of sounds, but the most obvious deficiency is in the brass. Not so good, luckily I have a Q Card that makes up for this. As far as editing patches is considered it's pretty easy, but of course it's much easier with a patch editor. Let me put it this way. This isn't a board that you have to have a patch editor to edit it. The screen is just big enough that it's comfortable. BTW: The screen size alone is reason enough to get the QS 8.1 over the QS 8. The manual is straightforward and written well (i.e. 100 times better than ANY Roland manual ever written...) The reason I'm rating this 9 instead of a 10 is because I all ready have some serious experience with how Alesis boards work, so I may be biased...

64 voice polyphony. I won't look at anything with less than 64 voices. Period. {Note to Kurweil: 48 voices will not cut it especially considering that your boards are some of the highest prices keyboards around.}

I would rate the keyboard action as "light" but that's OK because I'm sure that's why this board weighs noticeably less than other weighted 88 note boards. In addition, the QS 8.1 has channel aftertouch and release velocity. Yes, release velocity! Nice touch guys, too bad that a bunch of the built in presets don't use this feature more. Release velocity does wonders with pads...

Built-in effects. The built-in effects are easy to use and fairly plain vanilla. Some reverbs, halls, leslie simuation, etc. They are very usable, just don't get rid of your dedicated outboard effects.

Expansion. The QS 8.1 has two PCMCIA slots which you can use to save patches, or copy .wav files and aiff files onto. Then you can assign them to keys, and play them. This is probably one of the most overlooked features of the QS series. It works very well. I've done it a number of times and since it's on a card you don't have to wait an hour for the machine to load the sample. {Note to Yamaha: It may help to actually TEST SCSI transfers BEFORE you ship the product next time...} You can also add Q cards which add more samples and sounds to the QS series. The MIDI capabilities are nice, 16 channels with layers and splits. Nice. I use an Opcode Studio 5LX so I won't be using this much, but it's really nice to know that it's there.

Onboard Sequencer: There isn't one, but this beast will play General MIDI Sequences off the PCMCIA card which is a nice feature, but understand that this isn't a sequencer and there is no editing available...

Wish List: An arpeggiator would be nice...

I would have given this a 10 with an arpeggiator and some better effects.

Yes and no. I firmly believe that if you're going to spend a huge chunk of cash on any board you really need to sit down and play a bunch of them and do some comparisons. I did and was very happy with the built-in patches. Great for rock, not so much for classical (maybe with the classical Q Card) and maybe OK for Dance with the Dance Q card, but don't look for realistic horns... Also, many of the patches have a metallic edge. Listen to the pianos closely. Also, I'll say it again. No resonant filters?

I've only had the QS 8.1 for a few days, but it looks like it's built to last. I had a Quadrasynth Plus for years without any problems. I'm expecting the same. Would I use it without a backup. Yeah, but that's only because I'm not made of money. More by necessity...

Never dealt with them.

If it were lost or stolen, yup, I'd definitely go this route again. Price/Performance ratio is excellent. Here are a bunch of the reasons that I went with the QS 8.1. I hope some manufacturers actually read this area...

a. I wanted 88 weighted keys.

QS 8.1, Korg Triton Pro X, Korg N1, Korg SG Pro, Roland A-90, Kurzweil 2500x, Ensoniq ZR-76 (yes, I know the ZR-76 has only 76 keys, but I wanted to check it out as well...) Interesting to note: that neither Yamaha nor Roland have anything in this category.

b. I wanted flexibility (i.e. I wanted lots of sounds) and the ability to add some of my own sounds would be nice. A sequencer would be a plus, but not a requirement.

QS 8.1, Korg N1, Korg Triton Pro X, Korg SG Pro, Roland A-90, Kurzweil 2500, Ensoniq ZR-76

So, out of that list above, the Korg SG Pro and the Roland A-90 were gone because they're essentially piano controllers and not designed to be as flexible as my needs. That left the rest.

c. Had to have a decent piano sound.

Here I was simply shocked. Very slim pickings here... This is an area that manufacturers should work on.

The ZR-76 actually had an awesome piano, but the rest of this beast was too funky. The sequencer constantly hiccuped and didn't act like it had enough processing power to keep up with itself.

The QS 8.1's piano isn't perfect (haven't found that board yet) but it is very usable for MOST things (classical aside) and it's working for me.

The Triton is simply awesome, but alas no decent piano. They're supposedly coming out with a piano add-in card, but I'll have to check it out when it arrives. Otherwise, I was simply floored by this killer synth. More below...

Aah, then there's Kurzweil. Average built-in piano, but as is EVERYTHING with Kurzweil, a better than average piano is yet another expensive option. Come on guys, the base model for <<insert Kurzweil product here>> costs as an arm and a leg and you're going to nickel and dime me for decent piano as well... No thanks. Oh, yeah, 48 voice polyphony. Nice.

Korg N1. Piano was about as average as average gets. Nothing to write home about.

d. Luggable.

Yeah, I want my cake and I want to eat it too. Hey, most of us can't afford roadies so I've got to move this beast.

Triton Pro X: Here is where I have to part ways with the Korg Triton Pro X. This board is not meant to be moved. Ever. Again, I love it from head to toe (which is why the Triton Pro with 76 keys might compliment the QS 8.1 perfectly) but the Triton Pro X should come with a bottle of steroids as well...

QS 8.1. The QS 8.1 could definitely afford to lose some weight. At 60 lbs, it's fairly heavy, but this was about the limit. Anymore and I'd cry uncle.

Korg N1. 52.5 lbs. Good weight, on the other hand, the keyboard action did not rub me the right way...

Kurzweil 2500x. 72lbs & 48 voices. Ain't gonna happen. Did I mention there's no way I'm buying anything with 48 voices...

e. Price/Performance. For most of us, price will ALWAYS be an issue so here we go.

Korg Triton Pro X. The Korg Triton is simply an awesome keyboard. I must say that if I were stranded on a desert island, this would be the one. Korg, you guys did a kick a** job. Unfortunately, like I said earlier, this beast is just ungodly heavy and at $2999 street, more than I want to shell out right now... Also, the lack of an awesome built-in piano is a bummer, but otherwise I'm simply blown away. In fact, I'm seriously considering the Triton Pro (76 key synth action) as a compliment to my QS 8.1. The sequencer, RRPN, arpeggiator, user sampling, SCSI all make this a serious keyboard. Major Kudos to Korg.

Korg N1. This is an interesting keyboard. I thought I would like it more than I did. With a truckload of sounds, the "Korg Sound" and an arpeggiator it looks good on paper. Unfortunately, it's not the most intuitive board I've ever used and the keyboard action did not work f