Alesis QS8

I think Alesis should stick to making ADATs ( although, digital hardisk recording will soon put an end to them ). I thought that their effect units were substandard, try playing their synths. The presets aren't programmed terribly, its just that that samples and sounds used suck. The upper octaves are entirely useless!
Editing? Why bother? Junk in equals junk out.
Who wrote that manual? Cheetah?!!!

The polyphony is adequet ( 64 voice ) and the keyboard action isn't bad. The built in effects are definatly Alesis. You can expand on it, but I've heard their alternate cards. May as well throw your hard earned money down the toilet...they stink!
The keys are pressure sensative, but so what...so are all the other keyboards out on the market. Onboard sequencers are awkward and limiting.

Realistic sounds....it depends on what drug you've taken. The famous Alesis piano is substandard compared to others on the market ( a bit thin for my taste ). Whoever programmed the string and ensemble sounds should be ashamed ( actually, Alesis should be ashamed for releasing an instrument with such awful sounds ). The same with most of the brass sounds. If you hold the electric piano sounds down you can hear just how amaturish the samples and patches sound ( horrible fades). The guitars are equally terrible and the percussion / vibes type sounds are weak ( thats a major accomplishment...).
Surprisingly, the synth pads are very good! And some of the analog module simulations ( the Emerson stuff)are pretty good. But not worth the price of this unit!
The type of music this unit would work well with....how about a Swiss Viennese shuffle based loosely on a Hans Christain Anderson tale.
The onboard effects remind me of the Alesis FX boxes. Its probably the best feature in this unit.
It does have velocity and aftertouch...again, what doesn't!?!

The LCD display is on its way out! Man, I've had synth's for far more years then this unit and their LCD displays are fine. Shear craftsmanship!
Thanx again Alesis!

It takes forever to get thru to them and once you do, its attitude city! Also, they limit the amount of Pro audio repair stores that they allow to work on their units, as well as refusing to send them the parts needed. In LA, there was only 1 guy allowed to service their ADATs outside of taking that long hike to their offices. What a crock!

I prayed it would be lost or stolen so that I can collect on the insurance and purchase a real synth. Lets face it, Korg and Roland and Kurzweil, etc, make incredible products that are competitive with each other soundwise and with their quality. If Alesis wants to play with the big boys, then I suggest they study their competition before releasing and falsely advertising what a great product they have.
What do I love about it...nothing. What do I hate about it...alot! You may be asking yourself, "Why did this guy purchase the QS8 if he dislikes it so"? I didn't purchase it.. I bartered it as part of payment for some sessions I did...should have just taken the money.
Although this is just my opinion, if your going to purchase a synth keyboard... go for the Triton, the Trinity, the Roland XP models, the Kurzweil stuff...even the E-Mu modules...highly NOT recommended!!!!!

I think Alesis should stick to making ADATs ( although, digital hardisk recording will soon put an end to them ). I thought that their effect units were substandard, try playing their synths. The presets aren't programmed terribly, its just that that samples and sounds used suck. The upper octaves are entirely useless!
Editing? Why bother? Junk in equals junk out.
Who wrote that manual? Cheetah?!!!

The polyphony is adequet ( 64 voice ) and the keyboard action isn't bad. The built in effects are definatly Alesis. You can expand on it, but I've heard their alternate cards. May as well throw your hard earned money down the toilet...they stink!
The keys are pressure sensative, but so what...so are all the other keyboards out on the market. Onboard sequencers are awkward and limiting.

Realistic sounds....it depends on what drug you've taken. The famous Alesis piano is substandard compared to others on the market ( a bit thin for my taste ). Whoever programmed the string and ensemble sounds should be ashamed ( actually, Alesis should be ashamed for releasing an instrument with such awful sounds ). The same with most of the brass sounds. If you hold the electric piano sounds down you can hear just how amaturish the samples and patches sound ( horrible fades). The guitars are equally terrible and the percussion / vibes type sounds are weak ( thats a major accomplishment...).
Surprisingly, the synth pads are very good! And some of the analog module simulations ( the Emerson stuff)are pretty good. But not worth the price of this unit!
The type of music this unit would work well with....how about a Swiss Viennese shuffle based loosely on a Hans Christain Anderson tale.
The onboard effects remind me of the Alesis FX boxes. Its probably the best feature in this unit.
It does have velocity and aftertouch...again, what doesn't!?!

The LCD display is on its way out! Man, I've had synth's for far more years then this unit and their LCD displays are fine. Shear craftsmanship!
Thanx again Alesis!

It takes forever to get thru to them and once you do, its attitude city! Also, they limit the amount of Pro audio repair stores that they allow to work on their units, as well as refusing to send them the parts needed. In LA, there was only 1 guy allowed to service their ADATs outside of taking that long hike to their offices. What a crock!

I prayed it would be lost or stolen so that I can collect on the insurance and purchase a real synth. Lets face it, Korg and Roland and Kurzweil, etc, make incredible products that are competitive with each other soundwise and with their quality. If Alesis wants to play with the big boys, then I suggest they study their competition before releasing and falsely advertising what a great product they have.
What do I love about it...nothing. What do I hate about it...alot! You may be asking yourself, "Why did this guy purchase the QS8 if he dislikes it so"? I didn't purchase it.. I bartered it as part of payment for some sessions I did...should have just taken the money.
Although this is just my opinion, if your going to purchase a synth keyboard... go for the Triton, the Trinity, the Roland XP models, the Kurzweil stuff...even the E-Mu modules...highly NOT recommended!!!!!

Navigation through the system is far from obvious on this keyboard, given the lack of buttons, imparting a rather clean look to the instrument. The display is *tiny* which does not help matters in the slightest. Most frustrating on this keyboard has been the recording aspect of it. I am admittedly a beginner in the field of advanced sequencing, and still am perplexed on how to record onto my computer with the included Cubasis software. Editing patches becomes second nature once you figure it out, however, and the manual is outstanding for that. It reads very easily and explains things in depth, except for the RECORDING aspect!

For the money, this keyboard has a great many features that are found only on more expensive synths. I love the keyboard action. The simulated hammer action is especially welcome for piano players who hate the heavy keys on other keyboards. In addition, these keys jump right back up for clean trills and fast playing- you don't get that dead feeling at the end when you strike the key. The effects are good, although I have not dealt with them very much. This keyboard does have expansion capabilities, but be ready to pay a lofty $200 for an expansion card. If Alesis really wants to dub this thing as expandable, it should bring those card prices down. This keyboard does NOT have an onboard sequencer, and as I said before, recording onto the computer with this thing is not a simple task. But again- the features (after touch, 4 independent control sliders, etc.) are not lacking on this keyboard for the money.

The pianos and organs are first rate. The brass are okay, as are the strings. The drums themselves sound great, especially in the demo sequences. The solo instruments and percussion keys, however, are laughable.
The demo sequences of this keyboard say it all: this is a rock/fusion/live gig keyboard. This thing is not that great for orchestral recording or dance music. But again, for the money...

This keyboard has never failed me. A sample one in the store that I bought it did, however- it locked up when I browsed through some sounds. I would definitely, however, trust this keyboard as my sole instrument, without a backup.

They were TERRIBLE. I think they hate it when you have a simple question or something... I had e-mailed them THREE times with a question, and they did not answer. I finally decided to call them, and was met with minimal success: I was put on hold for a long time, and was finally met by a guy who talked with me in a very brusque manner (and did NOT answer my question, by the way. I was just crazy to get off the phone with him). I hope you do not have to deal with them if you have a problem with this keyboard.

I like my QS8. Really. But I don't think I would buy this keyboard again. I was between this one and a Korg N1. I don't think I really have regrets, though. I just feel a bit cheated because of the terrible tech support that I received.

This keyboard is relatively easy to use. Once you have found your way around, one can make program changes quickly and smoothly.

Here we go..... I play in a dueling piano bar three nights a week. The company took two grand piano shells and put QS8s in them.
They are played hard, three nights a week, by guys who really know how to play.
We have to disassemble these keyboards at least once a month and clean and repair the keyboards because of the crappy FATAR actions they put in these things.
They feel and sound like toys. After less than a year of the bar being open, we are going to be forced to find something that can live up to being called a musical instrument.
All of the piano players are very unhappy and disappointed with the QS8. Too bad. The sounds are respectable enough to use in this venue. Unfortunatly, the hardware isn't.
Overall, the sounds are OK. The piano sounds are mediocre. The organ sounds are awesome.
However, the bass and string sounds are a joke, not to mention the drum and percussion sounds.

See above

In a word, horrible. Keys are constantly "going out." They sometimes have no velocity sensitivity, or don't play at all.
This keyboard was not designed to be anything close to a serious instrument for live applications.
Probably the biggest reason for this is the FATAR action. I have had several keyboards with a FATAR actions and have had nothing but trouble.
I have learned my lesson. Stay away if you want something that feels anything like a real piano and will hold up to "real" playing.

Another joke here. I won't even get into it.

If the bar were lucky enough, the keyboards would completely fry and we would be forced to go and purchase a new brand of keyboards other than these.
What would we buy??? Most of the piano players are obviously hooked on real pianos if possible. But since we are unable to do this, the vote has been for the Yamaha P-200.
Why? Play one and you will feel an instrument (and I stress "instrument") that is built like a tank, feels like a real piano (there is a lot ot be said here,....we've played them all and nothing even compares....), and has the best sounding piano this side of a real Steinway.
Next in line would have to be one of the Roland or Korg keyboards, respectively. Not as "real" feeling as the Yamaha, but close enough.
If you find yourself reading this and disagree about what I have to say about the QS8, I am sorry. Chances are pretty good you have not put your QS8 through paces worthy of what an instrument should be able to handle, or you don't know what a piano, digital or real, should really feel like. When I was in college, I tuned and rebuilt the Steinways and Baldwins on campus. I know what a piano should feel like and the QS8 with it's FATAR action is not even close.
I have personally owned over twenty digital pianos and keyboards, everything from the Roland A-90EX, to the Korg Stage piano, to the whole line of synths that strated back in the '80's. I have never been so disappointed in an instrument until now.

Alesis needs to take time and learn what musicians really need in a keyboard if they want to stay serious about this part of the music business.
I might also add that I have owned several pieces of equipent from Alesis and have been more than pleased with their quality and value. A great example would be the SR-16 drum machine or the several different effects machines that have been made in the past.

This synth is very easy to use. Alesis has the buttons well organized, making selection of sounds much easier.

The keyboard action is terrific. The sounds are superb. This synth has sounds for every application. The keyboard action is very very close to the real thing.

I liked the synth sounds, piano, and organs the best. They are very high quality and I have no complaints whatsoever about them.

I would absolutely use this on a gig without a backup synth. It is made out of metal and is very durable. I haven't had any problems with mine.

I haven't dealt with customer support since I haven't had any problems with it.

This is my favorite synth that I have ever used. It's very versatile and easy enough for even a beginner to use. It suits everyones needs from home user to professional musician.

The keyboard is straightforward in terms of using the presets and Alesis saved big money by not making the editing and sequencing interfaces overly usable from they keyboard itself. Just a note, almost all sequencing, library work and patch editing is done these days with a computer. Alesis was smart to realize this and totally underbid its competition to make a perfect keyboard for this function. You can record sequences using the included software and then play them back through the QS8 without the computer if you want, and no matter what in interface is, it is still tedious to create or alter patches on any keyboard without a computer and the right software.

For my money this is the best feeling keyboard on the market, the korg's feel plastic and the roland A-90 is way to deep for my tastes. The reponse is light and good for making runs, one not however, the keys are larger on this keyboad then on an acoustic piano, or most synth style keyboards. The screen size is not a problem either once you get use to it, once you learn a keyboard you hardly have to use the screen at all except toi determine patch title. Also bank layout is smart considereing the number of presets availible. Aftertouch is responsive, polyphony is plentiful. and the effects are wonderful. I have learned since the purchase of this keyboard that controllable sliders, or knobs, are a complete necessity for all keyboards. Alesis was very smart in the fact that these 4 adjustable sliders are active and usefull on all of the presets. For example on certain EP patches on slider will control reverb, another digital delay, and another overdrive, with these features at the touch of your fingers each patch gains depth and tremendous flexability. This only works due to the great effects processor on the keyboard. The reverbs, delays are noteworthy, and the rotary speaker is one of the best i have heard. The modulation controller is excellent providing convincing rotary speaker sounds, great stereo vibrato and even a fun dirty wah wah effect on some of the lead sounds. Expansion is tremendos too, Alesis uses space will in creating patches to 16 more megs of expansion possibilities is more then you will ever need.

The sounds are what always sells the keyboard when i am looking to purchase. The main stereo piano is excellent, especially the lower half, deep bass is great. one note though, sometimes the action response is too hard, ie does not respond well to light touches, so i wouldn't necessarily use the board for classical solo piano and the like. The only piano sound i liked better was on the Roland A-90. The EP's are great, rhoads, wurli's and other keyboard type sounds are excellent. The basses and guitars are convincing, especially when the effects are put into play. One area that the sounds suffer in my opinion is the strings/woods/winds. The violin is almost laughable and reeds and horns don't sound too good either. Korg still handles those sounds the best. But for what i use the keyboard for that is a non issue. The QS8 is a great rock./pop/modern keyboard, not for orchestration, though i have heard that the expanded Q-card sounds are a step up from the orchestral presets. The keyboard excells in the synth/lead/loop department. There are enough choices in these areas to fill anyones needs. from slow pads to piercing screaming leads the alesis rocks, especially if you use the effects to the fullest and learn how to master the sliders. There are many rhytm-type patches, with a dedicated beat on the lower half of the keyboard and a lead patch on the top. these are very fun, but not practicle if you have a drummer. organ patches sounds great, and the sliders act as drawbars for tremendous variation possibilities, but it is just damn difficult to play hammond esque riffs on a fully weighted keyboard, well you can't have everything. Check out "rays rhoads" "shine on" Fuzz box" "keith's c'3"

built like a tank, keys make a slight thud as you use them, but fatar makes good keys and i would trust them for a long while, unless your playing style tasks them tremdously. I would and will certainly trust the QS8 as my only keyboard for live gigs.

N/A

For the money, unbeatable. Feel, sounds, number or sounds, expandibility, controller options are all top notch. I bought the keyboard mainly as a live gig board, but it will serve perfectly as a master controller for a midi studio. I would gladly buy it again. The number of sounds inspires new musical direction, and Alesis is smart with space as well, fitting a full 88 keys into the smallest package availible. one last note, from what i have learned the features added to the QS8.1 are cute, but not even close to worth the increase in price. Try to find a used QS8 if you can.

The presets on this keyboard are outstanding. I am a dumb guitar player that can play piano. I know nothing about editing, MIDI and all of that jazz, but I am learning to layer sounds and do simple editing functions on the QS8. So far, I use it mostly for tracking / recording on my 4-track. I have yet to experiment with Cubase and all the MIDI stuff. The QS8's piano, strings and organ sounds are amazing and sound great when I mix them with guitars, basses and acoustic "rock" drums. The manual caters to professionals who already know how to get around on a synth. I wish someone would publish a "QS8 for dummies" book so an idiot guitar person like myself could learn it's advanced operations without a headache.

The hammer weighted action is great. In my opinion, it feels exactly like a piano. It has tons of effects that are easy to patch in to a particular sound. No onboard sequencer. The Cubase software acts as the sequencer, which is better for me, because I would rather compose on a PC rather than on the keyboard.
I have the Hip Hop Q-card which is awesome! It has thousands of varieties of shuffle beats, techno and jungle beats along with loops. The Q-cards are very easy to use.... just dial in the bank and value and press a key and you have a "dope" beat. I play and write rock music, but I am experimenting with Hip Hop beats and improvised leads on guitars.
This keyboard is NOT very easy to program. There is a big learning curve. I knew this before I bought it.

There isn't a bad sound on this synth. I love the "synth" sounds, piano and strings. I use it for progressive hard rock.

It has been dependable so far. I will gig with this when the time comes. I will be switching, back and forth, from guitar to keyboard.

Alesis was very helpful when I had to purchase my 9-pin serial cable for my PC. I have never dealt with them.... hopefully I never will.

I love this synth. I wish I had more time to dig into the endless possiblities this keyboard has to offer. I spend most of my musical time playing guitar and recording. I plan to devote more time to the QS8. Roland makes good synths but they didn't have the features that I wanted...(hammer-weight action, 88-keys). I'll give the QS8 a 9 rating because of the huge learning curve that the user must overcome.
If this keyboard was stolen, my renter's insurance would cover it. If I found the person who stole it, I would rip his head off and deficate down his throat.
I bought this keyboard primarily for drums and piano sounds. I don't plan to use it as a "lead" instrument, since my music is very guitar and bass driven. This synth does a great job of enhancing my music.

Great for live performances. I can change a whole 16 CH mix, including volume levels, panning, effect gate and bus, in just one second using the mix program mode. Basically, this is the polyphonic mode of the QS8 and it allows you to do what I just explained you above. I haven't mess with the edit programs, but according to the manual, which it is very organized and well illustrated, gives a comprehensive look at the EDIT MODE.

The polyphonic cabality of this synth is of 64 voices and the keyboard action is amazing, you can actually feel like if there was a hammer hitting a string inside. When you get into the effect menu, you'll find from lesley speaker to tube distortion; the Delay can be panned to ms.I do everything from the Qs8: All my sounds comes from there. I use a Roland D-20 only via midi to use sound of the QS8.I tthose not have a sequenser, but with the softwear that comes with it, you hook it up with your computer and using a PCMCIA card, you can burn the sequences to the cards and then just insert the card in the slot in the back of the keyboard, press MIX and GLOBAL and choose your sequence and just play along. I'm telling you this is amazing.I forgot to mention that you can expand it with the qcards.

For me, the Pianos and loops are the best sounds it has, but i'm not happy with the organ dept.It respond to the slighest afterpressure that i put to it.

Very reliable and i would go to the center of the earth with it.

I haven't deal with them

Very good. The keyboard comes with enough presets so that if you know NOTHING about editing, you can still come up with a great sound for what you want. However, if you're a pro with editing, then you can also mix and match the programs to get a great sound. The only thing i would gripe about is the TINY screen. However, it's only a minor setback, because my friends Kurzweil K2000 has a giant screen, and it feels like the extra screen goes to waste. The screen could be fixed, but.....no big whoop

The features are good. I've played better, but for the price range, this is definitely the way to go. The keys are a dream to play on, and it's very easy to switch sounds on. You can get to any sound on the keyboard within 6 pushes of keys. The midi capabilities are good, although i only use it in conjunction with my computer, and no other synths.

Great, everything is good! You need a good amp though! without a quality amp or P.A, it sounds poppy and junky with a lot of the piano and synth sounds.

Very dependable! haven't had any trouble with it yet

Never had to deal with them

If lost or stolen, i'm sure i would buy another one, and it's definitely worth the money i paid.

There's a teenie weenie LCD display big enough to show the truncated name of the patch you're working with and that's just about it. Nothing fancy here. In fact, it's somewhat tiresome using this little "window" to get around. As one who likes big displays, gizmos and gadgets to make getting round on a workstation easier, I was disappointed with the QS8's interface. On the other hand, I was aware of the limitations prior to purchasing it--so now you know, too. The stripped-down interface was the only way Alesis could get this thing down at this price range.

Purely a keyboard with a lot of sounds. Took me 3 days to hear all the presets and combinations of sounds (about an hour per day). Not much else, except for a signal effects processing engine for some acceptable, often unusual audio effects, but nothing fancy here. As an 88-key workstation, the QS8 seems quite a steal for its price, but the truth is with a horrible interface and no sequencing capabilities it's purely a sound-emitting tone generator and master keyboard, nothing more. On the other hand, the keyboard on the QS8 is pretty good, and there are worse keyboards out there for a lot more.

The QS8 seems to be focused around piano, bass, and unusual rhythmic synth sounds. The rest of the sounds aren't horrible, either. The sonic quality of the presets on this synth are definitely top-notch, especially in comparison to Alesis' competition.

I haven't had it for very long, but it seems to be holding together without any problems so far. It's a pretty big board for carrying around, but at this price range if something went wrong and it had to be replaced, it would probably be worth it.

Four (!!) posts of mine on rec.music.makers.synth were replied to by Alesis employees! They were extremely helpful and blew me away completely.

I bought this thing needing a "MIDI base", something to build a MIDI studio around. I feel I made a wise decision. There's nothing fancy here, and the piano sounds and weighted keys are great to keep me practicing on. But unless you're intending to do live keyboarding which this board would probably be great for, it's useless in the studio without complementing gear (i.e. MIDI sequencer, other synth modules, etc.)