Alesis QuadraSynth Plus

The keyboard responds well and with th right MIDI interface has almost no latency. It's not overloaded which is a big plus. Some of the menus were a bit confusing

What absolutely rocks is that it has MIDI and Optical outputs. I used a Edirol MIDI cable/adapter and it was recognized even under Linux. (usually use reason or nuendo).

The memory card slot is cool too but I haven't used it. There are lots of good sounds but in my opinion they could be a bit more sharp. I guess there is a big jump from a "brandnew" keyboard to one that is 10 years old.

So far it has been very solid EXCEPT the left MIDI button will not work. Everything else works perfectly I have had no problems.

I premarily use the Quadrasynth Plus to make electronic music. It does its job well. I would buy it again but for the same price there are (now) better equipped keyboards out there. I plan on keeping my Quadrasynth Plus as long as possible ;)

10! the sounds are good enough to inspire my live playing. editing the patches is a task i havn't done yet, but I'm sure I will enjoy it once I start. The manual is complete enough for me, and not too intimidating. I love the size and weight of the case, and handy handle for carying. The 76 keys are just enough for me as a professional piano player. the Quad-knobs are fun to experiment with. the patches I like the most are the orchestral, bell sounds, organ, and piano. The display is easy to understand. The buttons and knobs are set up fine. I really appreciate the large digital volume dial. I look forward to using all the four audio outputs.
I like the key action, but because of wrist injurys I have to be careful not to hold the keys down. the keys are a bit wider than standard piano keys, therefore I have to adjust back and forth between piano and this keyboard, but its worth it.

See above.

I like the effects very much. and I like the aftertouch.

I suppose.

The company was helpful.

No.


No.

see above

The synth is generally easy to use given it's digital/sample based. The quad knobs are comfy though require a bit too much wrist movement. The vertically stacked digit and edit button are annoying and look too much alike. The effects routing are not as cut and dry as I would have liked. Pluses are the Display(road map) and multitude of controllers.

Alesis packed this thing with features/effects/and quality sounds. They really didn't leave anything out. I'm sure the prices their going for nowadays makes them an absolute steal. 76 weighted keys and all the midi implementation make it a lasting controller. Sampling through sound bridge is also good once you set it up. Oh ya and don't forget the q-card/memory expansion port (that happens to be compatable w/their newer boards). One sequencer short of a 10- ya, ya, get a computer.

Piano's are very good and well laid out-lot's of room for creative ideas. Jam packed w/orchestrial instruments makes it quite the midi-playback machine. Really like the technique of adding drums on heavy key strokes (can almost play baroque single handedly). The synths are very good samples, but I found them more fun than truly usable. They only have one Oberheim pad :( (and that even needed tweaking). But, unless you've forgotton, it is a synth - so I was delighted after I tweaked a few things.

Had mine for four years before a very bad cat peed on it. Had the mainboard replaced for $150- fine ever since. Knobs are as stiff as day one.

They were unwilling to dispose of my cat. But great beyond that.

Not to overshadow the top notch sounds, but it's the best controller you'll ever have. Especially for the $$$. If your a guitar guy first and like to noodle w/keys on the side - this is what you want. Couple it with an analog and you'll be in heaven. I have no intention of ever selling it. It's worth much more under my fat fingers. It sounds like a real piano -but much easier to move.

The presets are good overall. Particularly strong are the brass, basses, saxophones, woodwinds, synth textures and especially the grand piano. The guitar sounds are weak.The unit is very user-friendly. However, I have yet to edit any patches.The manual is laid out nicely.

At 64 voices, the polyphony on the Quadrasynth is one of the best in the business. The 76 semi-weighted keys have a great feel, but some of them have a tendency to be noisy. The effects are excellent -- equivalent to Alesis's touted Quadraverb. You can expand in the unit via RAM/ROM cards -- up to 8 megs. I already have added the 4 meg Rap/Dance/Techno card, bringing the RAM for my unit up to 28 megs. Through the included Soundbridge software, you can burn your own samples too! The Quadrasynth makes for a nice master MIDI board -- with assignable controllers and solid implementation. There is no on-board sequencer.

Most of the sounds are great -- especially the piano -- wow! The flute is also very realistic. The only dissapointing sounds are the guitars, which sound a bit static to me. Some of the percussion samples are also weak, namely the congas.I use it for mostly rock and classical. The Rap/Dance/Techno card does give you some kickin' drum loops for dance stuff.I find it to be a very expressive keyboard.

No major crashes or breakdowns yet in the first month.

There was one particularly loud and annoying key on the first unit I had. Alesis kindly exchanged it for another one.

Yes -- absolutely. With the QS7 coming out, Alesis is practically giving the Quadrasynth Pluses away -- and they're great instruments.

Most of the presets sound great and are very useable. They are grouped by category so, for example, jump through all the variations of piano patches. Editing exising sounds is easy. Instead of a hidden menu of pages, all available editing pages are listed on the LCD screen, so you know how to get to where you want to go. Creating new patches is a little more difficult because there are so many things that need to get set. A patch editor definitely helps. The manual is technically weak. It doesn't even list the SYSEX data. I would expect to have all technical data included for a synth. The manual does however provide a decent overview of the board's features.

64 voice polyphony, can layer up to 4 voices per patch, can layer up to 16 patches, so you can actually play ALL 64 voices with one note:-) Very extensive modulation matrix: you can route almost anything to almost anything The effects are excellent (the same effects algorithms as the Quadraverb+ are used). You can actually hear the stereo leslie slowing down and stopping at different points between left and right. Takes PCMCIA cards for patch storage and downloading of your own samples (RAM cards). Also have a few expansion cards with added waves and patches. Includes 24 Mbytes of waves. Keys are velocity, release velocity and channel aftertouch. 4 knobs control knobs are fully programmable. Sustain pedal and 2 fully programmable input jacks (for ON/OFF or continuous control). Has 76 keys.

The acoustic instruments sound very realistic, especially: piano, brass, string, percussion. Very extensive collection of analog/digital sounds. Could be used for orchestral as well as techno music. It is versatile due to its wide range of wave samples. The effects are excellent. 4 busses available so you can rout different waves/patches to different effects. The keys are semi-weighted so they have a much better feel than most synth keys. Dynamic range is a little limited, but this may be more my lack of technic than the keyboard itself.

Daily use for 10 months with no problems. Very sturdy case. Weighs more than most boards of same size.

Alesis seems to respond to customer desires by continually improving on design. Software upgrades have been free. Provide free software (MAC/PC) for downloading user samples in RAM cards.

I would buy it again, especially now that the price has gone down a bit. I definitely love the piano sound. That and the 76 keys are the reasons I bought it. A very useable and versatile board. I prefered this over the Roland JV90 because of the polyphony and the keyboard feel and the price. I was looking for a 76 board and found it to be better and cheaper than the Roland. One thing I wish it had was fully weighted keys. However, Alesis is coming out with an 88 key weighted board soon (QS8) I find the patches can actually inspire me to play different styles of music.