Members Jeff da Weasel Posted August 25, 2010 Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 I was hit pretty hard with the news this morning that Keith Barr, the founder and former owner of Alesis Studio Electronics (as well as a founder of MXR before that) passed away yesterday at age 61. I don't want to write a long eulogy here. I'll just say that Keith was probably the only bona fide genius who I ever encountered on a personal level. He had an innate dislike for all things related to sales and marketing... he was a scientist and an inventor, and considered the type of stuff I did for Alesis (I worked there from 1992-2000) a necessary evil that allowed him to have the income to continue inventing. But his approach was different than just about any other product designer I've ever met in this business. He refused to copy anything that already existed; one of the caveats of Alesis products during those days was that they had to fill needs that nothing else did, in ways of either functionality or accessibility, or both. I only ran into him a few times in the decade since I worked for him. He always was involved in some interesting thing, some related to music and some not. While he may not have been liked by everyone who met him (scientists can be introverted and appear cold at first), he certainly was respected universally. Finding out about his passing hit me harder than I would have anticipated. I wish more people were aware of how huge his personal contributions were to the world of music/audio product design. RIP Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted August 25, 2010 Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 That is indeed shocking. I got to know Keith initially when he was working on the MXR drum machine, and kept in touch with him during his days at Alesis. I agree 100% that he made huge contributions to this industry, even though he wasn't a public figure. I would have thought he had quite a few more good years left, but I guess not... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted August 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 I would have thought he had quite a few more good years left, but I guess not... I would have hoped so as well. Craig, you know as well as anyone how the guy approached product design. He didn't want to hear about off-the-shelf SHARC chips; he had to start his own semiconductor company. He didn't care if there was an area where the company could be profitable by copying existing designs; he had to find newer/better/cheaper ways of doing things to put a unique brand on his products. Even if he'd only invented the ADAT, it would have been enough for a huge lasting legacy. But most people have no idea how hands-on he was with everything that Alesis made from 1984-2001, when the company was sold to the current owners. He also had areas of scientific interest having nothing to do with music/audio gear. It's sad to me that as a result of his own desire to keep a low profile, he always wanted to remain under the radar, and very few people outside the industry know what a massive impact he had. To me, his death ranks up there with people like Les Paul and Bob Moog in terms of the contributions he made to music/audio technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members urca Posted August 25, 2010 Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 Any details? Had he been ill? Very saddened by this, heard lots of good things about him. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted August 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 Any details? Not really. I'd heard it was a heart attack, but details are fuzzy. Keith didn't live the healthiest of lifestyles -- he drank, he smoked, and so on. He also faced some serious health problems back in his early 40s, around the time I started working for him, but I was under the impression he'd made it past that scare. He certainly wasn't a typical CEO. He came to work wearing jeans and t-shirts, and there were large lumps of time where he didn't come to Alesis at all. As I said, he had interests outside of the products we made, and he tended to work on what he felt like working on at that moment. But he'd show up when he wanted to, usually unshaven and looking like anything other than the wealthy person he was. It was always funny when he'd stop by a meeting full of suits, and people outside the company would be asking, "Who the hell is that guy?", not realized he owned the joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sventvkg Posted August 25, 2010 Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 Bummer man...RIP Brother! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudcat007 Posted August 25, 2010 Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 I remember when the first Alesis digital reverbs came out for cheap in the eighties. It was totally mindblowing that this inexpensive tiny box (around $100 IIRC) could create a reverb rivaling gear costing thousands. Then he came out with those great inexpensive drum machines. I still have an SR16 (although I don't use it anymore). Sad that we lost such an innovator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted August 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 Here's Keith as I'll always remember him... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted August 25, 2010 Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 Although I've never met him, I know of his work, partially because of the glowing words from Jeff in the past. R.I.P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Eddie Posted August 25, 2010 Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted August 25, 2010 CMS Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 That's sad news indeed. I don't know what he's been doing for the past several years, but I used to really enjoy talking with him about whatever he was excited about when I'd see him at a NAMM show. He's whip up stuff over a weekend that would become Alesis products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted August 25, 2010 Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 I'm very sorry to hear that. Between my ADATs, BRC, QV2 and various Alesis FX boxes, they probably accounted for more than half of my gear in the 90s. They were at the forefront of bringing down recording gear prices to levels that regular folks could afford and responsible for some really solid innovations. RIP, Mr Barr. Not really. I'd heard it was a heart attack, but details are fuzzy. Keith didn't live the healthiest of lifestyles -- he drank, he smoked, and so on. He also faced some serious health problems back in his early 40s, around the time I started working for him, but I was under the impression he'd made it past that scare. He certainly wasn't a typical CEO. He came to work wearing jeans and t-shirts, and there were large lumps of time where he didn't come to Alesis at all. As I said, he had interests outside of the products we made, and he tended to work on what he felt like working on at that moment. But he'd show up when he wanted to, usually unshaven and looking like anything other than the wealthy person he was. It was always funny when he'd stop by a meeting full of suits, and people outside the company would be asking, "Who the hell is that guy?", not realized he owned the joint. I had a boss like that, and, actually, in a similar position in the communications industry, although he went through companies (starting them, selling them) like they grew on trees. My old boss was famous through the industry for his innovations and high power RF amp designs and infamous for his lifestyle and erratic work habits. 'Rock star' gear designers... what can you say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members This Posted August 25, 2010 Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 He refused to copy anything that already existed; one of the caveats of Alesis products during those days was that they had to fill needs that nothing else did, in ways of either functionality or accessibility, or both.Oh come on. The SR-16 (code named Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted August 25, 2010 Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 Oh come on. The SR-16 (code named Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted August 25, 2010 Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 To me, his death ranks up there with people like Les Paul and Bob Moog in terms of the contributions he made to music/audio technology. That's for sure. And so young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted August 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 25, 2010 Here's Keith's obituary from Mix Magazine, if you want more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjt Posted August 26, 2010 Members Share Posted August 26, 2010 RIP. He sounds like an interesting man. I have had many Alesis products in my day..... just sold a QS8 about 8 months ago. Sorry to hear this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members timmit65 Posted August 26, 2010 Members Share Posted August 26, 2010 Very sad news. He will be missed! I never met him, but know several people that worked for/with him. By all accounts, he was a genius! I compare his and Russel Palmer's combination to Steve Jobs and Woz's combo for our industry. Of course, his hardware designs running Marcus Ryle's software revolutionized The Pro Audio universe. Was he still living in the Far East? I think his wife is Asian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted August 26, 2010 Members Share Posted August 26, 2010 Oh come on. The SR-16 (code named Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted August 26, 2010 Members Share Posted August 26, 2010 Here's Keith as I'll always remember him... Wow Jeff, great picture. Thanks for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members teleman55 Posted August 26, 2010 Members Share Posted August 26, 2010 Sad to hear. Pray for him and God Bless may he be in Heaven.Not a drum machine guy but got one of those SR-16s. Great for songwriting.Got an MXR Phase 90 too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hard Truth Posted August 26, 2010 Members Share Posted August 26, 2010 My low budget project studio would have had fewer capabilities and and sounded a lot worse if it wasn't for some key Alesis products. So I salute his legacy. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bookumdano2 Posted August 26, 2010 Members Share Posted August 26, 2010 Just out of curiosity, was he in on the blue digital delay development? Or was that the other guys at mxr? I still remember how jazzed I was when I preordered my two back in the ancient days. The Mxr blue digital delays were the FIRST I could ever afford at $1000 a pop in the mid 70's. I think the only other thing out then were eventides at triple the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members felix Posted August 26, 2010 Members Share Posted August 26, 2010 It is fascinating that the co-founders of MXR went on to begin Alesis, A.R.T., and Whirlwind. Also fascinating that the beginnings of Line 6 began at Alesis. A truly amazing legacy that Keith leaves behind, both based on his involvement in these companies and with these other people, and his involvement in so many products that have charted the direction of our industry so many different times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members This Posted August 28, 2010 Members Share Posted August 28, 2010 But they did things with the technology that hadn't been done before. One of the reasons the SR-16 was so inexpensive was that they were able to keep memory down by sampling reverb tails separately, and splicing them on to the dry drum samples. As a result, the SR-16 (and the HR-16 before it, IIRC) were able to get big, ambient sounds without needing lots of memory. I stole that technique for some sample libraries I did for Ensoniq back in the day. People never could figure out how I fit all those sounds on floppy disks Don't know if the idea was a Keith thing or a Marcus thing, so don't know where to give credit, but the smart use of memory was (I believe) one of the reasons for the SR-16's success. Well, that and of course, the fact that I wrote the manual There was a lot of really interesting technology in there that was transparent to the user, other than having it reflected in the lower price. The SR-16 had an amazingly long product life. I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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