How is the Alesis QS8 / 8.1?

[Jez]

I may be looking to pick up a 2nd hand 88 note synth/controller sometime in the near future, and this one in particular caught my attention.

 

I've checked out the demos on synthmania and there seems to be a fair amount of useable presets, and the standard piano patch seems suitable for rock, nice and bright, and for it's ROM size, quite realistic (at least, the kind I like).

 

What I'd like to know is, how is the weighted action? Is it the usual sort of Fatar affair, or something better? Opinions from experienced owners are most welcome but basically anyone who's played it, feel free to chip in. Also, how does it fare as a controller? Can you assign the sliders to control things like filter etc on a module?

 

Ideally I'd like to pick up a Yamaha S80, but beggars can't be choosers, so I'm looking at other stuff of a similar age/price range... probably

[ChipCurtis]

I have the 8.2 which is basically a re-hash of the 8.1 with some stripped down hardware features (no digital interface, no serial port, no aftertouch, no auxilliary outs).

 

The internal piano ROM is, like you said, good for rock/pop but not so great for jazz/classical. I have the Jazz Piano Q-Card which adds some nicer, "woody" piano sounds sampled from a K.Kawai grand by our good friend, dB.

 

The action is pretty good IMO. Not as heavy as Yamaha action. Don't know how it fares against Fatar. I'd say it's probably a lot like Roland and Korg 88-key weighted action. Not too light, not too heavy, just about in the middle. I'd say it's "weighted" yes, but not exactly true "hammer" action like the Yamahas.

 

The four sliders can be used to send CC messages for controlling sofsynths & other modules.

 

I got mine just to have a portable 88-key affair with decent bread & butter presets (EPs, organs, pianos, synth pads)... and in that department it's actually pretty good sounding. Some of the choirs and synth pads are sonically right up there with Motif, Triton, Fantom IMO.

 

It is what I'd call a good workhorse ROMpler for gigs... none of the fancy stuff (sequencing, CD recording...), no tons of gigabytes of memory, just a decent performance ROMpler at a bargain price. It sounds very crisp and bright.

[Mr. Botch]

To their credit, I believe the Alesis QS series have been on the market longer than any other synth.

(and if I'm wrong, someone here will surely point it out! )

[Dave Bryce]

Originally posted by ChipCurtis I have the 8.2 which is basically a re-hash of the 8.1 with some stripped down hardware features (no digital interface, no serial port, no aftertouch, no auxilliary outs). (snip) The action is pretty good IMO. Not as heavy as Yamaha action. Don't know how it fares against Fatar.

I believe it is a Fatar - at least, it is on the earlier units.

 

The QS8/8.1 use Fatar TP20 keybeds. I believe the QS8.2 uses a less expensive keybed - don't know for sure if it's a Fatar or not...

 

BTW - I didn't actually sample the K. Kawai on the Jazz Piano QCard myself - I just picked it.

 

dB

[Jez]

certainly sounds like it'll do the job thanks for the input guys.

[mchristi]

I've always been told that the QSx.1 series are the best, better than the .2's even.

 

I have a QS8.1 and it's a great synth for the cash (I got it for 700 CAD used!). Wide variety of sounds. The sounds aren't mind numbingly good, but they're good enough for the most part.

 

If you have a choice of QS8 or QS8.1, definitely go QS8.1.

[shniggens]

I like mine!!! Nice piano and synth sounds. OK electric piano sounds. Like 3 decent organ sounds.

[rpieket]

Originally posted by Mr. Botch To their credit, I believe the Alesis QS series have been on the market longer than any other synth. (and if I'm wrong, someone here will surely point it out! )

No problem. It all depends on what you mean by "series" and "on the market". The honor for the longest available synth goes to the VCS3. Released in 1969, still available in its original configuration today.

 

The QS is just a baby.

 

-Ron.

[coyote-1]

I have a QS7.1, which has the same soundset and controls as the 8.1 but an unweighted board.

 

It has a boatload of useful sounds. Editing them to remove all the fizzy effects makes them better.

 

Its editing features are a pain in the ass til you get it, then they seems quite simple.

 

It's an awesome MIDI controller. Splits, layers, etc work great - and it can function as a master controller to send program changes to other gear.

 

Its filters are NOT a strong point. Subtle at best.

 

It has aftertouch. At first I didn't know what to make of it - I've since found that it's one of the most important features of that board (the 6.2 - 8.2 don't have aftertouch). Aftertouch allows you to make your horn patches sound realistic by having it control downward pitchbend... lotsa players use a wheel or joystick for that but I'm always covering another part on my other hand so aftertouch is a godsend.

 

Get an 8.1 if you need the 88 weighted keys. If not, look for a 7.1 or 6.1. Best of that line.

[ChipCurtis]

 

Originally posted by mchristi I've always been told that the QSx.1 series are the best, better than the .2's even.

 

 

Feature-wise, yes. Sound-wise, not really.

 

To its benefit the .2 series do have 24-bit DAC's compared to .1's 18-bit. But since the base samples are still 16-bit, it makes minimal difference.

 

The .2 series have a completely re-written User bank.

 

Everything else is basically stripped-down hardware on the .2's but they are not necessarily cheap junk. Still a metal body, still sturdy, just plastic end-caps instead of oak on the 88-key ones. And as stated before, no AT, no digi and serial ports, no aux outs.

 

Yeah, for the money I'd go for a used 8.1 over a new 8.2, it makes more sense.