Alesis QS8 piano samples?
Katherin O'Carroll
I have an Alesis QS8, and am quite happy with most of the sounds and
features, but my main problem with it (which I hope can be fixed!) is the
piano sounds. They sound good to me when I hit a note and close my eyes
(sounds realistic enough to me), but when I start to play a song, I find
the piano doesn't seem to respond to my playing like I'm used to. For one
thing, the notes don't seem to sustain long enough for me, I find they
fade out a bit too fast, especially the higher pitches (adding a reverb
effect doesn't solve this problem, just creates too much echo) Secondly,
I find that I can't get enough dynamic range for my liking... when I pound
on the keys, they don't sound different enough than when I use a lighter
touch. My rhythmic punches (accents) while I'm playing get kind of lost
as a result.
Any QS 7 or 8 owners/digital piano owners out there have any advice on how
to program the synth so that it responds more sensitively to my touch (a
recommended velocity setting maybe?) or know how to make the notes on the
piano sustain a bit longer (especially the higher pitches?) Any
advice/help or opinions on this subject greatly appreciated, and I'll just
add that apart from these complaints, I really like the QS and have found
many of its samples very useful. :) But hopefully someone out there can
relate my frustrations...
Kat
--
pTooner
Katherin O'Carroll wrote:
> I have an Alesis QS8, and am quite happy with most of the sounds and
> features, but my main problem with it (which I hope can be fixed!) is the
> piano sounds. They sound good to me when I hit a note and close my eyes
> (sounds realistic enough to me), but when I start to play a song, I find
> the piano doesn't seem to respond to my playing like I'm used to. For one
> thing, the notes don't seem to sustain long enough for me, I find they
> fade out a bit too fast, especially the higher pitches (adding a reverb
> effect doesn't solve this problem, just creates too much echo) Secondly,
> I find that I can't get enough dynamic range for my liking... when I pound
> on the keys, they don't sound different enough than when I use a lighter
> touch. My rhythmic punches (accents) while I'm playing get kind of lost
> as a result.
>
Hi, Kat, I didn't buy an Alesis QS8 for the reasons you outline here. The
sound was very much like a Japanese piano to me. The attack too choppy and
the sustain to short. The lack of dynamic range is a fact of like with
digital pianos. Even the very best of them don't have the dynamic range you
would expect. I don't think this is fixable. For what it's worth, I liked
the Rolands much better. The KR-570 has excellent sustain and the best
dynamic range of any that I have seen so far. If you MUST have a portable,
the RD600 uses the same sample (I've been told) but you might lose some
dynamic range due to tha lack of built in sound system. I had considered
buying the Alesis and midiing (is that a word?) to a free standing sound
generator. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one that was any better although I
didn't get to try a Roland piano module. Their MT series (Sound Canvas) was
no better than the Alesis.
Gerry
--
邢 唷��
Rick Clark
ah...@chebucto.ns.ca (Katherin O'Carroll) wrote:
>I have an Alesis QS8, and am quite happy with most of the sounds and
>features, but my main problem with it (which I hope can be fixed!) is the
>piano sounds.
Katherine- just some quick suggestions:
1. Use the manual, get into the programming, and experiment with
velocity settings. I cannot give a better explanation than what is in
the book. The velocity is currently set to something you don't like-
so get in there and work with it. This is what synthesizers are for-
to put *you* in control.
2. The "sustain" problem is probably one of two things- either "note
stealing", which is a function of how many sounds are layered in
addition to how you are using the sustain pedal- there is a limitation
to the polyphony of any synth, and every time you add a layer, it cuts
the polyphony in half. Or, it could be the sample itself has a quick
decay, which you may be able to fudge a little with programming that
portion of the volume envelope (get that manual again).
But also, there are other piano samples available you can use (again
programming), and don't forget Alesis also has other cards available
separately, one of which may have a piano you like.
In any case, it will never be just like a real piano. A synth has
certain limitations. But you can certainly shoot for "better".
My final suggestion is that if you post your question on
rec.audio.pro, you are likely to find a lot more users of the Alesis
than what you will find here.
Good Luck
R.C.
Michel Trudeau
Katherine,
The suggestions from Rick below are good ones and I will also give it a
try. I've got one more,
Alesis sells a ram card called the 512k ram card for about $130. I know
you probably don't want to hear about spending more money, but you
bought one of the least expensive 88 keys master controller on the market.
This card comes with an 8 banks of programs and mixes. It does not
contain new samples, just programs and mixes made out of the samples
already builtin your keyboard.
One of these programs on Bank1 #01 is called Comtemporary Piano and
believe me, this Piano sound (on my setup anyway) sounds better than
all other already builtin pianos in there. It's brighter than the True Stereo
program without sounding like an Honky Tonk piano like the GM Bright
Acoustic Grand program.
There is also some much nicer Harpsichord sounds on that card than
any of the builtins. This card gives you an additional 1024 programs and
800 mixes. You can also use the card to store some of you favorite
setups.
Go to a music and ask to try one. The best thing you can do is to go
to a Guitar Center and buy one, I think they give you a 30 day money
back guarantee.
Michel
Richard Huggins
I believe that sustain is a matter of memory usage, and some makers
choose to apply memory resources to other things. To have more sustain
would use memory that could be used for other notes, perhaps. Use of the
sustain (damper) pedal would not particularly affect any given note's
length of sustain but might do so on a group of notes if, as one reply
said, the memory resources of the synth are needed for other things.
(Actually, though, I have heard of note-stealing but not
sustain-stealing. Note-stealing is where certain notes are dropped so
that newer notes may sound. The better schemes for doing this never
touch the bass notes, and probably not the top three or five notes
either. Now that we are seeing 128-note polyphony, this is much less a
problem than it used to be.)
As has been said, you can play independent tone modules from your
Alesis, so if a better piano sound is "out there," and is available in a
module, you might consider buying it, if it's important enough to you.
It is rare that anyone gets the "perfect" synth or keyboard, it seems.
-_Richard
to...@no_spam.com
Richard Huggins <hug...@tyler.net> wrote:
> It is rare that anyone gets the "perfect" synth or keyboard, it seems.
True. Perhaps that is why third-party manufacturers and products seem to
be thriving? Stuff like the Perfect Piano sample CD-ROM aspire to the
greatest standards for piano sounds. Once I've budgeted for the $300 US
list price, I think I'll plug it into my Kurzweil K2500X and investigate.
Richard Huggins
I don't think about the CD-ROM option too much, because not only does it
require having a sampler into which it can be loaded, but it also
requires a gob of memory to handle the best sample. Or so I've been told
on both counts. Given those two things, though, CD-ROM samples probably
offer the best piano sounds available.
--Richard
DR
ah...@chebucto.ns.ca (Katherin O'Carroll) wrote:
>I have an Alesis QS8, and am quite happy with most of the sounds and
>features, but my main problem with it (which I hope can be fixed!) is the
>piano sounds. They sound good to me when I hit a note and close my eyes
>(sounds realistic enough to me), but when I start to play a song, I find
>the piano doesn't seem to respond to my playing like I'm used to. For one
>thing, the notes don't seem to sustain long enough for me, I find they
>fade out a bit too fast, especially the higher pitches (adding a reverb
>effect doesn't solve this problem, just creates too much echo) Secondly,
>I find that I can't get enough dynamic range for my liking... when I pound
>on the keys, they don't sound different enough than when I use a lighter
>touch. My rhythmic punches (accents) while I'm playing get kind of lost
>as a result.
This Web site might be what you're looking for:
Museum Music Productions
i had on of these keybds, I loved it for a day then I discoverd I hated the
damn thing. The piano
sounds actually doe suck after you play it for a while.
Roger
--
-------------------------------------------------------*
The Museum Music Productions
(503) 699-3505 mus...@cybcon.com
http://www.cybcon.com/~museum
-------------------------------------------------------*
* 24 Track Recording Studio
* Music Composing
* Arranging
* Transcriptions
* Jingles
* Film Music
DR <dave...@airmail.net> wrote in article
<EC4CAD27CBC226AC.ABE8F497...@library-proxy.airnews.ne
t>...
Gary Hollis
Can you be more specific?
Museum Music Productions wrote in message
<01bd368d$8842a6c0$054b93cd@museum>...