Alesis QS8 - REVIEW (long)
Matt Moore
Hello all.
I just got back from spending an hour or two with what must be the
only Alesis QS8 in the Phoenix metro area. The only shop that’s
received any only received one - they’re pretty scarce, apparently.
After all the discussion about the QS8, I thought that some might
appreciate a review from an impartial party (no disrespect, Dave). I
returned a Kurzweil PC88 a few weeks ago because I heard the great
press about the QS8 only a week after the purchase (and didn’t want to
get behind the curve so quickly). So when I make comparisons between
the two, that’s where I’m coming from. I was hoping that the QS8
would live up to the hype, and for the most part I think it does.
The Action:
My first impressions of the action weren’t as favorable as I was
expecting them to be, after all I’d heard. Compared to the PC88 the
action didn’t feel quite as sturdy, even though both are made by
Fatar. I could, however, tell that they tried to emulate a hammer
action with this one - you can feel the point where a real piano
hammer would become disconnected from the keys. It felt pretty
realistic to me, but perhaps not quite as good as the Roland A-90.
After some vigorous playing, though, I began liking the action better
than either the PC88 or the A-90. It’s more responsive - doesn’t have
the same dead feeling at the bottom of the key travel. It was easier
to play fast runs and trills cleanly than it was with the Kurzweil.
One unresolved gripe - the keys are fairly noisy. No squeaks, just
fairly loud thumps when the keys hit the keybed. It didn’t prove
distracting, though. Another caveat - the default velocity curve was
too sensitive. Moderate pressure vs. hard pressure didn’t result in
much volume difference. I had to find my way to global settings and
turn the sensitivity down, but it still didn’t seem quite right. Of
course, the fff to ppp ratio is problematic in all these instruments,
so I’ll just have to get a real piano for the Rachmaninoff, I suppose.
Construction:
It seems well put together, generally, with faux (or maybe real, I
couldn’t tell) black wood ends and all metal construction in between.
Weight is about 50 pounds, which is impressive considering that the
power supply is internal. The PC88 is 55 pounds and comes with a
truly huge wall wart. A few gripes - the LCD is *tiny*. It doesn’t
seem like it would cost much more to throw in a few more columns. But
with a price like this, I won’t complain too loudly. The front panel
buttons are of the soft variety, which I’m not crazy about - I’m never
sure if I’ve pushed hard enough. The PC88 has nice ones that actually
click when you press ‘em. There are *very* few buttons, by the way,
enough that navigating through the OS was far from obvious. I think
I’ll be spending some warm nights curled up with the manual. The
button layout is exactly the same as on the QS7, in case you have
access to one of those.
Sounds:
Wow. I made it through most of the sounds, save the General Midi
bank. There are five banks - General Midi, User (which I’m assuming
is the only writeable bank), and three preset banks, each with 128
sounds (640 total for the mathematically disinclined). As you would
expect, with this many patches, there are quite a few which seemed
like filler. Very few were downright bad, however. I was very
impressed with the pianos. I could tell that quite a bit of ROM space
and sampling effort went into these. Most of the piano presets are
great, with a few exceptions - ‘Piano 64’ felt ponderous somehow, and
‘DarkClscl’ was swamped with too much reverb. The stereo pianos
really sparkle, from the low end to the high. My main gripe with the
PC88 piano was that four notes just above middle C (all using the same
sample, I’m guessing) had just a slightly more tines-like sound than
the rest. The intonation on all the QS8 pianos was very even.
For an instrument with a weighted keyboard, I was surprised by how
many ‘synthy’ textures I found (both analog-style and digital) - and
by how good they were. The most common acoustic instruments were all
there, though finding ‘straight’ versions of each was a bit of a
challenge. Strings were very nice as a whole, as were basses and
guitars. Brasses and woodwinds didn’t blow me away, but were
competent. Organs are *really* neat, and include a great B3. The
four sliders work as drawbars on most of the organ patches. Drums
sounded okay by themselves, but sounded great in the demo sequences,
which I guess is where it matters most. All I heard of the effects
sounded impeccable, but I didn’t spend any time playing with them
(couldn’t find ‘em, actually). The General Midi sounds I heard were
very respectable. Another nicety - the sounds are arranged such that
when you change banks, the patch in the same position in the new bank
is closely related to the one you started with. This makes it easy to
find similar sounds. One major gripe - patch changes are accompanied
by an interruption in the audio. It only last a split second, and
when the sound returns sustained notes are still playing the correct
sound, but it’s very noticeable. I’m surprised this slipped through.
Miscellaneous:
All the outputs are on the left side, for those who care. The serial
port is mini-din style, like a Mac serial port or a PS/2 style mouse.
There is a switch to choose between Mac or PC mode for the port. The
digital out was there, as was a BNC connector labeled 48kHz, though
I’m not really sure what it’s for. Perhaps Dave will enlighten us.
Looks almost like a 48kHz clock, but I don’t know why that would be
useful. Of course, I’ve heard some techno stuff that it might come in
handy. :) The built-in demo sequence was really cool, though it
emphasized the synthetic textures much more than the acoustic. I
guess with Keith Emerson writing it, that was to be expected. (Some
of the samples are from his rig, as I understand.) The included
Alesis footswitch was of the always-crawling-out-from-under-my-foot
cheapo plastic variety, which I hate, but piano style footswitches are
cheap enough.
I didn’t really look at the controller features or the programmability
very much, mainly because I wanted to play, not screw with the menus.
The four sliders had a nice feel, as did the pitch and mod wheels. I
didn’t play with any of the included software.
Price:
$1995 list, but my local store was selling it for $1595. Killer.
My overall opinion:
I would’ve been impressed for $2000, but for $1600 I’m pretty much
shocked. I’ll be getting one.
Disclaimer:
I don’t work for Alesis. You may very well disagree with me or think
I’m absolutely full of it after playing the QS8 for yourself. This
post may contain all manner of factual errors. (Dave, if you’re
reading, please point out any you find.)
DaveBryce9
Matt,
Totally, great review. Very thorough, very fair, and very informative.
Only a few comments:
<<the LCD is *tiny*. It doesnt seem like it would cost much more to throw
in a few more columns.>>
big display when it comes to programming (we figure more people program at
home than on the gig), we knew that people would enjoy the aspect of
having a librarian that Unisyn provides, and the display is actually more
intuitive than you would figure...we crammed a lot of stuff into it...
<<The digital out was there, as was a BNC connector labeled 48kHz, though
Im not really sure what its for. Perhaps Dave will enlighten us. Looks
almost like a 48kHz clock, but I dont know why that would be useful. >>
You are correct, sir...it is in fact a 48Khz word clock. Not only is it
useful, it's necessary, if you're trying to connect digitally to an ADAT
or other digital device that's controlled by a BRC or other external
device. In the all Alesis scenario (ADAT, QS8, BRC), you would take the
word clock output from the BRC and connect it to the QS8, then setting the
QS8 to receive external clock. This has two advantages:
1) The sample playback rate of the synth is exactly locked to the sampling
rate of the ADAT, for flawless digital transfer.
2) if you're synced to tape, and for some reason have to change the speed
of the tape for pitch or timing purposes, the samples on board the synth
pitch up or down accordingly, phase locked completely to the ADAT.
Pretty cool, huh? This is one of my favorite features on our synths.
Thanks for taking the time to write down your comments. We're always
interested.
dB
Alesis Keyboards
<<One major gripe - patch changes are accompanied
by an interruption in the audio. It only last a split second, and when
the sound returns sustained notes are still playing the correct sound, but
its very noticeable. Im surprised this slipped through.>>
As you may or may not know, because we used the chip from the Quadraverb
2, there's an awful lot of stuff happening in the fx processor. When you
change between patches, one of two scenarios is possible:
1) The note does not cut off, but there may be an audible click (usually
when switching to or from a program with distortion). The Quadrasynth
behaves this way.
2) The one you described above, in which the D/A coverters mute for a
fraction of a second, but there's no pop. QS6,7 and 8 behave thusly. The
thing is, when you're working in a multitmbral mix doing sequencing, you
can totally switch programs without any cutoff at all, unless you switch
your effects algorithm), so in that capacity, it doesn't matter.
Tom Antles
Matt Moore (ma...@asu.edu) wrote:
: The Action:
: One unresolved gripe - the keys are fairly noisy. No squeaks, just
: fairly loud thumps when the keys hit the keybed. It didnt prove
Since Fatar makes them all, I wonder how these can be louder than PC88,
unless the newer Fatar actions are louder than the old ones.
: Construction:
: with a price like this, I wont complain too loudly. The front panel
: buttons are of the soft variety, which Im not crazy about - Im never
I tried out a QS6 and it seemed fine, aren't these the same buttons?
DaveBryce9
<<I tried out a QS6 and it seemed fine, aren't these the same buttons?>>
They are, indeed.
I want to make one other point that Matt didn't mention in his review
that's been working for me in a big way...the fact that the QS8 fits into
a 76 key universal case (SKB 5014), and in the back of my Honda
Prelude...in it's gig bag, it fits in the trunk...lengthwise.
This rules.
Remember, it's not because the keys are thinner, it's because we mounted
the wheels over the keybed instead of next to it.
Sorry for the commercial. It's an important point.
dB
Christopher
Could Somebody please repost or email me this QS-8 review you are reffering too?
--
"Why can't everybody just accept the fact that I know everything?"
Christopher
Geek
Christopher wrote:
>
> Could Somebody please repost or email me this QS-8 review you are reffering too?
here is the review summed up:
"Shit sandwich."
(sorry i couldn't resist the Spinal Tap reference)
--
PEACE!
gee...@dreamscape.com
Long Live Vinyl!!!!!!!!!
Keep looking, searching, seeking, finding...
Keep dancing to our perfect beat and it will help you reach your peak!
---Afrika Bambaataa
Steve Rodgers
In article <4um42v$s...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, daveb...@aol.com says...
>
>Matt,
><<The digital out was there, as was a BNC connector labeled 48kHz, though
> Im not really sure what its for. Perhaps Dave will enlighten us. Looks
>almost like a 48kHz clock, but I dont know why that would be useful. >>
>You are correct, sir...it is in fact a 48Khz word clock. Not only is it
>useful, it's necessary, if you're trying to connect digitally to an ADAT
>or other digital device that's controlled by a BRC or other external
>device. In the all Alesis scenario (ADAT, QS8, BRC), you would take the
>word clock output from the BRC and connect it to the QS8, then setting the
>QS8 to receive external clock. This has two advantages:
>1) The sample playback rate of the synth is exactly locked to the sampling
>rate of the ADAT, for flawless digital transfer.
>2) if you're synced to tape, and for some reason have to change the speed
>of the tape for pitch or timing purposes, the samples on board the synth
>pitch up or down accordingly, phase locked completely to the ADAT.
>Pretty cool, huh? This is one of my favorite features on our synths.
>Thanks for taking the time to write down your comments. We're always
>interested.
>dB
>Alesis Keyboards
>
>
Has Alesis plans to provide a device to complete the digital circuit?
In other words, if you connect the QS+ to Adat 1 and you have a fiber optic
to Adat 2 you don't have anywhere to route Adat 2's digital pipe back to Adat
1 for bouncing. This means you have to connect, disconnect the QS+ from the
digital in of Adat 1 as needed.
Craig Devin
Geek <gee...@dreamscape.com> wrote:
I'm rusty on Spinal Tap...I hope this is a good statement about the
product, because the review certainly was positive. If you are
implying the review is bad, die.
-Craig
Glen Stewart
In article <unlisted-130...@192.0.2.1>, unli...@unlisted.com
(Christopher) wrote:
>Could Somebody please repost or email me this QS-8 review you are
reffering too?
It's worth reposting, IMO...
Hello all.
The Action:
One unresolved gripe - the keys are fairly noisy. No squeaks, just
fairly loud thumps when the keys hit the keybed. It didn't prove
distracting, though. Another caveat - the default velocity curve was
too sensitive. Moderate pressure vs. hard pressure didn't result in
much volume difference. I had to find my way to global settings and
turn the sensitivity down, but it still didn't seem quite right. Of
course, the fff to ppp ratio is problematic in all these instruments,
so I'll just have to get a real piano for the Rachmaninoff, I suppose.
Construction:
It seems well put together, generally, with faux (or maybe real, I
couldn't tell) black wood ends and all metal construction in between.
Weight is about 50 pounds, which is impressive considering that the
power supply is internal. The PC88 is 55 pounds and comes with a
truly huge wall wart. A few gripes - the LCD is *tiny*. It doesn't
seem like it would cost much more to throw in a few more columns. But
with a price like this, I won't complain too loudly. The front panel
buttons are of the soft variety, which I'm not crazy about - I'm never
sure if I've pushed hard enough. The PC88 has nice ones that actually
click when you press 粗m. There are *very* few buttons, by the way,
enough that navigating through the OS was far from obvious. I think
I'll be spending some warm nights curled up with the manual. The
button layout is exactly the same as on the QS7, in case you have
access to one of those.
Sounds:
Wow. I made it through most of the sounds, save the General Midi
bank. There are five banks - General Midi, User (which I'm assuming
is the only writeable bank), and three preset banks, each with 128
sounds (640 total for the mathematically disinclined). As you would
expect, with this many patches, there are quite a few which seemed
like filler. Very few were downright bad, however. I was very
impressed with the pianos. I could tell that quite a bit of ROM space
and sampling effort went into these. Most of the piano presets are
great, with a few exceptions - 善iano 64' felt ponderous somehow, and
船arkClscl' was swamped with too much reverb. The stereo pianos
really sparkle, from the low end to the high. My main gripe with the
PC88 piano was that four notes just above middle C (all using the same
sample, I'm guessing) had just a slightly more tines-like sound than
the rest. The intonation on all the QS8 pianos was very even.
For an instrument with a weighted keyboard, I was surprised by how
many 壮ynthy' textures I found (both analog-style and digital) - and
by how good they were. The most common acoustic instruments were all
there, though finding 壮traight' versions of each was a bit of a
challenge. Strings were very nice as a whole, as were basses and
guitars. Brasses and woodwinds didn't blow me away, but were
competent. Organs are *really* neat, and include a great B3. The
four sliders work as drawbars on most of the organ patches. Drums
sounded okay by themselves, but sounded great in the demo sequences,
which I guess is where it matters most. All I heard of the effects
sounded impeccable, but I didn't spend any time playing with them
(couldn't find 粗m, actually). The General Midi sounds I heard were
very respectable. Another nicety - the sounds are arranged such that
when you change banks, the patch in the same position in the new bank
is closely related to the one you started with. This makes it easy to
find similar sounds. One major gripe - patch changes are accompanied
by an interruption in the audio. It only last a split second, and
when the sound returns sustained notes are still playing the correct
sound, but it's very noticeable. I'm surprised this slipped through.
Miscellaneous:
All the outputs are on the left side, for those who care. The serial
port is mini-din style, like a Mac serial port or a PS/2 style mouse.
There is a switch to choose between Mac or PC mode for the port. The
digital out was there, as was a BNC connector labeled 48kHz, though
I'm not really sure what it's for. Perhaps Dave will enlighten us.
Looks almost like a 48kHz clock, but I don't know why that would be
Price:
My overall opinion:
Disclaimer:
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