Alesis QS8.2 88 any good?

[Henry Low]

Hi guys, anyone had any experiences with this keyboard? how does it come pare to other synths out therE? Thanks

 

[rjt]

I have an original Alesis QS8.... not the .2 My answer to your question is.... for what? It kinda depends on what kind of music you want to make, do you want this mostly as a controller, is money an object, are the sounds the most important, do you want to take this to gigs etc.? Most importantly..... do you like it? That said, I like mine. I use it mainly as a controller in my home studio. It is pretty solid and would be a bit hard to lug around without help. The keys have a nice feel. I have it stocked with the orchestral card and the vintage synth card. I got the latin card and vintage keyboards for Christmas a couple of years ago, but don't use them much (if you get an Alesis and want some cards... drop me an e-mail). The sounds in the Alesis are pretty "bread and butter".... not lots of exotic stuff. Also, the filters don't resonate, although there are some cute tricks and the samples on the vintage synth card that sound pretty good. The effects are also bread and butter, no fancy amp simulations etc. You can load samples, but it is a tedious process and unless you are really devoted to it, I wouldn't bother. On the up side, the keys have a good feel and I have come to like the rubberized wheels. The 4 sliders are programable, as is the 2nd footswitch, so you can send a lot of messages to sequencers or other modules. The 4 sliders also mean you can do a lot to modulate and liven up your sounds. Some people don't like the sounds of the QS.... I think they are adequate (okay, a bit weak) by themselves, but I do like them quite a bit for doubling other sounds. I have a number of synths and numerous softsynths and still double a lot with the QS sounds. Althought it is somewhat limited in it's programming compared to other synths, it is easy enough to learn your way around programming if you havn't had much experience. I also saw some new original QS8s selling for less that $600 somwhere.... (not the .2's). I'm glad I have mine and am sure I will keep it as a controller for some time.

Take care

 

[Henry Low]

Thanks for your time in making a reply. It was very informative How are the sounds? I am interesting in knowing if the piano sounds are good... and other such as the drums and stuff... Thanks

 

[rjt]

I think that is a personal preference. You have to listen to them and see if they will work for you. Also, IMHO, the sounds tend to work better in a mix than they do on their own. Sooooo, go listen if you can. There is no way the strings for example, are going to sound as realistic as the strings played on a Gigasampler with a $1500 set of string samples. Few synths can match that. The QS is a good bread and butter machine. It (again IMHO) is a good starter and will give you a good controller which will serve you well in the future. While the sounds are not my favorite, I do use them. Sooooooo (where have I heard this before?).... get out there and use your ears!!

Take care!