I always figured it is better to excel at something. Lack of diplomacy is my forte!
It is really too bad that a responsible buyer is not in the works for Alesis. For all the faults of that company, they really did have a good thing going, and I felt that they should have had an eye towards INCREASING quality. It seems over the years that it worked the other way with them.
I have a couple Quadraverbs that work flawlessly. But, I also have a Q2 (which by the way sounds superior in every way) which is having some LCD display problems, and one of the Input meter lights blew out. I have seen bunchs and bunchs of problems with the newer XT 20's. On the other hand, except for the normal every 300 hour maintnence, my Type I ADAT's still work killer. My BRC is still in great shape, although, a "row" on the LCD display burned out which makes 0's look kind of funky.
It is little crap like that that really annoys me. But some of the transport problems the newer ADAT's STILL have are very troublesome and make people doubt the reliability of the product line (Alesis claimed to have reworked the whole transport system on the TypeII ADAT's, and maybe they did, but I am not sure that it was an improvement, if anything, backpaddling....

). These are issues that the company should have addressed immediately if they wanted to stay in business.
I will not even start on their totally fucked up PCR card! Okay, I will. I am sure that some of the ex-exployee's are hanging around the internet these days, and maybe someone responsible for that hack of a soundcard will read this!
THAT CARD SUCKED! I cannot believe that I did over $1200 dollars in computer upgrades, all with an eye of being able to use that card, and STILL it doesn't work! Pops and clicks and digital distortion nasties! Drops out all over the place. Lost locks! EVERYTHING!!!
It was a disgrace for Alesis not to have recalled that product! I paid $420 for that damn card two years ago when it first shipped. It shipped with drivers that didn't work (that came from a level 2 tech support guy! I couldn't believe he admitted it....). I was told by the store I bought it from that they cannot return my money because the included software, Edit, was opened. THAT FUCKING SOFTWARE IS AVAILABLE ON THEIR WEBSITE FOR FREE!!! The store said that Alesis won't give them their money back because it was opened, so I could return it! What a fucking sham! How the hell am I supposed to know if the shit works unless I open it?
I have only talked to ONE person who was able to get the card to work properly, and he was a Alesis Rep who was hanging around here for a bit, so I do not believe even HE had it working right. Everyone else I talked to claimed the same problems I have had all along with the card. I was a fucking trouper and held out for a better computer to make that damn card work. I have fucking SCSI Ultra2 10,000rpm LVD hard drives. These are just short of state of the art, and STILL this card does not work! I have a damn Maxtor Diamond Max IDE 7200 rpm hard drive, which is considered one of the best IDE hard drives on the market for DAW's, and I could get more then 2 minutes of transfer on ONE track!!!
I believe Alesis really lost big on that card, and all the returns. Rather then cutting their losses and protecting their reputation by Recalling that card, they STILL SELL IT!!! It don't work! That is not only unethical, but is also consistent with their increasingly low QC over the years. It would seem that Alesis quit caring about making a GOOD product, and just wanted to get a CHEAP product on the shelf.
They deserve what they got. There may be good people working there, but EVERYBODY who stayed with that company contributed to it's demise by not "stepping up" to whoever made the decisions and trying to convince them to do the right thing and not quitting if they didn't.
Personally, I don't care if the company totally folds. I will probably never buy a new product from them again, unless a very reputable company steps up to buy them out. If Numark is that buyer, I FOR SURE will never buy a new product from them again. I can only imagine how bad QC will be then!
This is a rant! Nobody has to agree with it. It just makes me feel good to have a public forum to express myself in. It also feels good to know that some around here trust my opinions. If I sway you away from new Alesis product, then I feel I have done a civil service to you!
Ed