I got to play a QS7 for a while this weekend, and already own a QS+. Most of the same types of sounds are covered on the QS7, so there is some overlap, but some of the patches with the same name don't sound the same, some are better (the Hammond organs), some worse (Communion for example). The QS7 had some really great new brass sounds, and orchestral patches in general (like the LA philarmonic ones). I've never been much of a fan of using brass sounds on a synth but the QS7s were killer. The woodwinds were about the same (fairly good quality already on the QS+) with the notable exception of the flute... that gorgeous vibrato flute sample on the QS+, perfect for soft pads and mellotron flute sounds, is gone! The flute sounds on the QS7 seemed to use a harsh, piercing sample with a raspy attack. The QS7 seemed to include a wider and more improved variety of synth sounds. Some notable ones were BladeRunner, Fluid Pad, Outland, and some awesome leads like Alpha Lead and Beta Lead. I notice a lot of the new synth sounds I liked use some "pad" samples not found on the QS+, like X Pad, J Pad and M Pad. I'd love to get a hold of these! And of course the organs....excellent on the QS7! The Hammond sounds are as good as I expected. My only minor complaint is that the digital distortion (found on most synths) doesn't really do the samples justice, I think I'd probably use the rotary speaker simulation on my Boss SE-70 instead, which has a creamy analog distortion. Digital distortion sounds kind of brittle and harsh to my ears. You could easily (in a mix setup) patch the organ to the aux outputs to a nice leslie simulator to get some absolute monster organ sounds with the new QS synths. Anyways, as I tried out the QS7 I was so impressed I had thoughts of trading in my QS+ towards it, but I think instead I'll try to get a hold of those samples I need to get some of those new patches. The QS+ still had a lot of good samples that seem to be missing from the new QS's, and still has the best LCD display, so fortunately it isn't really being "obsoleted". I also compared the QS7 to the Roland XP-80 sitting above it and it compared very favorably, the QS7 seeming to have a bit more precision in clarity of sample quality and effects.Back to the TopRob Martino
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"The QS7 features a 76-key semi-weighted keyboard with aftertouch and release velocity. The QS7 incorporates 16 megabytes of onboard sound ROM. It features Alesis' acclaimed phase-accurate stereo grand piano voice, as well as a full complement of organs, strings, drums/percussion, brass, woodwinds, and rhythmic/sonic loops. It also features several banks of both new and classic synth textures, including waveforms from Keith Emerson's famous analog modular synthesizer. The QS7 offers 640 Programs and 500 multitimbral Mixes, which may be expanded to offer 1660 Programs and 1300 Mixes (32MB of ROM) using its two PCMCIA sound card slots and Alesis sound cards. All of the QS7's internal and external ROM and RAM voices are immediately accessible without installing expansion boards or waiting for disk drives. QS7's extensive master controller features include four fully-assignable real-time control sliders as well as pitch and modulation wheels. A sustain pedal and two assignable pedal inputs are included on the rear panel. The QS7 also implements the powerful QS Modulation Matrix, allowing users to assign virtually any controller source to any modulation parameter. The onboard effects processor utilizes four totally discrete effects busses for powerful multieffects that include reverb, delay, rotary speaker simulation, distortion, chorus and much more. Using Alesis' new Sound Bridge 2.0 software and any Mac or PC, the QS7 can write AIFF and .WAV samples as well as Standard MIDI Files and Program data to PCMCIA Flash or SRAM cards. Standard MIDI File sequences can then be played back by the QS7 without the use of any external sequencing device. For direct digital connection to ADAT recorders and compatible products, the QS7 includes the ADAT Optical Digital Interface. Also included is a serial data port that provides direct connection to a Macintosh or PC without a MIDI interface. Four independent 1/4" audio outputs and a headphone output are also provided. Like Alesis' QS6, the QS7 includes a CD-ROM in Mac and Windows format that includes sequencing software, Alesis' new Sound Bridge 2.0 and Freeloader software, General MIDI sequences, editor/librarian tools, additional sample and program data and other third party software. The QS7's strong all-metal chassis is designed for use both in studios and on the road. Dimensions of the QS7 are 44 1/4" wide x 11" deep x 3 1/4" high. For more information, contact Alesis at 310-841-2272. Alesis Corporation, 3630 Holdrege Avenue, LA, CA 90016."
There have been reports of some QS7 and QS8 owners having difficulty using SoundBridge with the approved AMD flash cards. Thanks to Jeff Pynonnen and Les Winters, we have been able to isolate the problem. It seems that AMD, the company who manufactures the flash cards that we approve for use with our synths is actually making two types of cards with the same part #. Both are exactly alike, except one has a ceramic case, and one has a metal case. It has been discovered that the metal case cards do not function correctly with the QS7 and QS8...however, they do work correctly on the QS6 and S9. The discrepancy is due to the double card slot interacting peculiarly with the metal case - the result is that the QS7 and QS8 think they're SRAM cards, and will not allow them to be burned...suffice it to say that neither we nor the engineers at AMD can explain why at this time - they're exactly the same otherwise. AMD is still manufacturing the ceramic case cards, and will gladly send that model to anyone who specifies (same price)...remember, the part # for the two cards is the exact same (AmC008DFLKA for the 8 meg...just change the 8 to a 4 for the 4 meg, etc). Remember, the ceramic ones work in all the synths, and the metal ones only work in the synths with one card slot. Please feel free to email me with any questions...dB
Alesis Keyboards
This is the current release version of Sound Bridge for Windows. It is compiled for Windows 3.1 and it works just fine in Windows 95 as well.NEW FEATURES:
Soundbridge will be included on the forthcoming CD ROM for the QS7 & 8 which should be available shortly. Only QS7 & 8 users are entitled to a copy of the disk free of charge. The disk will not be available for purchase due to liscensing issues.Users who did not receive a claim form with their QS7/8 for the CD ROM should call with their serial number ready. The CD will be ordered upon verification of registration.
If you have any questions or comments, call :
Alesis Technical Support
800-5ALESIS
800-525-3747