In Reply to: 1st time buyer: Alesis, Roland, Yamaha...? posted by Eric on February 10, 2000 at 19:52:30:

: Shopping for my first synth. Looking at QS7.1, Roland A-70 with QSR or Korg N1R(and other modules down the road), Roland XP-80, or Yamaha EX5. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

I agree, these are all nice instruments. But, how much doe can you go?
QS7.1 wins in the bang for the buck category to be sure. It's also easier to learn than the others. A-70, though a good controller, will not give you many sonic choices unless you are sending to modules. Would not be my first choice. The others are all good and offer a bunch of performance and programming features. Each costs at least $500.00 bucks more(almost a Grand in the case of the EX5). So, even though it doesn't have an onboard sequencer or an arrpegiator, my opinion is that the QS7.1 would be the best choice for a first synth.