The

Alesis Alesis is an electronic music company that designs and markets electronic musical instruments, digital audio processors, audio mixers, drum amplifiers, amplifiers, digital audio interfaces, recording equipment, drum machines, professional audio ...

Quadrasynth is a 76-key, 64-note polyphonic PCM sample-based digital subtractive

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

first introduced in 1993. It was Alesis's first major foray into synthesizer production.

Function

In the Quadrasynth's composite synthesis system, up to four "tones" are used to create a single "patch" or synthesizer sound. These individual "tones" are created by using 16-bit digital single-cycle waveforms or digital samples as oscillator sources, and are then processed via a digital non-resonant filter, various LFOs and envelope generators, and so on - in the usual manner. The Quadrasynth contained 16MB of ROM containing PCM-based waveforms and samples, with the option of expanding the sample base via

PCMCIA The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) was a group of computer hardware manufacturers, operating under that name from 1989 to 2009. Starting with the PCMCIA card in 1990 (the name later simplified to ''PC Card''), i ...

expansion cards which plug into the back of the synthesizer. A "patch" on the Quadrasynth can contain 1, 2, 3 or 4 of these tones. However, polyphony decreases as more tones are used. For example, a 1-tone patch would have 64-note polyphony, a 2-tone patch would have 32-note polyphony, and a 4-tone patch would only have 16-note polyphony. Patches can only be stored in the User bank. All other banks are factory presets which cannot be overwritten. The Quadrasynth was typical of synthesizers of the early 90s, featuring a digital, menu-based editing system. Editing user patches could be tedious if the user is unfamiliar with its complex editing structure or has not read the manual. A multitimbral "mix" (or "performance") can contain up to 16 parts (patches). Each part can respond to the full range of the keyboard or to a configured subrange, which allows for layering and splitting. Each patch in a mix corresponds to a different MIDI channel, so that the Quadrasynth can become a multitimbral playback device for external sequencers or MIDI file players. The Quadrasynth also had a 4-bus multi effects processor, which is based on Alesis' own Quadraverb 2 stand-alone effects processor. A main function of the synthesizer is its ability to output in Quadraphonic, on the rear of the keyboard .

History

In 1995, Alesis gave the Quadrasynth an upgrade with th
QuadraSynth Plus
It had more

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * R ...

(24MB), plus many more program patches. The General

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

library was added, as well as an 8MB stereo Grand Piano sample. In 1996, Alesis introduced the first of their QS series synthesizers. The first of these were th
QS6 61-key synth
and th
QSR rackmount synth
Following these in quick succession were th
QS7 76-key synth
and th
QS8 88-key synth
(the flagship of the series). Essentially, the QS synths' architecture is still based on the original Quadrasynth, but with the important addition of a modulation matrix, allowing users to assign virtually any controller source to any modulation parameter. Many of the sounds in the Preset and User banks were re-written, and new samples were created, including samples of

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...

's infamous

Yamaha GX1 The Yamaha GX-1, first released as Electone GX-707, is an analog polyphonic synthesizer organ developed by Yamaha as a test bed for later consumer synths and Electone series organs for stage and home use. The GX-1 has four synthesizer "ranks" or ...

synthesizer. Emerson even wrote new patches for it, and demonstrated the new QS8 at a release party for Alesis in 1996. In 1998, Alesis upgraded the QS line with th
QS6.1QS7.1
an
QS8.1
which were basically the same as the original QS line, except that Alesis created a new 8MB Bosendorfer Stereo Grand Piano sample for them. Also, a bigger LCD screen, and a few extra assignable sliders (for performance tweaking) were included. In 2003, Alesis decided to keep the QS series alive with the QS6.2 and QS8.2 (there was no 76-key version). This happened after Alesis declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 2001 and was acquired by Numark. Basically, the x.2 line is identical to the x.1 line but with many stripped-down hardware options. There is now no ADAT port, no multiple outs (only a stereo pair), only one PCMCIA expansion slot, and no aftertouch on the 88-key model. The only other differences are a new brushed-aluminum casing (replacing the original black metal casing), plastic end-caps instead of oak (on the 88-key models), ergonomic placing of cursor buttons, and 24-bit effects and DAC's.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070703085221/http://www.vintagesynth.com/index2.html * http://www.midiworld.com/quadrasynth/index.htm Alesis synthesizers Polyphonic synthesizers Digital synthesizers

Function

History

References

Further reading

External links