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Alesis QS7 - Image 1

Alesis QS7

DigitalPolyphonic

Back in 1996, this synth packed 16MB of sample ROM into a sleek 76-key frame, pulling in waveforms from Keith Emerson's legendary analog modular for those thick, vintage synth textures that still cut through mixes today.

Its rompler heart delivers 64-voice polyphony across 16 multitimbral parts, with 512 presets and 400 mixes ready to go—expandable to double that via PCMCIA cards. Four layers per program, 12 LFOs, and envelope generators let you shape sounds deeply via the QS Modulation Matrix, while 4-pole lowpass filters (sans resonance) handle the basics cleanly. Five front-panel sliders jump between volume, performance tweaks, and edits on its two-line LCD; semi-weighted keys respond to velocity, aftertouch, and release for expressive play. Out back, four 1/4" outs, stereo headphones, ADAT optical, MIDI I/O, and direct Mac/PC serial ports make it a studio workhorse.

Players love its bread-and-butter sounds—from phase-accurate pianos and orchestral hits to drum loops—for quick layering in tracks, though some wish for filter resonance. A true vintage gem that holds up for hands-on sound design.

Released

1996

Status

Discontinued

Synthesizer
Format
-
Type
-
Internal Battery
-
Voice
A/D
Digital
Polyphony
Polyphonic
Oscillators
0
Oscillator Type
-
Voices
64
Filter
Yes
Envelopes
-
LFO
-
Effects
4 On-board effects, based on the Alesis QuadraVerb 2 FX processor
Expression
Aftertouch
-
Velocity
Yes
MPE
No
Additional
-
Software
-
I/O
Audio In
-
Audio Out
1 stereo
Headphone
-
MIDI
-
MIDI Type
-
Ports
-
Wi-Fi
No
Workflow
Arpeggiator
No
Sequencer
No
Mod Matrix
-
Memory
512 preset 128 user programs, 400 preset and 100 user mixes, expandable using PCMCIA cards
Measurements
Dimensions
-
Weight
-
Last updated Feb 25, 2026