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Sounds : The synthetic sounds are very good (there are also 3 times as many synthetic sounds than any other genre). The acoustic guitars are nice (though most of the electric guitars are absolutely unrealistic), but the other stringed instruments are average at best, with only a few exceptions. Most brass and wind instruments are average, some are very good, others very bad. The chromatic and organ sounds are almost all excellent. Unfortunately, most of the piano sounds are very weak in the upper range, but reasonable in the middle and lower. The Rhodes sounds are a different story - I love them in their entirety! The bass sounds are quite fat, issuing variance between synthesized and acoustic basses. While the drums are pretty boring, they're adequate containg the most popular kits, (eg. 808, 909, Rock, Fuck, Techno, Hardcore, etc.), and can still be used effectively. Most of the rhythms in the rhythm/FX section are very simple, and wear out quickly. The FX are pretty cool, I wish there were more! "Nanites" gives me goose-bumps. ;-) Editing : The user interface is clumsy, and to the new user, confusing. Make sure you install a sound and effects-editor for crafting your own sounds (thankfully, the QS-6 is shipped with good sound and effects-editors for PCs and Macs) - it will save you eons of time. Editing effects is the most fiddly exercise of them all, but this is reconciled with impressive versatility and superb quality effects processors. Expandability : The QS-6 can utilize 4 or 8MB of extra sample ROM via the PCMCIA format QuadraCards. It can also act as a sampler with 4 or 8MB PCMCIA format Flash RAM cards. Note: There is only one slot for either of these cards. Pros : The QS-6 particularly excels in new-age, synthetic, Rhodes, organ, and chromatic sounds. The guitar and bass sounds are also quite rich. Effects are very flexible and powerful; there are 4 individual multi-effects busses. It is shipped with PC and Macintosh sound and effect-editing software. With 640 preset Programs and 500 preset Mixes, there are many sounds to explore initially. It's very solidly built. CHEAP. Cons : Its biggest weaknesses are most of the strings, and a few flimsy brass and wind instruments. Editing sounds and effects is tedious and clumsy without a software sound and effects-editor. I found it a shame you can only assign 2 effects modulation sources / destinations. No excellent piano sounds. Physical : The construction is sturdy, and I like the feel of the semi-weighted keys. The sliders, buttons, and wheels are all fine. I would've liked a slightly bigger LCD display, though. I've owned my QS-6 for almost half a year now, and it's had its fair share of knocks and bumps; there are no signs of any deterioration. Summary : Comparing it to the few synths I've played in its price range ($1,200 Australian), the QS-6 has both the best technical specifications and overall sound quality.
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