I am not sure comparing a $1.2 controller to a $9K controller is valid.

To me that's like comparing a PII/300 PC with a Sun Enterprise 10K.

Sure, they're both computers, but you expect more from a 64 processor,

12GB backplane UNIX supercomputer (for a cool couple million). The feel, sound, and quality should bring many enjoyable hours. And,

since most of the people who listen and sing in church are not seasoned

audiophiles, as probably Chris N. can attest to, they'll never know

if I am using a cadillac or a vw.

I hope in cards....i have the vintage one and it's good but el. pianos and hammond inside were already good too.

The multi mix are hard to program because of that silly display!!!

First, I should start by saying that I've typically used SY22, SY77, SY99, VL1,

Disklavier, Korg I4, some Proteus racks, and a variety of sampling and tone

generator units (again, these are mostly Yamaha). For the price of the QS8, it's

a nice buy, particularly for people that want to add some muscle to their sound

engine (64 voice polyphony is VERY nice). The QS8 is an excellent keyboard for

people that are looking to buy their first, and also for folks that enjoy

making music as a hobby or for local gigs and so forth. However, I've read some

of the comments that other folks (below) have written, and I'd like to discuss

some differences I've noted between this unit and others I am using. First,

although many of the sounds are very nice, in comparison to units like the SY

series, they sound somewhat dry. Now, this is a somewhat unfair comparison to

make. The SY series keyboards run up to some $9K for the SY99 (now discontinued,

unfortunately). The QS8 is only about $1.2K. The QS8 is unquestionably value for

your money, especially when you consider that many of the SY-series only feature

48-note polyphony. I only mention this because it's a mistake to think that one

is getting high-end sound control from the QS8. The QS8 is (I believe) FM

synthesis technology, and, to a seasoned acoustophile, it definitely sounds less

rich than AWM synthesis. In terms of usability, the QS8 has a less easily

understood interface than is available in the SY, and I-series synthesizers.

In fact, I would probably say the Alesis is one of the most complex

architectures I have ever used. In order to take control of it's effect send

architecture, for example, you need to consult tables on how it's routing

and effects operate under a given configuration. Sometimes it can be unclear

what effects are available and at what times they are usable. In comparison,

the SY series has on-screen menus that make it more clear and intuitive what

effects are in place and under what conditions they are operating. The I4 is

probably approaching the QS8's degree of complexity in effects patch

programming. I am still having major difficulties working with this synthesizer

and MIDI. I have my entire studio running on Vision 3.5. This is the only

synthesizer in my studio which distinguishes between mix and program key events,

the result of which is that it is generally a major hassle to record program

sequences destined for mixes, the keyboard won't play program sequences in mix

mode and won't play mix sequences in program mode. With some tweaking around,

this can be worked around, but it's a pain in the neck. I'm not sure you could

call this a "problem", but it sure does take up your time dealing with it. I'm

giving this keyboard a 3 out of 5 because it's a good keyboard worth adding to

anyone's collection (particularly novice users), but demanding/high-end users

should be aware of it's synthesis limitations and somewhat difficult programming

interface.