Alesis PCMCIA: Difference between revisions

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Alesis also provided a number of official card expansions, albeit their rarity makes any information very hard to come by in terms of exact preset/mix counts and waveform additions.
Alesis also provided a number of official card expansions, albeit their rarity makes any information very hard to come by in terms of exact preset/mix counts and waveform additions.
(to do: make a table for this i think it'd be great but also add tables for "generic" cards to detail how many patches/mixes these could *store*)
(to do: make a table for this i think it'd be great but also add tables for "generic" cards to detail how many patches/mixes these could *store*)
===Alesis QCards===
{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan=2| Model
!rowspan=2| Photo
!colspan=2| Patches
!rowspan=2| Sounds
!rowspan=2| Notes & Links
|-
!Patches
!Mixes
|-
| Stereo Grand <br>Piano Plus
|
| ?
| ?
|
| Features the same piano from the [[Alesis QS8]].<ref>"This QCard provides the same great acoustic pianos as you'll find in our acclaimed QS8 synthesizer." - [https://web.archive.org/web/19970404000052/http://www.alesis.com/alesis/spotlight/keyboards/quadracard.html Official Alesis Page]</ref>
|-
| EuroDance
|
| 128
| 100
| 283<br>
|
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000304091706/http://www.alesis.com/products/qcards/eurodance_off.html Preset List]
* [https://www.synthmania.com/EuroDance.htm SynthMania Page (demos etc.)]
* [https://synthmania.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/euro_qcard.pdf Owner's Manual]
|-
| Vintage Synthesizers <br>and Classic Beatboxes
|
| 128
| 100
|?
|
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000305100635/http://alesis.com/products/qcards/vinsynths_off.html Preset List]
* [https://synthmania.com/z5_-_vintage_synthesizers_and_classic_beatboxes.htm SynthMania Page (demos etc.)]
|-
| Classical Instruments Plus
|
| 128
| 100
| 89
|
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000304042346/http://www.alesis.com/products/qcards/classical_off.html Preset List]
* [https://c3.zzounds.com/media/CI_QCard-7b59d85d5fcefb0e77e77d186b5e8598.pdf Owner's Manual]
|-
| Hip Hop Grooves <br>and Instruments
|
| 128
| 100
|?
|
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000226163743/http://alesis.com/products/qcards/hiphop_off.html Preset List]
* [https://www.synthmania.com/z1_-_hip_hop.htm SynthMania Page (demos etc.)]
|-
| Vintage Keyboards
|
| 128
| 100
|?
|
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000305041235/http://alesis.com/products/qcards/vinkeys_off.html Preset List]
|-
| Sanctuary
|
| 128
| 100
| 68
|
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000305003840/http://alesis.com/products/qcards/sanctuary_off.html Preset List]
* [https://www.synthmania.com/z3_-_sanctuary.htm SynthMania Page (demos etc.)]
* [https://c3.zzounds.com/media/Sanctuary_QCard-c2bde676986fe4c76cfabe238470ade4.pdf Owner's Manual]
|-
| Rap Techno Dance
|
| 100
| 128
| ?
|
* [https://www.synthmania.com/Rap%20Techno%20Dance.htm SynthMania Page (demos etc.)]
|-
| Latin
|
| 128
| 100
| 500
|
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000226195426/http://www.alesis.com/products/qcards/latin_off.html Preset List]
* [https://synthmania.com/z7_-_latin.htm SynthMania Page (demos etc.)]
* [https://c3.zzounds.com/media/Latin_QCard-d41b325eb6247e1cfea92e783c81cf2e.pdf Owner's Manual]
|-
| Stereo Jazz<br>Piano
|
| 128
| 0
|?
|
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000226210328/http://alesis.com/products/qcards/jzpiano_off.html Preset List]
* [https://synthmania.com/Stereo%20Jazz%20Piano.htm SynthMania Page (demos etc.)]
|-
| Stereo Classical<br>Piano
|
| 128
| 0
|?
|
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000226101650/http://alesis.com/products/qcards/clpiano_off.html Preset List]
|-
|}
Everything here is sourced/referenced from the external links in the Notes & Links, including owner's manuals and official preset lists from Alesis.


== Oddities ==
== Oddities ==

Latest revision as of 12:43, 21 February 2025

The Alesis PCMCIA standard was used across the Alesis Quadrasynth series as a way to expand the number of editable on-board presets and mixes, or as a way to include new waveforms to be used with the QS composite synthesis engine. It supported up to 8 MB of any mixture of aforementioned extra content.

Unlike other contemporaries, such as the Roland SR-JV80 series, users were free and encouraged to create their own cards with their own samples, and additionally had support for SampleCell formatted files. A compact disc containing the necessary software for both Windows-based systems and Apple Macintosh computers was frequently included with most Alesis Quadrasynth purchases.

Official cards

Alesis also provided a number of official card expansions, albeit their rarity makes any information very hard to come by in terms of exact preset/mix counts and waveform additions. (to do: make a table for this i think it'd be great but also add tables for "generic" cards to detail how many patches/mixes these could *store*)

Alesis QCards

Model Photo Patches Sounds Notes & Links
Patches Mixes
Stereo Grand
Piano Plus 		? ? Features the same piano from the Alesis QS8.[1]
EuroDance 128 100 283
Vintage Synthesizers
and Classic Beatboxes 		128 100 ?
Classical Instruments Plus 128 100 89
Hip Hop Grooves
and Instruments 		128 100 ?
Vintage Keyboards 128 100 ?
Sanctuary 128 100 68
Rap Techno Dance 100 128 ?
Latin 128 100 500
Stereo Jazz
Piano 		128 0 ?
Stereo Classical
Piano 		128 0 ?

Everything here is sourced/referenced from the external links in the Notes & Links, including owner's manuals and official preset lists from Alesis.

Oddities

Despite the standard being comparatively more permissive, in today's world it is very difficult to find compatible PCMCIA flash cards - it requires a specific type of Linear Flash cards, which were only produced by AMD and Intel. It was noted in a Sound on Sound article how difficult this was by the time the QSx.2 upgrades arrived on the market as early as 2003.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "This QCard provides the same great acoustic pianos as you'll find in our acclaimed QS8 synthesizer." - Official Alesis Page
  2. ↑ Alesis QS6.2 & QS8.2, Sound on Sound, June 2003, section "Back To The Time Machine...".

External Links

Ben Weaver - Alesis Hardware Hacks

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