Alesis Quadrasynth Plus

Alesis Quadrasynth

(No photo yet. Please contribute one!) Alesis Quadrasynth + piano keyboard Alesis Quadrasynth S4+ Module
W × H × D (mm)	1220 × 115 × 355 (keyboard) 482 × 43 × 150 (module)
Rack units	1U, full width (modules only)
Weight	13.6kg (keyboard) ~2kg (module)
Keyboard	76 keys
Manufacturer	Alesis
Release date	1995, 1996
Standards	General MIDI
Parts	16
Max polyphony	64
Normal presets	Programs: 512 factory, 128 user Mixes: 400 factory, 100 user
Expansion	1 × Alesis PCMCIA
Effects	Variable, see effects.
← Alesis Quadrasynth
Alesis QS6 →

The Quadrasynth Plus refers to an upgrade to the Alesis Quadrasynth released by Alesis in 1995. This documents both the Quadrasynth Plus Piano as well as the Quadrasynth S4 Plus.

Many of the elements from the prior synth remain intact, but the v2.0 upgrade adds a lot of new things, such as an entirely new General MIDI mode, three extra banks of non-editable preset sounds (one of which is a GM-compatible map), adds either 4MB or 8MB worth of new waveforms depending on if you're using the module or keyboard respectively, mostly located in their own wave groups, expands the effects section to include higher fidelity effects, as well as a new "overdrive" algorithm, new LFO shapes, the ability to change banks via the use of CC#0 (Bank MSB/Bank coarse), support for panning, and more.

The demo tracks have been replaced as well, three new tracks and a shorter version of Bach's Bad Dream is available, albeit it seems to set the pitch bend ranges for the square lead errorenously. It is unknown if these new tracks have any names or who composed them at this time however it is likely the same person who sequenced the original two demo tracks, Stephen Kay.

Effects

The Plus models take the effect configuration from the previous models, and upgrade the DSP to support higher quality effects, such as better algorithms. Most prominently this can be heard with the "Lezlie" effect, which is now in stereo rather than in mono.

Configuration #1 to #4

Effects from the previous iteration are still present, however Configuration #1 and #3 have been changed to lock the third pitch unit into a permanent "resonant" mode, made as a concession for higher quality effects.. Please see the previous effect listing for more information about the first four configurations.

Configuration #5 - Overdrive > Chorus > Delay > Reverb > Leslie

4 FX sends are available, but only FX1 gets access to the overdrive module, which is introduced with this upgrade. All the modules here are fully editable, and with exception to Overdrive can all be routed to any effect send (but not multiple). Terminates with an equalizer module.

Added waveforms

The Plus models add an additional 8 MB (Plus Piano) or 4 MB (S4 Plus) of waveform data. Below is a table of all the new waveforms found on the S4 Plus.

Groups denoted with an asterisk are new to the Plus models. On the S4 Plus, most of the new waveforms are either constructed from already existing ROM data (such as the "Rhythm" group), or has been specially designed for General MIDI compatibility.

Alesis new waveform group list (WARNING: Long)

Group	S4 Plus - new voices	Quadrasynth Plus Piano - new voices
Piano	AcousPiano, BritePiano, PianoModul	AcousPiano, BritePiano, PianoModul
Guitar	AcoustHrm2, NylonHrm2, 6 Str Hrm2	AcoustHrm2, NylonHrm2, 6 Str Hrm2
SndFX	Alert, Android, Cyborg, Meteor, Supernova	Alert, Android, Cyborg, Meteor, Supernova
Drums	Analog Kit, Brush Kit, Tribal Kit	Analog Kit, Brush Kit, Tribal Kit
Rhythm*	PsiBeat 1, PsiBeat 2, PsiBeat 3, PsiBeat 4, PsiBeat 5, Kick Loop1, Kick Loop2, Kick Loop3, Kick Loop4, Kick Loop5, SnareLoop1, SnareLoop2, SnareLoop3, Backbeat, ClsdHHLoop, OpenHHLoop1, OpenHHLoop2, FootHHLoop, Ride Loop1, Ride Loop2, Ride Loop3, Tick Talk, Swingset, Bongo Loop, BlockLoop1, BlockLoop2, BlockLoop3, HiTriLpHd, HiTriLpSf, LoTriLpHd, LoTriLpSf, Tamb Loop1, Tamb Loop2, ShakerLoop, ShuflShakr, PopperLoop, BottleLoop, Motor, MiniNoizLp, HvyMetalLp, Machine Lp, Kah Loop, Bass Loop, SynBass Lp	PsiBeat 1, PsiBeat 2, PsiBeat 3, PsiBeat 4, PsiBeat 5, Kick Loop1, Kick Loop2, Kick Loop3, Kick Loop4, Kick Loop5, SnareLoop1, SnareLoop2, SnareLoop3, Backbeat, ClsdHHLoop, OpenHHLoop1, OpenHHLoop2, FootHHLoop, Ride Loop1, Ride Loop2, Ride Loop3, Tick Talk, Swingset, Bongo Loop, BlockLoop1, BlockLoop2, BlockLoop3, HiTriLpHd, HiTriLpSf, LoTriLpHd, LoTriLpSf, Tamb Loop1, Tamb Loop2, ShakerLoop, ShuflShakr, PopperLoop, BottleLoop, Motor, MiniNoizLp, HvyMetalLp, Machine Lp, Kah Loop, Bass Loop, SynBass Lp
S4Plus*	GrandPiano, Dark Piano, BritePiano, PianoModul, NoHamrGrnd, NoHamrBrit, VelAttkPno, VeloPiano1, VeloPiano2, PianoKnock, BrtRdsWave, DrkRdsWave, SftRdsWave, Wurlser, Wurlser V1, Wurlser V2, WurlserWav, FM Tines, Soft Tines, VelAtkTine, Vel FM Pno, Clavinet, HarpsiWave, Xylophone, Marimba Hd, Marimba Sf, MarimbaVel, Vibes, Ice Block, Brake Drum, FMTblrBell, FMTub/Null, TubulrWave, TubWv/Null, Rock Organ, Perc Organ, 16'Drawbar, 5 1/3' bar, 8' Drawbar, 4' Drawbar, 2 2/3' bar, 2' Drawbar, 1 3/5' bar, 1 1/3' bar, 1' Drawbar, Percus Wav, HollowWave, ChurchOrgn, Principale, Positive, Dulcimer, Nylon Gtr, FunkyStrat, MuteGuitar, OvrDrvGtr, FretlessBs, Orch. Hit, Bottle Blow, Sitar, Shamisen, Koto, Kalimba, Bagpipe, Taiko Drum, Fret Noise, Bird Tweet, Telephone, Applause, Gunshot	−
QSPlus*	−	Piano L, Piano R, BritePno1L, BritePno1R, DarkPno1 L, DarkPno1 R, PnoKnock L, PnoKnock R, Piano Trem, El.Piano1, El.Piano2, Drawbars, Perc.Organ, Pipe Organ, Clavinet, Varimba, Fretless, BritePno2L, BritePno2R, DarkPno2 L, DarkPno2 R, BritePno3L, BritePno3R, DarkPno3 L, DarkPno3 R, TapPiano L, TapPiano R, El.Spinet1, El.Spinet2, Toy Pno L, Toy Pno R, KeyTrack1, KeyTrack2, Stretch L, Stretch R, Analog Pad

Alesis Quadrasynth Plus Piano

Beyond firmware, the keyboard body has been recoloured from gray to black. It and the module would also include a software called Sound Bridge, which could interface with a PCMCIA card to upload extra samples. Notably, it could load SampleCell formatted files as well. These cards could also be used to store extra programs and mixes if desired.

Alesis Quadrasynth S4 Plus

Released in 1996, this is a rackmount version of the Quadrasynth Plus Piano, except it omits the extra piano sounds, for a total of 20MB of sample ROM. Software-wise, it is identical in all other respects. The QSPlus bank is absent from this model, being renamed to "S4Plus" and adding many waveforms tailored for better General MIDI compatibility.

The rackmount body itself features a few changes: "EXPANDED ROM - GENERAL MIDI" text can be found below the 8 buttons on the left, a bracket below the PAGE pair of buttons indicate that these can also increment or decrement a value by 10, the VALUE pair of buttons have a similar bracket, but for incrementing or decrementing by 1, and the logo has a fancy "Plus" handwritten on top of the logo.