Alesis
Encyclopedia
Alesis is a company based in Cumberland
, Rhode Island
, that designs and markets electronic musical instruments, digital audio processors, audio mixers, digital audio interfaces, recording equipment, drum machine
s, professional audio
and electronic percussion products. Alesis products are designed in America and manufactured in Asia.
) in Hollywood, California. Leveraging his ability to design custom integrated circuits, Barr's company was able to introduce products with feature sets that, up to that time, had been extremely expensive. Alesis' products were within the realm of most project studios, making them very successful. Alesis' first product was the XT Reverb. Introduced in 1985, the XT Reverb was an all-digital reverb that carried an unprecedented low price of $799. Barr recruited Russell Palmer as Operations Manager so that Barr could continue to focus on engineering.
In 1986 Alesis produced the first, under $1000, 16-bit professional effects processor, the MIDIverb. Next, after teaming up with Marcus Ryle (who later founded Line 6
), Alesis introduced the MMT8 hardware sequencer and the very successful HR-16 drum machine
in 1987.
digital tape recorder. Each ADAT could record 8 tracks of 16-bit audio on an S-VHS
videocassette tape, and up to 16 ADATs could be connected together to record 128 tracks of audio simultaneously. With the same digital resolution as an Audio CD and a price that was a fraction of the other digital recording
solutions for home recording
at the time, the ADAT was a tremendous success, and was later honored by induction to the Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC)nology Hall Of Fame.
As a side note, design firm Fast Forward Designs was responsible for the software development for the ADAT and also the development of several future Alesis products including the QuadraSynth. Fast Forward Designs was co-founded by Marcus Ryle and Michel Doidic, both who had notable careers before their Alesis involvement (as designers at Oberheim
), as well as a notable career following their Alesis involvement (they later co-founded Line 6).
In the subsequent restructuring, Jack O'Donnell acquired the company. In addition to Alesis, O'Donnell also owns Numark (DJ equipment)
, Akai Professional, ION Audio, Alto Professional, and MixMeister.
Alesis founder Keith Barr died peacefully on August 24, 2010 at age 61.
and live
performance (as opposed to practice) use and are now targeted at professional
and semi-professional musicians. Alesis is known for budget equipment but has produced high-end and innovative gear such as the Alesis Fusion
, Andromeda A6 analog synthesizer
and virtual analog modeling synthesizer
called Ion
and the Micron, which is based on the Ion. Alesis developed equipment for recording studios in the 1990s, including the ADAT modular digital multitrack recording machine that allowed eight channels of CD-quality digital recording on SVHS tape, which was one of the first digital recorders affordable for home studios.
Cumberland, Rhode Island
Cumberland is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, incorporated in 1746. The population was 33,506 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, that designs and markets electronic musical instruments, digital audio processors, audio mixers, digital audio interfaces, recording equipment, drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
s, professional audio
Professional audio
Professional audio, also 'pro audio', refers to both an activity and a type of audio equipment. Typically it encompasses the production or reproduction of sound for an audience, by individuals who do such work as an occupation like live event support, using sound reinforcement systems designed for...
and electronic percussion products. Alesis products are designed in America and manufactured in Asia.
Early years
Alesis Studio Electronics was founded in 1984 by Keith Barr (who co-founded MXRMXR
MXR, also known as MXR Innovations, was a manufacturer of guitar effects units, co-founded in 1973 by Keith Barr and Terry Sherwood . MXR was based in the United States in Rochester, New York. MXR Innovations, Inc. was incorporated in 1974...
) in Hollywood, California. Leveraging his ability to design custom integrated circuits, Barr's company was able to introduce products with feature sets that, up to that time, had been extremely expensive. Alesis' products were within the realm of most project studios, making them very successful. Alesis' first product was the XT Reverb. Introduced in 1985, the XT Reverb was an all-digital reverb that carried an unprecedented low price of $799. Barr recruited Russell Palmer as Operations Manager so that Barr could continue to focus on engineering.
In 1986 Alesis produced the first, under $1000, 16-bit professional effects processor, the MIDIverb. Next, after teaming up with Marcus Ryle (who later founded Line 6
Line 6
Line 6 is a manufacturer of digital modeling guitars, amplifiers and related electronic equipment. Their product lines include electric and acoustic guitars, basses, guitar and bass amplifiers, effects processors, USB audio interfaces and guitar/bass wireless systems...
), Alesis introduced the MMT8 hardware sequencer and the very successful HR-16 drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
in 1987.
The Alesis ADAT
Over the next few years, Alesis introduced many new products and enjoyed great success, but the industry was unaware of what was being developed back in their R&D department, something that would revolutionize digital recording. At the 1991 Winter NAMM show, Alesis introduced the ADATADAT
Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a magnetic tape format used for the simultaneous digital recording of eight analog audio or digital audio tracks at once, onto a Super VHS tape that is used by consumer VCRs.- History :...
digital tape recorder. Each ADAT could record 8 tracks of 16-bit audio on an S-VHS
S-VHS
S-VHS is an improved version of the VHS standard for consumer-level analog recording videocassettes. It was introduced by JVC in Japan in April 1987 with the HR-S7000 VCR and certain overseas markets soon afterwards...
videocassette tape, and up to 16 ADATs could be connected together to record 128 tracks of audio simultaneously. With the same digital resolution as an Audio CD and a price that was a fraction of the other digital recording
Digital recording
In digital recording, digital audio and digital video is directly recorded to a storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure for audio and chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or...
solutions for home recording
Home recording
Home recording is the practice of recording in a private home, rather than in a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a "project studio" or "home studio". Home recording is practiced by indie bands, singer-songwriters, hobbyists, podcasters, documentarians,...
at the time, the ADAT was a tremendous success, and was later honored by induction to the Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC)nology Hall Of Fame.
As a side note, design firm Fast Forward Designs was responsible for the software development for the ADAT and also the development of several future Alesis products including the QuadraSynth. Fast Forward Designs was co-founded by Marcus Ryle and Michel Doidic, both who had notable careers before their Alesis involvement (as designers at Oberheim
Oberheim
Oberheim Electronics is an American company, founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim , which manufactured audio synthesizers and a variety of other electronic musical instruments.-Oberheim Electronics:...
), as well as a notable career following their Alesis involvement (they later co-founded Line 6).
Boom and Bankruptcy
For the next 10 years, Alesis created a wide variety of innovative and affordable products such as the QuadraSynth synthesizer, DM5 drum module and Monitor One studio monitors. In 1997, Alesis Semiconductor was formed, again taking advantage of Barr's custom integrated circuits to produce and market chips for the audio industry. A series of chips were introduced that ranged from digital signal processors for audio effects to low cost analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters. By 2001, however, the company's business suffered as market trends changed, and on April 27 of that year, Alesis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.In the subsequent restructuring, Jack O'Donnell acquired the company. In addition to Alesis, O'Donnell also owns Numark (DJ equipment)
Numark (DJ equipment)
Numark Industries is a global DJ equipment brand. It makes DJ mixers, turntables, and DJ CD players. Recently, it introduced DJ DVD mixing consoles. Numark has also started to build upon the world of computer DJing through its own mixing software called Cue...
, Akai Professional, ION Audio, Alto Professional, and MixMeister.
After 2001
Under O'Donnell's direction, Alesis expanded into new product categories such as electronic drums, mixers, portable PA speakers, and other recording equipment. Some time-tested Alesis products remain, including the SR-16 drum machine, still a current product more than 20 years after its introduction. Today, Alesis is the fastest-growing brand in drums, and it continues expansion into new product categories in mobile music-making, recording, video, and live sound.Alesis founder Keith Barr died peacefully on August 24, 2010 at age 61.
Targeted market
The products manufactured by Alesis are mainly for studioStudio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
and live
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
performance (as opposed to practice) use and are now targeted at professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
and semi-professional musicians. Alesis is known for budget equipment but has produced high-end and innovative gear such as the Alesis Fusion
Alesis Fusion
Alesis Fusion is a music production workstation produced by Alesis introduced in early 2005. The workstation is available in two models. The Fusion 6HD is a sixty-one note semi-weighted keyboard workstation. The Fusion 8HD is an eighty-eight note weighted keyboard workstation. The two models...
, Andromeda A6 analog synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
and virtual analog modeling synthesizer
Analog modeling synthesizer
An Analog Modeling Synthesizer is a synthesizer that generates the sounds of traditional analog synthesizers using DSP components and software algorithms to simulate the behaviour of the original electric and electronic circuitry, in order to obtain the sound in a more precise manner from the...
called Ion
Alesis Ion
The Alesis Ion is an analog modeling synthesizer. It was presented to the public on the Summer NAMM of 2002 . Unlike the Alesis Andromeda, Alesis's analog synthesizer, its sounds are synthesized using DSP chips to mimic the sound of analog audio circuitry and components.-Features:The Ion has...
and the Micron, which is based on the Ion. Alesis developed equipment for recording studios in the 1990s, including the ADAT modular digital multitrack recording machine that allowed eight channels of CD-quality digital recording on SVHS tape, which was one of the first digital recorders affordable for home studios.
Notable Alesis models
- QuadrasynthAlesis QuadrasynthThe Alesis Quadrasynth is a 76-key, 64-note polyphonic PCM sample-based digital subtractive synthesizer first introduced in 1993. It was Alesis's first major foray into synthesizer production.-Function:...
and Quadrasynth Plus synthesizer keyboards - Andromeda A6 polyphonic analog synthesizerAlesis Andromeda A6The Alesis Andromeda A6 is a 16-voice, 16-channel multitimbral analog synthesizer by Alesis which was released in 2000 and discontinued in 2010. The Andromeda has analog oscillators and filters combined with modern digital control...
- FusionAlesis FusionAlesis Fusion is a music production workstation produced by Alesis introduced in early 2005. The workstation is available in two models. The Fusion 6HD is a sixty-one note semi-weighted keyboard workstation. The Fusion 8HD is an eighty-eight note weighted keyboard workstation. The two models...
6HD, 8HD synthesizer workstation keyboard - IONAlesis IonThe Alesis Ion is an analog modeling synthesizer. It was presented to the public on the Summer NAMM of 2002 . Unlike the Alesis Andromeda, Alesis's analog synthesizer, its sounds are synthesized using DSP chips to mimic the sound of analog audio circuitry and components.-Features:The Ion has...
analog modeling synthesizer