Alesis is an American company that designs and markets electronic musical instruments, Audio processor, Audio mixer, Amplifier, Audio interface, recording equipment, Drum machine, professional audio, and Electronic drum products. Based in Cumberland, Rhode Island, Alesis is an inMusic Brands company.
History
Early years
Alesis Studio Electronics was founded in Hollywood in 1984 by
MXR co-founder Keith Elliott Barr.
[Home & Studio Recording (UK) September 1986 issue p11 – interview with Keith Barr] Leveraging his ability to design custom integrated circuits, Barr's company was able to introduce technologically advanced products at prices within the realm of most project studios. Barr liked the idea of the name Algorithmic Electronic Systems and came up with the name Alesis to try to convey that.
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 and Robert Wilson (Vice Chairman) to handle international sales so that Barr could continue to focus on engineering.
In 1986, Alesis produced the first 16-bit professional effects processor priced below $1000, the MIDIverb, which had a 12-bit A/D converter and MIDI control. It was joined later in the year by the Microverb, which lacked MIDI but had a 16-bit A/D converter.
The Alesis ADAT
At the 1991 Winter
NAMM Show, Alesis introduced the
ADAT digital tape recorder. Alesis created the File Streaming Technology (FST) proprietary disk file system for their ADAT HD24 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 its impact on the recording industry has been recognized by induction to the TECnology Hall of Fame.
[1991 Alesis ADAT, TECnology Hall of Fame, Mix Magazine Online| http://mixonline.com/TECnology-Hall-of-Fame/alesis-dat-multitrack-090106 ]
Image:ADAT-XT.jpg|Alesis ADAT XT
Image:Alesis ADAT XT LRC Remote Control.jpg|Little Remote Control (LRC) ADAT XT Controller
Image:Alesis-HD24.jpg|Alesis ADAT HD24
Image:Alesis BRC Master ADAT Controller.jpg|Big Remote Control (BRC) ADAT Master Controller
Boom and bankruptcy
For the next ten years, Alesis created a wide variety of products such as the QuadraSynth synthesizer, D4 and DM5 drum modules,
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 was introduced that ranged from digital signal processors for audio effects to 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.
After 2001
Under O'Donnell's direction, Alesis expanded into new product categories such as mixers, portable PA speakers, and other recording equipment while continuing to produce Alesis legacy products like the SR-16 drum machine.
Alesis founder Keith Barr died of an apparent heart attack on August 24, 2010, at age 60.
Target market
Alesis is known for budget equipment but has produced high-end and innovative gear such as the
Alesis Fusion music production workstation, the Alesis Andromeda A6 analog synthesizer, the
Alesis Ion virtual analog modeling synthesizer or the Ion-based
Alesis Micron.
Alesis developed equipment for recording studios during the 1990s.
Alesis models
See also
-
List of studio monitor manufacturers
Further reading
External links
