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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics |
| Founded | 1980; 45 years ago (1980) |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Jack O'Donnell (president and CEO) |
| Products | Musical instruments, audio/video, electronics, computer-related products, pro audio, music recording equipment |
| Parent | inMusic Brands |
| Website | www |
Alesis is an American company that designs and marketselectronic musical instruments,audio processors,mixers,amplifiers,audio interfaces, recording equipment,drum machines,professional audio, andelectronic percussion products. Based inCumberland, Rhode Island, Alesis is aninMusic Brands company.[1][2]
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Alesis Studio Electronics was founded inHollywood in 1984 byMXR co-founder Keith Elliott Barr.[3] Leveraging his ability to design customintegrated 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.[4] 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-bitA/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.[5] After enlisting the expertise of Fast Forward Designs, co-founded by veteranOberheim Electronics designers Marcus Ryle and Michel Doidic (who went on to foundLine 6), Alesis introduced the MMT8 hardware sequencer and the very successful HR-16drum machine in 1987.[4] The HR-16 was employed on the Englishindustrial metal bandGodflesh's first few releases;[6]Loudwire called it "the most devastating drum machine ever employed".[7]
At the 1991 WinterNAMM Show, Alesis introduced theADAT digital tape recorder. Alesis created the File Streaming Technology (FST) proprietary disk file system for their ADAT HD24 recorder.[8] Each ADAT could record 8 tracks of 16-bit audio on anS-VHSvideocassette 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 otherdigital recording solutions forhome recording at the time, the ADAT was a tremendous success,[9] and its impact on the recording industry has been recognized by induction to theTECnology Hall of Fame.[10]
For the next ten years, Alesis created a wide variety of products such as theQuadraSynth synthesizer, D4 and DM5 drum modules,[11] 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 forChapter 11 bankruptcy. In the subsequent restructuring, Jack O'Donnell acquired the company.
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.[4] In 2012 Alesis became part of the newly createdinMusic Brands group of companies.[12]
Alesis is known for budget equipment but has produced high-end and innovative gear such as theAlesis Fusionmusic production workstation, theAlesis Andromeda A6 analog synthesizer, theIon virtualanalog modeling synthesizer or the Ion-basedMicron.
Alesis developed equipment for recording studios during the 1990s.
Percussion instrument companies | |
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| Drums | |
| Cymbals | |
| Sticks | |
| Hardware | |
| Electronic drums | |
| Other instruments | |
