After Keith Barr had already developed and manufactured MXR signal processors in the mid-1970s, his company ALESIS was born in California in 1980 with the aim of developing high-quality audio products.
ALESIS reached the preliminary climax of its development work with the ALESIS "QuadraVerb", which was presented in 1988 and was awarded the Music & Sound Award as "Product of the year" in 1990. With this and many following products, ALESIS set the standard for musicians and technicians against which subsequent manufacturers had to be measured. The development of the ALESIS ADAT, a digital 8-track recording device with flexible medium, revolutionized studio work and finally gave ALESIS its breakthrough. Innovative technologies like ADAT Optical and ADAT Sync were developed and perfected, without which today's recording equipment would probably not be possible.
Over the years, ALESIS has not only constantly revised and improved its traditional product lines, but has also repeatedly moved into the focus of the industry with the development of new products. With the ALESIS A6 Andromeda, one of the most powerful analog synthesizers worldwide, or the ALESIS MasterLink ML-9600, which revolutionized mixing and mastering, further milestones in ALESIS history followed.
In 2001, a phase of restructuring followed, and even today ALESIS continues to work hard on new products and technologies that support and inspire musicians in their creativity. Currently, ALESIS is back in the favor of the end user with products such as the USB Drumkit or the Surge Cymbals, as the name ALESIS stands for innovative technologies at reasonable prices. The wide range of products of ALESIS today includes synthesizers, signal processors, drum computers, amplifiers, recorders, mixers and monitors, which are used in professional studios as well as in the ambitious home recording sector.