Members Conbrio Posted December 19, 2011 Members Share Posted December 19, 2011 One nice thing about Ensoniq, Emu, and Kurzweil... at least their manuals were far better than most of the ones from Korg/Yamaha/Roland. Ain't that the truth! I remember reading an Ensoniq ESQ-1 manual back in the day and thinking, "now why can't all manuals be written this well?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffLearman Posted December 19, 2011 Members Share Posted December 19, 2011 I'm not familiar with the MR76 but is this due to poly pressure being turned on? In the VFX series I think (but can't exactly recall) you can turn off poly pressure and just have mono pressure. This might solve that issue if this is the source and is adjustable on the MR76.Nothing to do with pressure. When you play a note, it begins panned about 75% right and then pans slowly left and right the way a Suitcase did. (They nailed the panning curve, which many imitators don't, and which is a big plus.) When you play another note, it begins panned about 75% and then pans slowly -- and independently -- left and right. Time your notes right and you get notes all over, which is nifty. Just not authentic (and that's fine with me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members deanmass Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I wouldn't mind getting my mitts on a Fizmo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted December 20, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I would not mind owning a minty fresh TS-10, SD-1, ZR-76 or ASR-10, bluescreen of course. Oh yeah and a Fizmo would be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crazyfoo Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 minty fresh There's that dude on Ebay who always uses that word "Minty", lol, everytime I read his ads I always make a face. 'minty' I cant remember his name, oncloud maybe? He has some nice gear but really expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted December 20, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 There's that dude on Ebay who always uses that word "Minty", lol, everytime I read his ads I always make a face. 'minty' I cant remember his name, oncloud maybe? He has some nice gear but really expensive. Yes, that is where I got it. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nice keetee Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I wish Ensoniq would return. Granted all the original guys are gone like NASA. I would not want them to destroy their synth legacy like Emu just did. I just thought their stuff had it's own huge character and usability, the kind that makes a company in my mine part of the big three clan (you know KURZ, Roland, KORG, YAMMI) I know it is not really 3 anymore when one is looking at it this way.Cheers. I'll keep my Mirage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Synthaholic Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 Once Creative Labs consumes something, you aren't likely to see it again in its original form. It seems that both E-mu and Ensoniq have been fully digested. Creative has little regard for their customers. They have a nasty habit of abandoning their products, and not updating drivers for new operating systems. I won't buy their products again. I had heard that Ensoniq had morphed into a very innovative hearing aid company, using their sampling technology. But that was a while ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Conbrio Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I had heard that Ensoniq had morphed into a very innovative hearing aid company, using their sampling technology. But that was a while ago. It would be cool if they could create a "selective" hearing aid with that technology. It could block sounds you didn't want to hear and enhance ones you liked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zzzxtreme Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 Conbrio ! "Children and crying babies noise filter device" - best seller ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Conbrio Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 Conbrio ! "Children and crying babies noise filter device" - best seller ! Yes, that plus: sirens, music you don't like, nagging wives, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members evildragon Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 Don't forget mother-in-laws! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mcmike100 Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 ... with, unfortunately, two of the most obtuse programming systems ever devised. And they seemed especially convoluted compared to all the knobby analog style stuff that preceded them. Agree totally. You had to program the Mirage in hexadecimal. There was no real reference point for what the numbers meant. (That may have changed with later user group help). I could and would program a DX7. I gave up on the Mirage. BTW, does anybody remember what the very first Ensoniq product was? They showed it at their first NAMM Show, and it never made it to market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Meatball Fulton Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 Yeah, I'd love to see the "wizards of Malvern" come back but they aren't going to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Conbrio Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 Don't forget mother-in-laws! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Meatball Fulton Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I'd love to be able to get at some of the underlying samples. Digital Sound Factory sells libraries with some of the Ensoniq sounds, including the MR-76 and ZR-76. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members delaware dave Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 Digital Sound Factory sells libraries with some of the Ensoniq sounds, including the MR-76 and ZR-76. As well as Syntaur http://www.syntaur.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members greggybud Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I think Ensoniq can be largely tied to the innovative people themselves. From what I heard (I own VFX-SD version 2 & used to own ASR-10) when some key innovative people left Malvern PA, they created a large void, thus the beginning of the fall for Ensoniq until they got caught in a position where there was no way out. Compared to the others, they were a very small company. When your key employes in a small company leave for whatever reason the company greatly reflects that. And the Transoniq Hacker was a fantastic magazine for Ensoniq users since they were independent of Ensoniq. Too bad Ensoniq stopped packaging a copy with every new instrument. Their synthesizers were a huge bang for the buck, and ahead of their time. If you compare the VFX-SD to any Korg, Roland, or Yamaha on the market at the same time the differences are huge. For example what other synthesizer had 24 sequencer tracks of recording including effects and a 3.5 floppy? But the drawback...compared to the big 3...not as reliable especially when touring. I feel the only thing that came close to the VFX-SD or later..the SD-1 at that time was the new Kurzweil K2000, but it cost more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Casio Man Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 Ensoniq's Wiki page said, that Ensoniq is coming back in 2011(or was it 2012), but that bit of information was taken away a little before last Winter Namm. I was very excited about last Winter Namm. I'm still hopeful for seeing Ensoniq some day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dave Weiser Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I would love to see Ensoniq come back.I grew up 30 minutes from their Malvern office and my first synth was an ESQ1 (back in 9th grade!). Later had an EPS16+ and KT76, with which I gigged all through the 90s. The UI, synth architecture and overall vibe definitely influenced some of my input on the design of current Kurz products like the PC3. One cool thing.... they sampled the ebony 11' Steinway grand that belonged to my high school and that sample was what was in the KT76.It always blew my mind that I was gigging out in my 20's with the piano sound that I had practiced and performed on as a teenager.One bummer though was learning that they had "paid" the school by just providing a free keyboard or two.... which is a STEAL compared to what it would cost to rent and record a Steinway in a studio in NY! (A savings of tens of thousands $$) Dave WeiserKurzweil R&D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted December 20, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I would love to see Ensoniq come back.I grew up 30 minutes from their Malvern office and my first synth was an ESQ1 (back in 9th grade!). Later had an EPS16+ and KT76, with which I gigged all through the 90s.The UI, synth architecture and overall vibe definitely influenced some of my input on the design of current Kurz products like the PC3.One cool thing.... they sampled the ebony 11' Steinway grand that belonged to my high school and that sample was what was in the KT76.It always blew my mind that I was gigging out in my 20's with the piano sound that I had practiced and performed on as a teenager.One bummer though was learning that they had "paid" the school by just providing a free keyboard or two.... which is a STEAL compared to what it would cost to rent and record a Steinway in a studio in NY! (A savings of tens of thousands $$)Dave WeiserKurzweil R&D Sad story. We want to think of our favorite companies as heroes of industry and lauded with fairness and honor. That was a good deal for them I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gregwar Posted December 21, 2011 Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 wow if ensoniq came back that would be amazing. even if some of their brilliant minds could be applied to reaktor or something ? I have a feeling software could be more easily programmed so they could gain some capital for more hardware offerings in the future never say never ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted December 21, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 wow if ensoniq came back that would be amazing. even if some of their brilliant minds could be applied to reaktor or something ?I have a feeling software could be more easily programmed so they could gain some capital for more hardware offerings in the future never say never ! Good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Franz Schiller Posted December 21, 2011 Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 The UI, synth architecture and overall vibe definitely influenced some of my input on the design of current Kurz products like the PC3. I've noticed certain aspects from Ensoniqs picked up by other companies; such as the two switch buttons above the mod wheel. Kurzweil picked that up pretty quick with the K2500, it seems. Dave, two REALLY GREAT features that Kurzweil should totally steal: Quick layers feature. Let's say you're in Quick Access mode, if you double click on another sound, it instantly layers it. (It used to be the effect would stay from the first program, but I guess the PC3 is probably powerful enough to keep both.) Transwaves. I know Kurzweils also use a "wave table" method of storing sounds, like Ensoniqs. It would be totally amazing to...how do you say...play through a bunch of them, like on the Ensoniqs, with a start/end point and modulation amount. I know that feature isn't "in demand" but it would be totally epic. That would be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted December 21, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 It is pretty amazing that company no longer here left it's footprint so deeply. Such is life and history I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.