Ensoniq!

[tuco]

A couple of weeks ago, I asked for opinions on a CHEAP way

to get some decent organ sounds for my home recording

project. Lots of people had some suggestions for me that

tended to exceed my budget restraints ($300-400), and/or

were getting complicated---keys, b3 clone, leslie sim, etc.

I am happy--VERY happy to report that I ended up with a

Ensoniq SQ-1+, and it is the "bees' nees'"! I am getting

close to the B3-type sounds already, without too much fuss,

and i've got plenty more to fool with when i am ready, such

as the sequencer. Best of all, I SCORED this thing by sniping

it off of the "Keyboard" auction (instead of the "Synth" category)

for $155= $25 ship.

Then, the guy calls me to say that it quit working, and he will

let me choose to either void the sale, or knock off $50 to

see if I can get it fixed. I chose to take it, and sure enough,

when I opened it up, a "ribbon-type connector was obviously

loose--so I plugged it in, and everything is working!

So, for $130 total, I'm happy with what I got...

Thanks to all who took the time to help with suggestions.

[Birdienumnum]

Congrats, tuco! $130 is a total steal. You know, Ensoniq really did excel at organ sounds. I had bought their Sounds of the ZR (as in ZR76) ROM for my E-mu command station, mainly for the Coakley piano, but lo and behold it is packed with excellent B3 and pipe organ. Way to go!

 

You know, a long time ago when I was in Scotland recording an album, we used an Ensoniq Mirage for the bagpipes and trumpet, and it rocked.

[TDman]

Dayum! Peeps here dis late.......I'm just sayin'

[midinut]

Ensoniq Rocked!

 

Wish to hell they were still around!

I owned a bunch of their gear and used a SQ2 (76 key) as my main gigging board for many years. Alas, divorce took its toll!

 

Look around for the sequencer memory expansion, get a CV pedal for it and you'll enjoy it for years!

 

Congrats and enjoy!

[Stopmakingsense]

I had an SD-1 32 for a long time.

 

It had a good 1 rotor leslie effect and great brass samples, but the sound was a little harsh in general, not particularly warm. I couldn't get a good Rhodes patch out of it either.

 

One thing though, the Pre- GM *. I wish my keyboards since that one had a sequencer that was 1/2 as easy to operate.

 

sms

[Muz]

My high school had an SQ-80 which I basically adopted. I made cool sounds with it by accident often. I'll never forget changing one voice in a percussive effect patch and having it sound like waves crashing. I also loved the sequencer on it; it was my first experience with a sequencer. Basically I created eight track loops with it. Oh and the time signature choices were unlimited. One of my loops was in 21/8.

 

In college I bought a KT-88 and used it for about seven years. I had to get the keybed replaced four times. I used it alot.

 

Both of these keyboards you could split/layer eight ways. Seems only the Triton can do that now.

[pighood]

Ummm....

[greggybud]

I wish someone who worked at Ensoniq to the very end would share the lowdown on its death to Emu.

 

Okay obviously thinking a cash flow problem and at the time of their demise Roland Korg and Yamaha was still catching up as far as power goes. (the VFX-SD had a 24 track sequencer with a 3.5 floppie in the early 90s)

 

I remember them putting a lot of effort into Paris.

 

I heard rumors of key people leaving Ensoniq a few years before.

 

what really happened?

[felix]

When Ensoniq was acquired by E-MU, I though it had everything to do with the soundcard market (Gateway was putting Ensoniq cards in everything), and nothing to do with the synth market.

 

I saw it like this: Creative Labs acquires Ensoniq to gain soundcard market share and eliminate a competitor. They don't really care about synths or the synth business, so all of that portion of Ensoniq (or any of it, really) does not continue after the acquisition.

[ChipCurtis]

 

Originally posted by greggybud [.............] at the time of their demise Roland Korg and Yamaha was still catching up as far as power goes. (the VFX-SD had a 24 track sequencer with a 3.5 floppie in the early 90s)

 

 

Don't forget polyphonic aftertouch, how many midrange-priced synths had that? How many have it now? Answer: none!

[Muz]

Emu is good at messing up companies it acquires.

[idiotboy]

If this is the unofficial Ensoniq appreciation thread, then add me please; I had the EPS sampler and had a ball with it. I actually still have it, but it's broken. Just can't bring myself to toss it!

[Arctic]

I like Ensoniq, the sound tends to be darker and grittier than much other gear (like Roland, for example...), and I might just get myself an ASR-10 after having wanted one for twelve years, but in my experience Ensoniq gear isn't the most trustworthy gear around. I've had units malfunction and break, and so have others I know. Does anyone else agree that Ensoniq gear construction might not be quite up to par with some other brands?

[felix]

 

Originally posted by Muz Emu is good at messing up companies it acquires.

 

 

Ummm... E-MU was acquired by Creative Labs. So they're really not the ones doing the acquiring (or messing up).

[Malik]

Hey Artcic

 

I've owned my ESQ-1 for 2 years and recently picked up an SQ-80. Both have performed flawlessly (save for the few weirdo freezes that happen with every digital synth) and the MIDI- sequencer has been rock-solid, though a bit archaic.

 

Best of luck with the ASR-10- it's a beautiful machine!

 

-malik

[Mitchell-L]

Originally posted by greggybud

lowdown on its death to Emu.

 

Now -there's- a thread I'd like to see. While I don't currently use any of their gear, I still have a certain degree of nostalgic fondness for the nameplate. When I started acquiring audio equipment and manipulating sound back in 1993 the first item I purchased was a Mirage keyboard, in all its pleasing, metal cased angularity. I eventually moved up to an ASR-10 which served as the core of my set-up for years. Ensoniq has obviously earned the respect and affection of many musicians over the decades, and I know two guys who still use DP-4s in much of their collaborative work, considering its sonic character an integral part of their "sound" as the "dark ambient" entity Yen Pox.

 

 

It seems like looking back now I remember thinking upon seeing a Paris display at a local retailer, and following its development, that I hope the software package didn't signal an approaching neglect, or even premature demise of a full hardware line. If I recall correctly, with the exception of the Fizmo, it seems as if Ensoniq's last few keyboards were relatively uninspired, workmanlike workstations that at most just refined the strengths of the TS line.

[tuco]

Reading the replies here confirms what I read elsewhere--

namely that people who have used Ensoniq have had good

experiences, generally. My main motivation was that they can

be had for CHEAP, and lots of Ensonic units are still out there being used, so there are patches and parts to be had.

I don't know what i'm doing---but i'm having a blast learning

on this thing.

Any suggestions as to what to use for amplification/speakers?

I'm using the "active" input on my SWR bass amp, presently.

[stikygum]

"unispired, workmanlike workstations that at most just refined the strengths of the TS line."

 

Uninspiring? That is the one Ensoniq board that I'd love to try, the TS-10 with all their Transwave goodness. What newer boards sound like the TS?

 

I have a Fizmo and its Fizzy from top to bottom. I had the ASR-X Pro and it rocked as a sampler/effects unit. The ASR-10 is one that would be cool with all the transwaves you can do with samples, I have always loved that.

[JoergSchaaf]

Just surf to http://www.aviom.com/.

That's, what the ensoniq crew is doing today. I met them at a trade show. Former designers, sound designers and managers of ensoniq started succesfully another company with a nice product - but they had no plans, starting another synthesizer project, when I talked to them. We all should drop them some mails everyday asking for the aviom synthesizer;-) I know, they are still synth enthusiasts...

[Guest Anonymous]

if i could start over, i'd record with a paris rig. it still sounds better than a lot of recording solutions i hear today.

[Mitchell-L]

Originally posted by stikygum:

TS-10 with all their Transwave goodness.

 

Just to be clear, that's what I meant: the TS boards were what struck me as some of the last really interesting or noteworthy models from Ensoniq, other than the novel Fizmo. I'm working from memory here, but I think I recall something like a "Z-76" towards the end, and while not trying to denigrate that one, it seems like it struck me as more of an all purpose (and fully featured), "bread and butter" workstation that was probably very useful for gigging musicians or as a versatile studio session instrument, suitable for many mainstream genres.

 

 

For a while there I was seriously tempted to get an ASR-X for the sake of a jump in sample RAM, but ultimately never got it. As many probably remember, the ASR10 had a max of only 16MB sampling RAM, and while I found numerous workarounds, towards the final few years that I had it, with samples becoming ever longer, multilayered and complex, I increasingly encountered looping and retriggering problems that seemed due to memory limitations.

 

And while I'm not necessarily a vehement "buy American" booster, still it was good to have a solid (while they were) US sound equipment company on the scene to help bring competition and evolutionary impetus to the market.

[TDman]

Did you mean the ZR-76? What a pile of....

[greggybud]

 

Originally posted by Arctic I like Ensoniq, the sound tends to be darker and grittier than much other gear (like Roland, for example...), and I might just get myself an ASR-10 after having wanted one for twelve years, but in my experience Ensoniq gear isn't the most trustworthy gear around. I've had units malfunction and break, and so have others I know. Does anyone else agree that Ensoniq gear construction might not be quite up to par with some other brands?

 

 

As a owner of the VFX-SD and ASR-10, definitely true about the VFX-SD. If you take one on the road, have a back up. I always approached this as the fact that they packed so much power into the unit that the drawback was the reliability factor. There are some general fixes you can do which seem to make them more stable.

 

Never had any problems at all with the ASR-10.

 

As a Transoniq Hacker subscriber, I remember most reliablity problems were with the VFX line, and not so much the MR or TS line.

[Prog]

My VFX-SDII is still alive and kicking. Never had one problem with it.

[BillyWa]

My VFX-SD is still my favorite keyboard, I do have to reload the sequencer OS sometimes though. Other than that, no problems.