Vintage Synth Explorer

Ensoniq • ESQ-1

Similar to the Mirage synth/sampler, the ESQ-1 was Ensoniq's highly affordable and impressive digital synthesizer. Although the waveforms are digital in nature, the filters are all analog as on the Mirage. In fact, for a digital synth the ESQ-1 has many good old analog-synth features such as a ring modulator, sequencer, and oscillator-sync. The envelopes and LFOs are can be freely routed to each DCO, VCA and or VCF. There are 40 preset sounds which are the usual not-so-great sounds. Luckily the VFD display screen is large enough to make editing the sounds somewhat pleasant.

What really sets the ESQ-1 apart from other similar synths is the voice architecture. Choose from analog, digital, or samples or any combo since there are three independent oscillators per voice! Once you start editing on the ESQ-1 you will come up with interesting and unique results. Using dynamic voice allocation it can seemlesly switch from 8-voices of analog to 8-voices of digital or sampled voices! This gives you a wide array of different sonic elements at your fingertips!

Then there's its built-in sequencer. It can store up to 24,000 notes in 30 sequences and 10 songs via battery back-up. Anyone in search of an alternative synthesizer should consider the ESQ-1. More analog than a DX-7 or D-50 and also much cheaper, the ESQ-1 is a tasty option that is worth a try. A rack-mount version, the ESQ-M (pictured above) was also made which is identical to the ESQ-1 except that it excludes the on-board sequencer option. It has been used by Anything Box, Skinny Puppy, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Steve Roach.

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Posting Rules: Please keep your comments relevant! Do not post requests for help, do not use for sales, do not post unless you have something interesting to say about this instrument, or we may delete your post.

 

DCO-VCF-VCA

Posted 282 days ago

i'd like to make a correction to the very first post on here and also apparently to some other confused statements elsewhere on the internet: the ESQ-1/m and the SQ-80 have VCA's - NOT DCA's. it uses a curtis chip for the VCA section - a CEM 3360 in fact. The envelopes however are digital. think about it - it would make no sense at all to go DCO - VCF - DCA, which would require the signal to go through a D/A converter to the filter and then back to digital....

also check out the SQ-8L, which is a pretty decent emulation VSTi:

http://www.buchty.net/ensoniq/index .html#sq8l

IX

Posted 283 days ago

a blinder - dark moddy idm synth , glassy , warm , ppg like ? very ppg like at times , this is a classic Mood synth .

shannon

Posted 283 days ago

At first, someone not familiar with synths will think this synth sounds really fakey. But this synth will do excellent moog sounds, a decent piano sound (for 1986) and other nice instrument sounds are possible. electric piano sounds are top notch. it will make edgy stabs and warm vintage, quite analog sounds. it can emulate practically any synth that preceded it. i use recordings from it in place of virtual synths. i once got it to make the 'dolby THX' sound and someone once emulated many of the original star trek sound effects on an esq-1.

it has layer, split keyboard, and on top of everything, a built in sequencer.

if they could make these things now and sell them for what they run used, every electronic musician would have one.

bassteban

Posted 283 days ago

Haiku- I tried emailing you but it bounced back; I have any ESQ-1 I might part with. PM me if interested.

haiku

Posted 288 days ago

IF ANYONE CAN GET ONE OF THESE OR WANTS TO GET RID OF ONE. I used to have one and it was stolen. Now my hopes and dreams are shattered. I know this post isnt for sales but this is an emergency. Anyone out there that knows the ASR can relate.

PLEASE. contact me at fpc@mad.scientist.com PLEASE!!!!!

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