The SQ-80 is basically a reved-up ESQ-1 with a total of 75 waveforms, a 61-note keyboard with velocity & aftertouch, floppy disk drive for storing patches and sequences, and an enhanced sequencer. Great for organs, analog-type sounds, pads and sound effects. Like the classic ESQ-1, the SQ-80 functions in providing analog-type 4-pole lowpass filtering and editing of digital waveforms. Each voice can combine up to 3 of the 75 waveforms. These waveforms include multi-sampled transient attack waves such as violin bow, plectrum picks, mallet, hammer, breath attacks and percussive sounds. There are also 5 sampled drum sets. Three LFOs are onboard for some pretty wild modulation of the sounds you create or edit. Complete MIDI implementation makes the SQ-80 great for any studio or live use too.

As for playing the SQ-80, it is a dream! Its 61-note keyboard is full, responsive and has polyphonic aftertouch. Polyphonic aftertouch simply means that each key pressed will respond to aftertouch independently of the other keys. The aftertouch can be used to control a variety of modulation parameters such as the LFO. Pitch and mod wheels and plenty of front-panel buttons and a few sliders make accessing and editing fairly easy and hands-on. The keyboard can be split or layered. The pattern-based 8-track multitimbral sequencer is great for creating short to complex sequences live, or in step time with quantization, bounce-able tracks, 60 sequence patterns and 20 songs. And they can be saved to disk along with any patches you've created and any SysEx Midi data. Unfortunately, the SQ-80 has no built-in effects. The SQ-80 is certainly a classic analog/digital hybrid of the late eighties which still holds up well today. It has been used by filmaker/composer John Carpenter.

Kirk Slinkard

April 20, 2009 @ 4:26 pm

(response to Erwin) There is still a lot of support on this great synth at Rainer Buchty's website. Go to the Ensoniq Heaven section and check out all the stuff there. The best possible place to ask tech questions.
http://www.buchty.net/

erwin

March 15, 2009 @ 7:31 am

Hallo can someone help me with ideas to replays my backup ensoniq-sq80 battery with an original or some other battery that the keyboard will accept?

Jimmy

January 23, 2009 @ 3:28 pm

There are five sampled drum sets? How have I missed this over the last 20 years?!? Please check and confirm that statement....

Other than that, I looooove this synth! So much that I just picked up another one "just in case"... Ensoniq just "got it" you know? Great stuff!

SF

January 7, 2009 @ 9:26 pm

Wow, lots of great posts about this synth! I bought one slightly used when I was 19, almost 20 years ago now. It was my first "real" keyboard, and I still have it and use it today. I love it so much I bought another one on eBay that was in even better condition than my own. I agree, very unique sounds, very fat with the analog filters. This synth can do a lot, and the sequencer is great, too. I'll never sell mine.

Joel Galasso

December 31, 2008 @ 5:03 pm

Suena fantástico y poderoso cuando se activan y combinan los 3 osciladores. El secuenciador es muy útil y sencillo. Me encanta y se lo recomiendo a todos los músicos-productores que requieran sonidos de ochentosos, metales, lead synths (medios-agudos) y sonidos percusivos. Para mi le falta algo de poder como bass synth, pero siempre se puede procesar con algún multiefecto para bajo. Pd: con el Lowpass filter del KAOS PAD2 (Program 00), y saturando la entrada, los bajos suenan geniales, ahí si derriba paredes.

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