Vintage Synth Explorer

Ensoniq • VFX / VFX-SD

Following up on the heels of the ESQ-1 and SQ-80 synths from Ensoniq comes the VFX with more polyphony and waveforms. The VFX allows for PPG-like synthesis using a sort of wavetable synthesis. This puts it into a unique class of digital synthesizers along with the PPG Wave series, Waldorf Microwave series, and Ensoniq SD-1, SQ-80, ESQ-1, and Fizmo.

The VFX has 21 voices of polyphony. A single patch can contain up to 6 of 109 waves in its ROM memory that can be combined and layered. Advanced and analog-like synth parameters including its dual multi-mode digital filters, three 11-stage envelopes, LFO, and 15 modulation sources allow you to further shape and morph your sounds. There's even a built-in 24-bit VLSI dual effects processor with reverb, chorus, flanging, and delay.

The VFX has a standard 61-note keyboard with velocity and polyphonic aftertouch. The synth also has full MIDI implementation with 12 channels for multitimbral functions. The VFX has a cartridge port as well, for storing sounds onto Ensoniq's proprietary media. The VFX is a digital synth, and its filter is pretty weak but the VFX makes some sweet strings and textural sounds but it won't be very handy for any "meaty drum and bass sounds. It has been used by Front 242, Rick Wakeman, Nick Rhodes, Tony Banks, Peter Vettese, T Lavitz, Jonathan Cain (Bad English, Journey), Richard Barbieri and Oscar Peterson.

The VFX-SD adds a powerful 24-track sequencer for a total music production workstation. This is a professional quality sequencer with 25,000 note capacity expandable to 75,000, and it holds up to 60 sequences and songs. There is quantization (96 ppqn), real or step time input and auto-punch in/out. One thing that's kind of quirky, the sequencer's operating system gets loaded into the instrument's RAM memory from floppy disk (they replaced the bulky and proprietary cartridges of the VFX with a standard 3.5" floppy drive). This allowed Ensoniq to provide new operating systems that you could load in real easily. This was a good thing since the VFX was plagued by bugs during its early years and there were several subsequent OS versions released by Ensoniq, the most recent of which can still be downloaded.

The VFX-SD also adds new drum and percussion sounds including 24 drum kits. A disk originally shipped with the VFX-SD full of pre-sequenced drum patterns to get you going or inspired! Despite these newer features, the VFX-SD is totally compatible with the original VFX sound library. The VFX-SD also featured four individual outputs, MIDI Automated mixing, and an on-board 3.5" disk drive for storing your sound patches, sequences, songs, and SysEx MIDI messages. Unfortunately the VFX-SD did not do too well when it was released, so Ensoniq re-released it with a few enhancements and called it the SD-1.

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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.

 

Benny

Posted 175 days ago

I've been offered to buy one of these for around 130$, I think it sounds like a good price but is it any good to program?

Ashe37

Posted 231 days ago

One of the most overlooked things about this synth is the keybed! It was made sectionally which caused some early problems (if your keyboard won't calibrate then the bridge between the segments needs toi be soldered) but was made by Fairlight, and generates polyphonic aftertouch!

planetplayer

Posted 312 days ago

I tried and liked, but not sold on it. Too many floppy disk swapping, locking up of entire units computer, cartridge for live work? maybe the floppy too slow? What I liked about it are the non natural acoustic sounds, I liked the Flouro display wether it would last or not, the layout looked nice and Euro type, ability to compse and FX. It's the wavetable sounds I liked. It's like the PPG, but different if I recall.
I liked the looks better than the SD-1.

Kirk Slinkard

Posted 369 days ago

I had a SQ-80 and got one of these when I needed a 2nd synth for gigging. It has lots more paramaters, very impressive programming subtleties, effects, and a better sequencer. Some distortion & Leslie effect gave some cool Hammond solos. But it has no sync, AM, or resonant filters. It even has fewer audio oscillators. I can get so much bigger and better sounds from the SQ-80 that I sold this and bought a 2nd SQ-80.

SHe

Posted 419 days ago

The other great thing about this synth is that every note is individually able to send aftertouch meaning (among other things) that you could hold one note not using aftertouch and play other notes and apply it without affecting the first note- and you could also save performance patches really easily so that it works as a really good controller synth live.

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