Hey nice job on the patches. Finally hear someone taking full potential of this machine. I have used the ESQ/SQ line since I started releasing my music in the 90s. My albums Alpha Wave Movement Architexture of Silence & Soniq Variants(as in Ensoniq) is about 90% ESQ-1 and VFX-SD and all ambient. I one takes the time to edit the synth which is really a breeze as everything is laid out wiht that large screen you can come up with some very useful textural and vintage sounds and without bankrupting you of the thousands for an OB-8 etc!
an outstanding bank. thought i heard al possible variations on the onboard waves, but this is just wonderful.. great you have some tasteful lexicon trails,, without it synth demos are in vacuum, and its hard to picture the sound in its natural habitat.
Thank zou Bob !!! Ensoniq is the best keyboard for me anlog -digital I was make very nice sound myself...I play one man band ...now I have Roland E-50 Casio XW-p1 & Moog prodigy..but waiting 5 years for my Ensoniq....I hope will be OK soon ...!!!
I love these tones you're pulling out of the ESQ. I had the big brother, SQ-80. Always favored the analog side more than the PPG-esque wavetable side. Subscribed and can't wait to hear what else you have out there.
I own this rare - here in Greece - synth and i was about to sell it, but after hearing the demo of patches i thought "do you really want to sell this synth ?", well done !
The Lexicon MX-400 is very good for its price i select SUPER Chorus and always use that patch for effects for my Prophet 8 & 12 primairily i do not create or modify any new or existing patches
Really warm & beautiful sounding? When did Ensoniq cease production & why? what was the key size & what would Ensoniq priced in todays market? Is there synth comparable to the Ensoniq?
Hi Adrian, thanks for the comment. I don't know about ESQ-1 history but the key size are smaller than other synth I had like dx7 or jx8p. The key action is very nice. Today's used prices range from 250$ to 400$. CEM filter and 3 oscillators make it very unique. Almost as easy as with pot and slider to program.
Classic and at the same time modern and funky...Ah..there comes around 3.50 minutes, the Vangelis type sound... Is there any VST to emulate this hardware??
I have these patches! (purchased, of course). BTW I don't know why folks rave on about Roland Juno's etc - they are essentially DCO synths with analogue filters, and very BASIC capabilities. The ESQ-1 is way ahead of the game, if you like sound design - and currently sensibly priced. MAY 2020 - some folks are asking £1400 plus for Juno 106's.......Whhhhhhy??
Loving your patches. I'm about to get an ESQ-1 and those would be an amazing starting point. But i'm running a mac, will I be able to send them the sysex? Is there an equivalent of Midiox for mac? Thanks for the answers, all the best
Well I tried to order from you but fast spring denies payments..I've had problems with them almost constantly (and so have a lot of other users) I have no idea why anyone uses them. I have no issues using paypal or my CC on any other purchase. And I buy music related items a lot from reverb, ebay, sweetwater, Luke Nepture sound banks etc, I had to have Cycling '74 intervene on my behalf to get a payment through FastSpring for Max/MSP. FastSpring always say to contact them but there is no contact support link during a payment fail.I had to go find their email address, shoot off an email and still never got a response. So I'm convinced fastspring costs people in lost sales. Sorry but their terrible service has cost you a sale, too many hoops to jump through, too many issues to overcome. Maybe try PP direct or Google pay.
+KurtFuller Thanks for watching, check this for your answer : www.gearslutz.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-electronic-music-production/682982-how-make-esq1-multi-timbral-more-than-2-patches-split-keys-same-time.html
Thank you Bob !!! nice demo I have Esq-1...but cant find service in my country...keyboard & memory is ok...but dont have audio out...sounds...did somebody know in Europe service for Ensoniq ????Thank you dear Ensoniq friends !!!
If you haven't found help yet, have you tried soft/hard reset? If that fails, try the following (I take no responsibility for any further damage that occurs on your synth on your behalf) - Make sure the synth is turned off and unplugged from the mains (but keep the other end of the cable plugged in the synth), remove the four hex screws by the corners of the panel. Lift up the panel, it should come up like the hood of a car. Disconnect the computer board from the power supply, and disconnect all of the cables that connect to the computer board as well. Leave everything disconnected for about a minute or so. Reconnect the cables and make sure they are securely pushed into the correct sockets. Close the lid, plug the synth into the mains and turn it on. If everything works fine, then you can turn it off again and put the four hex screws back in. That usually works for me. If that doesn't solve the problem then there might be something up with the amplifier part or on the CPU board itself. Have you tried to play the ESQ1 externally from a midi keyboard? Maybe the connector of the keyboard to the computer board might have become loose over time or has never been plugged back in in an earlier maintenance job. Are you able to select patches and alter their settings? What sometimes happens with my ESQ is that voltage spikes and/or current ripples (either when switching the synth on or plugging it in or unplugging it while still on) can scramble things up on the computer board. From what I have learned is that there is a design flaw in the power supply that can cause such spikes. I suspect that since the power supply can still hold a charge when switched off, the computer board (and associated components) could be locked in that state. For me, disconnecting the computer board from the PSU, and anything else from it, seems to restore it's functionality. For any further information about the ESQ1, and the SQ80, see www.Butchy.net. There you will find all kinds of info on maintaining and troubleshooting your synth. You can even order NOS parts there.
mik300z Hi, you just informed me of that situation the site seems to be updated (i hope) if not i will find another link. By the way i really like your live performance ! we both have the same influence Vangelis :)
What are the Lexicon reverb names or what effects on the Lexicon i have the MX-400 & I'm still learning how the effects are sounding or description of what each patch does
Custom reverb: long hall, density to max, 7 to 9 sec decay depending of the algorithm and 45-55 ms of predelay, I cut the high frequency until I don't hear the metallic bounces, but still the clearest as possible. Ok that the vangelis verb I use on almost every space preset I create.
It is a hybrid synth. The analog part is due to the 4-pole Kurwitzer filter and also analog amplifier (can someone inform me how to spell "Kurwitzer", pls). The *100%* verbiage of this vid-title is admittedly click-bait-y marketing. If I was writing the article it would be: *"Half-digital & half analog -- 100% vintage excellence"* ! However, the title is describing THE PATCHES... not the instrument, therefore this observational point is moot. I would say the real Achilles-heel of the instrument are piccolo notes where you can clearly hear the Nyquist frequencies that the wavetable strains to stitch together at those whistling heights. However, if you play the instrument like a musician instead of a stunt-driver (like this demonstration), then it sounds incredible with a formidable starting points due to the 8-bit wavetable. It's awesome -- makes me think that the synth is the ultimate 80s cyborg-hero of musical instruments if you'll imagine the cybernetic implants (digital-wavetable) combined with the more organic analog signal path (the VCF and VCA). No offense taken or given, I'm actually just geeking out about a really fun piece of equipment that I sort of wish I owned (cue a nerdy voice saying "well, acktwually" 🤓 ). Fortunately for those of us without access to the OG, we can download the 32-bit SQ8L (I recently figured out how to apply the envelopes and LFOs to the sound generators and filters). It's the cat's pjs with an interesting history behind it as well that goes back to the Commodore-64's SID chip and the masterminds behind it.
If u want an esq1 make sure you got one with updated aprom (version 3.5 Like mine)wich makes it fully sys-ex compliant( now you can send\load patches\banks to your daw ) and gives a lot of extra functionality. You also want the ram cartidge wich is good for 80 extra sounds to storage wich gives you instant access to a total of 120 editable and storable presets. And of course you want the reference manual, the user manual and the expansion(3.5) manual.Oh and you want the steel case model, not the plastic one. serious people can make me an offer since my esq1 is 4 sale...(ex shippin from the Netherlands )
I would agree due to how much of a chameleon a wavetable synth such as the ESQ-1 truly is (it really can do anything except piccolo ranges, unless you don't mind the aliasing). Sure, it's debatable depending on taste. I will toss in my 2-cents and say that the DX-7 has a far less intuitive sound designing paradigm; that being endless groans of menu diving. The ESQ-1 and SQL had a button system, but had only one menu per button and was/is very logically laid out. That makes the ESQ-1 automatically better in my book. Kudos to people who don't mind the menu-diving of the DX-line because I lack the mindset for it. However, the software world makes much more sense of FM/(PM) than hardware... I actually enjoy programming the Sytrus plugin, and would take that or any similar program (such as FM-8) over the hardware any day. If you know of any hardware based FM/(PM) synth that actually makes programming a joy instead of a TI-83-calculator-type chore, I'm all ears.
neuronmind i know that the synth have digital osc, i created my sound to be the closest as possible to presets that we hear in the old days to mimic analog. But the filter is analog you know that right?
yea Bob I know but that doesn't make it 100% analog does it?Beside that the (cuttof)filter doesn't sound very analog, it's a bit thin sounding All routing and editing functionality realy makes up for that and I trully love my esq and its sound.Greetz from the Hague ,Netherlands
neuronmind ESQ1 thin Sounding? Got healing problems? I also have a Moog Source and the esq can sound fitter than that. The filter is one of the best filters around , it just doesnt selfoscillate, but indontncare fort that anyway. It sure sounds better than all of the Roland juno crap synths which i also used to own ( and was happy to get rid of)
