Ensoniq SQ-80 demo 2 - Kirk Slinkard.mp4 

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm currently putting something together on the subject of SQ-80 versatility and applications with more interesting multimedia stuff. It's not quite finished, and I'm practicing as much as I should have for this video. - Is that picture what you really look like?

Sounds good, i'm looking forward to it. Well hat is me on the picture but i am wearing some of those $1,- fake teeth from one of those kids novelties vending machines.

Thanks. I never worked for any synthesizer company, but that would have been a pretty cool career choice. I just really like the SQ-80 a lot, I keep finding new and cool things it can do that I wouldn't be able to do on other instruments. It's pretty quirky.

I've been intending to put out another SQ-80 vid on a different subject, but have been really busy lately. It's nearly ready to record. But I have also been putting together a 2nd patch set to be sold on Ebay, it has some really interesting patches, many of which do strange things with sync, AM, and arpeggiator effects using the LFOs, and has lengthy explanations in the patch manual.

Oh, ok then. When you do business on Ebay, did you ever run in trouble with paypal putting a hold on your funds for no apparent reason? I recently sold something and now I'm in a pickle because I'm broke (hence the sale) and am now putting up with a conundrum situation - I can't afford the postage to ship the thing that I sold and paypal refuses to work with me so that I can ship the damn thing. I can't believe they make such a fuss over $40. Sorry for the rant but did you have to put up with something like this?

I've had a hold a couple of times, but the reason was always given. In fact, Ebay/PayPal is required to give you their reason.

So it turns out that the hold was put on me because I don't sell something every freaking second. So I suppose those infrequent sellers who depend on Ebay and Paypal to save the roof over their heads might get royally screwed?

Excellent! I will buy them. I've made up a good few patches myself and you can get them free at Rekkerd. I got lost in programming the SQ8L - I found it more enjoyable than my hardware SD1 (which I love), which is a bit trickier. Also it does not have a Resonance parameter, believe it or not, just like the old Wavestation (Korg added a resonant filter in an update for the Legacy series which includes the Wavestation). I was really impressed by your patch programming. I look forward to buying your sounds. A lot of people use the VST version of this and I am sure they would buy them too.

" 'buying sounds' for a synth sort of goes against the beauty of these type of synths" - Honestly, I couldn't agree more. But I couldn't help notice that the vast majority of synth users are not really "synthesizer players" but actually "keyboard players". They want to push a button to call up a sound rather than create a sound. But the SQ-80 in particular (along with the ESQs) has developed quite a cult following and I sell patch sets at the rate of around one per month. I've also bought others' patch sets to expand my own patchmaking knowledge. The "SQ-80 underground" is still very active and has an online message group and quite a large amount of resources on several websites.

No idea what your situation is. I'm guessing you want to see if it is in working condition. Generally speaking, you could ask the seller and also ask if it is guaranteed. If it is being sold near you, you can ask to try it first.

+ɽɛᴛʀoғʟɛχ - And how many 25-year-old synthesizers can say they still have brand new commercial patch sets being made for them. Check out the ScoreForSale website for new and old 3rd-party patches. Also: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LAaxTwWfjgo.html

909955847736 Thanks!

909955847736 hey man, what would you say is a reasonable price to pay for one of these nowadays?

+ɽɛᴛʀoғʟɛχ - Somewhere around $400.00 seems typical now, a few years ago it was $300.00.

+909955847736 Wellllll sheet... "WARNING - BATTERY VOLTAGE IS LOW SAVE DATA AND CONSULT OWNERS MANUAL" "When this message appears, you should make sure that all Programs and Sequencer Data are saved to disk or to Cartridge, and then take the SQ-80 to an authorized ENSONIQ Repair Station as soon as possible to have the Battery replaced. " Know an authorized repair guy in Denmark? :'(

Either that or headphones. I personally recommend using a stereo sound system with good full-range speakers as opposed to a guitar amp or similar. Go to www.buchty.net/ensoniq/ and download the owner's manual if you don't already have one.

No. Haven't other players done that, at least to some degree? It took me a while to figure out that mechanism that senses velocity and pressure, might well make a cool tech segment in a future video showing the SQ-80 through different amps and effects. But I'd have to learn the opening theme from Blade Runner.

Thank you for the prompt response, Kirk.

I actually did consider those, and found out that the sysex format should work, and the cartridges definitely will work but minus the demo sequences. But getting new cartridges would drive your cost WAY up. My inexperience and failed attempts at interfacing SQ-80s and computers prevents me from doing anything by sysex. I suppose that could be done, others have done it, but I'm too much of a technophobe to explore that any further.

Syncing (aka hard synchronization) changes the END point of the OSC2 waveform where it will loop from, but the start point always remains the same. That's when you tune or modulate OSC2 lower than OSC1. The VFX version is an enhancement of this that was intended to be able to give you more of the initial attack of the wave with increased velocity, but not limited to just that. If the SQ-80 OSC2 is higher, it's more like how many waveforms will happen before it resets - that classic sync effect that sounds a little like Wah-Wah. I look at as the philosophy of the VFX family was to try and give you the most realistic copies of acoustic instruments, where the ESQ-1 & SQ-80 are traditional synths that let you use your imagination and come up with totally new sounds.

Interesting. That was actually what I kind of suspected. I've just watched a demo of the VFX where the start point (or time slice) modulation was demonstrated. Interestingly, some of the sounds sounded close, if not equal to what I would get out of my ESQ1 with sync. Then again, others sounded more like what my Casio CZ-5000 would produce with it's phase modulation and ring mod combo. I suppose, if both AM and sync were simultaneously available, my ESQ would be capable to do a genuine scan throgh it''s waveforms, or would both effects cancel each other out since some form of vca modulaion is involved? What are your 2 pence on this?

I am really looking forward to your patches!

If AM and SYNC were applied at the same time, there would be no scan through the waveforms, but you could do even more complex moving sounds than can done now. But even in their stock form, the ESQ-1 and SQ-80 have barely begun to be explored. Most of their sonic potential still remains untapped.

Download a free SQ-80 user's manual and read page 185 where it describes the ESQ-1 compatibility. If you use them as two different synths for layering, they would work together very easily and simply. If you are thinking of the overflow function, I recommend creating your soundbanks on the ESQ-1 then transfer them to the SQ-80. This will make sure that no incompatible waveforms or parameters are used.

Muchas gracias, thank you so much, vielen danke, spaseeba awesome reply

Thanks to you I simply bought another sq80. Yippee. The electronic 58 Les Paul Sunburst.

11:46 well now I feel stupid, because I was googling for like 15 minutes deducting this

+orthoooo - The ESQs can do a lot of moving waves including PWM, and actually most of what you hear here. Plus you can stack as many of them as you want. But used SQ-80s are fairly inexpensive on eBay so I recommend upgrading.

+909955847736 Oh i think i got it now! I had the mod wheel ->Osc 2 levels wrong and octave set too low so it sounded very quiet. Thanks for the tip. Hope to get an SQ80 one day, but i scored this ESQ for $60 and rescued it.