Carbon111 just put up an Ensoniq VFX Page. His pages are always informative filled with info and images, so do check it out."A recent discussion got me thinking about older synths that are overlooked, still very powerful and available dirt-cheap these days. The one that came first to my mind is the wonderful Ensoniq VFX released back in 1989. It was the synth that followed up their hugely popular ESQ-1 and SQ-80 models and had more "features" but has now faded to general obscurity. Its current disfavor probably stems from the fact that it was Ensoniq's first all-digital synth and the User Interface looks rather uninviting - a forgivable misconception as you will soon see.
...you could do things like sweep the flanger with an envelope or modulate delay time with an LFO, syncing FX to the rest of the synthesizer - this was an Ensoniq "trademark" feature that they continued in their subsequent synthesizers."
Also posted on SYNTHWIRE.
Yeah. I once had an SD-1, which came after the VFX. I should have kept it.
ReplyDeleteThe user interface, programming flexibility, and polyphonic aftertouch were great. The main problems were the lack of filter resonance, some aliasing at extreme modulation settings, a rather light keyboard, and the dreaded "ERROR 144". Ensoniq reliability was terrible.
The ESQ-1 was pretty mean, too. That whole product line sounds like crossing a PPG with a rusty razor blade.
ReplyDeleteDang. Now I' getting the urge to look for an ESQ-M module.
ReplyDeleteMultitimbral, digital waveforms, 3 oscillators per voice, flexible modulations, and analog filters.
Hmm.
i <3 ensoniq
ReplyDelete