images via this auction"Here I've got a mega rare Fizmo Rack up for sale.One of only 50 or 250 made.A few people have told me 50 were made and some say 250.Definately not many and are rarely seen for sale.It comes with original manual,presets sheet,and original adapter.
If you're concerned about the voltage regulator issue I think Ensoniq fixed this with the Rack versions.A few people I've talked to say it was plus no ones ever heard of a rack going bad."
Anyone confirm this either way?
"Here are some specs:
The Fizmo is a 48-voice synthesizer which uses 2nd-generation Transwave technology to create very organic sounds unlike any other synth available. Every programming function has its own dedicated knob or button, and there is a limited but useful 4-character LCD display. The Fizmo features an Arpeggiator and 24-bit VLSI effects with 41 algorithms, including a Vocoder and the ability to process incoming audio through the Vocoder and effects.
Transwave synthesis uses wavetables of sound data with layered variations in harmonic structures such that their timbres progress naturally from one end to the other. This allows for sounds to modulate over time, or by velocity, wheel, pressure, or any number of other options.
There are 2 oscillators available for each of the 4 presets allowing for 8 unique oscillators at the same time, not to mention individual LFO and Noise generators for each Osc. Another wonderful feature is the ability to stack up to four individual presets together into one sound and map them across the keyboard. This synth is very capable of some very complex sounds.
The built-in Arpeggiator has 118 presets which can be easily edited to your liking, and 26 real-time control/editing knobs make mutating your sound a pleasure. All controls may be recorded in real-time to an external sequencer. There are current operating systems and patches available over the internet from Emu/Ensoniq's Web site"
"Rare" and "valuable" are different enough in this case where that $1300 price seems a tad tarded.
ReplyDeleteI would've bought it at that price.They've gone for more by a couple of hundred $$. IIRC the keyboard units had the power supply issue, the rack mounts have a pitchbend issue. I'm trying to figure out how many racks were produced; most serial #s begin 0699765xx.Currently I have a range indicating 38 instruments. I'm sure this will become more accurate as I receive more #s.Contact me at ronsravioli at hotmail.com if you have any information to contribute. I'll post results to the various forums when I have the results.
ReplyDeleteWell shut my mouth. Sold with "Buy It Now." Man, is *anything* under a grand these days?
ReplyDeleteIts hard to find any hardware wave sequencing synth under a grand these days!
ReplyDeleteWavestation SR's regularly show up on the bay for about $200.
ReplyDeleteThe FiZMO was a flop, but they sold way more than 50 units of the rack model, I am sure. These things went for $500 or less after the dot com bust. Honestly, it's not that exciting a synth. It makes some neat noises, but the OS is underdeveloped in the extreme. Give me a uWave XT over this purple beast any day.
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ReplyDeleteAs promised... I finally came up with pictures for my fizmo kb+rack set. Hope they are ok and enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThanks for publishing them, matrix!
http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2008/11/ensoniq-fizmo-keyboard-and-rack.html
Regarding the issue of how many FiZmO Racks were ever made, see here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.the-gas-station.com/messages.cfm?type=normal&thread_id=49652&lastdays=37893&
In 24-Nov-02, "system9" claims there were a total of 50 rack fizmo's made, and that he got this figure from E-mu's Eastern rep, John Devins.
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/archive/index.php/t-1075860.html
In 11-04-2005, "stikygum" claims Only 100 were ever made of these
As for the value/price, I´ve seen them go on eBay for 1200USD, 750EUR, 1300USD.