ENSONIQ was founded in America in 1982 by former Commodore employees D. Bruce Crockett, Albert Charpentier and Robert Yannes.


They had worked together at Commodore on the development of the C 64, among other things.


The first product developed by ENSONIQ was the "VCS Computing Device", an add-on for Atari video game devices that allowed these devices to be used as personal computers.


In 1983, the company turned its attention to music electronics and built its own sound chip. In April 1984, ENSONIQ introduced the "Drum-Key", a hardware and software add-on for the Apple II computer that made it usable as a rhythm machine.



In January 1998, ENSONIQ Corp. was acquired by Creative Technology Ltd. for $77 million, and merged with E-mu Systems to form the E-Mu/Ensoniq division. The fusion with E-mu sealed Ensoniq's fate: after releasing an entry-level E-mu MK6/PK6 and Ensoniq Halo keyboards - essentially keyboard versions of the Proteus 2500 module - in 2002, the E-Mu/ Ensoniq division was dissolved and support for legacy products was discontinued soon afterward.

Ensoniq entered the instrument market with the Mirage sampling keyboard in 1985. At the price of $1500USD it cost significantly less than previous samplers such as theFairlight CMI and the E-MU Emulator. Starting with the ESQ-1, they began producing sample-based synthesizers. Following the success of these products, Ensoniq established a subsidiary in Japan in 1987.

Ensoniq products were highly professional. Strong selling points were ease-of-use and their characteristic "fat", rich sound (generally thought of as being an "American" quality, as opposed to the "Japanese" sound which was more "digital" and somewhat "cold"). After the Mirage, all Ensoniq instruments featured integrated sequencers (even their late '80s and early '90s samplers) providing an all-in-one "digital studio production concept" instrument. These were often called "Music Workstations". Starting with the VFX synthesizer, high-quality effects units were included, in addition most synthesizer and all sampler models featured disk drives and/or RAM cards for storage. The manuals and tutorial documents were clearly written and highly musician-oriented, allowing the users to quickly get satisfactory results from their machines. In 1988, the company enlisted the Dixie Dregs in a limited edition promotional CD "Off the Record" which featured the band using the EPS sampler and SQ-80 cross wave synthesizer.

1985 - Ensoniq Mirage
1986 - Ensoniq ESQ-1
1986 - Ensoniq SDP-1 Sampled Digital Piano
1988 - Ensoniq SQ-80
1988 - Ensoniq EPS
1989 - Ensoniq EPS-M
1989 - Ensoniq VFX
1990 - Ensoniq SQ-1
1990 - Ensoniq SQ-2
1990 - Ensoniq SQ-R, later Ensoniq SQ-R plus
1990 - Ensoniq EPS 16 Plus
1990 - Ensoniq SD-1
1992 - Ensoniq KS-32
1992 - Ensoniq ASR-10
1993 - Ensoniq TS 10
1993 - Ensoniq DP/4
1995 - Ensoniq DP/2
1996 - Ensoniq MR61
1996 - Ensoniq KT-76
1997 - Ensoniq ASR X
1997 - Ensoniq E Prime
1998 - Ensoniq Fizmo
1998 - Ensoniq ZR-76
1998 - Ensoniq ASR X Pro
1998 - Ensoniq PARIS Digital Audio Workstation
2002 - Ensoniq Halo (E-mu product using Ensoniq brand)

>> You are welcome to write your opinion/experience with Ensoniq devices and if I have forgotten something or made a mistake, please correct me.

Fizmo (An outstanding synth from Ensoniq, as far as sound design and character are concerned.)

Ensoniq-DP 4 in my opinion. one of the best multi-effects devices ever.

 

Last edited: Dec 21, 2023

Ensoniq eps ,my first sampler .I could sample at home , couldn't believe it lol . early 90s , from a shop called Big Deal ,North UK. Got Expansion Outputs for it also .Set me up for life .

 

Same, EPS first sampler expanded outputs and RAM, I miss it...

 

Does anyone know what's the best way to get the ensoniq sounds in my modern DAW? Without kontakt libraries?

 

get hardware, it's 100% worth it

 

I like E=mu stuff, i've got Emulator-X installed on a couple computers. But roland gear is the viagra for my inspiration when it falters..

 

I was just converting some Mirage eproms yesterday with Promenade... Good stuff.

 

Really great sounding multi fx the DP/4 but I still mourn my not working DP/4+.
Fixing it would cost a fortune. It's more or less a gamble getting one these days if not already serviced along the years.

 

what is broken and how much will the repair cost ?

 

One day I'll get my hands on the DP 4+. The phaser module on that thing has a very particular sound that I like (unfortunately my comp is not up to spec to run that Dusty Devices VST version).

 

I heard if DP/4+ is broken you are almost unable to fix it and there are were some developers mistakes you cannot fix because the code is long lost

 

Last edited: Dec 21, 2023

Interesting bit of history there.

Have 2 ESQm's. Pulled one out recently to try an reproduce a bit of music I recorded onto a Teac 3440 4 track reel to reel back about '90 because I couldn't find a preset among the billions of softsynth sounds I have, lol. Even still, to get the exact same sound I remember, that was probably as much due to the equipment it was recored on as the patch itself. Plus, it's difficult to get the right timing feel of the original. No wonder some bands have used demo tracks on albums after having failed to reproduce the same vibe.
(out of curiousity just looked it up. surprised by how high the used market is. heavey mf'er)

 

What sounds do you mean?

 

What is it sepecifically you want to do but on't know how? Curious as to why someone on this site would not know how to accomplish this. I know slightly bit more than jack and how I'd go about doing it. Maybe not as efficiently as those more accomplished, but I could do it, lol.

 

Last edited: Dec 21, 2023

thats the keen thing about a board like this, everybody knows something that someone else doesn't so by sharing knowledge we each make each others struggle a little lighter.

 

oh god no, this is the first time i've heard this, it would be a bit of a disaster. i'll have to google it now to find out a bit more about it

 

around 800€. smd capacitors leaking on many layers pcb kind of nighmare.

 

okey, the repair is then quite complex with something like that and the price demanded for it is also really very high, so it's about time that Softube, Arturia or UAD supply us with a plugin emulation ... right ?

 

such an awesome device, pure 80s vibes

 

there is a diy overhaul kit for the dp/4: www.ebay.com/itm/275668061067. might be worth a look at the component list.