Maker
Ensoniq
American technology company
Ensoniq was an American electronics company founded in 1982, known for affordable samplers and synthesizers such as the Mirage and the ASR and SQ keyboard workstations.
Models
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Ensoniq VFX
Synthesizer · United States
The Ensoniq VFX, released in 1989, is a 21-voice digital synthesizer workstation using PPG-style wavetable synthesis with 109 selectable waveforms per patch. It features a 61-note polyphonic-aftertouch keyboard, a high-quality onboard effects processor, and (in the VFX-SD) an integrated sequencer and disk storage.
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Ensoniq Mirage
Synthesizer · United States
The Ensoniq Mirage, released in 1984, was an affordable 8-bit digital sampling keyboard that helped bring sampling to working musicians. Its gritty sound and disk-based sample loading made it a popular and characterful early sampler.
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Ensoniq ESQ Series
Synthesizer · United States
The Ensoniq ESQ family comprises the company's late-1980s digital/analog hybrid synthesizers, beginning with the ESQ-1 and continuing with the SQ-80. They combined digitally sampled and synthetic waveforms with analog-style four-pole low-pass filtering and an onboard sequencer.
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Ensoniq EPS
Sampler · United States
The Ensoniq EPS (Ensoniq Performance Sampler), released in 1988, is a polyphonic sampling keyboard with up to twelve to twenty voices depending on sample rate, a 61-note velocity- and aftertouch-sensitive keyboard, an onboard sequencer, and disk storage, designed as an affordable performance-oriented sampling workstation.
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Ensoniq TS 10
Synthesizer · United States
The Ensoniq TS-10, released in 1993, is a sample-based synthesizer workstation combining Ensoniq's synthesis and effects with a sequencer for performance and composition.
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Ensoniq ESQ-1
Synthesizer · United States
The Ensoniq ESQ-1, released in 1986, is an eight-voice multitimbral hybrid synthesizer combining digital waveform oscillators with analog filters and a capable built-in sequencer, offering a lot of power at an affordable price.
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Ensoniq SQ-80
Synthesizer · United States
The Ensoniq SQ-80, produced from 1988 to 1989, is an eight-voice 'cross-wave' digital/analog hybrid synthesizer and successor to the ESQ-1. It edits digital waveforms through analog-style four-pole low-pass filters, adds an expanded waveform set and polyphonic aftertouch on its 61-note keyboard, and includes an onboard sequencer.
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Ensoniq VFX / TS Workstations
Synthesizer · United States
The Ensoniq VFX and TS workstations form the company's flagship synthesizer-workstation family, pairing wavetable-style digital synthesis with high-quality onboard effects, polyphonic aftertouch keyboards, and an integrated sequencer, from the VFX and VFX-SD to the TS-10 and TS-12.
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Ensoniq EPS / ASR Samplers
Sampler · United States
The Ensoniq EPS and ASR sampling instruments form a family of performance sampling keyboards that integrated sampling, onboard synthesis and effects, and a sequencer into a single self-contained digital studio, from the EPS and EPS-16 Plus to the 16-bit ASR-10.
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Ensoniq ASR-10
Sampler · United States
The Ensoniq ASR-10 (Advanced Sampling Recorder), produced from 1992 to 1998, is a 31-voice 16-bit sampling workstation that integrated sampling, resynthesis, onboard effects, and a sequencer into a single instrument. It shipped with a 61-note keyboard (88 weighted keys on the ASR-88) and became a favorite of hip-hop and electronic producers.
Sources
Categories
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Synthesizers
Hardware synthesizers, synth model families, and related electronic instruments.
Representative model
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Ensoniq Mirage
Synthesizer · United States
The Ensoniq Mirage, released in 1984, was an affordable 8-bit digital sampling keyboard that helped bring sampling to working musicians. Its gritty sound and disk-based sample loading made it a popular and characterful early sampler.