Webster.henr@XEROX.COM.UUCP (11/25/86)
<<in response to Dan Barretts message of 20 Nov 86 15:01:37 GMT>>
Dan--
"My only qualm with the instrument is that Ensoniq did not
include a SEPARATE envelope generator the the filter. I know you can
use any of the other 4 EG's, but those four are already ,
respectively."
If I understand you correctly, something's not quite straight here.
True, the 4th EG is irrevocably tied to the VCA, but the other three are
totally independant and can be tied to anything--pitch, filter, VCA,
ect.
As for your question about
"DO THESE FACTORY PRESETS REALLY SHOW OFF THE ESQ-1's SOUND? I was
extremely unimpressed. The presets sounded like those of a typical
sawtooth/triangle/pulse-wave synth, rather than a 32-waveform synth.
I could have reproduced all of the presets (with the possible
exception
of the "grand piano") on my 3-waveform synth."
are you sure you were listening to the factory presets and not some
previous hacker's (or store salesman's) attemp to try a little
programming? (perhaps so, I'm not doubting you, just checking).
Probably the most impressive "preset" is the sequence "DEMO." It gives
a taste of electronic drums, a trumpet section, marimba, bells, analog
sounds, ect. If you bump into an ESQ-1 again, try this.
I also got the memory expander and it comes with 80 voices on it. These
tended to be fairly polarized--either very good (more interesting than
the ones originally in the machine) and rather boring (perhaps they had
the work of two programmers, one good and one typical-average). In
studying the patches I like and starting to create my own, I think some
of the more interesting sounds of the ESQ-1 come from the formant
waveforms which are multi-sampled across the keyboard. One normally
can't these sounds unless you have a sampler. If your'e looking for
unique sounds or realistic acoustic sounds, try these.
Good luck,
Marc
Xerox Corporation, Rochester, NY