Synthesizer Library Podcast

Overview The Ensoniq ESQ-1 is a hefty hybrid digital and analog synthesizer with 8 notes of polyphony. During the Yamaha DX-7 dominated 1980s, the ESQ-1 struggled to gain popularity. Today, however, it has seen a surge in popularity but still can be had for a few hundred dollars. Sound Design Each sound can be made up of: Three digital oscillators (choose from 32 waveforms) Three digitally controlled amplifiers (which mix the three oscillators) One low-pass analog filter with resonance per voice There are many modulation points along the way including pitch modulation of the oscillators, volume modulation of the DCAs, filter cutoff and resonance modulation. The modulation of these values can be controlled by: Three LFOs Four ADSR-style Envelopes (envelope 4 is hardwired to the final output DCA) External MIDI controller, Velocity, Keyboard range, Modulation wheel, and more. The ESQ-1 is also capable of producing sounds with Amplitude Modulation between Oscillators 1 and 2. This function is sometimes