Library Instrument
Ensoniq ESQ-1
Ensoniq's 1986 hybrid synthesizer/sequencer — digital wavetable oscillators through analog filters, multitimbral, and affordable.
Released in 1986 at around $1,395, the ESQ-1 is an 8-voice, multitimbral digital/analog hybrid synthesizer: each voice draws three digital oscillators, via the ES5503 “DOC” chip (also designed by Bob Yannes), from 32 single-cycle waveforms, run through analog Curtis CEM3379 low-pass filters for a warmer character than a purely digital instrument. Its built-in 8-track MIDI sequencer combined with genuine multitimbral synthesis at a low price point made it notably affordable relative to its contemporaries.