Yamaha DX7 vs Ensoniq ESQ-1/sq-80

[Tiger Jackson]

I've been wanting to ask this. The ensoniqs are easier to program, selectable wave forms, while the DX's it's like you sculpt your own sounds from scratch kinda. But do either have any more capabilities (sound wise mostly) over the other?

[meatballfulton]

SQ80 has polyphonic aftertouch.

Both Ensoniqs have an analog filter.

Both Ensoniqs are multitimbral.

[Big Gnome]

E/SQs and DX7s are completely different machines; both have capabilities the other lacks. I see you have an ESQ-1 and a DX100 (which I know, I know, is 4-op, but 6-op FM isn't any different, there's just more components to work with), so you should be able to determine their relative strengths and weaknesses fairly well yourself.

[Pro5]

...But DX7 is from another world and has infinite sounds (and is a classic and has a great keybed AND can even sound analogish when you know how).

[max badwan]

...But DX7 is from another world and has infinite sounds (and is a classic and has a great keybed AND can even sound analogish when you know how).

I concur...
The Ensoniqs are very easy to program, but if you get some DX editing software ( I used to use a CX-5m and later Steinberg Synthworks on an Atari) they are just as easy to program once you get your head around FM.

[xanadu97]

I want both of them

[Big Gnome]

Now you're talkin'...

[philip]

sq80 is a fantastic machine, capable of almost everything. it's still amaze me after so many years

[Jags]

I want both of them

Resurrecting this old thread. I was lucky and just picked up an ESQ-1 at an estate sale for $100.00! Had been in storage for 15 years. Needed a good cleaning and I did the battery mod and she is working 100%!! Then I remembered my old TX7 that was sitting in my music storage room unused for the past 15 years so I decided to pull that out. Amazingly still working including the original battery. The LCD screen is very weak so I will be replacing that soon and also doing a new battery mod.

Both these synths are classic mid 80's wonders and it's great to be able to marry them and bring them back from the dead. I have midi'ed them together and as a pair they sound great. The TX7 still has the various digital piano, brass, organ, and string patches that I had loaded to use with my top 40 band that I played in back in the late 80's. The ESQ-1 has the factory internal sounds which blend very nicely with the DX7. The DX7 digital piano and the ESQ-1 strings sound gorgeous together and I'm sure back in the day this was a quite common pairing.

Strangely I went to youtube to check out what others may have done with this pair. And to my surprise there are no youtube videos at all showing these two great classics paired together! Has anyone else paired these two together? If so what sort of things have you done or are doing with them together as a pair?

Currently my little experimental synth lab has a Moog Sub Phatty, Dreadbox Erebus, Korg Volca FM, Korg Minilogue, Waldorf Streichett, Nord Drum 2, and a MAM ADX1 drum synth. Everything controlled with an Arturia BeatStep Pro and Keystep. NO COMPUTER!! Sequencing only with the Arturia controllers and the built in sequencers. I plan to use the ESQ-1 sequencer to control the TX7 and keep them married up as a pair. It's really cool to be able to bring in the vintage ESQ-1 and TX7 into my setup and I look forward to the wonderful new palette of sounds they will provide.

Please share any stories you may have of the ESQ-1 and DX7/TX7. Thanks!!

[jxalex]

Good to hear. I am also into this kind of old vintage hardware (and software).

I have not "paired" them together, but I would if it means somehow a comparison to see and hear what others have done with it.
Still it would be interesting. I have SQ80 and TX802

Also the end result is possible to compare it with its VST counterparts somewhat (There is also SQ8L and FM7 vst which I can run on the WIN98SE non-official tweaked-to-max setup)

[JeEA]

Maybe i should play with the sq8l and DX-7

Cheers

[commodorejohn]

The answer to "DX7 or SQ-80?" is "yes."

[Bitexion]

The thing is that the SQ-80 is a subtractive synth like other analogues, but it has 3 oscillators with 99 waveforms available on each. The usual ones like saw, square, sine, triangle, 3 assignable LFO's, 4 multistage envelopes, analog (not self-oscillating) filter, then a plethora of digital ones of all shapes and sizes. Everything from glass tines and organ samples to vocal formants and dark noise is there. It's not a wavetable synth like the PPG's, though, it has no ability to sweep through the waveforms like those do. That would sound like a horrible glitchy mess anyway. Another great thing is that you can hardsync any two waveforms to create really weird sounds and timbres unheard of before.

Whereas the DX7 is a whole thing on its own, almost nothing is similar really.