ESQ-1?

roboctopus · Post by **roboctopus** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:12 am

I've been considering getting a new poly. Right now I'm using a Juno-60 with a midi-dcb interface. I like the sound and the hands-on controls, but I sometimes wish it did more. Like freaking portamento. Or more obnoxious 8-bit sounds.

I keep seeing the ESQ-1 get recommended as cheap and versatile. And I watched this on youtube, and I liked what I heard.

I don't really like your standard 80s pad sounds, but I *love* bratty sounding raw square waves. How's the esq-1's raw pulse wave forms sound? How does the esq-1 do for cheapo organ sounds? Lo-fi leads?

I'm looking for a cheap synth that does the job of the juno, and sounds good. Then I could sell the juno and buy a nicer monosynth...

Tyler2000 · Post by **Tyler2000** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:53 am

The ESQ-1 WILL NOT replace your Juno.

With ring-mod, hard-sync, and three noise waveforms you can get pretty lofi. It sounds a bit 80s at times, but if you mostly stick to traditional waveforms you can hardly tell. Great organs and leads, plus tons of f**k noise, too.

Sir Ruff · Post by **Sir Ruff** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:02 pm

well, I don't think he was looking to replace his juno

(tho to be honest, I would take the ensoniq over the juno any day!)

yeah, it (or the slightly better SQ-80) will do all the sounds you are looking for. It excels at gritty sounds, particularly with the AM (ring mod)... but also does wonderful analogue impressions...
My sq80 never fails to impress me... would be a good partner to your juno.

Post by **WDW** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:48 pm

I'm with you, Ruff. I'd take an ESQ over a Juno. Not that I don't like the Juno--I have one (a 106, which is not as nice as the 60). I just like the ESQ better--I have two.

The ESQ can do reasonable analogue emulations, but it's lo fi waves can produce sounds that the Juno cannot, such as really gritty, nasty, aggressive stuff.

Additionally, the ESQ is a 3 OSC machine, compared to the 1 OSC of the Juno. That opens a whole different world of sonic possibilities.

WD

OriginalJambo · Post by **OriginalJambo** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:33 pm

The ESQ-1's pads are great and the strings are even better! Definitely better than a Juno for those sort of things in my opinion.

Some may say the ESQ-1 is thin...not true - it can sound very thick and powerful! Those analogue filters really do make a huge difference.

The only short coming of the ESQ-1 I'd say is that it's not the brightest sounding synth ever so it takes a little work to make it cut through. One the other hand it is one of the easiest synths to work into a mix IMO - just gels in there without a problem.

My first synth and it's still here - and the Juno ain't.

Sir Ruff · Post by **Sir Ruff** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:05 pm

OriginalJambo wrote:The ESQ-1's pads are great and the strings are even better! Definitely better than a Juno for those sort of things in my opinion.

Some may say the ESQ-1 is thin...not true - it can sound very thick and powerful! Those analogue filters really do make a huge difference.

The only short coming of the ESQ-1 I'd say is that it's not the brightest sounding synth ever so it takes a little work to make it cut through. One the other hand it is one of the easiest synths to work into a mix IMO - just gels in there without a problem.

My first synth and it's still here - and the Juno ain't.

agreed + 1

I use this for nasty bass all the time... It is kind of dull, but nothing that a little pre-recording eq won't solve. I always end up adding a touch of high end EQ on my mixer which works a treat... Definitely better to be too dull, than excessively digital-y bright.

(this was my second synth after a dw8000-I also had a juno-6 but it didn't last long!)

roboctopus · Post by **roboctopus** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:54 pm

I like what you guys are saying. I sort of have a love-hate relationship with my Juno. I love how it sounds and how easy it is to use, but then sometimes I feel a little frustrated with it as far as it's sonic palette is concerned. It sort of always sounds like a Juno, you know? It's really hard to make it sound obnoxious or gritty. And the few samples of the esq-1 I've heard sound great...very diverse. Seems like it might do a lot of the things I wished the Juno did. A good complement, perhaps.

How is it for programming? The only synths I have are the Juno and a Moog prodigy, both obviously have little in the way of programming and are straight-up knobs and sliders. I see there's only one data slider on it, but it looks like it has a lot of buttons in the picture. Is it basically button-per-parameter and then alter the value with the slider? Is it a pain, a joy, or a little of both?

esqoner · Post by **esqoner** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:01 pm

easy. can be boring though...at least compared to knobs. function per button.

also, for what you are looking for...esq-1 will fit in nicely.

does do nice monosynthy stuff too! and portamento. and good organ sounds. and bad english typing!

os 3.5 is the newest (can be found online if you get one and want to upgrade it)

nice feeling keybed. kickass easy sequencer. the thing is very capable of a lot of sounds.

i see no loss in getting one!

Post by **WDW** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:04 pm

Although the ESQ appears on its face as a typical 80's spartanly controlled synth, it is one of the easiest to program. Yes, one data slider and a couple of buttons to increase/decrease values. But dedicated buttons for nearly every parameter.

The large display makes seeing parameter values obvious. And the soft buttons around the display allow instant access to each parameter.

I learned subtractive synthesis on the ESQ-1. It is a very intuitive machine.

WD

Tyler2000 · Post by **Tyler2000** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:58 am

Sir Ruff wrote:well, I don't think he was looking to replace his juno

"I'm looking for a cheap synth that does the job of the juno, and sounds good."

Anyway, I totally agree about it sounding a bit dull. I've also noticed that mine has kind of a low output. Lower than my other synths. Makes it a bit annoying to get my levels right on my mixer.

However, my friend got an ESQ-M and it sounds alot brighter and the filter sounds much meaner than my ESQ-1. Any idea why?

Post by **WDW** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:12 am

No idea why. My ESQ-1 and ESQ-M sound identical. In fact, I poly-chain them and treat them as one ESQ.

WD

Sir Ruff · Post by **Sir Ruff** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:46 am

Tyler2000 wrote:
Sir Ruff wrote:well, I don't think he was looking to replace his juno
"I'm looking for a cheap synth that does the job of the juno, and sounds good."

um... in that case, the juno (which he's obviously not married to) WOULD be easily replaced by the ensoniq considering the sounds he's describing that he wants to make. I even had a "juno" patch on mine when I got it.... didn't sound the same, but who cares-it does the job!

OriginalJambo · Post by **OriginalJambo** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:05 am

Tyler2000 wrote:However, my friend got an ESQ-M and it sounds alot brighter and the filter sounds much meaner than my ESQ-1. Any idea why?

Maybe the filters need calibrated? I'm sure there's a function for tuning them somehow...

Tyler2000 · Post by **Tyler2000** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:18 am

I can't seem to find any info on that. Maybe a soft reset would do the trick?

Post by **WDW** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:26 am

No, there is a filter calibration key combo. I am away from my manual, but I know that it is in there.

WD