Back in 1983 I went into “Big Dudes Music” in Kansas City. They had a Roland Jupiter-8 , a Juno , a JX-3P , and an the Ensonic Mirage. The Mirage blew my mind , as well as the Jupiter 8. The Jupiter-8 and the Juno had the arpeggio on them. The JX-3P had a sequencer instead. I couldn’t afford the Jupiter-8 or the Ensonic. They wanted you to “rent” the PG-200 programmer for the JX-3P to create your own quick tweaked sounds. Normally you can do it without but, it takes forever. That PG-200 programmer sitting magnetically on that keyboard was awesome. They wanted, I think, almost another $300 for it. Long story short…. ….. I got the JX-3P with the Programmer for around $1,300.00. Still have it today. Works perfect !!! I was never completely happy though, because I always thought about the Ensonic and that Jupiter 8. I have a Jupiter 80 and a System 8 both with all the Jupiter 8 specs plus more! Life is sure interesting !
Patience. Never give up your goal. You can still get it. Or get the most amazing that is modern today. Wait a year longer to save up. Nothing is out of reach it's only the choices That we make that puts it at the back burner.
Omg. That was one of my first synth samplers like 20 years ago I bought used. It didn’t come with manual. Had it for a year and traded it in. I wish I didn’t.
I remember I had all of these samples in 1999 on a CD in WAV. Now we have CZcams and samplers with Wi-Fi connections and cell phones with Bluetooth and it's amazing how easy it is to get these samples from you all over again. Thanks.
@@dpalaoro Most definitely. I come from rock bottum 83. When there was impossibilities that existed. Today anything on youtube is legit. Period. If it's dirty, clean it. Chop, truncate, allocate and make use of all free resources most definitely. Occupy the commercials. Take them for all they got. Independent has no rules to follow or obey. It's off the books.
The DOC5503 Digital Oscillator Chip which powers this synth was designed by the same guy who designed the SID chip in the Commodore 64. This same chip also provided the audio for the Apple //gs personal computer from 1986. It's a 16 voice chip on paper, but a bug in the silicon makes one of the voices problematic to use. Sample memory was up to 128K and it's all 8 bit.
@@activelow9297 Yeah, the GS only used 64K but the Mirage had two banks of 64K which is also shared with the CPU. Bank switching was clumsy so I don't know if the Mirage actually made use of the 2nd 64K except during sampling and editing. IIRC, the silicon bug creates a pop when ping-ponging between oscillators 31 & 32 in voice 16; it was still fine for playing drums or crash noises but it wasn't so useful for flute.
3:53 this sample was used in a very obscure album from Parry Music Library, called "Impulse"... It was used in the track "Sound Process"... You can find it on CZcams
Ah, thank you. For certain this was one of the digital keyboards at my high school in the late 80s. The digis were under lock and key, while the analogs were left out in the room. I couldn't remember the specifics, but now I'm 100% positive this was one. We also had Apple IIgs systems in the music lab.
12:09 until the rest of the video and you can hear almost all the sounds used by Terry Lewis & Jimmy Jam on New Edition’s “If It Isn’t Love” - aside from the cuckoo clock (which is in fact on the same disk for me for some reason!)
@@alanshewitt I think the guy at Digital Sound Factory or the Syntaur company has the rights. They allowed Rhythmic Robot to make a Kontakt version of the factory bank though. It's called Sahara.
Cool vid thanks, I’m having bother with mine. I’m playing keys and sometimes a note drops out ( nothing plays) but if I keep playing it comes back any idea what can cause this ?? Cheers
Wikipedia says that the Mirage came out in '84, are the factory disks also from '84 ? Drums from the Latin Percussion disk (@00:41) appear to be ripped from a Tr-727, but according to Wikipedia the Tr-707/727 came out the following year.
Wikipedia is not the truth. They put my music albums on the wrong year and other artists as a release date with the wrong year. It is just opinion really it is not actual reference.
There is different release dates for different countries. It might say it was released this year but that was only an Australia and it wouldn't do United States until next year for instance is just an example. So whoever wrote the article and was approved to deliver you that truth in the article might be on the other side of the world who did get it a year previous 2 other people and they don't realize other people had to wait a year before they even knew it existed.
The 727 Latin sounds are very characteristic of the mid-to-late eighties, but it's not as if Latin percussion didn't exist until Roland came along. Timbales, congas, quijadas and agogos existed in real life. The timbales on the Mirage sound similar to the TR-727 version but don't seem identical to my ears. Besides, the Linndrum came out earlier and there was a Latin soundchip available for that, as well as one for African drums (the Mirage has a disk for those as well), so the guys from Ensoniq might have sampled the Linn. I think there were custom "Latin" and "African" eprom sound chips for the DMX as well.
Almost. There are two versions of the "Do" vocal. On the first set of disks 1-10 (demoed in this video) it's a solo Do, but on the B-set of disks (Synthmania's demo 11-20) it's a small group of voices singing "Do". I believe it was the Do Voices (plural) that was used on 'Good Life'. The "La" voices were on the same disc and the two sounds could be loaded in a split-keyboard formation so that you could play both at once.
Back in 1983 I went into “Big Dudes Music” in Kansas City. They had a Roland Jupiter-8 , a Juno , a JX-3P , and an the Ensonic Mirage.
The Mirage blew my mind , as well as the Jupiter 8. The Jupiter-8 and the Juno had the arpeggio on them. The JX-3P had a sequencer instead.
I couldn’t afford the Jupiter-8 or the Ensonic. They wanted you to “rent” the PG-200 programmer for the JX-3P to create your own quick tweaked sounds. Normally you can do it without but, it takes forever.
That PG-200 programmer sitting magnetically on that keyboard was awesome. They wanted, I think, almost another $300 for it. Long story short….
….. I got the JX-3P with the Programmer for around $1,300.00.
Still have it today. Works perfect !!!
I was never completely happy though, because I always thought about the Ensonic and that Jupiter 8. I have a Jupiter 80 and a System 8 both with all the Jupiter 8 specs plus more!
Life is sure interesting !
Patience. Never give up your goal. You can still get it. Or get the most amazing that is modern today. Wait a year longer to save up. Nothing is out of reach it's only the choices That we make that puts it at the back burner.
Probably 84 that you went to Big Dudes music
Omg. That was one of my first synth samplers like 20 years ago I bought used. It didn’t come with manual. Had it for a year and traded it in. I wish I didn’t.
Transoniq Hacker was the magazine if you could find it online / elsewhere.
It felt like working a cash register, some good sounds, the orchestral strings factory disk, wow.
@@djmips I’ll check it out. Thank you!
I could listen all the day to this old retro sampler sounds
I remember I had all of these samples in 1999 on a CD in WAV. Now we have CZcams and samplers with Wi-Fi connections and cell phones with Bluetooth and it's amazing how easy it is to get these samples from you all over again. Thanks.
but these are just for a quick demo. Would you actually sample from CZcams??? Serious question.
@@dpalaoro Most definitely. I come from rock bottum 83. When there was impossibilities that existed. Today anything on youtube is legit. Period. If it's dirty, clean it. Chop, truncate, allocate and make use of all free resources most definitely. Occupy the commercials. Take them for all they got. Independent has no rules to follow or obey. It's off the books.
@@dpalaoro Do you know that everything on youtube is better quality than back then? 44.1khz 16-bit? lol get real yo. Get SCIENCE! lol. math.
The DOC5503 Digital Oscillator Chip which powers this synth was designed by the same guy who designed the SID chip in the Commodore 64. This same chip also provided the audio for the Apple //gs personal computer from 1986. It's a 16 voice chip on paper, but a bug in the silicon makes one of the voices problematic to use. Sample memory was up to 128K and it's all 8 bit.
Only decent thing about the IIgs, really... but it has 64k of sound RAM and I'm not aware of any problem where you can only use 15 or the 16 voices.
@@activelow9297 Yeah, the GS only used 64K but the Mirage had two banks of 64K which is also shared with the CPU. Bank switching was clumsy so I don't know if the Mirage actually made use of the 2nd 64K except during sampling and editing. IIRC, the silicon bug creates a pop when ping-ponging between oscillators 31 & 32 in voice 16; it was still fine for playing drums or crash noises but it wasn't so useful for flute.
Love the 10:05 Pink Panther theme on the Sax. The Sitar, Clavi and Electric Piano 1 all sound great on this system! Great job!
I remember hearing Mirage for the first time at a Guitar Center when it first came out and being blown away at how real the piano sounded~
Paul Hertzog used this synth on the “Bloodsport” soundtrack. There’s a really great tinkly bell in some scenes. 😎
oh really! that's hype i always wondered
very good, but synth not play back
@@anonymousanonymous5327 I ain’t your pal, synth face! 😎
@@retro-dademusic6403 arnt you a little old for CZcams videos
@@anonymousanonymous5327 Aren’t you a little old to be in the comment section?
Very nice!
Thank you, Paolo
Second synth I ever bought, back in 1986. I loved that thing!
Awesome sounds, great playing as always.
Thanks for listening
It definitely has a bit of a soul to it.
Loved loved loved my mirage ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
3:53 this sample was used in a very obscure album from Parry Music Library, called "Impulse"... It was used in the track "Sound Process"... You can find it on CZcams
I forgot how great this thing sounds in certain contexts. I need to get mine of the closet and run some stuff through it.
The Ensoniq Mirage rack bell was heard in the song "If It Isn't Love" (1988).
Ah, thank you. For certain this was one of the digital keyboards at my high school in the late 80s. The digis were under lock and key, while the analogs were left out in the room. I couldn't remember the specifics, but now I'm 100% positive this was one. We also had Apple IIgs systems in the music lab.
Wow sounds really well kitted out for a school.
8-bit aural joy. I've got one, also have the Syntaur "Soundprocess" disks.
This is another dimension of Lo-FI 😆
With a Gotek the Mirage becomes even better.
12:09 until the rest of the video and you can hear almost all the sounds used by Terry Lewis & Jimmy Jam on New Edition’s “If It Isn’t Love” - aside from the cuckoo clock (which is in fact on the same disk for me for some reason!)
Dear ARTURIA: Please remake this as a vst with all the original library disks!!
How have they not already? How has no one?
@@alanshewitt I think the guy at Digital Sound Factory or the Syntaur company has the rights. They allowed Rhythmic Robot to make a Kontakt version of the factory bank though. It's called Sahara.
appreciate it!
cool nice reverb too
Skinny Puppy
That Ta is fire
When I see the mirage I remember when appear in the mariachi movie.
Ah yes in El Mariachi when the band plays in the pub and then they run away.
Cool vid thanks, I’m having bother with mine. I’m playing keys and sometimes a note drops out ( nothing plays) but if I keep playing it comes back any idea what can cause this ?? Cheers
Wikipedia says that the Mirage came out in '84, are the factory disks also from '84 ? Drums from the Latin Percussion disk (@00:41) appear to be ripped from a Tr-727, but according to Wikipedia the Tr-707/727 came out the following year.
Wikipedia is not the truth. They put my music albums on the wrong year and other artists as a release date with the wrong year. It is just opinion really it is not actual reference.
There is different release dates for different countries. It might say it was released this year but that was only an Australia and it wouldn't do United States until next year for instance is just an example. So whoever wrote the article and was approved to deliver you that truth in the article might be on the other side of the world who did get it a year previous 2 other people and they don't realize other people had to wait a year before they even knew it existed.
I don't have that particular disk but most of the ones I do have (number 4, 8, 9, etc.) are (C) 1986.
The 727 Latin sounds are very characteristic of the mid-to-late eighties, but it's not as if Latin percussion didn't exist until Roland came along. Timbales, congas, quijadas and agogos existed in real life. The timbales on the Mirage sound similar to the TR-727 version but don't seem identical to my ears. Besides, the Linndrum came out earlier and there was a Latin soundchip available for that, as well as one for African drums (the Mirage has a disk for those as well), so the guys from Ensoniq might have sampled the Linn. I think there were custom "Latin" and "African" eprom sound chips for the DMX as well.
make some songs please with this sampler
Curious, are you playing each of these demos? Or are these like some sort of built in demo of each sound on the disk? Thanks!
I played each of these demos.
@@SynthManiaDotCom ❤️🥳🥳
I would like to ask please if you know how to restart the mirage without turning it off and turning it back on thanks
4:29 this from "Good life" by Inner City
Almost. There are two versions of the "Do" vocal. On the first set of disks 1-10 (demoed in this video) it's a solo Do, but on the B-set of disks (Synthmania's demo 11-20) it's a small group of voices singing "Do". I believe it was the Do Voices (plural) that was used on 'Good Life'. The "La" voices were on the same disc and the two sounds could be loaded in a split-keyboard formation so that you could play both at once.
@@AutPen38my gosh, what a knowledge
Som excelente
were the sounds all processed with an EQ ? The drums sounded very powerful ...
Nop - these are the sounds straight out of the sampler - no eq or compression added.
So 3 os huh?