My favourite synth ever. Not many people know that it contains 21 wavetables like a PPG Wave / Blofeld / Virus Ti. The single cycle waveforms are very good (constructed from PCM samples and additive synthesis). 6 Oscillators, great effects and an excellent keyboard with poly aftertouch.
Neil Bradbury Hi Neil! I've just bought a TS-10 off eBay, so does this have same or more in built do you know? (assuming so). Will try and find the manuals online to check!! 🍻 >>> 😎👍🎹🎵
@@theaudioeng Hi Audio. From what I remember, the TS series (10/12) had a reduced number of transwaves (Wavetables) but an expanded cyclic wave list. The advantage they have over the VFX though is the ability to chain waves together like a wave sequence on a Korg Wavestation, in addition to using your own samples as basis for synthesis. I never got to check out a TS but have always wanted to. Well done on winning one! Incidentally, for anyone reading this and are wondering what a wavetable is, go to 3:45 in the video and you will hear the guy sweeping through the wavetables
@@neilbradbury8303 Great thanks for a very quick reply Neil!! Yes, read about and heard now on YT these chained sequences such like the Wavestation. Better RTFM now, as got off web(!). Always loved the VFX, very jealous of someone I knew's VFX back in late 80's, so expecting the TS to be Ensoniq's final flagship call in this super workstation, wavesequencing format. Shame EMU ruined them when taken over ..... own Ensoniq format only is a bit of a pain being the only gripe so far. Sounds fantastic, very 'clean' studio- finished output. Maybe a keeper (though pretty heafty!). Thanks again. 😎👍🎹🎶🙌
I still have one, the semi weighted synth keys feel great better then most in my opin, along with some Voice Crystal Cartridges, i got with mine it is fantastic for creating rich soundscapes for horror movies. You have to love the way you can just select some sounds, then double click to multi layer on the fly, unlike other designs where you must dive into menus just to do so. I miss this company.
Nice video I got one of these it was in a garage sale free box my gf didn't want me take it but so happy I did it works great other than the battery light thing, they didn't know what they had I did my gf thought it was broken trash wonderful working synth... Just happy to see that people still use and want them.. Awesome
beautifulmicia Weird huh? Seems like it takes a gig of memory today for the same thing. I mean, not a good analogy but why do I need four types of gas if the engine is good? Just give me some gas! Burp ;)
I recall reading in Keyboard Player Magazine that Jonathan Cain of Journey used a TS-12 (and did for years) that had his Jupiter 8 sounds meticulously sampled in. He said his Jupiter 8 was getting too frail to travel on the road!
Always loved ensoniq....bought my vfx way back in 89 i think....I now have the vfx, vfx-sd, sd1 , ts 10 and 12, and ASR10....love em all. Far better than roland although i do like korg as well
I love this synth I love the sounds and I can not stop playing it probably because it makes me sound so much better than I really am. I have lot of synths but along with my Roland xp 50 and Yamaha ex5 these are the ones I love the most . I love using this particular keyboard for trying recreate the cure music lot of similar sounds to disintegration and head on door album sounds.
I have the SD1 and it oozes dark moody soundscapes. It's all about "modulation", the transwaves come into their own when used with various "modulations" - I find it takes some effort in some sounds to minimise some of the technical limitiations on certain sounds. The bottom line is, I still have the SD-1 after I bought it in 1996
you made me want one! I´m in the hunt for more interesting ROMplers since my studio is becoming a bit too much analog...this synths are a fresh air of sounds and I really love the grittiness of the waves in the low register...btw, thanks for showing the individual waves, this is one of the strong points for me...they sound way more juicy than expected!
wow I really want this thing. Some of these waveforms are 8bit samples straight from the mirage library but its like a mirage and an ESQ combined. Sounds incredible
They went bankrupt. Really sad as they were one of the last synth manufacturers from that era that produced their own ICs instead of bolting together third party chips. Ensoniq ICs are still used in Disney rides as the quality of the sound is so clear and powerful.
I recognize that "Rack Bell" sample at 4:55 from the Ensoniq Mirage sample disks. I've been using the Mirage for 20+ years now, it's a workhorse and has never let me down!
Found one for 175 Watching vids till I pick it up this weekend So glad for your video and experience with the beast I have a few Ensoniq boards n boxes
Nice demo! This instrument has some real moxie, even on YT the sound quality comes through. They did a great job with this one, the effects sound really good!
Kurzweil K2500 and updated ver of the K2000 but nothing like the VFX. Both are wonderful machines but the VFX is truly unique sounding and in a class of its own.
great demo! i just got one of these today, it needs a bit of love to get up and running (the keys are currently in my sink) but looking forward to programming it. the routing and modulation options look pretty amazing. digital atmospherics are the best.
+gstormelectro yeah i've had a few sessions with it now, it's quite a beast! the effects are wild. being able to stack patches and drop voices in and out on the fly with the buttons above the modwheel is amazing too.
Your video doesnt sound dark or light to me, just sounds beautiful except for All-Waves which is annoying. :) I have the VFX also, and I like how you gave such a great video of it's sounds. I was surprised about the start parameter, I did not think it could do very much the sound :) Will have to check it out.
+UniQue WerkX I wasn't sure how some would respond to 'non-musical' sound auditions. But it is useful to hear the oscillator building-blocks for anyone considering getting a VFX.
+gstormelectro Yes, it's very useful. You've made an excellent demo that really showcases the VFX's sounds & capabilities. I often find CZcams very useful for helping me choose synths. I've bought about 20 synths in the last few years, & have listened to multiple CZcams demos of each one.
Hello, your sounds are fabulous. Especially the last. This last sound is composed of several appearances of sounds. I love the first one so much. I don't know how to tell you that I would very much like to have it. Do you think there would be a way? if yes, please tell me. really, thank you. this sound crosses me. Regards
Thanks! I didn't save out the sounds before I flipped that one. But recently got a hold of a VFX-SD so be on the lookout for another demo and some sounds available sometime in the future.
Nice video! I've got one of these synths with a SD-1 ROM in it - knew a friend who worked for a synth company - but it's still as unreliable as ever! I wouldn't trust it on the road as I did in the past and it froze mid gig! I love it regardless though - and that poly aftertouch keyboard is useful...when it doesn't freak out LOL!
@@user-yb2su6go6l I agree, your description of it's sound is absolutely right. I couldn't part with it, and I have used it quite a lot, either sampling patches or triggering it over MIDI. One thing I wish it had was resonant filters. I know the Transwaves have a few res waveforms in there but it's not the same for me. I wish Ensoniq was still going as a brand...
Oh!!! that's too unfair! do you remember this waveform? her name? I can read all the names on the video AHhhh .... I'll think more for the first and the last this is the first sound in the patch of the last sound in your video. I am so disappointed this sound is to die for thank you for your reply regards
It’s a common problem. There’s a socket and connector that connects the two internal circuit boards, you need to remove that and replace it with a ribbon cable or individual wires. It takes about 45 minutes total, including opening the VFX and closing it back up. My VFX has been working great for 20 years thanks to that fix.
Nein, I flipped the synth without backing up the patches. Be sure to check out the patches I made for other synths gstormelectronica.blogspot.com/2013/01/download-links-are-back.html
Nice demo of actually focusing on what these machines do very well ambient/drak soundscapes! I recorded two albums worth of ambient music with my ESQ-1 and SD-1/32 (the later ver of the VFX-sd) Check out Alpha Wave Movement Soniq Variants or Architexture of Silence. Both use mainly two Ensoniq synths even for the percussion. www.hrresonance.bandcamp.com
+Rod Salka p4p Legend Its like sweeping one of the wavetables except it plays the single cycle waveforms in a chain a bit like a wavestation or the industrial loops on a D50
Nah. The D50 was an analogue emulation with samples over the top. The D50 is wonderful. Sweet sounding and sparkly. The VFX's waveforms made is sound dark, gritty and really powerful (thanks to 6 oscillators per voice. Yes 6!). Nothing like a D50 but equally wonderful. The wavetables make it sound fantastic and only a PPG Wave comes close. Plus the VFX has a really powerful modulation matrix like the Oberheim synths. Roland didnt do that until the 2000s
I worked 6 weeks in a factory as a student for this great machine. Know what? Still running!
My favourite synth ever. Not many people know that it contains 21 wavetables like a PPG Wave / Blofeld / Virus Ti. The single cycle waveforms are very good (constructed from PCM samples and additive synthesis). 6 Oscillators, great effects and an excellent keyboard with poly aftertouch.
Neil Bradbury Hi Neil! I've just bought a TS-10 off eBay, so does this have same or more in built do you know? (assuming so). Will try and find the manuals online to check!! 🍻 >>> 😎👍🎹🎵
@@theaudioeng Hi Audio. From what I remember, the TS series (10/12) had a reduced number of transwaves (Wavetables) but an expanded cyclic wave list. The advantage they have over the VFX though is the ability to chain waves together like a wave sequence on a Korg Wavestation, in addition to using your own samples as basis for synthesis. I never got to check out a TS but have always wanted to. Well done on winning one! Incidentally, for anyone reading this and are wondering what a wavetable is, go to 3:45 in the video and you will hear the guy sweeping through the wavetables
@@neilbradbury8303 Great thanks for a very quick reply Neil!! Yes, read about and heard now on YT these chained sequences such like the Wavestation. Better RTFM now, as got off web(!). Always loved the VFX, very jealous of someone I knew's VFX back in late 80's, so expecting the TS to be Ensoniq's final flagship call in this super workstation, wavesequencing format. Shame EMU ruined them when taken over ..... own Ensoniq format only is a bit of a pain being the only gripe so far. Sounds fantastic, very 'clean' studio- finished output. Maybe a keeper (though pretty heafty!). Thanks again. 😎👍🎹🎶🙌
just one synth for an entire movie soundtrack wow
i love those low bit crushed fizzy low frequency timbres man. unreal. so beautiful
I still have one, the semi weighted synth keys feel great better then most in my opin, along with some Voice Crystal Cartridges, i got with mine it is fantastic for creating rich soundscapes for horror movies. You have to love the way you can just select some sounds, then double click to multi layer on the fly, unlike other designs where you must dive into menus just to do so. I miss this company.
I remember having access to one of these in my teens as a student. Still one of my favourite studio synths.
Nice video
I got one of these it was in a garage sale free box my gf didn't want me take it but so happy I did it works great other than the battery light thing, they didn't know what they had I did my gf thought it was broken trash wonderful working synth... Just happy to see that people still use and want them.. Awesome
The TS series that followed this are the best synths ever created -- huge sounds with very minimal memory requirements.
beautifulmicia
Weird huh? Seems like it takes a gig of memory today for the same thing. I mean, not a good analogy but why do I need four types of gas if the engine is good? Just give me some gas! Burp ;)
I recall reading in Keyboard Player Magazine that Jonathan Cain of Journey used a TS-12 (and did for years) that had his Jupiter 8 sounds meticulously sampled in. He said his Jupiter 8 was getting too frail to travel on the road!
Thanks for sharing this. I like wordless reviews that give a sense of the sounds without commentary. Nice sonic tapestries!
Always loved ensoniq....bought my vfx way back in 89 i think....I now have the vfx, vfx-sd, sd1 , ts 10 and 12, and ASR10....love em all. Far better than roland although i do like korg as well
I love this synth I love the sounds and I can not stop playing it probably because it makes me sound so much better than I really am. I have lot of synths but along with my Roland xp 50 and Yamaha ex5 these are the ones I love the most . I love using this particular keyboard for trying recreate the cure music lot of similar sounds to disintegration and head on door album sounds.
I have the SD1 and it oozes dark moody soundscapes. It's all about "modulation", the transwaves come into their own when used with various "modulations" - I find it takes some effort in some sounds to minimise some of the technical limitiations on certain sounds. The bottom line is, I still have the SD-1 after I bought it in 1996
Love the sound of this machine!
such genius ...you should make a album !!
you made me want one! I´m in the hunt for more interesting ROMplers since my studio is becoming a bit too much analog...this synths are a fresh air of sounds and I really love the grittiness of the waves in the low register...btw, thanks for showing the individual waves, this is one of the strong points for me...they sound way more juicy than expected!
one of the best synth sound demos, thank you!
wow I really want this thing. Some of these waveforms are 8bit samples straight from the mirage library but its like a mirage and an ESQ combined. Sounds incredible
That machine has a lot of beautiful sounds!
Thank you for this video! Making me question why I never got one of these. The short loops definitely make for interesting sounds.
Ensoniq was doing well in the 80’ and 90’s. What the hell happened to them? I loved this synth.
They were bought by E-mu, then E-mu was bought by Creative Labs, then Creative Labs tried you turn E-mu into a high-end interface company.
They went bankrupt. Really sad as they were one of the last synth manufacturers from that era that produced their own ICs instead of bolting together third party chips. Ensoniq ICs are still used in Disney rides as the quality of the sound is so clear and powerful.
Awesome sounddesign on the VFX!! Need to spend more time with it
I recognize that "Rack Bell" sample at 4:55 from the Ensoniq Mirage sample disks. I've been using the Mirage for 20+ years now, it's a workhorse and has never let me down!
M. Woofington Mortal Kombat
Good American quality!
Found one for 175
Watching vids till I pick it up this weekend
So glad for your video and experience with the beast
I have a few Ensoniq boards n boxes
The pads from 0:59 to 1:30 are so good!
underrated keyboard! great sounds!
The VFX is such s dark synth
That shit at 0:46 is cray. Nice patches!
Nice demo! This instrument has some real moxie, even on YT the sound quality comes through. They did a great job with this one, the effects sound really good!
I had this reliable synth for a loooong time. I moved from it after I got my Kurzweil K2500...
I have a 2500 too. Just ran across one of these.
Kurzweil K2500 and updated ver of the K2000 but nothing like the VFX. Both are wonderful machines but the VFX is truly unique sounding and in a class of its own.
I still have mine. Keys are yellowed a bit, but I used to love this synthesizer.
great demo! i just got one of these today, it needs a bit of love to get up and running (the keys are currently in my sink) but looking forward to programming it. the routing and modulation options look pretty amazing. digital atmospherics are the best.
+OIP 1 It's easy to get carried away with up to 6 parts per voice and great sounding fx on board.
+gstormelectro yeah i've had a few sessions with it now, it's quite a beast! the effects are wild. being able to stack patches and drop voices in and out on the fly with the buttons above the modwheel is amazing too.
The first sound reminds me a lot of the Doom series. Some of the sounds from this video would perfectly compliment Doom (2016)!
Your video doesnt sound dark or light to me, just sounds beautiful except for All-Waves which is annoying. :) I have the VFX also, and I like how you gave such a great video of it's sounds. I was surprised about the start parameter, I did not think it could do very much the sound :) Will have to check it out.
I wish I had gotten one of these but Roland ran a sale on D-50's for $999! I still have the D-50. LOL
I like the wavetable part in the video.
+UniQue WerkX I wasn't sure how some would respond to 'non-musical' sound auditions. But it is useful to hear the oscillator building-blocks for anyone considering getting a VFX.
+gstormelectro Yes, it's very useful. You've made an excellent demo that really showcases the VFX's sounds & capabilities. I often find CZcams very useful for helping me choose synths. I've bought about 20 synths in the last few years, & have listened to multiple CZcams demos of each one.
It would have been so cool to have several real time controllers on this one
This is amazing??? WOW
Hello, your sounds are fabulous. Especially the last. This last sound is composed of several appearances of sounds. I love the first one so much. I don't know how to tell you that I would very much like to have it. Do you think there would be a way? if yes, please tell me. really, thank you. this sound crosses me. Regards
Thanks! I didn't save out the sounds before I flipped that one. But recently got a hold of a VFX-SD so be on the lookout for another demo and some sounds available sometime in the future.
Ominous!
I love this!
Does the VFX have analog filters?
@@citiesunderthesea8445 digital filters and no resonance.
@@gstormelectro Thank you !
God I want this!
wundervoll...
Lovely!
Nice video!
I've got one of these synths with a SD-1 ROM in it - knew a friend who worked for a synth company - but it's still as unreliable as ever! I wouldn't trust it on the road as I did in the past and it froze mid gig!
I love it regardless though - and that poly aftertouch keyboard is useful...when it doesn't freak out LOL!
@@user-yb2su6go6l I agree, your description of it's sound is absolutely right. I couldn't part with it, and I have used it quite a lot, either sampling patches or triggering it over MIDI.
One thing I wish it had was resonant filters. I know the Transwaves have a few res waveforms in there but it's not the same for me. I wish Ensoniq was still going as a brand...
I responded to another comment with the fix. My VFX has been rock solid for 20 years, you just need to replace the stupid circuit board connectors.
thank you for the demo ;)
You got the VFX huh, it's a cool one, six oscillators and more modulation.
So good
what can i sell my vfx for ? it is including a pro flightcase
How about 270 euros?
@@geompon6505 Did you ever get it? I have the ESQ-1 (not for sale)
GREEEEEEAAAAT!!!
Oh!!! that's too unfair!
do you remember this waveform? her name?
I can read all the names on the video
AHhhh ....
I'll think more for the first and the last
this is the first sound in the patch of the last sound in your video.
I am so disappointed
this sound is to die for
thank you for your reply
regards
this reminds me of the SQ-8
Any way to get a hold of your presets? They sound awesome!
Thank you! Unfortunately I sold it before I was able to backup the patches.
Who was the buyer?
@@gydur lmao
Are the custom patches. Can I get my sd-1 to make these sounds?
While they are original patches, maybe somebody here w/ an SD-1 can better answer this.
I had two of these both were different versions. On the display they kept asking me to re-initialise all the time.
It’s a common problem. There’s a socket and connector that connects the two internal circuit boards, you need to remove that and replace it with a ribbon cable or individual wires. It takes about 45 minutes total, including opening the VFX and closing it back up. My VFX has been working great for 20 years thanks to that fix.
2:12 no words
Mine just arrived
I'm 5 years late but... could you send me the sysex for these patches? They're friggin insane!!!
I sold the synth and never dumped the patches. The synth sounds this way, you'll have no trouble getting these kinds of sounds.
How do I save a patch on my Ensoniq VFX synthesizer when I edit it and rename it?
Are those atmodphere patches availble for sale ?
Nein, I flipped the synth without backing up the patches. Be sure to check out the patches I made for other synths gstormelectronica.blogspot.com/2013/01/download-links-are-back.html
I'd like to get started with this, I am new at programing. Would you agree to share your patches ? Thanks in advance.
Will you share or sell your VFX patches?
I didn’t save to disk before I flipped it
@@gstormelectro Thanks for quick answer, no prob.
Nice demo of actually focusing on what these machines do very well ambient/drak soundscapes!
I recorded two albums worth of ambient music with my ESQ-1 and SD-1/32 (the later ver of the VFX-sd) Check out Alpha Wave Movement Soniq Variants or Architexture of Silence. Both use mainly two Ensoniq synths even for the percussion. www.hrresonance.bandcamp.com
i need one
ensoniq same creator of sid 6581
Coda the best))
Reminds me of half life a quite a bit
Gimme
What's the 'allwaves' for?
+Rod Salka p4p Legend Its like sweeping one of the wavetables except it plays the single cycle waveforms in a chain a bit like a wavestation or the industrial loops on a D50
so it's basically a gigtantic transwave?
Not really. Transwaves are interpolated so that when they are swept the transition sounds smooth. All waves are not interpolated they're just swept.
oh ok thanks I understand you
The poor man's D50
Except that it cost a little more than a D50 did lol
Nah. The D50 was an analogue emulation with samples over the top. The D50 is wonderful. Sweet sounding and sparkly. The VFX's waveforms made is sound dark, gritty and really powerful (thanks to 6 oscillators per voice. Yes 6!). Nothing like a D50 but equally wonderful. The wavetables make it sound fantastic and only a PPG Wave comes close. Plus the VFX has a really powerful modulation matrix like the Oberheim synths. Roland didnt do that until the 2000s