Ensoniq SQ1

Software was replaced once due to total lock up problems (had from new/just out). This update lost all the demos (which were impressive and unable to be matched by you, as per usual, mainly due to apparent mixed/shifting FX). There were four xeroxed update pages for the manual.

I find the velocity sense is a bit erratic at times - sudden LOUD notes during quiet playing. I have been told by the guy who replaced the battery that this was a problem with the key springs, most likely. Hmmm...

I have one memory card around somewhere, never used. A whopping 32K and cost around Aus$160!! Times they are a changin'..

Sequencer all but idiot proof and mega easy to use.
I have no problems with any of the effects. Reverbs and rotary & even the feedback-distortion in is fun.
Midi-wise, driving it with first Amiga Bars&Pipes then CueBASE, it has never so much as dropped a note on me. (kisses SQ-1)

I like all the organs - even the pipe organ is passable, although I wish it didn't have infinate octave coupling. I like many of it's quirky sounds. Analogue Power, Easter Island (good for Peter Gabriel-esque efforts)AstroVox, WonderYears, Minstrel, Eastern Percussion and a whole swag of others I am used to and can go straight to for the right sound at need. You can't get every colour under the sun out of it, but you can do a bold coloured poster that gets 80% of the idea accross. I work mostly in CueBASE now, using a Roland JV1010 as a workhorse, but I put down ideas on the SQ ALL THE TIME just for speed of entry & usable sounds. The perfect sketch pad to enlarge on later AND I still rope it in for recordings quite often, to use a sound I love and which I can't find an equivalent for.

When I first bought it it Xmas time all round, as far as sound quality and easy-to=-use sequencer went. Still have recordings from that time I am pilliaging for new songs and they sound supprisingly good after the passage of time.

It had the lock-up problem - total, no screen, no sounds no anything, and this usually happened when you hit ENTER instead of YES. The update made YES/ENTER interchangeable. No problems since update.

Only the slightly kinky velocity sense as mentioned other than that. No problem really in a live situation, and for recording,..so you play or play-sequence again till you don't get any random loud notes.

I heard Ensoniq's staff all defected to KORG. Give KORG a ring and see if they can rout out one of these fossils? 8^)

I deal with a local electronic repairer who can fix anything tho not always so cheaply. They said fixing all the key springs would not be worth while, rather than doing it and charging me $600 or something, so I trust them. RYTRON Pty Ltd, if you need a reparer in Newcastle NSW Aust. 8^)

Well worth every penny and four times what I paid for it in enjoymrent and productivity.
I would think SERIOUSLY about finding another if stollen, but not 100% sure - sentiment only goes so far.
RYTRON have even kept my Prophet 5 operational, though it does have major strokes now and then, and I have to sit programming a short list of favourite patches back in - like the classic Brian Ferry "Jealous Guy" string patch, with sweeping detuned oscilators.
The SQ1 has NEVER gotten in the way, and currently holds the sketch for a tune i have high hopes for when i get my Tascam 288 back out of the pawnshop.

Im a guitar player but i bought this thing about 10 years ago. It was my third or fourth keyboard (casio types). Anyway, this thing was easy to figure out. I did/do have the manual somewhere in a box i think.

polyphony - as much as i need personally
action - pretty good, cant complain (p.s. theres a time and place for weighted keys...... I think.)

sequencer rocks
3 extra points for an easy ass very functional sketchpad

sounds are pretty damn good, but i wish they had more strings and synth.
Still trying to make a "kashmir" sound, a "comfortably numb" sound, and a "you make lovin fun sound".

ive taken it apart a few times. the contact springs under the keys tend to get dirty. its tedious but cotton swabs and alcohol does the trick.

changed the battery once

i going to take a wild guess and say they dont have customer support.

overall ive always liked this thing because, as a guitar player ive been able to take my very limited piano/keyboard skills, with the use of a very easy rec/seq ,and make some cool songs.

p.s. anyone who knows where to get the memory cards let me know please.

This keyboard is actually very easy to use. It was the first pro synth that I used, and I actually got a hang on the features within the first days of palying with it.

I think the polyphony is 28 keys, or something like that. I really liked the split and layer effects. They were so easy to use. Just press a few buttons and there. It has one memory card expansion. It's great.

The organ sounds are excellent with presets 04 (today's organ) and 31 (organ 1) being the best. Excellent for latin music, such as santana. The strings sound very decent for their age, but I like them a lot. The synth sounds are okay, but kind of dated for today's standards. The piano is okay, the lowest octave and the highest octave sound like crap (they remind me of the little kid pianos) but if you can work around those, it is very realistic. I especially liked its pads and its electric piano (20 encore). It is okay to use in gigs i think even today.

It is very reliable. There was only a couple of gigs where it went bezerk on me and started playing by itself. It was on a church, but I think that was because of bad power outlets. Only had to repair it once in the past 13 years because I dropped it and a couple of the keys broke.

none, i never dealt with them

I actually played this keyboard in a Latin band at school. It was my teacher's but right now I am actually looking for one of my own, that's how much i liked it. I like its old sounds and how they still work today, i don't like the fact that the screen is kind of small, it's okay though, i mean it was made in '91. I really liked it. It's perfect for beginners I think. You will not be disappointed.

I just got a used sq1. I did because of the unigue sound quaklity. Having fool around with other workstations, I was able to get some work done. It is a night mare without the manual. I have contacted the company that represents Ensoniq here in the states (EMU)and they don't have any information on the SQ1 neither do they have the manual or replacements parts. I allowed my musical instinc to guard me until I can purchase a manual from GOD knows who.

The keyboard is great. It was built solid.
I am still trying to work my way around it without the manual. I like what I seen so far. The expansion capabilities unique especially when you are using multiple tone generators and combining different sounds to form a unique sound and it goes to the next level when you add the effects.
The sequencer is easy to use though it is time consuming without the manual.

The expansion capabilities unique especially when you are using multiple tone generators and combining different sounds to form a unique sound and it goes to the next level when you add the effects.
After using Yamaha for so long in stage performance, I never thought that I would find another keyboard that would bring much color to my music. I am very comfortable with the ensoniq

yes I can rely on it. Until I can find the manual no I wouldn't use it without backup.

I tried but they would only give me what I want in gernman and that does not work.

For the sound yes.
Korg triton Extreme. I think the trton extreme would be the best keyboard for ensoniq to look at if they were thinking of coming back in business. combine the triton extreme with the most recent roland ( )you have the best worskstation in the whole world.

I bought my sq back in 92 for 1200 bucks (Australian) What a ripper of board. easy campeesie to use. I say that now 12 years later but I know back then i must have had some dramas. I Have a manual. If you want a copy email me elgog@hotmail.com. I can only send you a photo copy if you pay approx 10 dollars (Australian)

SQ is the definitive keyboard. Sequencer is great. I use it mainly for sketching. Never used the expansion or slot or midi. Just direct recording.

You gotta take the good and the bad. Although because i use it as a sketch pad and I try to show people songs using it, the first response is "Its a bit 80's " Im sick to death of it. I whish people had more ceative scope and saw the big picture.

error 129, 130,132,127,. I cant rely on it for saving sons

zip, zilch nada!

Can you get parts to replace instead of costly technical reapairs.

Total simplicity.

Nice all-around workstation. I use it with an esi-32 sampler, a planet phatt, and a 14 channel mixer. It is the main workhorse and works great. I am constantely resetting it after every creation to rid any memory or lock-up problems. It never has a song stored on it when I turn it on. Backup your work when you are done for the day!!

I only use about 10% of the sounds. It's main function is midi.

I bought this thing back in 89' and it was new out of the box. I'd be lost without it. Don't want to start over with learning a new workstation. It has been stored for three years now. Took it out of the box and the battery was toast. Tore open the case and put a new one in and it still runs strong. It's had endless hours on it, but it will crash if you don't overdue it.

None

It's worth every penny I spent and I'd buy it again in a heartbeat, basically because I know this unit inside and out and am too comfortable with it to buy another. Besides, upgrading to a more recent keyboard is too damn costly.

I've never opened the Manual and used this SQ1 on my first three albums in the 80's and use it live even today. Once in studio I do replace the preset Organ and Piano, but 16 track sequencing is a huge cost saver. I can sequence 4 entire songs (with purchased expanded memory) and step into the studio with little setup up time and be finished with recording in under an hour (including drums). Then I can spend the rest of my purchased time mixing and mastering.

I use the Grand Piano, Piano/Strings, various Basses and various Winds and Brass in everything I do, whether Jazz, Pop, or Dance. In the 80's I used the Organ constantly. In the 90's I stepped up to a real Leslie and haven't looked back. But I wouldn't kick this Organ out of bed.

Keyboard is not weighted but is touch-sensitive (quite desirable back in '88). I like this because the action is quick.

When using as a sketchbook the chorus and verb is more than efficient. Expect to use professional effects on pro-gigs.

One external expandable card slot is annoying, but useful for adding other presets or carrying an extra song or two in your pocket. Not useful for pro-gigs, but nice for sketching no tunes.

This was my first sequencer. It took me over in the 90's, even made me a little lazy, it is just SO EASY TO USE. I use to pair it up with my Roland 808 and the drums practically wrote themselves. Putting together whole songs is a breeze, but I advise stepping up to software for your home-studio's PC before taking it pro. Even then, the SQ1 is an incredible tool. Real time saver.

In '88 these sounds blew us all away. I still like the Piano, Basses, Horns, Winds, etc. The available SpFX are sorta "cheesy" today, but not unuseable. That really all depends on you and how creative you are. If you're looking for a BOT to just write all you jams for you, the SQ1 is not for you. There requires are real musicianship to make this dinosaur worthwhile. In my opinion (a real musician) the SQ1's sequence software and sounds are indespenceable.

Mine has never crashed in 16 years. Battery went dead a few years back. I sent it in for a new battery replacement and Ensoniq upgraded the memory and software ver for free.

I gig with it. Never had an issue as far as reliability goes.

As stated above. See "Reliability". Hard to find support anymore though. I think EMU bought them out.

Today don't spend more than $100 for an SQ1, upgraded or not. They are far too common, and easy to get your hands on. Besides there is better gear on the market today.

I use mine with an electric piano, hammond/leslie combo, and an old Roland for analog.

Presets are shite - i never use them.
Editing sounds is easy so make your own sounds.
Manual is essential and fairly straightforward - if you can get hold of one....

Polyphony is a big problem as most presets use 3 layered sounds. So play a Gm7 pad chord with a c Bass and your almost out of notes!
The effects are good (rotary especially) but limited. No delay is a drawback.
On board sequencer is a wonder. You can REALLY warp out with this. I use the sequencer just to create super-weird sounds to sample. Awesome - see you can run the sequence and then change parameters in real-time for the most bizarre effects.

Organ sounds famously good
Drum sounds dull and shit. Synth Kit sounds are crisp and good though.
Bass sounds also superb. Real deep booming bowel melting bass is possible.

Unreliable. Hook it up to Cubase VST32 for SYSEX saves the simple way.
Dead easy to back up the info with Sysex but don't use it for gigs

Total shit.
If it conks out (rare) then just buy another, but keep the old one for parts.
Crashes often (especially when memory almost full) but doesn't often totally conk out.

Can't survive without it, but I think that's just me.
I would advise having it as a "sketchbook" sequencer.
You know, stick it at the Mother-In-Law's or in the garden shed to potter around with to generate ideas.
Used in this way its one of the best.

half the sounds are stuck on vibrato when the vibrato wheel is on zero. anybody know where i can find a replacement manual? maybe i could actually USE this thing once in a while.

bombed. company said send it back for $700 they'd fix it. how generous.

horrific. plus no music dealers in southwest florida would touch it because of difficulty in dealing with ensoniq. makes a nice paperweight.

expensive lesson. check with local dealers to see if they service a keyboard not purchased through them.

I use it as a Masterkeyboard. Sometimes I use the internal Sounds for playing around, but usually not for production.
Don't know much about the sequencer.

Very late 80ies like, very clean. Great FXs. The Sound 'Todays Organ' says everything about it. If you like it, it's ok.

It's working and working...

A Great Masterkeyboard for me.
I would buy it again.

some presets are great such as the dark grand but others like the basses and concert strings are not.editing is easy.

the effects are ok. it is easily expanded.you can route any and every type of midi through it.the sequencer is ok but needs more than 8 tracks.

some sounds such as the organ section are powerful but the string section is'nt.i would prefer the keys to be weighted to give that feel so you have to be animated in your playing to get that effect that you desire.

It is very reliable but it crashed on me 2 times and i lost quite a bit of unreplaceable work. so i try to do dumps very often to prevent it and i also got memory expansion to eliminate memory issues.

there is good support here in n.carolina so i have not had that problem and i hope i dont the sq1 was my first real board and my only board right now and is also the cornerstone sound to my tracks.the sq1 is a classic and paired up with an mpc or a korg or all together with other modules is a dream setup.

if it were stolen i would shed a tear because i have had it for so long.sometimes i want to sell and get a triton88x to replace but i cant.i would get the triton88x and build around the sq1 which i am currently doing.

Without a manual this workstation is a nightmare to figure out. Once you look at the manual even just skimming it everything is very simple. As far as the "american" foot pedal you can find a pedal at any music store it is the same as the "Japanese" Casio footpedal.

The keyboard plays fantastic and the pressure senstive keys are great on the piano, drum and bass sounds.

I have been using the SQ1 for Jazz and Funk, but I kow it has no limitation musicly it will take you as far as your creativity will let you go.

If it were lost or stolen I would get anothor SQ1 or SQ2

You really need to get rid of all you ever knew about other Workstations, if your SQ1 is your first ENSONIQ product. You have to "think behind edges" if you want so. The logic of programming this thing is not very logical! I think, it's typically "american" in it's way to be different than the rest. e.g. the polarity of the foot switch pedal is different than that of the other manufacturer's (e.g. ROLAND, YAMAHA, etc.).

The MIDI - Programming is quite easy to use and if you've made it once, it is really clever and easy to handle. For the sound - programming you should use one of the several software - editors which you get as shareware on different magazine - CD - ROMS or on the internet.

Sound Quality is partly escellent. Especially the organ - sounds are great. Forget Organ Expanders just as VOCE V5 or stuff like that!

The SQ1 tops the most of them. Actually this it has no drawbars, but if you know how to program the sounds right, then you get really really great Hammond-like sounds and even the distortion and simulated rotary speaker are great! This is your chance to get great organ sounds at an absolutely budget price!

The Synth are partly analog - like. Great OBERHEIM - like sounds for good usage e.g. at Songs like "Jump" by VAN HALEN. The
digital sounds are not so tasteful, as they are often very cold and ugly.

The Strings of course does not sound like real strings, but are partly very similar to the "Mellotron" - Sound, which is often heard on some 70's stuff like LED ZEPPELIN or RAINBOW.

The Pianos are generally crap (equally acoustic and e-piano). Maybe that's the reason why the SQ2 had an external Piano - Sample -Section. There was also a model called SQ1+ which had that section, but I don't know how it sounds.

In general the organs are the big advantage of the SQ1. This is really astonishing good for such a low price.

This thing is really undestroyable! Physically it has a metal - case, "psychologically" I really never had any problems with my SQ1 in gig situations. The Sequencer is not reliable! For it "freezes" the keyboard when the memory is up and you have to do a hard reset. That's the only problem I ever had with this instrument in 12 years of usage.

I can't speak for the rest of the world, but in Germany it is a catastrophy! If you have a problem with your SQ1 (which is almost never the case) you should think of living for half a year without your instrument because the service is so bad.

If you play keyboards in rock band this is the gear for you! It has great great great great organ sounds, which you can use with distortion and rotary speaker, it has fat fat fat fat analog synthies, pads and lead sounds and it has Mellotrone - like strings. It's pretty cool and looks good on stage. I think optically it is beautiful. It is a reliable instrument and it is really cheap in our days if you buy it used. You can also get the rack version, the SQ-R, with the same features as SQ1 and SQ2.

The Only Problem: The Sequencer is bad and the Piano - Sounds are very ugly! For that problem I have a KURZWEIL K2000, which has some of the greatest pianos ever. That duo is simply great for doing straight rock stuff with your band. Try it! It makes fun!

50% preset sounds OK ,reasonable piano samples...lots of scope editing sounds effects , patches etc. Manual may as well have been in hyrogliphycs.

Reasonable polyphony, typical unweighted key action. effects OK but bit resricted , would have been nice to have echo for an option. I am desparate to obtain a full set of sound cards (only bought one when perchased in 1995 and can no longer get them. appart from that I use sequencer regularly for ``Sketching`` .

Presets as said before reasonable facsimile to accoustic instruments ( piano & Strings).Drum kits excellent for rock, jazz etc.

Regularly doesn`t boot up but easily cured by turning on and off.
Overall dream to use if you don`t read manual. Just changed 1st battery after 6yrs!

Customer support non existent. Just as well it has been reliable so far!

Very reliable machine good combo unit

Manual!? Who needs that? After about 5 hours of playing around I got all of the functions, mind you though, if you are a first time synther it could be a bit hard knowing what all the functions really does. For the sake of editing I could recommend using it, but it's more fun just playing around, beside the manual isn't easy to use - you'll have to read it at least twice, thrice before grasping somewhat.
The presets of the mashine aren't great at all. Some of them (15%) is usable, but the rest... However, there are 20 drumkit presets and that are quite usable. ( I have figured out that older synths have this thing in common with lousy presets...) But who needs 'em anyway? There are great utilities around the net to create great sounds on your 'pooter and then sed them through MIDI to your SQ1.
The sequencer is very reliable and I haven't had any problem with it so far. The only thing that is a bit annoying is that there isn no real option for enlongate the FIRST track you make. I.e if you edit your first track, let's say make it 10 beats long, then you cannot append that track, but have to copy it into a new sequence and then copy it once again.

It's got a 21 polyphony, which may seem unsufficient, but I have seldom encountered any problem with this.
This little bugger has several FX which all are lovely to work with and use. You can create much more than you thought the first time you started the synth up. Once again; play around - put all perimiters to the limit and encounter the marvel as a new great sound flows out your speakers.
The SQ1 has quite low capacity for the inbuilt sequencer, but you can fairly cheaply buy an expansion - which I recommend. Several ROM-cards are to be found around the net, both blank and both with presets on. You really should consider buying one of them - to either store sounds or sequencer data.
There are three MIDI ports on this baby; One In, one out and one through. and you have the possibility to send and recieve SysEx.
The keyboard isn't weighted, but I love the feeling of it. I mainly use my SQ1 keyboard for my other synths as well. You have the possibility to use aftertouch, but only if you connect a pedal...
As I mentioned earlier; the Sequencer is great and you can make either single 8-track patches or combine two up to 16-track patches (double 8-tracks).
The only thing I am upset with (an therefor lowering my judgement by 1 pt) is the display. It's idiotically tiny and a strong spotlight or the sun makes it impossible to read whatever there might be standing and when you edit any text this flashing cursor will appear and prevent you from actual seeing what you are trying to type.

The sounds (presets) on this mashine isn't the best. Some of them are usable, but my advice is to rebuild, rebuild, rebuild. You can create almost anything on it - specially if you have a sampler - which I don't (unfortunately). You might reconsider your choice of synth if you are planning to make rave musick or such, but it's a very reliable, stabile and it's a great all-round type of synth.
Even though it's not weighted it react to velocity and very accurately I might add.

This is very stabile, but I wouldn't trust my life on it. It might freak out sometime. I have had one crash when I started it up and it wouldn't operate for 20 minutes and I had some troule with the sound not stopping after I depressed the key - i.e the sound "hanged" but I only had to change soundbank to make it stop and this has only occured twice (the same day). The mashine is viritually a tank otherwise, strong and robust and could withstand most hardships. One word of caution though! the buttons are a bit plastic and sometimes it feels like you're going to break them any minute and if you do.. Well yhey are replaceble, but expensive.
Otherwise if you treat the synth good, dont spill hot sugary coffee over and if you change the internal battery every 4 years there'll be no problem at all!

Customer support!?! I wonder if that word even exist at the Ensoniq support's vocabulary... IF you are lucky and comes through and IF you are lucky to actually speak with the right guy, then I'll wager my salary on their answer will be : "Sorry, but it's out of stock", "Sorry, that's not in production anymore" or "we are unable to help". It's better to go look on the net for resources regarding Ensoniq stuff. Ensoniq used to have a quite-so-good website, but ever since they teamed up with Creative (Creative bought them) there is little or none information what so ever about the Ensoniq synths.

The rat of 1 is just becasue I feel sorry for them! No customary support what so ever - unless, perhaps, if you have a brand new model.

Even though it's not flawless I love this synth. It's robust, makes beutiful sound, is cheap, lets you do what you want. Ever since I bought it 3 years ago it's my little treasure! OK it could have a bigger and better display, Ok it doesn't have the exact same bass sound as an analog synth, but for an early 90's synth it's VERY good and if it broke down on me or in fact was stolen I'd go looking for a new one immediatly

This is one of the best i've found.
When i buy this workstation, in Italy was an invasion of Korg M1 (for same price of the SQ 1).
But if you can distinguish the M1 sounds, with SQ1 you can create some of original all the times, without a "Ensoniq logo" printed in your sound. I think that the editing section is one of the most powerfull you can find (with the wheel you can modulate all params.). This means that is not one of the simplest, but i've never find difficulty making my sounds.
The manual is not great, but it solve your problems (yes, you must read it 3 times before!)

21 notes poliphony (not a lot, but you can work good), some good effects (but if you use the SQ1 in "multichannel" mode you "can" use only CHORUS + REVERB), it accept cards that double the sounds you can have, a good midi implementation, and the sequencer is useful, but with a computer, who cares?

Forgot the realism! But it sounds great. I'm more annoyed from some Korg Wavestation sounds than my old SQ1, if we don't think at drumkits (good, but...)

The firmware is the bad thing of this keyboard: store your data systematically, SQ1 reset themselves too much times (1-2 times per years).

I dont know how big is the Ensoniq corporation. In italy it changes support locations and affiliates for each time my SQ1 reset the data...

I love this keyboard despite the firmware problems. If my SQ1 dead, i'm lost.

OK. Throw away the manual.
The SQ1 is capable of producing the most extroadinary sounds.
The presets are 90% hopeless. use them as a starting block to
edit your own sounds, but make sure you push all the parameters
to the limit, and you'll begin to open up the possibilities of
the machine.
Use these sounds in conjunction with the great 16-track sequencer
to create all sorts of weird little loops.
Now add the FX - but remember to push those parameters to the limit.
You should end up with a sequence of about 45 seconds that sounds
like nothing you've ever heard before.
Sample it.
Start again.
I've used my SQ1 in this way, as a kind of palette/sketchpad for over 10 years, and it never sounds dated , always throws up surprises and is the starting block for virtually all my tunes. Get one for about #250 (UK) and start weirding out!

They never break down - just change the battery once every 5 years.

I spilt beer on my SQ1. It was impossible to get replacement parts.
If you damage your machine, buy a new one. The company are a joke.
But the machines themselves never conk out.

This is the sound creation machine I advise everyone to own.
Warpout to your hearts content.
But use with a sampler.
Hooray!

The presets sound fine. Editing is a pain. The manual is as they all are: Indecipherable until you've read it three times. The LCD has a big blinking cursor that obliterates whatever alphanumerica character you're trying to edit. Lousy design.
I still have to look in the manual every time I want to access a non-ROM-based sound from within a multi. Totally non-intuitive.

The keyboard action is very "synthy," and there is no aftertouch, though the unit does respond to aftertouch from external controllers. The built-in effects are iffy but usable. It will accept cards, but I haven't bothered.
I have not used the on-board sequencer.

No sounds are realistic. It does okay synth stuff. I like it despite this. The onboard effects are okay but not particularly realistic.

It is completely unreliable. All the singles within multi patches may randomly reset themselves to 00. The LCD is unreadable in sunlight. Don't count on this unit.

Ensoniq had a service bulletin out on this, so they fixed some grounding problem or other. It made no difference -- things still go wrong.

If it were stolen, I'd probably get the rack equivalent, the SQ-R, just because I don't want to bother replacing the sounds in my sequences. It would be nice if it worked right.
If you do Sys-Ex dumps at the head of each sequence, the memory randomness won't be a problem.