Ensoniq VFX

Very good synthesizer, very intuitive menu, very best sounding!
Software V2.30
Manual is possible to buy on this page http://www.musicparts.com/products.asp?Company=Ensoniq

My version is 24 voice polyphonic, but older has 18 voices.

It has best synth, and best natural sounds,
On-board effects is in older technology but sounds very good.
Playing "tenor sax" and "piano" sounds has very good velocity reaction.
Some of VFX synth sounds you will not find even on the newer synthesizers.
Only the best thing is the sound fatness and exspressivnes in live playing.

Unfortunately, i don't know what's happend with ensoniq company. Official www.ensoniq.com web site is not available.

If anyone has any latest information about ENSONIQ company please inform me. It's the one of the best synthesizer manufacturers in the world with E-MU and KURZWEIL.

Not sure which software version(bought it about 1990-new)

fairly simple to use,i was editing patches cutoff,resonance,effects,stuff like like that without ever cracking open the manual.Not as easy to create your own patches,but again,I did that without the manual(and I am FAR from a technical wiz)

I finally read some of the manual,i think about ten years later.it's ok like most manuals.

21 voice polyphony i think-some patches use like six at once but i never had any problems with polyphony.
always liked the keyboard action,i have a yamaha motif which i like a little better(the old dx7 action i think)
can accept cartridges for expansions,they're tough to find but they were nice sounds,
MIDI capababilities,yes.aftertouch yes,no sequencer.

Ok this is why you buy the thing.I give it a 10,sounds are the reason I bought,and the reason i still use it.This is capable of some very nice sounds,some still make me go,"wow pretty cool".

SYNTH SOUNDS-no analog type stuff,but some very beautiful sounding,layered,evolving sounds.For those types of sounds I'll still choose it over TRiTON,MOtif,Fantom any day.Still the reason I own it.

STRINGS-very nice.

BRASS- not always realistic but somehow they sound "right"
i was in a band 3 years ago,playing two preset brass patches,when we stopped the song,comments and questions like,how do you get the sound to rise and fall like that,"sounds perfect",sounds nice,they thought it was the brand new motif(also awesome by the way)

PIANO-i thought it was OK at the time,these days i don't like any piano on any synth,and i have a few of them,tried them all.
DIGITAL PIANO-nice

DRAWBAR ORGAN-like it alot, and by the way the leslie effect is better here than in my Motif(the one thing I don't like about that board)the other organ sounds range from very nice to OK.

DRUMS-not good,I use the Motif or Triton drums.
GUITARS-not good I think?I always played a real guitar when I needed.

FLUTES-great,nice woody tone.

SAX-Sucks, like on every other keyboard.

EFFECTS-only 1 processor,but it does it's job,especially on those synth sounds.

OH boy!nothing is perfect right.
In two words CALIbration error!
Gig without a backup-I did,for about five years!Wouldn't now though.
although i haven't had a problem for about ten years.those first five were hell.thats why it only gets a 5.

HA HA HA HA!company is history.shame.

If someone knows where i can get a couple of cartridges please post it.

If it were stolen,first I'd kill that person and everyone who lives on his block.Then i'd get another used one.been playing about 20 years,own a motif,triton rack,vfx,guitars,different amps,high end effects,neumann mic and i think i have a casio in the basement.

It has a flavor i can't get anywhere else plain and simple,simply some beautiful patches

My first VFX was a mother. It had that calibration problem shortly after bringing it home. A vast search of the internet revealed that the calibration problem stemed from the connection of the two circuit boards under the keys. Being a brilliant electronics tech, I ripped it open. After cleaning the contacts and reassembling it, I discovered the problem NOT solved. Ever persistent, I ripped it apart again. The 10 pin connector was the problem. I decided to hardwire it together. Cut 10 pieces of wire, stripped both ends and soldered them in place. after removing the old connectors. "Taa-Daa" Problem solved. No more calibration errors. Then I really discovered what the VFX was all about. It seems that a LOT of people bought them. And people all over the world were writing patches for them. I had found a midi librarian for my DX7 and it also had settings for Ensoniq VFX. I found 1500 different patches for it and using Sysex, was able to load different soundsets at the touch of a button. My VFX became the biggest synth in the world, with over 1500 patches. I was in heaven. I also posted an ad to buy another one. Someone from Tampa e-mailed me that he had one sitting around, and asked $200.00 for it. I bought it immediately. Bringing it home, I repaired the connector problem, and now had 2 VFX's in my keyboard arsenal. I still use them both and wouldn't trade them for anything.

I just traded my FIZMO for this!
its very easy to use and editing is VERY straightforward.
i didnt get a manual but want one

best keyboard i ever owned!
handsdown!
compared to the FIZMO this seems to be of much higher quality.

the sound of this think is incredible!
if ensoniq had mad the FIZMO more like this they would have had a hit!
this damn thing is like 14 years old and sounds like a kurtzweil!!
amazing sounds and textures!
the output are a little noisy i must say but nothing drastic.
if your into new age or jazz this is like heaven!
i cant say enough about how great this sounds!
the only keyboard thats better is a k2000!
amazing!

i has frozen on me already.
i think its the heat as the heatsink gets hot.
there is a aftermarket product from route 66 that keeps this thing cool!
im going to buy one!
i have heard so many bad things about this keyboard but the sound is so different,think late 80's L.A sound and your there.

unreal this thing is!
i make dance music and this keyboard is not good for dance but i just loved the way it sounded.
that should tell you something!
very easy to use and the best sounding keyboard ive ever heard!
beautiful!!!!

This synth as most of the Ensoniq line is extremely easy to use

We bought the model without the sequencer because we use Cakewalk. The sounds on the factory carts are awesome

Excellent swelling stings and synths. Good drawbars. Very cool Digi piano. Shitty real piano

bought used and never a problem in three years of constant use. Still using every weekend

No customer support. Good user support. Good Guys in Minneapolis,MN still work on them and upgrade the OS

A definite bargin and we are looking for a backup unit.

Very easy and straight forward. As a keyboard or sound source

Limited polyphony. No headphones jack

Very phat synths. OK piano. Good organ. Good digital piano

I have had two of these units and never a problem. They were and are used every weekend.

non existant

Good value and sounds. It's a shame we have been abandon by Ensoniq

The presets are lovely. Vast, layered, pretty... It's a pity that you're limited to the horrible Ensoniq interface. Some people like it, but I certainly don't. The buttons are big, clicky, and unresponsive. There are multiply-layered poorly-labelled menus, and each button can take you to one of several different screens, which are poorly differentiated.

24-voice polyphony, except that each patch can use up to six of those voices. It has one built-in effects processor, which is a bit noisy but pretty flexible (if you can stand figuring out how to program it.) It takes cartridges, which are very hard to find. The keys are pressure sensitive and it has polyphonic aftertouch, which is very nice (when it works...). It is MIDI polyphonic, in a confusing and annoying way.

Don't get this for realistic instruments-- get it for vast beautiful layered evolving sounds. It's a new age machine, or possibly synthy techno. It doesn't do good percussive sounds-- the envelopes are too slow to react quickly enough. It also aliases all to hell if you try to pitch the sounds down very low. Velocity and aftertouch are responsive, other than problems detailed below. Very pretty, though. If it wasn't for its inherent unpleasant problems, I'd have kept mine.

Oh good lord, unreliable as all hell. There is a known keyboard problem where the synth loses the ability to calibrate the keyboard and stops booting up properly. Also, it crashes all the time, while editing, while playing, while attempting to do MIDI stuff... Not a keyboard for the easily frustrated.

Never tried to deal with the company, although their fax information is extensive. They do not anywhere in their fax info acknowledge the problems with the VFX keyboard, though.

I bought it for the sounds. Pity it was so unreliable and frustrating. If it were cheaper, I'd get another, but it would have to be really really cheap, for all the trouble it is. While I had it, though, it was great fun to play with. The sounds almost make it worthwhile...
For the money, though, get something more reliable, or save up more and get a Wavestation EX.