Ensoniq VFX SD $ EAR CANDY Demo

[spin467]

There is something wrong with my VFX-SD. The drum sounds are all mixed up. The kicks sound more like snares and the congas and certain other percussion all sound like cymbals. Is this a common problem? I have reloaded the OS and all programs.

[willrobinsonensoniq]

@spin467 The key mapping may have been altered. Is it a VFX SD upgraded to a SD-1 chipset? I will send you a link via personnel message. Put this question to the group after signing up. There are many users with experience beyond my own. Good luck.

[Dharmarecords]

one of the best purchases I ever made... still got it..

[NeedleFactoryTube]

Wow, just had a major flash back there from when l had this keyboard in 1994.

Thanks

[SouthOCmixdown]

so did my cz-1000, lol. but i made the best of it. want a cz-5000 now, just for the memories..

[willrobinsonensoniq]

The first gen DX's had those plastic membrane buttons. Yechh!

[Tittlekopf]

@willrobinsonensoniq But the Buttons from the VFX are "real"... but they suck even more than the thin buttons from the MK1 DX's.. the VFX is VERY Fragile

[willrobinsonensoniq]

@Tittlekopf I have heard of issues with the VFX buttons, though I have not experienced this myself. Anyone else?

[SouthOCmixdown]

@willrobinsonensoniq Ya. Im sure the DX7 did most of the heavy lifting in those days. Not a big fan of it tho. Seems it hasnt held its value, like a lot of the other 'classic' boards from the 80's. Even w/all accesories, Ive consistently seen DX7s in the $100-$200 range. I certainly wud never pay more than that 4one, if I even wanted 1@all. &on the Scritti thing - I was just pointing out how the VFX SD cud provide a reasonable facsimile of many of the tones used on the 'C&P85' LP. Good board.

[SouthOCmixdown]

This would so be the keyboard to have if you were gonna start a Scritti Politti tribute band. Rock on. Recognize the harp solo preset from just about every R&B crossover radio song in the mid-late 1980s too. Awesome!

[willrobinsonensoniq]

@SouthOCmixdownI heard the harp solos of the 80's were the DX7 in action. The VFX is a 1989 machine. A Scritti Politti tribute band, they have those?

[willrobinsonensoniq]

@LAZERFIST888 They are very useful... the strings are my favorite. Mix them both and it's magic.

[Oxynthes99]

I just picked one of these up at a flea market for $60! I'm quite happy with my purchase. It's in great condition. Can't wait to get started with it. What will upgrading the OS (via floppy) do for the synth?

[willrobinsonensoniq]

@Oxynthes99 Adds features to the sequencer (Step-entry etc.), and some effects algorithms, depends on the chipset though. What is the current OS on the board?

[Oxynthes99]

@willrobinsonensoniq

I don't know! How do I check?

[willrobinsonensoniq]

@Oxynthes99 Press Preset+Master buttons at the same time. I have 2.00

[Oxynthes99]

@willrobinsonensoniq

I'm running 2.00 as well. Thanks a ton!

I'm hearing a strange "ghosting" at very soft volumes, however. There's a weird crackling audio artifact that appears whenever I release a key. Removing the reverb helps some, but doesn't eliminate it entirely.. do you have any idea what might be going on? If I just turn the master fader all the way up the ghosting gets overshadowed by the actual tone, so it's not a huge problem.

[willrobinsonensoniq]

@Oxynthes99 I had it until a friend (engineer) made an isolation transformer for me. Ground loops and electrical noise was the culprit. A band I practiced with (in a basement) presented a power issue. The sound was very much like a ping pong delay that built up over time. The power cord has the 3 prongs and the iso transformer accepted it on one side, but had 2 prongs itself. When I recorded video with the laptop for youtube, I would get noisy audio until I use a 3 to 2 adapter.

[willrobinsonensoniq]

@willrobinsonensoniq This also stopped the Ensoniqdisplays on the gear from rolling (left to right) when making videos.

[bigGWM]

i still have one of these in my studio and i have a ensoniq Mirage both still working great

[willrobinsonensoniq]

@bigGWM I just wish the disks for these beast would last as long. ; ( mine seem to not want to read anymore. oh well.

[civ1]

@willrobinsonensoniq  go to route 66 studios.com ! - they sell all the old drives you will need for the old units ( including the mirage)

[HansenIV]

WOW!

Very old but an amazing sound :D

[willrobinsonensoniq]

@HansenIV Classic...

[HansenIV]

Yes, that's what i mean ;D

It recalls me my old Casio Keyboard <3

[maccagrabme]

Sounds like a lot of early 90s American R&B like Bobby Brown. Quite a good sound. Can I get a similar sound in a vsti?

[willrobinsonensoniq]

Maybe someone else can answer that for you as my searches have turned up empty. : (

Good luck.

[willrobinsonensoniq]

Mike, I hit remove by accident instead of reply. I'm adding your posting again, sorry.

kc5euu

I would like this song in MIDI to redo in Reason 4

Like I said in a earlier post I have the VFX "No sequencer"...

Question, are there people that would like the entire sample from the vfx.

Patch called :Superwave

Any where would be a good place to post it

Bright Blessings to all

[willrobinsonensoniq]

I do not possess the software to do the translation Michael. Maybe someone out there would be so kind as to honor your request.

[kc5euu]

I learned to play on a Ensoniq VFX, not the sd

I used to hook it up to a Aux Midi sequencer.

I still use it today in my studio setup. LOVE IT.

They where cursed with glitches and bugs. BUT.. the only problems I ever had was a need to reset and a new button cell. that I soldered in myself.

Nice to see this on YouTube.. THANK U

[willrobinsonensoniq]

Once the Keyboard connection was properly wire jumped, I never saw a board glitch again. Disk errors however ... that is another story. I'm hoping for another 20 years. Still has the original battery, that will not make it another 20 yrs.

[jamesbooty]

I think this demo shipped with the VFX were better than the SD-1 factory demos, and they sound identical when played on my SD-1. A fun warmup is to let the pattern from 1:09 to 1:48 loop and jam with it. There is nothing quite like the old ENSONIQ synths. I hope my SD-1 keeps working for years to come.

[willrobinsonensoniq]

If someone could post the SD-1 Factory demos I would love to listen to them. Yes this is a jam session song.

[jamesbooty]

I have uploaded the SD-1 "Palette" demo to my channel.

[tfal23]

THANK YOU for putting this up!!! I've seriously been looking for a copy of this demosong since the mid 90s!!!

[willrobinsonensoniq]

I still plan on adding more of the demo's, just haven't had the time. There is a great country demo I've been itching to post. Enjoy ; )

[tfal23]

omfg, i've been looking for year for this song!!!!!!!!!!

[klangkombinat]

yeah, that was the best demo on the board.

still working on mine ;)

[willrobinsonensoniq]

A friend of mine has a SQ80 and a Roland D5 just sitting in his basement. He will not give them up. Nice demo of the SQ80 BTW.

[willrobinsonensoniq]

check out this favorite of mine; Ensoniq VFX SD $ Expedition .

[TomsterMusic]

LOL!!! HEY!! This song sounds familiar! Haha.. I LOVE the VFX-SD! There has NEVER been anything like it since! RAWK ON!!

♫ ToMMyY!! ♫

[willrobinsonensoniq]

Tomster, I notated on this video to check out your videos. Thanks for the comment... I would never part with this board either... Thanks for posting.