"One of the most underrated synthesizer in history"

Hey...just gotta tell some about one of the most underrated synthesizers in history! Besides the Sequential Six-track I don't know any other synthesizer manufactured in the 80s that featured analog filters AND multitibral usage. Apart from that, the ESQ-1 has some neat features which is easily overlooked but really makes it A KILLER.

"How does it sound?"

Well, have a listen to my C64-cover of Last Ninja: The Palace (no additional effects or EQ used, only ESQ1)
or the ESQ-1 played alive demo.

Basic Information

The ESQ-1 is a mostly digital (It has analog filters) 8 voice polyphonic, synthesizer with multitimbral (8-part) capabilities and MIDI. Sounds can be split or layered. It can store 40 sounds internally, and another 80 to cartridge. Sounds and sequencer data can also be stored via cassette tape.

Each sound, or timbre is constructed with up to three Oscillators. Each oscillator draws upon a bank of 32 hybrid digital/sampled waveforms including sawtooth, sine, square and a variety of conventional waveforms such as piano, human voice and organ. Oscillator one and two can be synced or Amplitude modulated.

The filter section features analog four-pole (24dB/octave) Curtis filters. The filter can be modulated by variable modulation routing aside the keyboard trackning. Modulation routings can be key velocity, modulation wheel, any of the three LFO's and any of the four Envelopes, to just mention a few.

The ESQ-1 comes standard with an 8 track 2400 note sequencer which can be expanded to 10,000 notes. The sequencer is not limited to using only the ESQ-1 sounds on the sequencer, as each track can be made to play the ESQ-1's internal sounds, external sounds over MIDI, or both.

Some neat features of the ESQ1, easily overlooked:

* Using it as a synthesizer with 2 mono-outputs you'll get those separate output, which means that you can process sounds individually. Use for example the external CC to pan each instrument to the output of your liking.

* The sequencer can be synced to external tape-sync, which is handy if your in possession of a Roland-unit featuring DIN-sync (MC-202, TB-303, TR-606, TR-707, TR-727, TR-808, TR-909) as the ESQ1's tapesync runs at exactly half speed. So fiddling with timemeasure/scale on the Roland units or with notevalues on the ESQ1 sequencer, you can sync the two together. Have a listen to my demonstration of my ESQ1 and TR-606 together.

* The sync and AM capabilities of the oscillators can make up really harsh and interesting textures not far from sounds recognizable from the PPG wave, Nordlead and SID-station. I even have managed to squeeze forth instruments sounding like they are using bandpass or notch filters. (Listen to the demo of the ESQ1 and the TR-606 together above).

* The sync of the oscillators can be used to simulate PWM as the ESQ1 normally doesn't allow that.
Listen to the first sound of my C64-cover Last Ninja: The Palace