This music workstation got rid of some previous classical Ensoniq features, such as polyphonic after-touch (replacing it with a mono version) and full sound editability. Its concept of usage was also radically different from previous Ensoniq keyboards, such as the TS-10. The machine's operating system was created with numerous operational and MIDI software bugs. An updated OS chip that resolved these issues was created and is still available from third-party vendors. Most problems were compensated for by an improved 64-note polyphony, high quality 24-bit effects and a quick (but not fully editable) sequencer. The addition of the Idea Pad, which was essentially a MIDI capture buffer, allowed the user to quickly move anything recently played on the MIDI keyboard, including pitch-bend, mod, and MIDI real-time controllers to a track in the sequencer.
While the direct sample loading facilities of the previous TS/ASR models were lost, a rare add-on card, called the MR-Flash, allowed the MR/ZR keyboards to load up to 4 mebibytes of samples into permanent flash ROM, via floppy disk drive. However, no sample library import facilities were offered, so existing ASR/TS owners couldn't use their sample files on the new machine. A drum machine with pro-quality mixable preset patterns, benefited from the unusually large internal drum sounds library (approx. 700 samples) and was integrated with the sequencer, but it was impossible to create patterns inside the machine. Instead, a program that allowed a user to create drum patterns on PC was developed, thus allowing the user to create numerous rhythms that could be loaded onto disk and work within the fluid drum machine and all aspects of the keyboard.
The effects section runs at full 44.1 kHz quality, unlike the TS engine at 32kHz. The routing scheme was also simplified from previous machines and sports similarities with Roland's XP machines.
All MR versions could house up to three expansion cards, each one holding up to 24 megabytes of samples and sound data. That was a first for Ensoniq products. Three are known: Perfect Piano, Urban Dance Project and World Sounds. Each cost about $250. A fourth card, the Drums Expansion, could give the rack version a feature that was a standard part of the keyboard versions. It was a 2 mebibyte add-on and contained about 700 drum sounds. A fifth card was the aforementioned flash expansion.
The MR76 was the 76-note weighted keyboard version. The MR-Rack (which actually appeared before the keyboard versions) shared the same architecture and sounds, with the obvious exception of the sequencer and drum machine. Also, while the rack version could take the same wave expansion cards of the keyboard counterparts, it was not compatible with the flash ROM sample-loading add-on.
You can hear some Ensoniq MR-Sounds on the Janet Jackson Song Together Again and her album The Velvet Rope from 1997.
A music workstation is an electronic musical instrument providing the facilities of:
A sampler is an electronic or digital musical instrument which uses sound recordings of real instrument sounds, excerpts from recorded songs or found sounds. The samples are loaded or recorded by the user or by a manufacturer. These sounds are then played back by means of the sampler program itself, a MIDI keyboard, sequencer or another triggering device to perform or compose music. Because these samples are usually stored in digital memory, the information can be quickly accessed. A single sample may often be pitch-shifted to different pitches to produce musical scales and chords.
The Ensoniq Mirage is one of the earliest affordable sampler-synths, introduced in 1984 as Ensoniq's first product. Introduced at a list price of $1,695 with features previously only found on more expensive samplers like the Fairlight CMI, the Mirage sold nearly 8,000 units in its first year - more than the combined unit sales of all other samplers at that time.
Ensoniq Corp. was an American electronics manufacturer, best known throughout the mid-1980s and 1990s for its musical instruments, principally samplers and synthesizers.
The Roland D-50 is a synthesizer produced by Roland and released in April 1987. Its features include subtractive synthesis, on-board effects, a joystick for data manipulation, and an analogue synthesis-styled layout design. The external Roland PG-1000 (1987-1990) programmer could also be attached to the D-50 for more complex manipulation of its sounds. It was also produced in a rack-mount variant design, the D-550 (1987-1990), with almost 450 user-adjustable parameters.
The Korg Triton is a music workstation synthesizer, featuring digital sampling and sequencing, released in 1999. It uses Korg's HI Synthesis tone generator and was eventually available in several model variants with numerous upgrade options. The Triton became renowned as a benchmark of keyboard technology, and has been widely featured in music videos and live concerts. At the NAMM 2007, Korg announced the Korg M3 as its successor.
Ensoniq ESQ-1 is a 61-key, velocity sensitive, eight-note polyphonic and multitimbral synthesizer released by Ensoniq in 1985. It was marketed as a "digital wave synthesizer" but was an early Music Workstation. Although its voice generation is typically subtractive in much the same fashion as most analog synthesizers that preceded it, its oscillators are neither voltage nor "digitally controlled", but true digital oscillators, provided by a custom Ensoniq wavetable chip. The signal path includes analog resonant low-pass filters and an analog amplifier.
Kurzweil Music Systems is an American company that produces electronic musical instruments. It was founded in 1982 by Stevie Wonder (musician), Ray Kurzweil (innovator) and Bruce Cichowlas.
The EPS was one of the first few affordable samplers on the market. It was manufactured from 1988 to 1991 by Ensoniq in Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA. The EPS was a 13 bit sampler and replaced the Mirage - widely regarded as the first truly affordable sampling keyboard.
The Korg 01/W is a workstation synthesizer, released in 1991, and was intended to replace the M1 and T series. The workstation/ROMpler was based on AI², an improved version of the AI Synthesis technology found in the M1. The success of the AI² architecture ensured it was used in the majority of subsequent Korg synths of the 1990s.
The Yamaha Motif is a series of music workstation synthesizers, first released by Yamaha Corporation in August 2001. The Motif replaced the EX series in Yamaha's line-up and was also based on the early Yamaha S series. Other workstations in the same class are the Korg Kronos and the Roland Fantom G. The series' successor is Yamaha Montage.
The Korg Trinity is a synthesizer music workstation released by Korg in 1995. It was also the first workstation to offer modular expansion for not only sounds, but also studio-grade feature such as SCSI, ADAT, various sound engine processors, audio recording capability, and more. It was considered one of the most comprehensive music workstations, in term of features, at the time.
The Soundscape ELITE was Ensoniq's high-end ISA PC sound card offering. It offers the highest MIDI quality of any PC sound card Ensoniq produced. The board is an evolution of the company's previous Soundscape S-2000. The Soundscape ELITE was launched in March 1995.
The discontinued Roland MC-909 Sampling Groovebox combines the features of a synthesizer, sequencer, and sampler, with extensive hands-on control of both the sound engine and the sequencing flow. It was intended primarily for live performance of pre-programmed patterns consisting of up to 16 tracks of MIDI data. It was released by Roland Corporation on October 8, 2002. This product was announced at the AES Fall Convention in 2002. It is the direct successor to the Roland MC-505 and is the predecessor to the Roland MC-808. Which eventually ended the "Groovebox by year 2010" line of products by Roland which began in the year 1996 with the Original Roland MC-303 groovebox. The Roland Groovebox began again resurgence in the year 2019 with a two new modern & redesign Roland MC-707 GROOVEBOX/Roland MC-101 GROOVEBOX. The Roland MC-909 was developed from the blueprint of Roland's own "Roland Fantom-S Workstation & Roland Fantom-X Workstation" and uses the same structure and operating system, with some differences regarding the Patterns section, not implemented in the Roland Fantom S/X6/X7/X8 Workstation.
The Ensoniq TS-10 was a synthesizer and music workstation introduced by Ensoniq in 1993. It provided synthesis, user sample playback, sequencer, effect units and performance facilities in a 61-key package. Another version, the TS-12, had the same features plus 76 weighted keys and polyphonic aftertouch.
The Yamaha SY85 is a digital music workstation introduced in 1992. Unlike other Yamaha synthesizers of the time the SY85 does not use FM synthesis. Instead, its sounds are based on samples, which can be layered and modified to create new sounds.
The Ensoniq VFX Synth was initially released as a performance type synthesizer in 1989. It was soon followed by the release of the VFX-SD, which included some updated waveforms, a 24-track sequencer and a floppy drive. Both models were equipped with the Ensoniq Signal Processing (ESP) chip for 24-bit effects. The VFX-SD also included two AUX outs, which allowed for a total of 4 outputs from the synth for more routing flexibility. The initial models were 21-voice polyphony, and in latter models of the VFX-SD (I/II) and the SD-1, the polyphony was 32.
The Ensoniq SQ-80 is a digital/analog synthesizer manufactured from 1987 to 1989. It was Ensoniq's update to its first synth, the Ensoniq ESQ-1.
The Ensoniq ASR-10 was a sampling keyboard produced by Ensoniq between 1992 and 1998. The ASR-10 was a follow up product to the very popular Ensoniq EPS and Ensoniq EPS-16+ performance samplers, and was also available with a piano style weighted keyboard (ASR-88) and a rackmount version (ASR-10R). At the time, the machine was one of the most powerful samplers available.
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