Hullo all.

It’s one of those posts... i’ve seen a good nick esq1 with carts, sequencer upgrade etc going for what seems like a reasonable price (£350). I’ve been looking for an affordable digital/analogue hybrid for a while, online demos sound great and older threads seem to be full of love for these beasts. The olde Skinny Puppy connection also tickles my fancy.

These used to be cheapo mega bargains but those days seem long gone. So, at the recently higher 2nd hand prices are they still worth picking up?

Ta!

The user interface, while one of the best of the 80s menu divey synths, can't hold a candle to a nice knobby polysynth. That being said, it's got a great sound to it, a fun sequencer, and 8 voices with 3 digital oscillators per voice is nothing to complain about. If you can get it for a good price it's worth it, but if you're looking at high market value, I might download SQ8L and make sure your really like the sound /interface

I love the ESQ-1.
I prefer the Plastic Body version to the Metal body (just my preference).
also like the feel of the ESQ-1 keys over the SQ-80 (even though the SQ-80 has poly aftertouch).

Here in the States, my limit would be $300 (tops) for the Keyboard version.
$175 to $200 would be a great deal- and hard to resist.

Great synth!

Yup, seen the well regarded VST but unfortunately I'm a mac user so I can't try it out. The UK price roughly translates to about $440 but I get the impression that second hand prices for these have always been higher over here than in the states. The interface doesn't bother me really - I'm a Obi Matrix 1000 user so I'm used to working without knobiness!

It's not a menu diver.

with carts? go on, get it
(if it's in good shape)
CEM filter..
i've seen them go for more in euro
meh it's only money.

With carts, flight case and it's local pick up so there's no brutal postage. Sounds like I might break my back getting it up the stairs to the studio tho'...

I'd say 350 is fine, still good value for money. You have to embrace the hybrid sound of it. Very easy to drive.

That is a bonus. All the extras and no courier bouncing it off the floor.

Well, I have pure analog well covered (OB6, Rev 2, Matrix 1000 + far too many mono's) and plenty of digital softsynths so it's the gritty, lo-fi-ness of the ESQ1 that appeals to me as offering something a bit "different".

In the states, even with accessories that would be considered kind of high.

But, I think it’s a pretty cool synth...I got one for $99 at a pawn shop...needed a new battery (super common FYI). I have a few carts I’ve picked up, you can now buy NEW high capacity carts on eBay, I have one of these too.

Everything is more expensive in the U.K.
Even moreso now, and it’s about to get worse.

£350 is a great price.

I’m looking for a reasonably priced SQ80 at the moment.

yeah but probably much more available over your side.

It's a classic synth. They're more expensive now than they were for a while, but even at current prices, I'm surprised it doesn't fetch more. The menus are so shallow that you could break your neck trying to dive in, and the menu layout is a great idea. It's a lot easier to program than you'd think.

ESQ-1 is a great synth,sounds good and easy to program.Top notch Pratt-Reed keyboard,Nice sequencer which you can save sequences to midi-ox..Save the cartridge patches to midi-ox and sell the cartridges.On eBay in USA there are 2 guys selling patches in Sysex format for .95 cents for several thousand patches.Load with midi-ox.Good controller too.I like it especially for pads and strings.jd

It’s an amazing synth, the center of my studio. Big, fat sound, and it’s very easy to program. Keys are great, too. I highly recommend it. I picked mine up here in the US for $400, but it’s in mint condition, the battery was replaced, installed sequence expander, and came with a case. Even at $500, it’s very worth it.

I just bought one really cheap with a broken key and a bad battery. I had the intention of fixing and re-selling it but I might keep it. It has a really nice midrange focused sound and can fill in that area in the sonic landscape very well. Ive been playing with it and it can be a lot faster than EQing and compressing a “richer” softsynth to get a “dark” sound.

I really liked the ESQ-1. Actually fun to program, great filter.

I only sold it because a got a Prophet VS. In retrospect I should have kept it too.

I own two. I like to use synths for what I feel they do different and in the esq-1's case that's the interesting non-saw,square,tri waveforms it has, but through an analog filter. The hi frequency of it's more complex waveforms is grainy from it's low bit depth, but smoothed out from that real analog filter gives pleasing texture for days. It really excels at bells, strings, and brass. Not bad at bass, but it's kind of a sqwuacky bass that has good character around the 200 hz range but just not real full below that. I bought both at seperate times a few years ago, one for $60 and the other for $100. Seem to be worth more than that now.

The memory battery is dead in one, and ive read it has to be a special one soldered in place. Haven't worried about that too much because I have memory carts, but I do wonder if not changing it will eventually cause death by battery leakage to the synth. What do you guys think about that?

oh yeah, don't worry about menu diving, it's more of a menu snorkel.

Remove the battery, its in nasty spot to destrooooooooyyyyyyyyy things! The batteries in Ensoniq products is a nasty mix of Arsole,Fukalite,Bastardane sprayed with Cummingtonite! Not joking!

Oh yes...someone recently asked "Why keep an Alesiss Data Disk?"

ESQ-1 is a great synth!!

I love it. One of the last underpriced synths IMHO.

For sure. We had it in the studio since the early 90s, used on alot of songs.

Ensoniq products are worth buying, period. The ESQ-1 is an awesome synth with tons of modulation options and a very well layed out interface. The sequencer is great, easy and fast to use.

Sound wise, it can be clean and delicate or brash, gritty and sound real lofi. It has a character that is all its own and has found its way into many tracks I have made over the years.

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys, you’re winning me over nicely! I was actually considering doing a bit of a gear sell off in the New Year to fund a 16 voice Prologue (had one previously and returned it due to the now fixed tuning issues o’doom) but the esq1 seems a more interesting and affordable option at the moment.

Sounds like a foul disaster waiting to happen! Nah, thankfully the one i’m looking at has undergone battery replacement surgery.

Another point for the ESQ is that its durable as hell. I saw Front Line Assembly live a few years back and at one point in the set, the keyboardist was standing on his ESQ. Other than the battery issue, the thing is practically bulletproof.

Regardless of how tough they were at release, only the survivors are left now. The ESQ was a mainstay in my live rack for 20 years. I even had a beat up, broken-keyed keyboard just to program the rack. First synth, aside from Yamaha's, that responded beautifully to breath control.