Ensoniq

Lore & Background

Ensoniq originated as Peripheral Visions, formed in spring 1983 by engineers who had designed the Commodore 64 but left after disagreements with CEO Jack Tramiel. The team planned to build a home computer but instead developed a keyboard for the Atari 2600, a project canceled by the 1983 video game crash. Commodore sued, claiming ownership of the keyboard project. Renamed Ensoniq, the company designed a music synthesizer based on the Digital Oscillator Chip (DOC) they had developed at Commodore. This became the Mirage sampling keyboard in late 1984, which brought sampling to amateur musicians at a bargain price and sold 8,000 units in its first year.

The company grew rapidly with the Mirage and ESQ-1, employing nearly 200 people at its Great Valley, Pennsylvania plant. Ensoniq instruments were known for ease of use and a 'fat', rich sound considered American, as opposed to the more digital, 'cold' Japanese sound. All instruments after the Mirage featured integrated sequencers, creating all-in-one 'Music Workstations'. Despite strengths, early products suffered reliability issues such as bad keyboards and under-developed power supplies. Competition from Japanese firms Roland, Korg, and Yamaha, who undercut on price and offered better reliability, eventually drove Ensoniq out of the musical instrument business.

Reader's Guide

Ensoniq's significance lies in democratizing sampling technology with the Mirage, which at $1,695 was far cheaper than earlier samplers like the Fairlight CMI and E-mu Emulator. The company's sound chips, including the DOC, DOC-II, OTIS, and OTTO, were used not only in its own instruments but also in the Apple IIGS, arcade games, and the Gravis Ultrasound card (via license). Its sound card division, developed in the mid-1990s, sold millions of units and was the primary reason for Creative Technology's $77 million acquisition in 1998. The musical products division was merged with E-mu Systems, but the Pennsylvania operation was gradually dismantled and shut down over three years. The E-Mu/Ensoniq division was dissolved in 2002 after releasing a few final keyboards, and support for legacy products was discontinued soon after. Ensoniq's legacy includes pioneering affordable sampling and workstation concepts, though it could not financially survive the mid-to-late 1990s.

Did You Know?

• The Ensoniq ES5505 OTIS chip was designed into the Atari Panther video-game console, which never reached series production.
• Ensoniq's DOC chip was used in the Apple IIGS personal computer after an agreement with Apple Computer in 1986.
• The company attempted to diversify into hearing aids, which was unsuccessful and put it in financial peril.
• Ensoniq enlisted the Dixie Dregs for a limited edition promotional CD in 1988 featuring the EPS sampler and SQ-80 synthesizer.