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Ensoniq ESQ-1
Ensoniq ESQ-1 is a 61-key, velocity sensitive, eight-note polyphony (instrument), 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 synthesis, subtractive in much the same fashion as most analog synthesizers that preceded it, its electronic oscillators, oscillators are neither voltage controlled oscillator, voltage nor "digitally controlled oscillator, digitally controlled", but true digital oscillators, provided by a custom Ensoniq Table-lookup synthesis, wavetable chip. The signal path includes analog resonant low-pass low pass filter, filters and an analog amplifier. The synth also features a fully functional, if crude by modern standards, 8-track MIDI music sequencer, sequencer that can run either its internal sounds, external MIDI equipment, or both, with a capacity of 24,000 notes (expandable via cartridges). It provide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ensoniq
Ensoniq Corp. was an American electronics manufacturer, best known throughout the mid-1980s and 1990s for its musical instruments, principally Sampler (musical instrument), samplers and synthesizers. Company history In spring 1983, former MOS Technology engineers Robert Yannes, Robert "Bob" Yannes, Bruce Crockett, Charles Winterble, David Ziembicki, and Al Charpentier formed Peripheral Visions. The team had designed the Commodore 64, and hoped to build another computer. To raise funds, Peripheral Visions agreed to build a computer keyboard for the Atari 2600, but the video game crash of 1983 canceled the project and Commodore sued the new company, claiming that it owned the keyboard project. Renaming itself as Ensoniq, the new company instead designed a music synthesizer. Ensoniq grew rapidly over the next few years with the success of the Mirage and the ESQ-1. The plant in Great Valley, Pennsylvania employed nearly 200 people and housed the manufacturing facility. A number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Yannes
Robert Yannes (born 1957) is an American electronic engineer who designed the SID audio generator chip for the Commodore 64 and co-founded digital synthesizer company Ensoniq. He designed the Ensoniq 5503 Digital Oscillator Chip (DOC) which was used in both commercial synthesizers and the Apple IIGS home computer. Biography Robert Yannes graduated from Villanova University in 1978. He started out as an electronic music hobbyist before being hired as a chip designer at MOS Technology which had become a part of Commodore. Al Charpentier recruited Yannes partly for his music synthesis knowledge. He has been infatuated by electronic music since the early 1970s. He claims the song '' Lucky Man'' by Emerson, Lake & Palmer influenced him more than any other single song, and also lists Kraftwerk and Mike Oldfield among his influences. He designed the ''MicroPET'' with help from Al Charpentier which became an unintended prototype for the VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscillator Sync
Oscillator sync is a feature in some synthesizers with two or more VCOs, DCOs, or "virtual" oscillators. As one oscillator finishes a cycle, it resets the period of another oscillator, forcing the latter to have the same base frequency. This can produce a harmonically rich sound, the timbre of which can be altered by varying the synced oscillator's frequency. A synced oscillator that resets other oscillator(s) is called the master; the oscillators which it resets are called slaves. There are two common forms of oscillator sync which appear on synthesizers: Hard Sync and Soft Sync. According to ''Sound on Sound'' journalist Gordon Reid, oscillator sync is "one of the least understood facilities on any synthesizer". Hard Sync The leader oscillator's pitch is generated by user input (typically the synthesizer's keyboard), and is arbitrary. The follower oscillator's pitch may be tuned to (or detuned from) this frequency, or may remain constant. Every time the leader oscillator's c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amplitude Modulation
Amplitude modulation (AM) is a modulation technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting messages with a radio wave. In amplitude modulation, the amplitude (signal strength) of the wave is varied in proportion to that of the message signal, such as an audio signal. This technique contrasts with angle modulation, in which either the frequency of the carrier wave is varied, as in frequency modulation, or its phase, as in phase modulation. AM was the earliest modulation method used for transmitting audio in radio broadcasting. It was developed during the first quarter of the 20th century beginning with Roberto Landell de Moura and Reginald Fessenden's radiotelephone experiments in 1900. This original form of AM is sometimes called double-sideband amplitude modulation (DSBAM), because the standard method produces sidebands on either side of the carrier frequency. Single-sideband modulation uses bandpass filters to eliminate one of the sidebands and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ensoniq SQ-80
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. Compared to the ESQ-1, the SQ-80 includes 43 additional waveforms (including five drumkits), an enhanced sequencer, and a floppy disk drive for storing patches and sequences. Synthesis-wise, the SQ-80 introduced the so-called ''2nd Release'', a low-cost solution to simulate reverb-like effects. In contrast to the ESQ-1, the SQ-80 not only offers MIDI in and out, but also MIDI thru jacks. The SQ-80 was the first Ensoniq product to feature their patented ''Polypressure Keyboard'' technology. Unlike the ESQ-1 and Mirage, the SQ-80's keyboard offers channel pressure and polyphonic pressure (aftertouch) as well as programmable hardness (velocity). Since the keyboard does not use mechanical sensors for detecting velocity and pressure, it is immune to contact problems (which ESQ-1 and Mirage suffered from) and pressure sensor wear-out (like conve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aftertouch
Keyboard expression is the ability of a keyboard instrument, keyboard musical instrument to change tone or other qualities of the sound in response to velocity, pressure or other variations in how the performer depresses the keys of the musical keyboard. Expression types include: * ''Velocity sensitivity''—how fast the key is pressed * ''Aftertouch'', or ''pressure sensitivity'' — the amount of pressure on a key, once already held down * ''Displacement sensitivity''—distance that a key is pressed down Keyboard instruments offer a range of expression types. Acoustic pianos, such as upright and grand pianos, are velocity-sensitive—the faster the key strike, the harder the hammer hits the strings. Baroque-style clavichords and professional synthesizers are aftertouch-sensitive—applied force on the key after the initial strike produces effects such as vibrato or swells in loudness, volume. Tracker pipe organs and some electronic organs are displacement-sensitive—partly dep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panning (audio)
Panning is the distribution of an audio signal (either monaural or stereophonic pairs) into a new stereo or multi-channel sound field determined by a pan control setting. A typical physical recording console has a pan control for each incoming source channel. A pan control or pan pot (short for "panning potentiometer") is an analog control with a position indicator which can range continuously from the 7 o'clock when fully left to the 5 o'clock position fully right. Audio mixing software replaces pan pots with on-screen virtual knobs or sliders which function like their physical counterparts. Overview A pan pot has an internal architecture which determines how much of a source signal is sent to the left and right buses. "Pan pots split audio signals into left and right channels, each equipped with its own discrete gain (volume) control."Hodgson, Jay (2010). ''Understanding Records'', p.162. . This signal distribution is often called a taper or law. When centered (at 12 o'clock ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ADSR Envelope
ADSR may refer to: * ADSR envelope (attack decay sustain release), a common type of music envelope * Accelerator-driven sub-critical reactor, a nuclear reactor using a particle accelerator to generate a fission reaction in a sub-critical assembly of fissionable material * A.D.S.R. Musicwerks, a Seattle, Washington store and US record label that releases Synth Pop and Electro Industrial music *'' Attack Decay Sustain Release'', the debut album from Simian Mobile Disco, released on June 18, 2007 {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Low-frequency Oscillation
Low-frequency oscillation (LFO) is an electronic frequency that is usually below 20 Hz and creates a rhythmic pulse or sweep. This is used to modulate musical equipment such as synthesizers to create audio effects such as vibrato, tremolo and phasing. History Low-frequency oscillation was introduced with modular synthesizers of the 1960s, such as the Moog synthesizer. Often the LFO effect was accidental, as there were myriad configurations that could be "patched" by the synth operator. LFOs have since appeared in some form on almost every synthesizer. More recently other electronic musical instruments, such as samplers and software synthesizers, have included LFOs to increase their sound alteration capabilities. Overview The primary oscillator circuits of a synthesizer are used to create the audio signals. An LFO is a secondary oscillator that operates at a significantly lower frequency (hence its name), typically below 20 Hz - that is, below the range of human heari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amplifier
An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the voltage or current (power, voltage or current amplifier). It is a two-port electronic circuit that uses electric power from a power supply to increase the amplitude of a signal applied to its input terminals, producing a greater amplitude signal at its output. The ratio of output to input voltage, current, or power is termed gain (voltage, current, or power gain). An amplifier, by definition has gain greater than unity (if the gain is less than unity, the device is an attenuator). An amplifier can either be a separate piece of equipment or an electrical circuit contained within another device. Amplification is fundamental to modern electronics, and amplifiers are widely used in almost all electronic equipment. Amplifiers can be categorize ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sample-based Synthesis
Sample-based synthesis is a form of audio synthesis that can be contrasted to either subtractive synthesis or additive synthesis. The principal difference with sample-based synthesis is that the seed waveforms are sampled sounds or instruments instead of fundamental waveforms such as sine and saw waves used in other types of synthesis. History Before digital recording became practical, instruments such as the Welte (1930s), phonogene (1950s) and the Mellotron (1960s) used analog optical disks or analog tape decks to play back sampled sounds. When sample-based synthesis was first developed, most affordable consumer synthesizers could not record arbitrary samples, but instead formed timbres by combining pre-recorded samples from ROM before routing the result through analog or digital filters. These synthesizers and their more complex descendants are often referred to as ROMplers. Sample-based instruments have been used since the Computer Music Melodian, the Fairlight CMI an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Square Wave
A square wave is a non-sinusoidal periodic waveform in which the amplitude alternates at a steady frequency between fixed minimum and maximum values, with the same duration at minimum and maximum. In an ideal square wave, the transitions between minimum and maximum are instantaneous. The square wave is a special case of a pulse wave which allows arbitrary durations at minimum and maximum amplitudes. The ratio of the high period to the total period of a pulse wave is called the duty cycle. A true square wave has a 50% duty cycle (equal high and low periods). Square waves are often encountered in electronics and signal processing, particularly digital electronics and digital signal processing. Its stochastic counterpart is a two-state trajectory. Origin and uses Square waves are universally encountered in digital switching circuits and are naturally generated by binary (two-level) logic devices. Square waves are typically generated by metal–oxide–semiconductor fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
