The Ensoniq Mirage is one of the earliest affordable sampler-synths, introduced in 1984 as

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 MO ...

's first product. Introduced at a

list price The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...

of $1,695 with features previously only found on more expensive samplers like the

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...

, the Mirage sold nearly 8,000 units in its first year - more than the combined unit sales of all other samplers at that time.

History

The Mirage is the brainchild of

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 wa ...

, the man responsible for the

MOS Technology SID The MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID (Sound Interface Device) is the built-in programmable sound generator chip of Commodore's CBM-II, Commodore 64, Commodore 128 and Commodore MAX Machine home computers. It was one of the first sound chips of it ...

(Sound Interface Device) chip in the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

. The Ensoniq Digital Oscillator Chip (Ensoniq ES5503 DOC - referred to the "Q-chip" in Ensoniq advertisements) that he designed was used in the Mirage, ESQ-1, and SQ-80 and the

Apple IIGS The Apple IIGS (styled as II), the fifth and most powerful of the Apple II family, is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Computer. While featuring the Macintosh look and feel, and resolution and color similar to the Amiga and Atari ST ...

personal computer. The VLSI ES5503 allowed the Mirage to offer digital audio sampling technology at a dramatically lower price compared to existing competitors. In 1984, when the MSRP $1,695 Mirage debuted, the only other polyphonic digital audio samplers available were the

E-mu E-mu Systems was a software synthesizer, audio interface, MIDI interface, and MIDI keyboard manufacturer. Founded in 1971 as a synthesizer maker, E-mu was a pioneer in samplers, sample-based drum machines and low-cost digital sampling music ...

Emulator II The Emulator is a series of digital sampling synthesizers using floppy disk storage, manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1981 until 2002. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary m ...

(MSRP $8,000 to $10,000) and the large Fairlight CMI Series II system (approximately $28,000 for a basic system). (The New England Digital Synclavier II system did not offer a polyphonic sampling option until later, in 1985.) The sampling resolution of the Mirage, Emulator II, and Fairlight CMI Series II was 8-bit. The Mirage was one of the very first consumer products to utilize the then-new Microfloppy 3.5-inch floppy diskette format, and thereby early Mirage keyboards included the very first Microfloppy drive shipped, the Shugart Venture model SA300. In 1988, Ensoniq introduced a successor to the Mirage with the more advanced EPS (Ensoniq Performance Sampler), and later the EPS-16+ and finally, the ASR-10. After the launch of the EPS in 1988, Ensoniq cut the price of the Mirage to $899, making it by far the least-expensive sampler then available.

Features and architecture

The Mirage is an 8-bit sampler featuring 8 voices of polyphony, 16 oscillators (or 32-oscillator wavetable synthesis upon loading alternative operating system), analog resonant Curtis CEM3328 4-pole 24db/octave filters, a 61 key velocity-sensitive keyboard or else 2U rack-mount module case, multi-sampling (up to 16 samples across keyboard), multi-timbral operation, extensive

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

implementation, a two-digit LED display, a 333-event

sequencer Sequencer may refer to: Technology * Drum sequencer (controller), an electromechanical system for controlling a sequence of events automatically * DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA sam ...

. It has 128kB of RAM (64kB for each keyboard half) and it is not expandable. Sample rate is variable from 10 kHz to 33 kHz (up to 50 kHZ with optional Ensoniq Input Sampling Filter) with available sample time ranging from 2 to 6.5 seconds accordingly (for each keyboard half). It includes a built-in 3.5 inch SS/DD

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...

drive, which is used to boot the operating system as well as to store samples and sequences. Each disk has a copy of the

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

and can be used as a boot disk, obviating the need for a separate boot disk. Each disk stores six separate files of samples and up to eight sequences. The keyboard is pre-configured into two halves, each functioning as two independent instruments, though the split point can be moved. This makes it easy to have one sound for the right hand (an upper sound) and another for the left (a lower sound). However, the standard OS can not move samples between keyboard halves. Thus the diskette can save three upper sounds and three lower sounds. Ensoniq later made an alternative OS available called MASOS which trades off performance features for editing features, including the ability to copy an upper sound to a lower sound and vice versa. Using a feature called multi-sampling, the Mirage is also capable of assigning multiple samples to different keys across its keyboard. Using this technique, the Mirage essentially turns into a polyphonic multi-timbral MIDI sound module complete with a velocity-sensitive keyboard that can be used to drive other MIDI sound modules as well its own sound engine. Alternative 3rd-party operating systems which substantially change and expand the synthesis capability and utility of the Mirage were produced. The Mirage sampler has a distinctive sound due its low bitrate converters, analog CEM3328 filters, and ability to load alternative operating systems that expand its capabilities to a 32-digital-oscillator wavetable synthesizer with user-definable sampled wavetables.

Models

There are at least four keyboard versions of the Mirage. The first Mirage (1984) had an all-metal case and endcaps, a keybed manufactured by Pratt-Reed, and large square black buttons. Mirage DSK-8 (for Digital Sampling Keyboard, 8-voice) (1985) had small, gray, calculator-like buttons and a heavier-weighted feel keybed with polyphonic aftertouch. It also added the ability to send and receive MIDI program changes. Mirage DSK-1 (1987) was shorter, housed in the same plastic case as later-produced Ensoniq ESQ-1 models, SQ-80, EPS, and other Ensoniq keyboards. The Mirage DSK-1 had a non-weighted keybed but added stereo outputs. The floppy disk drive, now with integrated recessed diskette holder, was repositioned above the modulation wheels. The DSK-1 did not include an expansion port, so the optional external Ensoniq Input Sampling Filter (and sequencer memory expansion) could not be installed. The Mirage DSK-1 sold for about $1300 USD. A fourth concurrent version of the Mirage, also model DSK-8 but manufactured in Japan for the Asian and Australian markets, was similar to the original American DSK-8 except for its flat, seamless membrane panel over the front panel switches (similar to an original Yamaha DX-7 and most microwave ovens) and the addition of a recessed diskette holder well in the right end of the front panel - the opposite side of the keyboard from the floppy disk drive (the disk drive being mounted exactly as the American DSK-8, at the front edge of the keyboard between the modulation wheels and the left end of the keybed). This Australasian DSK-8 variant included documentation in Japanese with English covers stating "Distributed by Nihon Hammond, Ltd." In addition to the above versions, a concurrent European variant Mirage was manufactured in Italy and featured a faster disk drive than the American version. A 2U-size rack-mount module version of the Mirage, model DMS-8 (for Digital Sampling Module) and later DMS-1 were also produced. The case color of these rack-mount Mirage modules was either dark gray/black or light gray.

Notable users

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

used the Mirage extensively on the

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

albums ''

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson, released on September 19, 1989, by A&M Records. Although label executives wanted material similar to her previous album, ''Control'' (19 ...

'' and ''

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...

''.

The Bomb Squad The Bomb Squad were an American hip hop production team known for its work with hip hop group Public Enemy. The Bomb Squad is noted for its dense, distinct, innovative production style, often utilizing dozens of samples on just one track. The ...

used the Mirage on

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

's classic track "

Rebel Without a Pause "Rebel Without a Pause" is a song by hip hop group Public Enemy and the first single from their 1988 album, '' It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back''. The title is a reference to the 1955 film ''Rebel Without a Cause''. History "Rebel Wi ...

References

External links