Patches and discussion for Ensoniq VFX family

--- In Ensoniq-VFX-SD@y..., "Mr. Tuna" <nekosushi@a...> wrote:
> Hello everyone,
> I just got back from a local music store and picked up an old used 
> VFX synth.
Congrats!.

> No manual, no disk drive, no nothing except a little 

You might want to get the manual if you can, look back a few days and 
you'll find that we were discussing manual availability here...

> cartridge with some cool sounds. After a few hours of playing 
around 
> with it I realized it's going to take me a long time to figure this 
> synth out, so here are some questions:
> 
> 1.-how do I install the disk drive? (or where can I get it done?)

I'm not sure if it can be retrofitted to a VFX. The VFX-SD (that had 
the sequencer and disk) is more than just a disk added.

More importantly, I'm not sure a disk drive is really that important 
to add to a VFX these days. It can be handy for loading a load of 
patches in a gig, but dealing with MIDI sysex is probably just about 
as convienient if you plan your patch sets. MIDI bulk loaders/dumpers 
weren't all that common in the days of the VFX, so disk was more 
important.

Also, without the Sequencer on an original VFX, there is even less of 
a need for a disk.

Just hook it up to a MIDI interface, and use SysEX, almost all of the 
original VFX patches are in SysEx if you look hard enough :)

> 2.-Is there anywhere I can find resources for the synth, and maybe 
> even an online instruction manual?

As I said, check the archives back a few days...

But if you're impatient, www.synthaur.com is a good starting place.

> 3.-are the rumors of this synth having a horrible curse on it true?

Yes, and no. There was a known problem with the ribbon cables on the 
VFX, VFX-SD, VFX-SD1 and possibly the VFX-SD2. The SD1-24 and SD1-32 
appear not to have suffered from this problem.

However, if its working now, around 10 years after its birth, its 
likely not to be an issue. Most likely the original owner had ensoniq 
fix the cables.

> 4.-how do I get sounds from my computer into the synth?

A midi interface, and a SysEx dumper/librarian. harmony-central.com 
has some sysex utilities for most OS's.

> 5.-What do I have to do before I statt using it? (upgrading, 
patches, 
> bla bla).

Probably not much, what you have is enough to get going with it. If 
the cart you have is a ROM cart, you might want to get a RAM cart at 
some time, but its not essential.

A SysEx librarian and some of the better SysEx dumps from the net 
would give you some more ideas of what can be done with the synth. 
You'll probably need to buy at least the owners manual before you try 
programming though, and possibly the programming manual too.

When you get a SysEx dumper or librarian, remember to dump the 
contents of the VFX to your computer first - you never know, the 
patches in the synth MAY not be the preset defaults, and you wouldn't 
want to hate yourself for not saving them if they're not :)