Patches and discussion for Ensoniq VFX family

I am curious as to how many original VFX and/or SD-1 owners are in 
this group???

I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD in 1989 and my SD-
1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent condition and working 
perfectly.

Actually, I originally purchased a VFX in May of 1989 for $1795. In 
December of that year that same music store (Art's Music in 
Montgomery, Alabama) received their first VFX-SD and I just had to 
have it. They allowed me to trade in my VFX and allowed me $1444 on 
a trade in for the VFX-SD which sold for $2295. In hind-sight, I 
think I came out way on top in that deal.

I purchased the SD-1 in 1992. I don't have a receipt showing 
my `total' cost of the SD1. The music store (Boyd's Music in Little 
Rock, Arkansas) had to order it so I gave them "X" amount of dollars 
for a down-payment and my balance when the unit came in was $1650. A 
guess would be that I may have given them around $1000 down-payment 
to get the order going – making the total cost at that time around 
$2650.

SR

I originally owned a BRANDSPANKING NEW VFX-SD, you know, the ones that kept
on having gords of trouble..  After 3 or 4 repairs back at Ensoniq, and
after MUCH "complaining" (b&tching more like)  I was sent back a BRAND NEW
Ensoniq SD-1.  Still have it, still use it and still love it.  Gonna need a
battery replacement soon though. lol

 

David

 

 

 

 

  _____  

From: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of swomp_rabbit
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 9:59 AM
To: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Original Owners - Give A Shout!

 

I am curious as to how many original VFX and/or SD-1 owners are in 
this group???

I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD in 1989 and my SD-
1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent condition and working 
perfectly.

Actually, I originally purchased a VFX in May of 1989 for $1795. In 
December of that year that same music store (Art's Music in 
Montgomery, Alabama) received their first VFX-SD and I just had to 
have it. They allowed me to trade in my VFX and allowed me $1444 on 
a trade in for the VFX-SD which sold for $2295. In hind-sight, I 
think I came out way on top in that deal.

I purchased the SD-1 in 1992. I don't have a receipt showing 
my `total' cost of the SD1. The music store (Boyd's Music in Little 
Rock, Arkansas) had to order it so I gave them "X" amount of dollars 
for a down-payment and my balance when the unit came in was $1650. A 
guess would be that I may have given them around $1000 down-payment 
to get the order going - making the total cost at that time around 
$2650.

SR







  _____  

YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS 

 

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  _____

> I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD in 1989 and my SD-
> 1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent condition and 
> working perfectly.

I also purchased my SD-1 in 1992 sometime.  It's been working perfectly ever
since.

I did replace the battery last year, not because it was bad, but it just
seemed like a good thing to do :-)

Grant

I bought my VFX SD on 10/12/89 at Amro Music in Memphis for $2200 including
tax. It came down to the VFX SD and the M1 and I liked the sequencer and
effects on the Ensoniq better. It has seen mostly home use and has never
been in the shop or had the case opened.
:-) I recently bought a Voce Micro-B II and it made me appreciate the VFX
rotary speaker effect even more. I think it is underrated in that category.

Bill Denton
Memphis

i am an ORIGINAL   bought 2 , new units, &2500 each, 1993 in syracuse ny.. 
at this point, my wife and i do a duo, completely sequenced, country, disco, 
r&r, and swing.  i have a laptop, and a couple sound modules, but NOTHING 
compares to the SD-1 sound or versatility

frank crawford

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "swomp_rabbit" <swomp_rabbit@...>
To: <Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 9:59 AM
Subject: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Original Owners - Give A Shout!


I am curious as to how many original VFX and/or SD-1 owners are in
this group???

I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD in 1989 and my SD-
1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent condition and working
perfectly.

Actually, I originally purchased a VFX in May of 1989 for $1795. In
December of that year that same music store (Art's Music in
Montgomery, Alabama) received their first VFX-SD and I just had to
have it. They allowed me to trade in my VFX and allowed me $1444 on
a trade in for the VFX-SD which sold for $2295. In hind-sight, I
think I came out way on top in that deal.

I purchased the SD-1 in 1992. I don't have a receipt showing
my `total' cost of the SD1. The music store (Boyd's Music in Little
Rock, Arkansas) had to order it so I gave them "X" amount of dollars
for a down-payment and my balance when the unit came in was $1650. A
guess would be that I may have given them around $1000 down-payment
to get the order going - making the total cost at that time around
$2650.

SR







Yahoo! Groups Links








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Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.2.0/275 - Release Date: 3/6/2006

I bought two of the things around '91 or '92.  I put one of them on a cart
with a 12 volt marine battery, and a 500 Watt amplifier and used them in a
marching band!!!!

At the time, I was band director for a small county school district.  When I
took the job, morale in the band was low because, frankly, the band sucked!
I felt that my first job was to get the kids excited and feeling good about
playing in the band.  I used the VSX-SD to cover then instruments that were
missing in the band and to reinforce the overall sound of the band.

Before long I had a group of kids that were excited about being in the band
because suddenly they sounded GOOD and were getting positive feedback from
their non-band classmates and the community.  Next thing I knew, they were
actually practicing  on their instruments and doing all of the things that
musicians need to do to become better musicians.

Also used the VFX-SD with my beginning classes from the very beginning.
Beginning method books usually start out with a unison pitch played for 4
counts followed by 4 counts of rest and repeated several times.  Pretty
boring stuff - even for a group of 12 year-old kids.  I would sequence a
jazz background with bass, drums, etc. and suddenly the exercises were fun
instead of boring.  In addition, the beat was steady, so they were learning
about musical pulse and the bass provided a pitch center so they were
learning about intonation right from day one.

Of course, the other band directors though that I was cheating so I got a
lot of static from guys (and gals) who did not have a musical bone in their
body!!!

By the was, a VFX-SD played through a 500W amp puts out about the same
amount of sound as a 180 piece marching band!

JI

-----Original Message-----
From: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Frank Crawford
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 11:34 AM
To: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Original Owners - Give A Shout!


i am an ORIGINAL   bought 2 , new units, &2500 each, 1993 in syracuse ny..
at this point, my wife and i do a duo, completely sequenced, country, disco,
r&r, and swing.  i have a laptop, and a couple sound modules, but NOTHING
compares to the SD-1 sound or versatility

frank crawford



----- Original Message -----
From: "swomp_rabbit" <swomp_rabbit@...>
To: <Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 9:59 AM
Subject: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Original Owners - Give A Shout!


I am curious as to how many original VFX and/or SD-1 owners are in
this group???

I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD in 1989 and my SD-
1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent condition and working
perfectly.

Actually, I originally purchased a VFX in May of 1989 for $1795. In
December of that year that same music store (Art's Music in
Montgomery, Alabama) received their first VFX-SD and I just had to
have it. They allowed me to trade in my VFX and allowed me $1444 on
a trade in for the VFX-SD which sold for $2295. In hind-sight, I
think I came out way on top in that deal.

I purchased the SD-1 in 1992. I don't have a receipt showing
my `total' cost of the SD1. The music store (Boyd's Music in Little
Rock, Arkansas) had to order it so I gave them "X" amount of dollars
for a down-payment and my balance when the unit came in was $1650. A
guess would be that I may have given them around $1000 down-payment
to get the order going - making the total cost at that time around
$2650.

SR







Yahoo! Groups Links








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Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.2.0/275 - Release Date: 3/6/2006





Yahoo! Groups Links

I bought my VFX-SD new in 1991.  I use it on gigs just about every
weekend.  It's gotten to a point where I have to turn the aftertouch
effects off on some patches or I get an alto sax with constant vibrato.
What I use the most is the B3 sounds with the rotary (leslie) effects.
I also have a Korg, but pressing harder on the keys to get the rotary
sound just doesn't cut it.


Jim 


James R. Pardonek
Senior Network Administrator
Network Infrastructure Management and Maintenance
Computing Technology and Information Systems
Purdue University Calumet
Hammond, Indiana

-----Original Message-----
From: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Grant Youngman
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 9:37 AM
To: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Original Owners - Give A Shout!

> I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD in 1989 and my SD-
> 1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent condition and working 
> perfectly.

I also purchased my SD-1 in 1992 sometime.  It's been working perfectly
ever since.

I did replace the battery last year, not because it was bad, but it just
seemed like a good thing to do :-)

Grant




 
Yahoo! Groups Links

I bought mine sometime around 1990, it was days before they announced
the vfx-sd and I wasn't very happy because I wasn't told or I would have
waited. Mine was immediately plagued by problems and like another one
of you guys, after much complaining and several trips back to the
factory, I now have an SD-1 32. The label on the back still says
VFX-SD, and on the top, it says SD-1 32. I paid around $2295 for the VFX.

Like someone else mentioned, the slider tends to give random values
in certain spots, but I haven't needed to replace the battery.
Ocassionally I'll get random pops of static with a little delay/reverb,
or it'll just randomly reset with a calibration error. Most of my
floppies with some of my favorite sequences have oxidized and are
unreadable, but with the Giebler program I've salvage most of them
to the harddrive.

I am the original owner of a VFX-SDII ( has the mega-piano wave).  Still
has the original battery. Installed the sequencer expander. It is the
love of my life!!!  And it is the heart of my MIDI keyboard studio.
About the time Ensoniq was closing it's doors I was able to download a
sheet that gave the names and location of dealers who still had Ensoniq
synths and what they had left in stock. I bought another VFX-SDII at
Guitar Center in Rochester  NY ( for a backup or parts for my original
). Then my kids surprised me one Mother's day with a factory refurbished
Ensoniq ZR-76 !!!!! that my son found on Emu's web site. Then about 2
years ago I bought an SD-1 32 voice on ebay.  I'm  totally addicted to
Ensoniq synths!  May we keep them alive forever!!!!
 
Sandy Lane

-----Original Message-----
From: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of swomp_rabbit
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 9:59 AM
To: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Original Owners - Give A Shout!
 
I am curious as to how many original VFX and/or SD-1 owners are in 
this group???

I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD in 1989 and my SD-
1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent condition and working 
perfectly.

Actually, I originally purchased a VFX in May of 1989 for $1795. In 
December of that year that same music store (Art's Music in 
Montgomery, Alabama) received their first VFX-SD and I just had to 
have it. They allowed me to trade in my VFX and allowed me $1444 on 
a trade in for the VFX-SD which sold for $2295. In hind-sight, I 
think I came out way on top in that deal.

I purchased the SD-1 in 1992. I don't have a receipt showing 
my `total' cost of the SD1. The music store (Boyd's Music in Little 
Rock, Arkansas) had to order it so I gave them "X" amount of dollars 
for a down-payment and my balance when the unit came in was $1650. A 
guess would be that I may have given them around $1000 down-payment 
to get the order going - making the total cost at that time around 
$2650.

SR






  _____  

YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS 
 
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  _____

hey guys,
im an original owner from 1989 or so. since then, ive written music on it 
for 10 cds as well as two symphonies and a saxophone concerto. i move to 
paris two years ago and had it shipped with the rest of my stuff. i now use 
it with a power transformer and its still going strong.
cheers, rick

Hi-

Yes, I've been quiet since I joined this group 2 years ago and yes, I am an 
original VFX-SD owner.

I bought it in about 1989-90, from Daddy's Junky Music on Mass Ave. Boston 
for I think $1900 ? The SD-1 may have been coming out or was out so  I saved 
a few hundred bucks off list at the time.

I bought it for personal use, home recording, screwing around.  I had done 
bands in High School thru College with a Rhodes 88 & Polysix (which have 
held their value quite niceley unlike ...), but was about to get married, 
kids (slight loss freedom...), and bought it for me. At the time I remember 
liking it more than the Korg M1 due to it's much larger screen, soft keys, 
easier access to everything, which is important in a workstation. Got to use 
it for maybe 3-4 years and then had kids...

I finally decided to get back into recording about a couple years ago, 
dusted everything off, bought digi-delay & Boss distiotion for the guitar & 
bass and just picked up a Roland MP-60 digi-piano, which I midi up to the 
VFX-SD as well as SONAR Cakewalk, which I also just got.

So far I am still using the VFX-SD for recording as it still seems easier to 
have recording controls right next to the keys, but I'm still very new to 
the music software scene.

I joined the group to find out about common problems & associated repairs, 
(still have original battery by the way), where to get new sounds, possibile 
upgrades (I have OS 2.00 been running fine & only thing i would like is 
Mega-Piano but my MP-60 filled that void in my life). I am considering the 
sequencer upgrade option but want to see how Cakewalk goes first.

The one thing I have not figured out yet by listening in here & poking 
around the net is how to convert downloaded VFX-SD sound patch information 
from our group and on the net using "Soundlib" or another Windows XP 
compatible utility to single sided 720k floppy discs that I can use in the 
VFX-SD's disc drive. I have zip files called "SDLIB101", "vfxli95","VFX 
Library forSoundlib", and "patches" on my computer.

Maybe someone described it once & I didn't get it, I think Soundlib needs 
like Windows 98 and I only have 2000 and XP and that's where I lost 
it...anyone have a soundlib like program for Windows 2000?? A source for 720 
kb single sided discs would be appreciated too...


My only problem with the VFX-SD that happened in the past 3 mo. is the top 
left "soft" key is stuck in the rectangular hole it sits in. It still works 
(with glitches) but, does anyone know a good way to clean the gap around the 
buttons? I know electronics are sensive to static electricity which canned 
air can create (o.k. if powered down?), q-tip can't fit, exacto knife?.. 
would have to be very careful..   Any suggestions would be appreciated.

That's all,

thanks for all the help folks,

Rob Douglas, P.E.

P.S. - Thanks for the very cool Rick Wakeman footage, I had just completed a 
Yes Complete Anthology MP3 CD-R for my MP-3 CD changer in my car when you 
sent it!

And... another original owner of a VFX-SDII here.  I
bought it in 1990, a couple of years after I had
bought an original EPS.  Those two keyboards (and a
tiny toy Casio that I got in 1986) have been all I've
needed for ~20 years.  I'm still on the original
battery, and haven't done the soldering thing yet.  

It's great to have a resource like this group.

--- JDM Zangari <zanjdm30@...> wrote:

> Yet another "original owner" of an SD-1/32. My first
> synth. Picked it up when I was asked to fill in for
> a "missing" keyboard player (fifteen or so years
> ago). Went thru a 3 board three module stage rig,
> korgs, kurzweils, yamahas, voce, Roland GR-30 (for
> my chapman stick),  and my SD-1 is STILL the
> mainstay of my rig. Studio I use a Korg
> SG-1(Kurzweil module), TS 10  and an SD-1, Live I
> use a Yamaha, TS 12 and an SD-1. I even shelved my
> Voce' Micro B II. The SD's are middle rack, used on
> almost every song. I'll use them until one of us
> dies, hopefully me first.
> 
> Only regret, why no 76 or 88 weighted version. The
> TS-12 pales in comparison. I have midi-ed to a
> weighted board, just not the same. 
> 
> Just bought two batteries last week, don't intent to
> use 'em till I need to though. Life expectancy of
> batteries (told when I bought the board) was three
> to five years. 
> 
> CaunaJoe
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: swomp_rabbit 
>   To: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com 
>   Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 9:59 AM
>   Subject: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Original Owners - Give A
> Shout!
> 
> 
>   I am curious as to how many original VFX and/or
> SD-1 owners are in 
>   this group???
> 
>   I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD
> in 1989 and my SD-
>   1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent
> condition and working 
>   perfectly.
> 
>   Actually, I originally purchased a VFX in May of
> 1989 for $1795. In 
>   December of that year that same music store (Art's
> Music in 
>   Montgomery, Alabama) received their first VFX-SD
> and I just had to 
>   have it. They allowed me to trade in my VFX and
> allowed me $1444 on 
>   a trade in for the VFX-SD which sold for $2295. In
> hind-sight, I 
>   think I came out way on top in that deal.
> 
>   I purchased the SD-1 in 1992. I don't have a
> receipt showing 
>   my `total' cost of the SD1. The music store
> (Boyd's Music in Little 
>   Rock, Arkansas) had to order it so I gave them "X"
> amount of dollars 
>   for a down-payment and my balance when the unit
> came in was $1650. A 
>   guess would be that I may have given them around
> $1000 down-payment 
>   to get the order going - making the total cost at
> that time around 
>   $2650.
> 
>   SR
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>
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> 
> 
>
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> 
> 


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ah yes , i almost forgot :
i started with SQ80 then i had EPS rack and then my VFX-SD

On Mar 8, 2006, at 12:21 AM, Jonathan Winger wrote:

> And... another original owner of a VFX-SDII here.  I
> bought it in 1990, a couple of years after I had
> bought an original EPS.  Those two keyboards (and a
> tiny toy Casio that I got in 1986) have been all I've
> needed for ~20 years.  I'm still on the original
> battery, and haven't done the soldering thing yet.
>
> It's great to have a resource like this group.
>

On Mon, Mar 06, 2006 at 02:59:18PM -0000, <swomp_rabbit@...> wrote:
> 
> I am curious as to how many original VFX and/or SD-1 owners are in 
> this group???

Sorry I'm rather late to reply, I've been busy.

I've owned my original VFX since October or November of 1990.  The
VFX-SD was available, but I intended to use my computer for a
sequencer and didn't figure I needed to spend the extra dough.

I have since purchased a used VFX-SD, that I got for a good price
because it was apparently having the keyboard problems -- I've told
that story here before, so I won't bore you with it again.  So I'm
half original owner / half someone who purchased used!

Both are still in excellent condition -- I consider the 'SD being in
excellent condition once I fixed the problems -- and I've replaced the
battery twice on the vanilla VFX, while the 'SD is going strong on its
original battery!

Now the VFX hangs out at church (my regular "gig" :-)), and the VFX-SD
at home, and I don't have to carry the keyboard back & forth.

The VFX-SD sequencer still puzzles me.  It's not that I can't do
things with it, it's just that I feel like I'm fighting it, yet people
always praised it as being one of the easiest out there.  It may be
that I want to think of it like linear multitracking rather than
pattern based.  (One example comes to mind: Why does the first track
you record to a sequence have to set the length?  Sometimes I decide
on the second track that I want to extend something, and later go back
and fix the first track, but that doesn't work.)

I'd love to see somebody write up the process they use from begining
to end, how they use sequences vs. songs, do you start with a drum
loop, where do you put it, etc.

--> Steve
-- 
Steve Wahl    steve@...

Those who do not understand Unix are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
-- Henry Spencer

I bought my VFX-SD around 1990 from Caruso music. I saw it at a  
music store and sold my DX-7, my MemeoryMoog and my Fender Rhodes to 
buy it for around $2k. I still have it and use it almost every other 
night at home and play out with it every 2 weeks. I run the Organ 
patch through a Tube Rotoshpere out the aux's and while I don't get 
quite the polyphony it makes a nice rolling Hammond. The rest of the 
time I use it as a controller for my Ensoniqs MR Rack and to drive a 
Korg Karma.

Long Lives the VFX!!!!

Dan



-- In Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com, mishon66@... wrote:
>
> I am an original owner if you count the NEW still in the box VFXSD 
I found in a shop in Mexico 5 years ago. I paid $400 for it and have 
never had any problems with it, I also have a SD1 32 that I use in 
my Dep mode cover band. 
>  
> Rich...Beloit WI 
>  
> P.S. I am always looking for people to play with in my area 
>  
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David A. Pope <ensoniqdap@...>
> To: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Mon, 6 Mar 2006 10:02:06 -0500
> Subject: RE: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Original Owners - Give A Shout!
> 
> 
> I originally owned a BRANDSPANKING NEW VFX-SD, you know, the ones 
that kept on having gords of trouble..  After 3 or 4 repairs back at 
Ensoniq, and after MUCH "complaining" (b&tching more like)  I was 
sent back a BRAND NEW Ensoniq SD-1.  Still have it, still use it and 
still love it.  Gonna need a battery replacement soon though. lol
>  
> David
>  
>  
>  
>  
> 
> 
> 
> From: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ensoniq-VFX-
SD@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of swomp_rabbit
> Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 9:59 AM
> To: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Original Owners - Give A Shout!
>  
> I am curious as to how many original VFX and/or SD-1 owners are in 
> this group???
> 
> I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD in 1989 and my 
SD-
> 1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent condition and working 
> perfectly.
> 
> Actually, I originally purchased a VFX in May of 1989 for $1795. 
In 
> December of that year that same music store (Art's Music in 
> Montgomery, Alabama) received their first VFX-SD and I just had to 
> have it. They allowed me to trade in my VFX and allowed me $1444 
on 
> a trade in for the VFX-SD which sold for $2295. In hind-sight, I 
> think I came out way on top in that deal.
> 
> I purchased the SD-1 in 1992. I don't have a receipt showing 
> my `total' cost of the SD1. The music store (Boyd's Music in 
Little 
> Rock, Arkansas) had to order it so I gave them "X" amount of 
dollars 
> for a down-payment and my balance when the unit came in was $1650. 
A 
> guess would be that I may have given them around $1000 down-
payment 
> to get the order going - making the total cost at that time around 
> $2650.
> 
> SR
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS 
> 
>  Visit your group "Ensoniq-VFX-SD" on the web.
>   
>  To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>  Ensoniq-VFX-SD-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>   
>  Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of 
Service.
>

I too, am an original VFX-SD owner; mine was given to me by Ensoniq as
a spiff for selling 6 of them [MusicMart, San Diego 1989], and later
was upgraded to SD-1 status [though it still says VFX-SD, it's sound
engine is SD-1 and it's sequencer was upgraded as well in 1991].  
I became an Ensoniq specialist --- you might have heard the demos I
created for Ensoniq: "Out Of Town" by the Yellowjackets, "Don't Give
Up The Groove" by the Usual Suspects, "Suspone" by Michael Brecker,
available to mainly west coast dealers, but some of you folks out east
got them too, so I hear.  FYI, all my sequences were created without
the aid of the owners manual; of all the keyboards I own, the Ensoniq
is the most intuitive sequencer interface ever. I kept telling the
boys in Malvern to create a stand-alone sequencer based on the SD's
sequencer, but no one listened.  
I have a TS-12 as well, mainly for it's ability to read ASR/EPS sounds
and the familiar sequencer. I'd like to get a TS-10 w/SCSI so I can
retire my SD to the studio.  
My SD has been around the world a couple of times in its FlightForm
road case [time for some new foam] and I've only changed the battery
once [2000 or 2001; don't remember exactly].  I can't stress to you
guys how important a road case is for your ax(es).  

My live rig [usually 2 of the following]:
Yamaha Motif ES7
Roland XP-80
Ensoniq SD-1
Kurzweil K2VX

For jazz gigs, the Motif and the K2VX; for top 40 dance stuff, the
XP-80 and my trusty SD-1.  I sometimes add the SD-1 to my jazz gigs
when I want a certain pad. These days, I'm a SONAR endorsee, so I'm
learning to interface my MOTIF with my laptop [maybe I'll go work for
Yamaha again].  BTW, the demo I did for the Roland DB-500 bass amp [w/
bassist Nathan Brown] was created with the SD, too--- I think the demo
video is still available.  Shouts to Rick Margitza [you rock, dude], I
play tenor sax too, but I'm more of a Mimi Castillo [strictly a
section player]....

--- In Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com, "swomp_rabbit"
<swomp_rabbit@...> wrote:

>
> I am curious as to how many original VFX and/or SD-1 owners are in 
> this group???
> 
> I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD in 1989 and my SD-
> 1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent condition and working 
> perfectly.
> 
> Actually, I originally purchased a VFX in May of 1989 for $1795. In 
> December of that year that same music store (Art's Music in 
> Montgomery, Alabama) received their first VFX-SD and I just had to 
> have it. They allowed me to trade in my VFX and allowed me $1444 on 
> a trade in for the VFX-SD which sold for $2295. In hind-sight, I 
> think I came out way on top in that deal.
> 
> I purchased the SD-1 in 1992. I don't have a receipt showing 
> my `total' cost of the SD1. The music store (Boyd's Music in Little 
> Rock, Arkansas) had to order it so I gave them "X" amount of dollars 
> for a down-payment and my balance when the unit came in was $1650. A 
> guess would be that I may have given them around $1000 down-payment 
> to get the order going – making the total cost at that time around 
> $2650.
> 
> SR
>

Mark here
SD1 32 voice in 91. I worked at Chuck Levin's earlier and at a local 
music store so got it for cost. Dont exactly remember the price but I 
know it was under $2000. Still have it, mint condition but the disk 
drive broke. Recently bought a drive from Rte 66. It works fine but 
still seems picky with disks.
I also have each of the sd versions and a VFX with the factory 
installed 32 voice update. I am not the original owner for these.
MS

Hi,

Dave here.  Bought my SD-1 32 voice in Lincoln
Nebraska from a music store.  Paid about 2600.  It
worked fine till I killed it about a year ago.  Am
still looking for an optimistic repairman.

Loved it.  Used it mainly at home for church related
music.

If I could have it fixed even for a week or two I
could recover a ton of work.

Dave

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dave.............i have 3 sd1-32 boards.   if your stuff is on a floppy, i
could recover it and convert it to midi.

frank crawford
The Franklin Studio


----- Original Message -----

From: "Dave Fowler" <vidmic@...>
To: <Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 30, 2006 3:26 PM
Subject: Re: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Re: Original Owners - Give A Shout!


> Hi,
>
> Dave here.  Bought my SD-1 32 voice in Lincoln
> Nebraska from a music store.  Paid about 2600.  It
> worked fine till I killed it about a year ago.  Am
> still looking for an optimistic repairman.
>
> Loved it.  Used it mainly at home for church related
> music.
>
> If I could have it fixed even for a week or two I
> could recover a ton of work.
>
> Dave
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>

Hi Frank,

That's a great offer but I'm not sure exactly what I'd
be getting you into. :-0  As a home hobbyist, I (how
can I put this delicately)...I was "not meticulous in
my archiving habits" so I have multiple songs in files
and things scattered all over the place on disks.

Not long after I caused my SD-1s demise, I purchased
the software from Giebler that is supposed to read
disks and turn them into midi files.  It does turn the
old files into midi files.  But the voicings are all
nutso

Of course many of the drum kit maps are not standard,
and it's pure guesswork to assign voices.  And quite
frankly I miss the sounds that were in the SD-1.  :-(

What I'd love is a conversion program that speaks SD-1
well enough that it could make General Midi standard
guesses as to voicings.  Maybe someone's done that
since, but to my knowledge it does not exist.  It's
been a couple years since I did any serious attempts
to recover songs from the SD 1 files, and I got bogged
down in the voicing thing.  

I was using a virtual synth on the computer and (for
example) the piano tracks were pretty easy to identify
and the drum tracks by their repetitive nature were
too, but all the accent voices that were added here
and there and the short overdub tracks (a measure here
and there) made it frustrating to work an arrangment
out.

(just a note) The el-cheapo Ensoniq sound cards that
were out a few years ago have a pretty decent synth on
them.

I'll think about it.

Dave


--- Frank Crawford <fmc@...> wrote:

> dave.............i have 3 sd1-32 boards.   if your
> stuff is on a floppy, i
> could recover it and convert it to midi.
> 
> frank crawford
> The Franklin Studio
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dave Fowler" <vidmic@...>
> To: <Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Sunday, April 30, 2006 3:26 PM
> Subject: Re: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Re: Original Owners -
> Give A Shout!
> 
> 
> > Hi,
> >
> > Dave here.  Bought my SD-1 32 voice in Lincoln
> > Nebraska from a music store.  Paid about 2600.  It
> > worked fine till I killed it about a year ago.  Am
> > still looking for an optimistic repairman.
> >
> > Loved it.  Used it mainly at home for church
> related
> > music.
> >
> > If I could have it fixed even for a week or two I
> > could recover a ton of work.
> >
> > Dave
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam
> protection around
> > http://mail.yahoo.com
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> 
> 


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Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
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Hi! I Bought my VFX in Feb 1990 from Rose Morris in Denmark St. 
London for £1500 . . . it's pretty flaky now, especially with the 
keyboard calibration, but I use it mostly as a offboard rather than 
playing directly . . . wouldn't swap it for the world, except for the 
rare and marvellous Ensoniq ZR-76 which I've wanted for a while but 
cannot find secondhand, ebay or anything for love or money.

--- In Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com, "swomp_rabbit" 
<swomp_rabbit@...> wrote:
>
> I am curious as to how many original VFX and/or SD-1 owners are in 
> this group???
> 
> I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD in 1989 and my SD-
> 1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent condition and working 
> perfectly.
> 
> Actually, I originally purchased a VFX in May of 1989 for $1795. In 
> December of that year that same music store (Art's Music in 
> Montgomery, Alabama) received their first VFX-SD and I just had to 
> have it. They allowed me to trade in my VFX and allowed me $1444 on 
> a trade in for the VFX-SD which sold for $2295. In hind-sight, I 
> think I came out way on top in that deal.
> 
> I purchased the SD-1 in 1992. I don't have a receipt showing 
> my `total' cost of the SD1. The music store (Boyd's Music in Little 
> Rock, Arkansas) had to order it so I gave them "X" amount of 
dollars 
> for a down-payment and my balance when the unit came in was $1650. 
A 

> guess would be that I may have given them around $1000 down-payment 
> to get the order going – making the total cost at that time around 
> $2650.
> 
> SR
>

Chris,
I had the same problem with my SD-1. Get some De-Oxit
at Radio Shack, and clean the connectors inside. It
even fixed a dim display that I'd been living with for
5 years.
I checked out the major boards from Roland, Yamaha,
and Korg last year (anticipating the death of my
Ensoniq) and I didnt find any of them with pianos or
horn sections as useful live as the SD-1 has. God
luck!

Rich

--- Chris Rolland <chris_i_rolland@...> wrote:

> Hi! I Bought my VFX in Feb 1990 from Rose Morris in
> Denmark St. 
> London for \ufffd1500 . . . it's pretty flaky now,
> especially with the 
> keyboard calibration, but I use it mostly as a
> offboard rather than 
> playing directly . . . wouldn't swap it for the
> world, except for the 
> rare and marvellous Ensoniq ZR-76 which I've wanted
> for a while but 
> cannot find secondhand, ebay or anything for love or
> money.
> 
> --- In Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com,
> "swomp_rabbit" 
> <swomp_rabbit@...> wrote:
> >
> > I am curious as to how many original VFX and/or
> SD-1 owners are in 
> > this group???
> > 
> > I am an original owner having purchased my VFX-SD
> in 1989 and my SD-
> > 1 in 1992. Both units are still in excellent
> condition and working 
> > perfectly.
> > 
> > Actually, I originally purchased a VFX in May of
> 1989 for $1795. In 
> > December of that year that same music store (Art's
> Music in 
> > Montgomery, Alabama) received their first VFX-SD
> and I just had to 
> > have it. They allowed me to trade in my VFX and
> allowed me $1444 on 
> > a trade in for the VFX-SD which sold for $2295. In
> hind-sight, I 
> > think I came out way on top in that deal.
> > 
> > I purchased the SD-1 in 1992. I don't have a
> receipt showing 
> > my `total' cost of the SD1. The music store
> (Boyd's Music in Little 
> > Rock, Arkansas) had to order it so I gave them "X"
> amount of 
> dollars 
> > for a down-payment and my balance when the unit
> came in was $1650. 
> A 
> > guess would be that I may have given them around
> $1000 down-payment 
> > to get the order going \ufffd making the total cost at
> that time around 
> > $2650.
> > 
> > SR
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 


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