Ensoniq History Verification
2006-04-15 by swomp_rabbit
Morning All & Happy Easter, Been doing a little research on the history of Ensoniq for a little project of mine and have come to the conclusions put forth below based on information researched on the Internet. I would appreciate any feedback to the contrary on this information. The two following excerpts are from the "Creative" website (http://www.creative.com/). "Creative" is probably more commonly known as "Creative Labs" because of the `Soundblaster' sound card to most folks, although "Creative Labs" is simply a division of `Creative' as I understand it. ********************************************************************* Excerpt One: E-MU Systems Acquired in March 1993 E-mu Systems, Inc. is a leading developer of innovative digital audio products based on digital sampling technology for the musical instrument and computer controlled sound markets. E-mu provides audio solutions for the multimedia market based on the proprietary digital signal processing (DSP) technology and design expertise that has fueled its growth in the musical instrument business. Excerpt Two: December 1997 Creative acquires Ensoniq Corp., a key innovator in the design and development of PCI audio microchip technology who has gained strong brand recognition with its line of electronic musical instruments. ********************************************************************* I have been for several years under the false understanding that "E- MU Systems" had actually acquired "Ensoniq". However, it appears that "Creative" acquired "Ensoniq" and incorporated it and its technologies into "E-MU Systems", a division which it had already owned for several years. From the Wikipedia website (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensoniq) the following information was available on the history of Ensoniq. Ensoniq was founded in 1982 by Commodore engineers Robert "Bob" Yannes (designer of the SID audio chip of the Commodore 64 home computer), Bruce Crockett, and Al Charpentier. Their first product was a software drum machine that ran on a home computer. In January 1998, ENSONIQ Corp. was acquired by Creative Technology Ltd. for $77 million. The fusion with E-mu and Creative Labs sealed Ensoniq's fate: their products and support vanished soon after, much to the sadness and disbelief of their customers. ********************************************************************* Anyone wishing to correct and/or add to this information, please feel welcome and free to do so. ThanksÂ…..SR