Ensoniq DP/4 Plugin

[MirrorProfiles]

Just checking the demo out and it's pretty fun. Kind of H3000 vibes of multi FX and reverbs, as well as some primitive amp models. The original algorithms have been reverse engineered to be 1:1 to the HW.

Temecula DSP DEEP/4 Plugin | Temecula DSP

A powerhouse four-engine multi-effects plugin with 43 algorithms, and true serial, parallel, and feedback routing.

www.temeculadsp.com

Have you tried the plugin @2112 ?



The company has free plugins of an Alesis Microverb I and Midiverb II which are also algo based. Since release they've had a few updates which have made them less clunky and they sound great. Well worth grabbing:

Temecula DSP MDV-II Plugin | Temecula DSP

A faithful digital recreation of the Alesis MidiVerb II with dual DASP-16 engines - 100 factory programs of reverb, gate, flange, chorus, delay, and studio effects that can be chained in series with pan-spread stereo.

www.temeculadsp.com

 

[2112]

Thanks for the heads up @MirrorProfiles . The original unit is pretty fun but has to be one of the worst constructed rack units from that era. Having it recreated in software is very appealing in that regard.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Thanks for the heads up @MirrorProfiles . The original unit is pretty fun but has to be one of the worst constructed rack units from that era. Having it recreated in software is very appealing in that regard.

It’s pretty crazy how much emulation of old chips has advanced in the last few years, not unlike what video games have been doing. From a preservation point of view it’s very cool to have access to these sounds, would be a shame for them to be lost.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

Sweet. Thanks gonna check those.

 

[2112]

It’s pretty crazy how much emulation of old chips has advanced in the last few years, not unlike what video games have been doing. From a preservation point of view it’s very cool to have access to these sounds, would be a shame for them to be lost.

Exactly, much like with video games the creative solutions the engineers came up with to create certain effects is worth preserving as much as the tones themselves.

I see they also have some Ursa Major recreations too, those things are almost as rare as the mythical Publison Infernal Machine (of which a plugin by another company now exists).

 

[ericbr1]

Oh wow!! I had the Ensoniq DP/4+ , 2 DP2's and 2 DP-Pro's.. . The DP-Pros are far and away the strongest and best and still have those. They went out of business unfortunately while building those and never finished them. . ha.. . They have unreal algorithms included, but never got their intended update upon release. Guess I'm going to have to check out this software . Thanks for posting

 

[Digital Igloo]

I was a massive fan of Ensoniq back in the day. The first gear clinic I ever went to was in... '92? '93? Cosmo Watts was the clinician and was demoing the KS-32 workstation and DP processors. My dad ended up buying a KS-32 for his church and I'd go in on the weekends and make terrible goth industrial tracks with the thing. It was the very first piece of gear that sent me down this rabbit hole (if you don't count the Korg M1 my dad would occasionally borrow from a friend).

Cosmo was my Ensoniq rep years later when working at Rainbow Guitars; we were one of the few dealers that were successful selling the PARIS multitrack recording system. It sounded superb—better than ProTools at the time. Bought a DP-2 (couldn't afford a DP-4) and it had the best rubbery phaser.

Cosmo ended up at Korg and we'd catch up at NAMM but he disappeared for a few years. My very first day at Line 6, he walked by my cubicle and I was all "COSMO? You work here now!?" and he said "ERIC? I've been here for years! Wait—you work here now?!" It was surreal.

I maintain that Ensoniq's biggest design weakness was that their displays were always half the size they needed to be. They kept putting 2x16-character displays on keyboard workstations and sampling drum machines while Yamaha, Roland, Korg, Kurzweil, Generalmusic, and others were embracing proper graphical LCDs. Their ASR-X sounded notably better than the Akais as well—and had much better effects—but no waveform editing.

Along with E-MU, they were acquired by Creative Labs (presumably for their IP?) and unceremoniously dissolved. R.I.P., king.

Will definitely be checking this out.

EDIT: Watched the video and Leon calls out the phaser as well.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

My dad ended up buying a KS-32 for his church and I'd go in on the weekends and make terrible goth industrial tracks with the thing

absolutely LOVE this

 

[fr8_trane]

Thanks for the heads up @MirrorProfiles . The original unit is pretty fun but has to be one of the worst constructed rack units from that era. Having it recreated in software is very appealing in that regard.

I still have one. Great sounding unit for its time. Whats so bad about the construction?

 

[ericbr1]

I still have one. Great sounding unit for its time. Whats so bad about the construction?

Nothing bad about the construction in any of my old Ensoniqs. Not sure where that info came from . The amp modeling was noisy, BUT it was pretty primitive back then along with Boss/Roland, Digitech,etc The fx were incredible as were the routing possibilities. Oh well, I even still have an ESQ1 keyboard from the 80's. . lol

 

[Jack Luminous]

Thanks for the heads up @MirrorProfiles . The original unit is pretty fun but has to be one of the worst constructed rack units from that era. Having it recreated in software is very appealing in that regard.

I have my DP/4+ since what ? I bought it used around '98... About 28 years ago... Used it on countless mixes... Apart from changing the battery several times, I never had a problem with it. Original battery was directly soldered on the pcb, which is baaaaad... I added a socket at first swap. I wish all my gear were as badly constructed. Maybe, I'm just lucky, I don't know.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I'd go in on the weekends and make terrible goth industrial tracks with the thing.

We want clips!

 

[fr8_trane]

I have my DP/4+ since what ? I bought it used around '98... About 28 years ago... Used it on countless mixes... Apart from changing the battery several times, I never had a problem with it. Original battery was directly soldered on the pcb, which is baaaaad... I added a socket at first swap. I wish all my gear were as badly constructed. Maybe, I'm just lucky, I don't know.

I got mine on a blowout sale from Guitar Center around that time. Probably right after Ensoniq went out of business.

 

[2112]

I still have one. Great sounding unit for its time. Whats so bad about the construction?

I should clarify that I'm referring to the chassis. I've owned two, the first one I bought arrived not working and the chassis had come apart. The side panels and the way they connect to the front/side aren't as robust as other units I've tried (you can get an idea from the image below).

The second one luckily works fine and sounds great.

 

[Monkey Man]

Had the SQ-80, then EPS, then EPS 16+ with output expansion, then an ASR-10, then DP/4, then DP/4+.

I loved Ensoniq gear, evidently.