The ESQ-1 is a mid-eighties analog/digital hybrid synth featuring digital oscillators with analog filters and VCAs. The unit has numerous envelopes and LFOs, with a great number of modulation destinations. The overall sound is pretty beefy, and can range from DX-like bell sounds to moog leads to evolving pads. This is an enormously powerful synth which is often overlooked. The digital oscillators feature 28 different cyclic sounds, which tend to alias at the high and low ranges of the keyboard. I actually find this to be a great feature, and not a hindrance. The three oscillators can be modulated from many sources including the four envelopes and three LFOs. The three envelopes are mixed and then routed to the analog VCF. The VCF is nothing stellar, but is resonant and has the typical "single CEM IC" sound. A final VCA provides voice panning and overall level control. Where the unit really excels is in modulation capabilities. With four envelopes and three LFOs the possibilities are endless. The synth is capable of soft evolving pads, to bell like timbres and really zaney effects. The unit stores forty patches in internal memory and eighty on a RAM card. The ESQ-1 features an eight track sequencer, considered rudimentary at best by today's standards. Sequences may be edited by step entry or overdubbed and while program changes, tempo changes, time signature changes and volume changes may be programmed there is no event list editing. Sequencer capacity is 2400 notes unexpanded or 20,000 for a fully expanded unit. The original ESQ-1s were enclosed in a metal case, while later versions were packaged in a plastic case similar to the EPS and VFX series. Neither featured aftertouch although both could receive it via MIDI. Note: There were several different hardware revisions in the ESQ-1 line. The above picture shows my second ESQ-1, the first release, with all metal enclosure and early style system board. Aaron Rodden's ESQ-1 Page