Ensoniq Fizmo

[SteveCoscia]

The "Bad Gear" YouTube channel is a hoot.  I got a kick out of this.

 

 

[Doerfler]

I remember when Doug Nestler brought the Fizmo keyboard in Washington Music Center almost 25 years ago. That was a "WTF is this" moment. 

[CEB]

Ensoniq would have done greater things.  What happened after the acquisition is a damn shame.  They should be around still today.

[David Emm]

1 hour ago, CEB said:

Ensoniq would have done greater things.  What happened after the acquisition is a damn shame.  They should be around still today.

 

+1. I think the TS-10/12 and DP4 effects processor were the company's peak moments. Those TS models both had poly AT, back THEN! Most of the other offerings felt a bit like they only needed 10 more minutes in the oven to become real monsters.

 

I bought a Mirage keyboard & rack, so I was a dedicated collector of floppies. I never felt strongly drawn to their synths, but those two samplers balanced out everything else I had. They even had surprisingly useful filters. The FIZMO got pushed out of the nest while its wings were still wet, which is a sad swing-&-a-miss moment in Synth History. Its routing options read like the mod matrix on most VA synths now.

 

Wasn't the FIZMO the last synth with an art-deco panel after those sock-a-delic neon E-mu modules?   

[SoundEngine.com]

Fizmo was started before the lumping together of Emu and Ensoniq, but after the acquisition by Creative, if memory serves.

 

It was mostly "done" when we were undergoing the merger process with Emu.

 

I agree with the comment about the "wings still being wet". There's a lot of hidden history in what happened at Ensoniq, Emu and Emu-Ensoniq after both companies were acquired by Creative. 

Best,

Scott

SoundEngine.com

[Delaware Dave]

On 7/29/2022 at 6:57 PM, David Emm said:

 

+1. I think the TS-10/12 and DP4 effects processor were the company's peak moments. Those TS models both had poly AT, back THEN! Most of the other offerings felt a bit like they only needed 10 more minutes in the oven to become real monsters.

 

I bought a Mirage keyboard & rack, so I was a dedicated collector of floppies. I never felt strongly drawn to their synths, but those two samplers balanced out everything else I had. They even had surprisingly useful filters. The FIZMO got pushed out of the nest while its wings were still wet, which is a sad swing-&-a-miss moment in Synth History. Its routing options read like the mod matrix on most VA synths now.

 

Wasn't the FIZMO the last synth with an art-deco panel after those sock-a-delic neon E-mu modules?   

 

I believe the TS-10 had polyphonic aftertouch (as did the VFX/VFX-SD/SD1) but I think the TS-12 did not.  Ensoniq's were my favorite board from a user perspective.

[Doerfler]

4 hours ago, Delaware Dave said:

 

I believe the TS-10 had polyphonic aftertouch (as did the VFX/VFX-SD/SD1) but I think the TS-12 did not.  

Correct. Due to the weighted keybed, the TS-12 had channel aftertouch. 

[Rod S]

Never owned but remembering playing one in the early 90s.   I remember it was a huge bang for the buck, but the build quality seemed inferior to other offerings at the time. I do remember it sounding great and having features that only more expensive synths had.  

[Doerfler]

late 90's anyway, believe they were available early 1999, possibly (but I don't think so, late 1998)

I was selling beaucoup Ensoniq products at the retail store where I worked at that time. 

[mcgoo]

6 hours ago, Doerfler said:

 

I was selling beaucoup Ensoniq products at the retail store where I worked at that time. 

Ha!  I worked retail back in the 90's also.  We sold a Lot of TS-10's and VFX-FD 's before that. The TS-10 was solid,  but I used to tease our repair text that he should send Ensoniq a Christmas card to thank them for all the business the VFX brought him. 

[stoken6]

19 hours ago, Delaware Dave said:

Ensoniq's were my favorite board from a user perspective.

Loved my old KS32, apart from the weight...

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Konnector]

Well...based on the crazy prices people are asking for a Fizmo these days, I'd say it's fallen into the collector market as opposed to anything else. I think a Hydrasynth will get you there and cost far less.

[ABECK]

IIRC around the same time, the Korg Z1, Kawai K5000 and Yamaha EX7 were all in production.   Other than visually radical, I don't recall the Fizmo being able to compete with that lot. 

[Mark Schmieder]

I did try to buy one used, a number of years ago, but they kept escaping my clutches. Then I foolishly bought a software version, not noticing that it doesn't run on macOS. I can't remember for sure, but I think it might have been a Pro Tools and Windows only plug-in.

[SoundEngine.com]

I recently was contacted by a developer that's on the cusp of releasing a VST. It will be interesting to see what comes close. 

The UVI VST does not, at least to my ears.

[unitjazz]

On 7/29/2022 at 5:25 PM, Doerfler said:

I remember when Doug Nestler brought the Fizmo keyboard in Washington Music Center almost 25 years ago. That was a "WTF is this" moment. 

 

That name triggered a flood of memories.

 

I walked into George’s Music in North Wales, Pa in 1984 to check out the new Ensoniq Mirage, and walked out with a job. Turns out the salesman I spoke with was the store manager and he was impressed with my knowledge of keyboards/MIDI, and offered me a job as their keyboard salesman. Much better than the painting contractor gig I was doing at the time. That was too much like work !

 

I only owned a Mirage (which I bought after getting my new job), and an MR-76, which I got in ‘96, but after that, Ensoniq certainly faded away with the sale to Creative Technology. The last new product Ensoniq introduced while I was still in MI sales was the EPS, which was interesting for it’s time. And I think that also had polyphonic after touch (circa 1988).

 

I sold a lot of ESQ-1s back then and recall Doug Nestler. I got sent to “Ensoniq School” to learn about their products, but Ensoniq’s headquarters was only 30 minutes down the road in Malvern Pa, so the store owner didn’t have to pay for lodging and food for me to attend. This is the same man who gave us copies of Zig Ziglar”s “Secrets of Closing the Sale” books as Christmas bonuses…gee…thanks. Now I recall why I got out of music retail sales.

Anyone other graduates of “Ensoniq School” here?

 

 

[Mike Martin]

2 hours ago, unitjazz said:

Anyone other graduates of “Ensoniq School” here?

[Doerfler]

12 hours ago, unitjazz said:

Anyone other graduates of “Ensoniq School” here?

1992 Graduate. Roy Elkins introduced me to Joey DeFrancisco there 30 years ago. 

[Tom Williams]

13 hours ago, unitjazz said:

Anyone other graduates of “Ensoniq School” here?

Mirage, bought from the inimitable Len Halleck at Chuck Levin's.  I chose it over the DX-7, and never regretted it.

I soon upgraded to two EPS's and an SQ-2.  I was a charter (I think) subscriber to Transoniq Hacker, and published one tiny howto in the Chicken Chronicle.

[Dave Bryce]

14 hours ago, unitjazz said:

Anyone other graduates of “Ensoniq School” here?

Never did it.  I was just not that into most Ensoniq stuff because of a few bad experiences with a Mirage early, and it took me years to get over it.  TS12 was the first Ensoniq synth I liked.

 

dB

[ksoper]

51 minutes ago, David Bryce said:

Never did it.  I was just not that into most Ensoniq stuff because of a few bad experiences with a Mirage early, and it took me years to get over it.  TS12 was the first Ensoniq synth I liked.

 

dB

 

When the Mirage came out I went into Cintioli's to try it.  I'm like, "Hey Benny, you got a Mirage I can check out?"  He says, "No, and you won't ever see one here." "Why not?" "It's a mirage!"  I miss that guy. 

[SteveCoscia]

5 hours ago, ksoper said:

 

When the Mirage came out I went into Cintioli's to try it.  I'm like, "Hey Benny, you got a Mirage I can check out?"  He says, "No, and you won't ever see one here." "Why not?" "It's a mirage!"  I miss that guy. 

 

In the Philadelphia market, Medley Music got the Ensoniq line.  Retail distribution was limited, especially the first few years when we started shipping.  Both Cintioli and Eighth Street Music wanted the Ensoniq line badly - I remember getting hammered over the phone from both retail stores in 1984 and 1985.

[SoundEngine.com]

Is Medley still around? I visited that store a dozen time in my 8 years in Philly, and I don't think I ever saw or spoke to a sales person.

 

Eighth Street was great - friendly, knowledgeable and fun staff.

[Dave Bryce]

10 minutes ago, SoundEngine.com said:

Is Medley still around? I visited that store a dozen time in my 8 years in Philly, and I don't think I ever saw or spoke to a sales person.

 

Eighth Street was great - friendly, knowledgeable and fun staff.

I believe Medley folded years ago.  The former owner, Gerson Rosenbloom, works at Sweetwater last I heard.

 

Eighth Street is currently in NJ, but I believe brother Randy does most of his business online these days.

 

dB

 

 

[jerrythek]

Gerson left Sweetwater and moved to FL... doing some consulting work I believe.

 

57 minutes ago, David Bryce said:

I believe Medley folded years ago.  The former owner, Gerson Rosenbloom, works at Sweetwater last I heard.

 

Eighth Street is currently in NJ, but I believe brother Randy does most of his business online these days.

 

dB

 

 

 

[unitjazz]

I liked the old 8 bit Mirage ! I used to make loops of Bill Bruford songs (like the intro to Five G) and that would pretty much close the deal without too much effort.

 

An old friend of mine, Dom, was a manager at Medley for many years. I believe Gerson’s son took over the business and things were not quite the same. I bought my first synth (Arp Axxe) from Gerson in ‘75, while his dad Harry was still running the place.  Bought the Ensoniq MR-76 in ‘96 from Medley, and may have bought my used Vako Orchestron from Mediey. The Vako Orchestron was the keyboard equivalent to the Easy Bake Oven. 💡

 

Can’t tell you how many times I was in Cintioli’s, but Benny always told us to get the hell out since we didn’t have any money back then…and I didn’t have any interest in Cordovoxs. Although I did buy my Real Book from Benny in 1978…still got it !  Still use it !

 

And George’s Music had Ensoniq from the beginning, but at that time he only had two stores…the original one in Spring City and the one in North Wales. But we did very well with Ensoniq, as it was easily our biggest selling keyboard line…especially the ESQ-1, although I never cared for the Ensoniq digital piano. I was more partial to the Roland MKS-20 module back then, and recommended that over the SDP-1. And since we didn’t carry Yamaha, I had to work extra hard to prop up the ESQ-1 against the very popular DX-7 back then. I was so thankful when Roland introduced the D-50 !

And I wanted to ask…does anyone still have the plaque that Ensoniq gave you for attending Ensoniq school ? I lost mine quite a few years ago. Maybe they stopped that practice, but it was suitable for hanging in the keyboard department for giving you ‘ cred.

 

 

[ProfD]

This old synth price gouging sh8t is getting ridiculous.

 

Check out the used prices being asked for an Ensoniq Fizmo on the Verb.🤣😎

 

[ABECK]

$3500!!!   

 

[McBones]

23 minutes ago, ProfD said:

This old synth price gouging sh8t is getting ridiculous.

 

Check out the used prices being asked for an Ensoniq Fizmo on the Verb.🤣😎

 

Yep.  Way more than I had guessed.  I guess, if someone's willing to pay that price, that's the value.  It's really cool synth within its catgeory but those numbers don't seem justified to me. 

[wineandkeyz]

I "owned" a Fizmo for as long as it took to return it. I can't remember which online store I was dealing with, but I had ordered a used ZR-76. When the box arrived, it looked too small for a 76-key piece -- and it was. I opened the box, saw the Fizmo, resealed the box and sent it back for a full refund. I picked up a ZR-76 later and really liked it, except for the boat-anchor weight.