ensoniq

Ensoniq Corp. was an American electronics manufacturer, best known throughout the mid 1980s and 1990s for its musical instruments, principally samplers and synthesizers.

Company history

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. Ensoniq entered the instrument market with the Mirage sampling keyboard in 1985. At the price of USD$1500 it cost significantly less than previous samplers, such as the Fairlight and the E-mu Emulator. Starting with the ESQ-1, they began producing wave table based synthesizers. Following the success of these products, Ensoniq established a subsidary in Japan in 1987. In 1994 production began on PCI soundcards for home computers. In 1998 the company was acquired by Creative Labs for $77 million, and combined with E-mu Systems.

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