The Ensoniq Mirage is one of the earliest affordable sampler-synths, introduced in 1984 as

Ensoniq Ensoniq Corp. was an American electronics manufacturer, best known throughout the mid-1980s and 1990s for its musical instruments, principally Sampler (musical instrument), samplers and synthesizers. History In spring 1983, former MOS Technol ...

's first product. Introduced at a

list price The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...

of $1,695 with features previously only found on more expensive samplers like the

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, music sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commerc ...

, the Mirage sold nearly 8,000 units in its first year - more than the combined unit sales of all other samplers at that time. The Mirage sold over 30,000 units during its availability.

History

The Mirage is the brainchild of Robert Yannes, the man responsible for the

MOS Technology SID The MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID (Sound Interface Device) is the built-in programmable sound generator chip of the Commodore CBM-II, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, and MAX Machine home computers. Together with the MOS Technology VIC-II, VIC-II gr ...

(Sound Interface Device) chip in the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

and Albert Charpentier chip designer of several VIC20, 64 PET chips. The Ensoniq Digital Oscillator Chip (Ensoniq ES5503 DOC – referred to the "Q-chip" in Ensoniq advertisements) that he designed was used in the Mirage, ESQ-1, SDP-1, and SQ-80 and the

Apple IIGS The Apple IIGS (styled as II) is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Inc., Apple Computer beginning in September 1986. It is the fifth and most powerful model of the Apple II family. The "GS" in the name stands for "Graphics and Sound" ...

personal computer. The VLSI ES5503 allowed the Mirage to offer digital audio sampling technology at a dramatically lower price compared to existing competitors. In 1984, when the MSRP $1,695 Mirage debuted, the only other polyphonic digital audio samplers available were the E-mu Emulator II (MSRP $8,000 to $10,000) and the large Fairlight CMI Series II system (approximately $28,000 for a basic system). (The New England Digital Synclavier II system did not offer a polyphonic sampling option until later, in 1985.) The sampling resolution of the Mirage, Emulator II, and Fairlight CMI Series II was 8-bit. The Mirage was one of the first consumer products to utilize the then-new Microfloppy 3.5-inch floppy diskette format, and thereby early Mirage keyboards included the first Microfloppy drive shipped, the Shugart Venture model SA300. In 1988, Ensoniq introduced a successor to the Mirage with the more advanced

EPS An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(Ensoniq Performance Sampler), and later the EPS-16+ and finally, the ASR-10. After the launch of the EPS in 1988, Ensoniq cut the price of the Mirage to $899, making it by far the least-expensive sampler then available.

Features and architecture

The Mirage is an 8-bit sampler featuring eight voices of polyphony, 16 accessible oscillators (or 32-oscillator wavetable synthesis upon loading alternative operating system), analog resonant

Curtis Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of Fren ...

CEM3328 4-pole 24-dB/octave filters, a 61-key velocity-sensitive keyboard or else 2U rack-mount module case, multi-sampling (up to 16 samples across keyboard), multi-timbral operation, extensive

MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...

implementation, a two-digit LED display, a 333-event sequencer. It has 128 KB of sample RAM (64 KB for each keyboard half), plus 16 KB system/sequencer RAM (totaling 144 KB), and it is not expandable. Sample rate is variable from 10 kHz to 33 kHz (up to 50 kHz with optional Ensoniq Input Sampling Filter) with available sample time ranging from 2 to 6.5 seconds accordingly (for each keyboard half). It includes a built-in 3.5-inch SS/DD

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, a diskette, or a disk) is a type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a ...

drive, which is used to boot the operating system as well as to store samples and sequences. Each sample disk includes a copy of the

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

and can therefore be used as a boot disk (obviating dedicated boot disks). Each disk stores six separate files of samples and up to eight sequences. The keyboard is pre-configured into two sections, each functioning as an independent instrument, with a movable split point. This makes it easy to have one sound for the right hand (an "Upper" sound) and another for the left (a "Lower" sound). However, the standard OS can not move samples between keyboard sections. Thus the diskette can save three Upper sounds and three Lower sounds. Ensoniq later released an alternative OS called MASOS (Mirage Advanced Sampling Operating System), which trades off performance features for editing features, including the ability to copy an Upper sound to a Lower sound, and vice versa. Using a feature called multi-sampling, the Mirage is also capable of assigning multiple samples to different keys across its keyboard. Using this technique, the Mirage essentially turns into a polyphonic multi-timbral MIDI sound module complete with a velocity-sensitive keyboard that can be used to drive other MIDI sound modules as well its own sound engine. Alternative 3rd-party operating systems which substantially change and expand the synthesis capability and utility of the Mirage were produced. The Mirage sampler has a distinctive sound due its low-bitrate converters, analog CEM3328 filters. It can load alternative operating systems that expand its capabilities to a 32-digital-oscillator wavetable synthesizer with user-definable sampled wavetables.

Models

There are at least four keyboard versions of the Mirage. The first Mirage (1984) had an all-metal case and endcaps, a keybed manufactured by Pratt-Reed, and large square black buttons. Mirage DSK-8 (for Digital Sampling Keyboard, 8-voice) (1985) had small, gray, calculator-like buttons and a heavier-weighted-feel key-bed with polyphonic aftertouch. It also added the ability to send and receive MIDI program changes. Mirage DSK-1 (1987) was shorter, housed in the same plastic case as later-produced Ensoniq ESQ-1 models, SQ-80,

, and other Ensoniq keyboards. The Mirage DSK-1 had a non-weighted keybed but added stereo outputs. The floppy disk drive, now with integrated recessed diskette holder, was repositioned above the modulation wheels. The DSK-1 did not include an expansion port, so the optional external Ensoniq Input Sampling Filter (and sequencer memory expansion) could not be installed. The Mirage DSK-1 sold for about $1300 USD. A fourth concurrent version of the Mirage, also model DSK-8 but manufactured in Japan for the Asian and Australian markets, was similar to the original American DSK-8 except for its flat, seamless membrane panel over the front-panel switches (similar to an original Yamaha DX-7 and most microwave ovens) and the addition of a recessed diskette holder well in the right end of the front panel – the opposite side of the keyboard from the floppy disk drive (the disk drive being mounted exactly as the American DSK-8, at the front edge of the keyboard between the modulation wheels and the left end of the keybed). This Australasian DSK-8 variant included documentation in Japanese with English covers stating "Distributed by Nihon Hammond, Ltd." In addition to the above versions, a concurrent European variant Mirage was manufactured in Italy and featured a faster disk drive than the American version. A 2U-size rack-mount module version of the Mirage, model DMS-8 (for Digital Sampling Module) and later DMS-1 were also produced. The case color of these rack-mount Mirage modules was either dark gray/black or light gray.

Notable users

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/ pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with var ...

used the Mirage extensively on the

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

albums '' Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' and '' Control''.

The Bomb Squad The Bomb Squad was an American hip hop production team known for their work with hip hop group Public Enemy. The Bomb Squad are noted for their dense, distinct, innovative production style, often utilizing dozens of samples on just one track. ...

used the Mirage on

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

's classic track "

Rebel Without a Pause "Rebel Without a Pause" is a song by hip hop group Public Enemy and the first single from their 1988 album, ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back''. The title is a reference to the 1955 film '' Rebel Without a Cause''. History "Rebel Wi ...

Le Tigre Le Tigre (, ; French for "The Tiger") is an American art punk and riot grrrl band formed by Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson. ...

used the Mirage on their debut album and their classic track "Deceptacon".

References

External links