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Free: Ultimate Ensoniq patch collection for Arturia SQ80 V (from original SQ-80 floppy disks)


abacab

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Just ran across this yesterday from Starsky Carr. In this video from a year ago he links to a thread in the Gearspace forum where a moderator shared an ultimate Ensoniq patch collection for ESQ-1 and SQ-80 owners back in 2018. https://gearspace.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/1207777-ensoniq-esq-1-sq-80-ultimate-patch-collection.html

Starsky points out that the SQ-80 patch banks from the original Ensoniq floppy disks work in the Arturia SQ80 V, since they have been converted to SysEx (.syx).

If you read down to the last page in the Gearspace thread, another user has done most of the work for SQ80 V users. He has already imported the SysEx banks into SQ80 V and exported them in Arturia format in "Arturia-presets.zip", so all you have to do is unzip the bank folders and then slide them into your "/arturia/presets/SQ80 V/User/" folder, and restart the plugin. https://gearspace.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/1207777-ensoniq-esq-1-sq-80-ultimate-patch-collection-3.html

You can also import individual SysEx banks directly yourself using the "Import" dialog in the Arturia SQ80 V.

The only downside is that there are so many! Thousands!!! The imported patches will be "dry", so any desired effects will need to be added inside the soft synth. But the Arturia SQ80 V macro controls for brightness, timbre, time, and movement work right out of the box! Some real gems in here! :)

 

Edited by abacab
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Some credit must go to Ranier Buchty who over the decades has maintained archives of some very important historical content/documentation for several pieces of gear.  As Don Solaris (who also deserves credit) wrote in 2018:

Quote

A few weeks ago i contacted Rainer Buchty regarding the extraction of original SQ-80 floppy disks. He soon wrote a C program to extract program banks from the floppy image files and to de-nibble the data (for SYX purpose). The rest was easy, i just had to split the binary files in Linux, name them correctly and test them to make sure the translation went smooth.

 

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28 minutes ago, User 905133 said:

Some credit must go to Ranier Buchty who over the decades has maintained archives of some very important historical content/documentation for several pieces of gear.  As Don Solaris (who also deserves credit) wrote in 2018:

Starsky gives credit in the video to both. And I linked to Don's post in my OP. And Don links to Ranier's work in his post.

I thought the credits were made clear. ;)

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26 minutes ago, abacab said:

Starsky gives credit in the video to both. And I linked to Don's post in my OP. And Don links to Ranier's work in his post.

I thought the credits were made clear.

It sounds like we are all in agreement. 

I certainly hope you didn't infer that I was saying no one gave them credit.  That's what it sounds like you inferred.  If so, I wasn't saying that in the slightest, but I can understand how someone might think that.  

I have been to his site many years before 2018 totally unrelated to Ensoniq products.  

"Just ran across this yesterday from Starsky Carr. In this video from a year ago he links to a thread in the Gearspace forum where a moderator shared an ultimate Ensoniq patch collection for ESQ-1 and SQ-80 owners back in 2018."

Having spent a great deal of energy myself maintaining an archive of lost documentation for a line of gear, I hold people who preserve such materials over the span of decades in high regard.  

I was certainly not implying that Starsky Carr or Don Soilaris didn't give him credit.  Apologies if my reply ruffled your feathers or bothered you.  It was not intended as a slight.  (PS, nor was I being snarky!  ?

Edited by User 905133
ficed typo (Car --> Carr)
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53 minutes ago, User 905133 said:

It sounds like we are all in agreement. 

Yes, and it's all good, no offense taken! Did you happen to notice the "winky" emoji that I used when quoting you? I have no problem with giving credit where it's due!

Starsky Carr also deserves the most recent credit for catching the ability to leverage this hardware related post by Don Solaris at Gearspace from 2018, and applying the content specifically to the current Arturia SQ80 V soft synth. :)

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3 minutes ago, isingit@netscape.net said:

Thanks for this ! My old ESQ-1 needs a new battery soldered in and that's more hassle than I wanted. I suppose this new VST sound patch used with Arturia SQ80 V plug-in won't have the sequencing/recording function but I guess that's not needed as the DAW is that and more.  Now I need to get the virtual instrument though. 

It's 50% off right now! https://www.arturia.com/products/software-instruments/sq80-v/overview

The PDF manual can be downloaded here, for detailed info on included features & functions. https://www.arturia.com/products/analog-classics/sq80-v/resources

Arturia’s SQ80 V is a faithful recreation of the original hardware, capturing all of its nuances and sonic character with utmost detail. In addition to this, we have expanded on the original design with new features and capability not found on the original unit, including:
• MPE implementation
• Phase Distortion & Transwave Synthesis
• Hidden Waveforms
• Unison Mode
• Arpeggiator
• Advanced modulation capabilities
• 4 FX slots featuring 15 high-quality effects
• Up to 16 voices of polyphony
• Run multiple instances with different settings
• Automate sound parameters from your DAW
• Unlimited patch recall

 

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  • 11 months later...

I think the biggest and most organised collection of ESQ-1 and SQ-80 programs is the database I published in 2022. It has 5,675* unique patches, categorised into three levels:

  1. Synth type: ESQ-1 or SQ-80
  2. Instrument Family:  for example, Bass, Strings...
  3. Instrument: for example, Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba...

There is a table of contents to help you find the sound you might be looking for, and comprehensive instructions. And, yes, credit to Don Solaris and Rainer Buchty for collecting and sharing most of these patches.

This collection is available at: https://app.box.com/s/odqcbczbs8xjhgw9k2v2bna0tcxyx1v7

Please read the file 'Ensoniq Programs.pdf' for more information.

Incidentally, the SQL file I provided loads directly into KnobKraft Orm, a free open-source, cross-platform, multi-synth sysex librarian that works with the ESQ-1. A link to the Orm site is included in the notes. Using Orm bypasses any need to work with sysex files; just download and set-up the program, load the entire collection in a single .db3 file, and start sending programs to your synth. You could be up and running in under 20 minutes.

* The notes mention 5,762 patches in places. This was before a last-minute discovery of 87 duplications, whose names are identified in the notes.

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On 2/15/2023 at 11:06 AM, abacab said:

Just ran across this yesterday from Starsky Carr. In this video from a year ago he links to a thread in the Gearspace forum where a moderator shared an ultimate Ensoniq patch collection for ESQ-1 and SQ-80 owners back in 2018. https://gearspace.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/1207777-ensoniq-esq-1-sq-80-ultimate-patch-collection.html

Starsky points out that the SQ-80 patch banks from the original Ensoniq floppy disks work in the Arturia SQ80 V, since they have been converted to SysEx (.syx).

If you read down to the last page in the Gearspace thread, another user has done most of the work for SQ80 V users. He has already imported the SysEx banks into SQ80 V and exported them in Arturia format in "Arturia-presets.zip", so all you have to do is unzip the bank folders and then slide them into your "/arturia/presets/SQ80 V/User/" folder, and restart the plugin. https://gearspace.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/1207777-ensoniq-esq-1-sq-80-ultimate-patch-collection-3.html

You can also import individual SysEx banks directly yourself using the "Import" dialog in the Arturia SQ80 V.

The only downside is that there are so many! Thousands!!! The imported patches will be "dry", so any desired effects will need to be added inside the soft synth. But the Arturia SQ80 V macro controls for brightness, timbre, time, and movement work right out of the box! Some real gems in here! :)

 

I already have these presets in a folder named "From Floppies" dated Feb 15, 2023, possibly I downloaded/installed them previously.

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