Ensoniq ESQ1 vs Arturia SQ80V - Preset Sound Demo - No Talking

In this video I compare the Ensoniq ESQ-1 presets on an ESQ-1 and an Arturia SQ80-V. The SQ80-V an emulation of the Ensoniq SQ80, which was an enhancement of the ESQ-1. The SQ80-V is a recently addition to V collection having been added in V9.
Sounds are played hardware then software.
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[@SeverityOne]

Listening to this via a pair of good headphones (although my ears aren't what they used to be), I can hear the difference sometimes - especially the SQ80 V sounds a bit brighter. But I couldn't say whether either of them sounds better than the other. The ESQ-M (with the SQ-80M mod) has long been on my wish list, but I actually have the V-Collection 9, and I just started it. With some hardware, I decided to go for the software instead: notably, the MiniFreak and the Streichfett, because I don't have the space for anything other than rack modules. Still, there's something about having the hardware... including maintenance and repair. Having said all that, you can happily and easily use the ESQ-1 with your modern computer. The same cannot be said for, let's say, a Roland VariOS. I don't trust software, probably because I'm a developer myself.

[@williamtell1477]

Agree. Great emulation. ESQ-1 has a real analog filter, its probably the hardest thing to get right in this emulation and it could be some slight differences there. Hard to say though. But I agree there is a slight brightness difference. That said, it sounds great and stores presets and has effects so probably a big win.

[@SeverityOne]

@@williamtell1477 Well, for effects I have the Arturia FX Collection. 😃 Not that I'm an Arturia fanboy or anything... 🤐 I'll admit that having a physical box is a large part of the draw. Whether it's real analogue or not is of less importance, for me at least. For example, my Yamaha AN1x is just a beautiful instrument, even though it's all digital. What matters is the sound. But the first thing that happened when I started SQ80 V is that I had to (re)activate the licence. That sort of thing makes me a little nervous. A proper hardware synth (and I'm not counting the Juno-X etc as proper hardware synths) will never ask you for a licence.

[@maccagrabme]

To my ears the hardware sounded brighter or fuller on some patches but that could be the setup levels but overall they are very close, I hadnt realised just how good the emulation was, I originally used SQ8L free plugin which is great but the Arturia one is a bit clearer. No need for me to buy the hardware then.

[@RunningonairMusic]

In a mix, i doubt you could hear the difference but when playing solo, you can't beat the real thing.

[@SeverityOne]

@@RunningonairMusic That sentiment is one reason why I swapped my Yamaha EX5R for an EX5. It felt more of an instrument with the keyboard attached to it. But it's not a very objective criterion.

[@khaossian76]

Appreciate this. I own an ESQ-1 that unfortunately died a few years back. I have been playing it since I was much younger, and I basically fine-tuned my synth techniques on it. However, it died about 2 years ago with a failed power supply. I have attempted to repair it once with one of the capacitor kits that are available for it but have not had much luck. I have a small studio and much newer equipment now but have been toying with the idea of whether to get a VST to replace the ESQ-1 or to just repair the one I have and try and make room for the very large/heavy keyboard. Your comparison definitely helped me see that there is no perfect emulation as I can hear a bit of a difference in the dynamic range of the original vs. the emulation. Typically, those ranges are a bit muddy due to the compression used for streaming (KZbin). I would be curious as to your take on this as well, there is definitely a difference in the waveforms for quite a few of the sounds and it seems to me that the emulated sounds are a bit fuller. I would appreciate any commentary you would like to pass on.

[@RunningonairMusic]

I think the sq80v is brighter and cleaner but not as warm. I think it comes down to the filter and age for that. The question is whether you would hear it in a mix and i would guess you generally wouldn't. Also im not sure you can go wrong with arturia v collection. There's just so much included, although wait for the sale to get the best value. Selling your existing esq should cover the cost anyway.

[@TheSawyer10702]

Did you ever get your esq1 fixed???

[@RunningonairMusic]

Yes, it works fine now. Just needs contact cleaning if it's been in storage for too long.

[@neonether]

People commenting without considering the main difference between the two: one is sample-based, the other is an emulation. Comparing sounds head to head really only speaks to the ‘realness’ of the emulation. That said, even an actual ESQ-1 head to head with these samples won’t sound identical given the innate differences in everyone’s signal chain. Samples are typically recorded with a bunch of outboard gear to sweeten it up too.

[@aex2170]

Ensoniq ESQ1 is NOT a sample-based synth or rompler, it's a digital waveform synth with analog filters, and the Arturia are a full circuit emulation with original Ensoniq's wavetables and Transwaves.

[@neonether]

@@aex2170 **PCM

[@brianbergmusic5288]

Big takeaway is that the og ESQ has more treble (drastically noticeable in the sync lead @ 14:32 MINI M). So I can either take this optimistically two ways. 1) the software plug leaves more room for highhats in the mix, OR # 2) just turn up the treble on the softsynth's EQ, pre-amp saturation modeling, or effects send. At the end of the day, it's the synth for me as I liked every single patch that you demonstrated for one reason or another. Thanks for this video! PS... I've officially acquired a taste for nyquist frequency scatter thanks to this demonstration. Sublime aliasing -- if that isn't an oxymoron to audiophiles. ( see 15:41 NOISTR )

[@RunningonairMusic]

Yep, just use eq in the mix to get what you want.

[@RikMaxSpeed]

Nice demo, like your musical sequences. I couldn’t hear any difference between the two synths, but other than modelling the analogue filter and possibly the DACs, it shouldn’t be too difficult to emulate a digital waveform synth.

[@RunningonairMusic]

Most people think the SQ80 sounds brighter, but yes alot of it should be pretty straightforward. Thanks.

[@googlingthevoid]

Thank you for putting this together. They sound virtually identical, only slight variations in brightness and clarity. All of that said, I love the vibe of the ESQ-1. It’s the whole experience. Did you end up keeping your ESQ-1 or is the SQ-80 V an easy replacement for it? All the demos I’ve heard of hardware vs SQ-80 V seem to point to not needing the hardware.

[@RunningonairMusic]

I still have the esq1 and intend to keep it for now at least.

[@googlingthevoid]

@@RunningonairMusic thank you for the reply. We’re living in an interesting time where software is right there with hardware. It makes decisions to get the hardware a bit more difficult. Do I want to buy a nearly 40 year old instrument that will require maintenance or should I stick with software that will eventually be obsolete? I’m so limited on space that I tend to go software but a few select hardware synths have found their way into my workflow. I need a solid hybrid and I’m torn between modern offerings and vintage vibe. I guess the takeaway is that you can’t really make a wrong decision and we are spoiled with options.

[@RunningonairMusic]

I just find the hardware fun to play with particularly as i couldn't afford it when it came out. It's clearly more practical to stick with software if you just want to get music done. Thanks for the comments!

[@googlingthevoid]

@@RunningonairMusicI have an ESQ-1 arriving next Tuesday. Can’t wait! All your ESQ-1 videos have been super informative and helpful with deciding. This will be my first “vintage” synth. Can’t wait 😊

[@RunningonairMusic]

Great, hope all goes well!

[@Average-AL]

Nice comparison. I love the sound HI-RES. Can you share some info about how it is made up. Would like to try and see if I can make something similiar in other synths I have.

[@RunningonairMusic]

Sorry i don't have easy access to that.

[@elipuebla2537]

Hardware version has a tad more higher frequency in certain patches.

[@RunningonairMusic]

Thanks for your comment.

[@elipuebla2537]

@@RunningonairMusic your welcome 🤗

[@maxmace111]

MIXED & K+SIMS are layered patches (I imagine someone has saved them un-layered for the Internet). Does Arturia have any provision for layered patches besides doing it manually with multiple instances? IMO the split/layer capability is a key sound design discriminator. Also, WAVBEL is a gorgeous bit of programming, as are a number of these.

[@RunningonairMusic]

I didn't look into that side of things. I just exported the patches from the ESQ and imported them back into the Arturia.

[@maxmace111]

@@RunningonairMusic RE exporting from ESQ-1 to Arturia, I appreciate your methodology. With reverb added, even with headphones the differences are small. One thing to recognize is that the hardware units themselves have a variance from machine to machine. The final amp stage seems to account for much of it. Judicious balance of saturation, compression and EQ glues them together. So I imagine the same would be true of the Arturia version.

[@RunningonairMusic]

I often wonder what the effect of all those ancient capacitors would be.

[@drifter7508]

The "Mixed" patch sounds very OFF? @@RunningonairMusic

[@RunningonairMusic]

@@drifter7508 I plan to check through the patch data to see if there's anything I missed.

[@Fabian_drop02]

I wonder if i could get the hidden waveforms for my esq 1 from this plugin version of the sq80???? Anyone know?

[@RunningonairMusic]

Not sure. I'll take a look next time i fire it up.

[@Fabian_drop02]

@@RunningonairMusic 🙏🏼thank you for the reply. And a huge thank you for the extremely informative videos that you publish. You are a godsend for ensoniq users.👍

[@RunningonairMusic]

No problem

[@maikmario71]

Who is currently playing? The red and blue or the unmodified original image?

[@RunningonairMusic]

Sounds are played hardware then software.

[@atetraxx]

​​@@RunningonairMusic so the red and purple is not being played yes?

[@RunningonairMusic]

@atetraxx yes, red is not playing.

[@robertberry1418]

Do you have the list of SQ80 Sounds that you used for comparison?

[@RunningonairMusic]

They should be visible in the video.