Ensoniq Mirage - Classic HipHop Beat Tutorial

This is a long one. We’ll recreate a HipHop Classic beat using the mighty Mirage. This is pretty-much a step by step tutorial on how to sample a loop, and how to multi sample Drums.

[@sneakyalien101]

Another thing you can do is actually speed the sample up before you sample it; the sample will now play back quicker. Then sample it into the mirage at a higher sample rate. It uses less memory and you can have a higher sample rate because the sample at source is playing back quicker. then just use the Mirage to slow the sample down by either using tune or just finding the key on the keyboard that gives you the correct speed. Great video BTW.

[@BigPauper]

this tutorial is worth it's weight in gold... to Mirage newbies and forgetful vets alike!!!

[@rommix0]

As a programmer, I love the Mirage not just for it's sound but its use of hexadecimal numbers. It's a very programmer friendly synthesizer.

[@kfukud]

Wow, I just stumbled upon your Ensoniq Mirage sampling and beat-making video, and I have to say it's absolutely fantastic! Among the numerous videos on KZbin, yours stands out as the most valuable and informative one I've come across. As a Mirage user myself, I often find its functional complexity limiting, but your video has truly opened up new possibilities for me. The way you explain and demonstrate the features and techniques is clear and concise, making it easier for me to navigate and utilize my Mirage to its full potential. Thank you for creating such an invaluable resource for Mirage enthusiasts like me!

[@musicxtn]

One of the best Mirage videos ever!!! Amazing explanation! Thank you!

[@lugo4905]

Thank you 🙏

[@lugo4905]

Chapters: 1:19 Specs and Practical Utilization 6:41 Sampling a Loop 18:23 Multi Sample Procedure 36:21 MIDI Sequence via External Sequencer

[@slammingsamples8855]

Cool vid. Hex seems simple to me. Instead of a word it’s just a number.

[@showbread9366]

That why I just sample into the mirage then sample the mirage into another sampler and edit from there.

[@desreb3385]

Yes, that's the way. We uploaded disks to the eps-16+ (fiRe)

[@gettingpast4391]

Pretty cool, I actually forgot that I owned one of these in the 90s! used it with my Amiga and Juno 2! Pretty neat keyboard.

[@deanrinehart]

For generally being off the cuff and mostly unscripted this is really quite good. I’ve collected 6 80s samplers and, hexadecimal be damned, you can really fly with a Mirage once you get used to it. The simplicity reaps its rewards. Can’t say that for the Prophet 2000/2.

[@nuttkase]

Prophet 2000/2... is this a bad sampler?

[@deanrinehart]

It’s a great sounding sampler…pretty much a Prophet 5 with a sampler in front of it. It’s just a nightmare to use.

[@amonster8mymother]

❤

[@desreb3385]

Gotta work with it like a scientist. Wish someone/or a company would remake it w/a visual editor and faster inbuilt os

[@minkloco619]

Classic

[@plateoshrimp9685]

Mirage nerd here. The envelopes and amps for the individual voices on the mirage aren’t analog. That’s all done in the Ensoniq DOC chip. Only the filters are analog. Otherwise, I totally agree that keeping it simple is the way to go. Also, using the sample rate as a way to creatively control the amount of aliasing which the gets filtered through the analog filters to create the best kind of syrupy mush.

[@truckwillis9375]

its worth checking the manual's lists for what note your sample time value corresponds to, you won't have to do the fine tune adjustment afterwards, just change key scaling/where you want the sample on the keyboard. Also have you tried pitching the input sample up an octave and then lowering it an octave once its sampled in to the mirage? great for saving space. Two other things I'm fairly sure when you're monitoring the signal input signal, the 3rd level on the display is clipping, and you might not have to set the input filter so low if you use a different input source, like not direct from a phone. Idk you're using masos or not but reading the sample is very much worth it, you might be making it harder on yourself by trying to do the opposite.

[@lugo4905]

Thanks for the advice. I’ve read the manuals and I realized that trying to show the beginners how to sample into the Mirage that way might turn them off to this beautiful sampler. It can be very simple, or it can be number crunching madness. I like to keep it somewhere in between the two.

[@lugo4905]

Key scaling? So you can set what note gets what sample rate? I’ll look into it! Thanks 🙏

[@truckwillis9375]

​@@lugo4905 hey my bad, i meant pitch key tracking, but im not actually sure you that that's a setting on the mirage, i think only filter key tracking. You cant set what note gets what sample rate, but the manual (at least the MASOS manual, the Advanced Sampler's Guide) has a table that lists which note (hz) each sample time value corresponds to. I think that chart is probably the same whether or not you're using the MASOS startup disk or the regular os disk (i only have masos). I made a little pdf file with the params guide and the sample time to hz chart and pull it up whenever im using the mirage. If you're not sampling something to play across the keyboard, like a break, single stab, drum hit, etc, knowing what note your sample time corresponds to just makes it easier to organize in the mirage, since moving shit around or doing anything after sampling really, is a pain in the ass. So like you could alter the pitch of what you're sampling in your daw or whatever before it goes to the mirage, and then all you have to do is sample in and make very minor adjustments, hopefully at least lol.

[@truckwillis9375]

@@lugo4905 imo people should be turned off the mirage, youtube has fucked up a lot of vintage gear prices

[@DjImage1]

I have the earlier model mirage but I love it. Will you do a disk format and save vid ?

[@lugo4905]

Unfortunately I cannot demonstrate the formatting process because I have a gotek drive. But, can do the save process

[@musicxtn]

@@lugo4905 curious to know which Gotek you ended up going with? Thx

[@lugo4905]

@@musicxtn I got mine through samplerzone.com - it’s a standard flash floppy gotek though

[@natalietonra]

Strangely when i play mine or use the pitch/mod wheel nothing happens. It does respond to MIDI though. I guess a bit of my Mirage DSK-1 died

[@chriswinchester2322]

This applies to the res dsk 8 correct? Thanks!

[@lugo4905]

Yes

[@lawrenceonethree6872]

You think it’s worth having both the EPS Classic and Mirage?

[@lugo4905]

Have you ever felt like you wish that you had a sweet resonant filter on your EPS for a sample or two? If the answer is “yes” and you find one for under $250, then the Mirage would definitely be good for you. The EPS is a lot faster to work on with a lot more memory, but the sound of the Mirage is worth all of the hassle. Drums just knock on a whole different level compared to the EPS.

[@showbread9366]

Yep I have both, as well as the EPS 16 + & the ASR 10. Deadly weapons 😉

[@312Dyo]

@@showbread9366 sick whats your goto ensoniq keyboard?

[@showbread9366]

@@312Dyo whatever’s popping it’s all feeling

[@312Dyo]

@@showbread9366 word

[@cvltzilla]

Saw a couple of these at a local music store recently. Unfortunately they look like they have a disease 😕

[@lugo4905]

These things are built like tanks. If you dig the sound and workflow, I’d definitely get one