ENSONIQ MR-61

[@syncro16se]

Those pads are just simply wonderful. Really inspiring.

[@plinko747]

Another great instrument from Ensoniq! RIP Ensoniq. I love my ESQ-1

[@eaglechildkeys]

I had this synth too. I remember the Electric Pianos with the chorus effect were ones of the best ever made

[@matiasmartinez7208]

I just got mine a few days ago, I've never played anything better and like,,,, DUDE it's a wonderful keyboard, without this vid i wouldn't have gotten it, thanks for the demo !

[@jamesbooty]

My pleasure - although my primary board today is a Yamaha Montage - the MR-61 still has a prominent place in my studio

[@syncro16se]

Hi there jamesbooty! Thanks for the demo, - I had completely missed this one, I was so into the SD-1 when I contacted you about the sounds ! This is just great ! What an awesome machine - just like the SD-1 is so musical and inspirational to work with this one sounds just great. I'll get me one ! best regards, Andy in Sweden And thank you enormously again for the sounds and the record ! It's just great.

[@link0587]

I just got me a ZR76. I love it. I recognize some of the sounds. the warm bath and perfect piano are my favourite

[@cyberholix]

"Dense Mist" patch was OUTSTANDING! Awesome machine.

[@jeroenfigee]

yummmm, This sounds really nice. Love ensoniq as a brand. And i am listening on laptop speakers!!! Demo is great. The classic vibe of the 80s and early 90s.

[@morrisman64]

Beautiful track

[@cueboyd8666]

Those synth pads are bliss

[@syncro16se]

..and thanks for the great song ! I like the bass line, and the chords, and the rhythm. Impressive. I can't wait until I find one of these too. have a nice day :) Andy in Sweden

[@olijack57]

very good sounds ensoniq !!

[@toddgraham9534]

The Lord Jesus Christ truly has blessed you with a special gift. That song was simply beautiful. I think 1 knew the way it sounds even without the Natural vocals it sounds heavenly. When you mix it was mixed perfectly truly heavenly.I must've played back in the song 10 times in a row. Very critical when it comes to the music that I listen to again you truly have a gift from the Lord Jesus and I hope that you give him the praise for the gift. I recently bought an MR 61 I had one when they first came out and 96 and then of course I sold it like a dummy but I found one in New York with a 5 Hour Dr. but I got it and I ordered the urban dance card to 235 because I'm a minister of the gospel and I don't preach for money the gentleman so many keyboard for $190 and it's in mint condition so I'm really blessed to feel good to have that board back I'm not a keyboard player like you want from but thanks for sharing God bless you and your Family and I pray that he always keep you all soon in his loving arms and my girls for everybody on this pain she reads any post when I go for anybody anywhere and I will drive the bus everyone of you so good you change my life I gave them my heart and he gave me a new life it's amazing the love of Christ is truly amazing. Thanks again for sharing that beautiful heavenly song

[@motoboy6666]

Beautiful song!

[@nulinetransport12]

damn ahead of its time

[@ditroiamusic]

Nice presentation. Thank you.

[@RFrayo]

I miss my ZR-76.....One of the stupidest mistakes I ever made was selling it. Awesome video.

[@kevinsturges6957]

It sounds really good.

[@bgbyer]

Nice work, song is great.

[@link0587]

I love the warm bath and transcend patches

[@rogercook8277]

I have a Mr76 ensoniq keyboard. Weighted keys. I bought mine brand new in 1997. It works today as good as it did when I first bought it. The operation works the same as the Mr61. If you have any questions feel free to ask me.

[@Gluttonite]

Mine keeps rebooting any ideas?

[@bratniki]

Hey, man! To be honest, when I was watching you playing during the presentation, I expected something terrible after words "here's my new song" ;) Well, I was wrong, this song is really nice, I'm listening to it again. 7/8 makes it original. Good job!

[@44Bigs]

I've never heard of this synth before (I've only been into synths for 2-3 year), but it sounds great!

[@moondog303]

cool song..... nice sounds and mood.

[@kerzwhile]

Absolutely THE easiest workstation ever produced by any company! So way ahead of its time... Look underneath the large data wheels on each side of the screen! Ensoniq was Brilliant!!

[@sheridanmedia]

@darkstar72 For sure. They both work too, however the 4000's Toaster software doesn't appear to be completely intact and I have to TBC with it so that part of it isn't very useful at the moment. The main thing I was doing at the time of this video was backing up my Amiga floppies to a PC hard drive.

[@مون-بھائ]

beautiful song

[@smiljanicn]

Amiga!

[@DonSolaris]

Beautiful demo! Thank you!!!

[@beach_hike9006]

The song is great!

[@jamesbooty]

Thank you! The fully produced version is here kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqXFk6dnrth_rLM

[@sheridanmedia]

@JustinC721 The keys on this are very light. The MR-76 had weighted keys.

[@opinionatorX]

Man! I remember I use to want the MR 61 really bad. But I already have an ASR 10 and TS 10. Didn't need a another keyboard. Those sounds are great. Ensoniq was ahead of the game in the 80's and 90's. Nice track. Did you ever do anything with the song?

[@BSIII]

OG Glide from Black Hole Posse used one of these to make all of the beats during the Family First era. Local Denver rap from the late 90s.

[@billoneil7033]

I think I was the one that sold that to you! the time is about right and the price too! did it ship from Massachusetts? I bought it at GC in mass for 2000 bucks a year earlier. Best sequencer ever. I've been looking at a new one after all this time, and cant find it's match in the world for ease of use. and the idea pad is such a good idea, a shame the company went out of business. I'm glad it found a good home! Billy

[@jamesbooty]

I don't remember where this one originated. I am probably going to get another one if I can find it because the audio output board on this one got zapped at a gig recently. The main and AUX outputs are all dead, but the headphone output still works. Great board and I love the sounds on it so I will bring it back to 100%.

[@fmsynths83]

[@kerzwhile]

If you take off the 2 larger knobs on each side of the screen there is a suprise screen printed there!! AWESOME workstation!! I still use my ZR-76

[@coddybboy]

And the third too)

[@SU-SRUK2024]

awesome Comp. Thank you !

[@LightShadow]

very nice! Great song

[@circuslead]

awesome song!!

[@KMNKeyboardVault]

Awsome Track Man!!!!!!! Im Soooo Exited getting a MR-76 in 2 days with 2 expansions for only $250

[@nestorpascual1739]

hi. is 200$ a good price? im getting it this weekend mr 76 for $200

[@walkerbelm]

good video. nice synth

What a great song! I can't find it anywhere though... Can you point somewhere I can hear it? Thanks for your work!

[@jamesbooty]

Thank you so much! I'll probably put it on other services at some point, but right now it's on KZbin here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqXFk6dnrth_rLM

@@jamesbooty Thank you! You make very good music... This particular song reminds me of some things Bruce Hornsby used to do.

[@mcdjpartyplannerhongva4746]

if i got this mr61 , do i have to use floooy disk? Can i upgrade disk to another stuff? Im sorry my english, Im korean

[@jamesbooty]

It's interesting how the TS boards seem to go for about twice as much as the MR boards on ebay.

[@australiaray]

i have a sdk 8 ,,,, can u help me with disks and explane how to use it please

[@gullyfoyle7006]

Dude, the easter egg thing was GREAT !!!!! hahahaha...what a shame they stopped doing synths. Cheers.

[@madcommodore]

Don't suppose you have a Mirage keyboard to run through some of the sounds on from one fellow amigan to another? :)

[@Korgator]

this is a fanthastic Song! Five stars *****

[@sheridanmedia]

@gridsleep That's true. Amiga hardware seems to be aging very well. The main problem is leaking motherboard batteries. I've removed all of them from my machines.

[@attilagregory]

Hello friend I have a Mr rack with OS1 .03 and would like to know how to update the OS 2.0 available some help thanks

[@xnonsuchx]

I have a SQ-2...does the MR-61 still have no resonant filter? I always thought that was one of the weakest things about many of the Ensoniq keyboards.

[@madness8556]

The MR also lacked a resonant filter unfortunately.

[@rebeccaschade3987]

Dude! The video toaster ❤ Nice synth as well, but that A4000 is better still.

[@manovardaso]

Hey, I'm not proffesional, but i think you could help me to decide. I want to buy this keyboard, and seller asks to pay for it 580 USD, do u think it's a good deal, or maybe I should ask him to low a price?

[@manovardaso]

@jamesbooty ok, now I'm doubting between kurzweil SP88 and MR-61, I know that they both different, but from your own position what is better for 580 USD price?

[@ΠατρώναςΝικόλαος]

Yeah, that's right! That's why I was editing only effects on it, never edited a sound! I used it on lives so factory sounds were just fine. Jealous of my friend carrying a TS10 with tons of editing capability. Strange that TS10 net sounds (without effect) were ugly compered to MR. But when comparing factory sounds with their effects, TS sounded more impressive (ok maybe more artificial as well)!! Better effects unit on TS or lazy sound tuning from factory for MR?

[@eaglechildkeys]

Hi Steve :) What editor did you use to access the waveforms?

[@jamesbooty]

No editor - these are just the factory patches. I used the on board sequencer to do the song at the end.

[@kriger61]

Hi, just bought one. I found the Getting Started Guide and now I need the Musicians Manual. Anyone knows where I can find it?

[@syncro16se]

Hi you have PM. I also get triggered by that kind of inspiration. It's hard to describe, but powerful. When you find the right instrument, it sings with you.

[@zicoskywalker]

o som deste teclado me surpreendeu muito,muito bom

[@manovardaso]

I just thought that I could get a better keyboard/workstation for this price, cause one of the sellers sold it for 200 USD as he said in good condition. what could You recommend me?

[@TranscendentalAirwaves]

Where can we hear the full version of that song. Holy shit that was cool.

[@jamesbooty]

Transcendental Airwaves .... I will try to get the full track uploaded this weekend, and then I'll link it here

[@TranscendentalAirwaves]

That would be sweet :D

[@jamesbooty]

The full song is here!: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqXFk6dnrth_rLM

[@hercir]

Wonderfull music and tutorial!!! Congratulations. What program do you use for recording your songs?? Thanks for sharing this great video. 👋👋👍👍

[@jamesbooty]

Thank you! The song in this video was recorded and mixed using Adobe Audition and Reaper.

[@hercir]

@@jamesbooty thank you very much. You are very kind. Your music is incredible. I have a sd1 since 1990 and I use it every day but my recording are very rudimentary because I use audacity and hearing your musical composition and your wonderful sound I was impressed. Thank you for sharing and for the information. Greetings from Seville. 🙏🙏

[@SoFallsWichitaFalls]

Steve, I have one of these. One day the drum machine stopped working. I don't know what I did but I can't get any sound out of the drum machine. All the other instruments are fine. Would you know how to trouble shoot this? Is there a reset for the drum machine sounds? I looked through the manual and could not find the answer.

[@jamesbooty]

That's interesting. Do the drum sounds still appear when you scroll through the sound finder? If so, do you get any sound out of them by playing the keys?

[@SoFallsWichitaFalls]

@@jamesbooty Yes they do.

[@SoFallsWichitaFalls]

Yes the sounds appear but I get no drum sounds at all when I start the drum machine or even play the keys. Only time I get drum sounds is with the demo.

[@jamesbooty]

@@SoFallsWichitaFalls - This is just speculation on my part, but it kind of sounds to me like a failure in the ROM where the drum sounds are stored. There are four ROM chips on the main board which I suspect contain the sounds. Unfortunately, those are not socketed chips, so it wouldn't be a simple matter of reseating a chip. The full service manual is available online here. archive.org/details/sm_MR-61-Service-Manual It might provide some more clues. I need to look through it myself since I think the analog output board on mine has died - the only way to get sound out of mine at all right now is the headphone jack. If I find anything that might be helpful in your case, I'll reply with it here as well.

[@jamesbooty]

There are a couple of "reinitialization" procedures which may be worth trying: "Soft Restart" - Press and hold down the SoundFinder Save button. - While still holding down Save, press the Exit/No button "Hard Reinitialization" - Turn the machine off. - Turn it on while holding down the Song Editor Erase button. - Allow it to power up fully before letting go of Erase.

[@angelafeola1]

I need to change the drive's Ensoniq MR 76, anyone have any tips?

[@morrisman64]

Greetings demo 2 questions do you save the song onto a disk? and how do u record your drums over dubs? Thanks

[@jamesbooty]

Morrisman Smith .... The songs are saved as MIDI files on 3.5 inch floppy disks. The sequencer designates track 10 as the drum track, but there is no restriction to what can go on any of the tracks. I usually put the kick, share and high hat on track 10, and then play along with that while recording additional drum instruments on adjacent tracks.

[@morrisman64]

Thanks for the info very helpful.

[@morrisman64]

I sent you a inbox question thanks

[@morrisman64]

UPDATE: Mystery solved I wasn't pressing down the playlist button hard enough

[@joselynduran1323]

Hello, please I need help. A few days ago I bought an Ensoniq MR61 used. Then the previous owner modified many of the sounds. I want to know if I can restart it or what can I do?

[@rogercook8277]

I can answer that question for you. The only way you can get back the original sounds, you have to re-load the original sounds back into the board. And the only way you can do that the previous owner would have had to save the original sounds on a floppy disk. Got it? Lol

[@JustinC721]

I'm looking to buy one of these. Are the keys semi-weighted or fully weighted?

[@Rhythmattica]

Nice Track..

[@jamesbooty]

Thank you! The full version is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqXFk6dnrth_rLM

[@MrCarmaster1]

i have this one

[@contrarianthinker3110]

Which is better to buy for song making? M61 TS-12 Z76 ??? Several are for sale on ebay and other places and I'm ready to buy. Just wanted to see which one to get. Let me know guys. Tks.

[@jamesbooty]

The ZR76 is basically an MR61 with the addition of weighted keys and the "perfect piano" patch. Other than that, those two are almost identical under the hood. The TS-12 is the pinnacle of the VFX line - classic late 80s/early 90s ENSONIQ sounds abound on these. I consider the TS-12 and TS-10 to be the high water mark of ENSONIQ keyboards. Which one is best for song-making depends on how you will be doing that. If you will be using an external sequencer, then the best board depends on what sounds you want. If I had to choose one based on that, I'd probably go with the TS, but this is a matter of personal taste. I love the sounds on the MR - they have excellent choir/vocal pads and good strings... piano sounds are also good, - there is a massive amount of memory occupied by drum sounds, but the guitar sounds are pretty weak. However, I think the TS is a better "all-rounder" when it comes to versatile patches, and it has access to a much wider library of patches than the MR. In general, any ENSONIQ board sounds more "warm" and organic to me than their contemporary Japanese counterparts, and I think the MR/ZR was the warmest sounding of them all. If you will be using the on-board sequencer, The MR/ZR is exceptionally easy to use. It is the easiest on-board sequencer I've ever used... however, it's a little quirky, and flat-out buggy on older firmware. I've never used the TS sequencer, but if it's anything like the one on the SD-1, then it is excellent, very capable and also very easy to use. I wrote a lot of music exclusively on the SD-1 sequencer before getting a PC based DAW. Personally, I'd probably go with an external DAW and a TS-12

[@contrarianthinker3110]

@@jamesbooty ok thanks for responding. I think I better go with the zr76 i see for $250 on ebay. I do blues and Americana. And I got some written tracks that I just want to do piano, drums, bass and maybe some horns and brass to. My live lead guitarist will fill in, in the studio. Thanks for the tip.

[@jamesbooty]

@@contrarianthinker3110 ... one other thing that might be a factor for you if you play in a live band. It isn't really easy to quickly pull up specific patches on the MR/ZR.. you have to do a bit of knob spinning to get to the ones you want. In a live situation this can be a bit of a hassle. You can get around it by making a sequence with up to 16 patches you need, then you can quickly jump around between them. However, you will need to compromise on the effects routing, which may make some patches sound not as good as they would otherwise. The TS layout is much quicker to navigate in that regard. However, if you are working in a studio environment, that probably won't be an issue.

[@SeverityOne]

Who on earth still uses an Amiga 4000 in 2007? 🙂 That was my dream machine at some point, but more like 30 years ago.

[@jamesbooty]

Well... It was there and I was playing around on it .... But I wouldn't say I was actually using it in 2007. Back then I used the Amiga 500😆

[@AirfixKS]

Nice harmony song demo

[@jamesbooty]

Thank you! The "finished" version of the tune is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqXFk6dnrth_rLM

[@sheridanmedia]

@manovardaso As long as it is in good working order I would say that is a fair price.

[@rickyarte]

is this have general midi?

[@bartolomeescobar]

Buenos días dónde consigo ese teclado y cuánto cuesta por fabor

[@CleisonAraújo-i4k]

Tenho um pra vender

[@CleisonAraújo-i4k]

Eu tenho um desse em casa, esta em otimo estado, qual valor do mercado de um teclado desse?

[@jamesbooty]

There are a few of these listed online and the average seems to be around $600

[@DanimalIndustries]

Great overview and wow, what a good song! Checked out your CDBaby page too and there's some really great stuff there as well. Was that all recorded with the MR or with different gear?

[@jamesbooty]

Thanks for looking at my other music! The primary instrument on both the Eternal Desire and Initial Attraction CDs is the MR-61, although I used an ENSONIQ SD-1 on them as well.

[@morrisman64]

Greetings Steve my request is back on the table I need your help with the sequence feature. I was able to chain a song together not sure how I was able. But today can't do it please give me a call to walk me thru it my number has been in boxed to you will pay you for the call. Thanks

[@link0587]

I'm an ensoniq fan. Nice video. Though, some of the preset sound a bit like, uggg, korg's m1

[@anovasinn]

Great easter egg I went over to mine right away to check it out. Btw do you still have this gear? Could you possibly show how the sequencer and the track recorder work? I have never used anything like this machine.

[@jamesbooty]

I do still have this board, although the main audio output has died, so I have to use the headphone jack to get audio into my mixer. I currently don't have a home studio either, but as soon as I build a new one, I will make some more videos showing off other features.

[@anovasinn]

Thank you Steve. As far as research she is kind of an odd beast to get info on.

[@kamil1027]

Wspaniały klawisz i wspoaniałe brzmienia ,cos pieknego

[@borchen0]

Cool synth...but those Amiga's are heavy competition in the coolness-race ;)

[@michatroschka]

omg those smiley faces... so cute. but sad

[@mentalthink]

Aweosme the theme!!!, I look the best computer in the World in the video!!! Regards, and plese Upload if you can... your theme to someplace... it´s Fantastic!!!

[@MrEmm853]

amiga 500 !!

[@aurelienvillie5176]

anybody willing to share a sampled drum kit of the MR61?

[@leonardorezendegomes9063]

A roda parâmetro , que troca os Söns dos bancos , tem como bloquear e desbloquear?? Pois a do meu teclado ensonic MR 76 parece está bloqueado, alguém aí sabe me informar ???

[@ChrisNova777]

nice amiga 500

[@Mykovich]

Can you say how this synth is good for creating music in the style of classic Eurodance mid-90s? I mean Masterboy, La Bouche...

[@jamesbooty]

Mask ... I'd say it's only OK.... it lacks in "super saw " type sounds, but it does have a few 90s sounding synthetic patches that could work for that style

[@Mykovich]

Alright. Thanks.

[@erizwa69]

I Still have a MR61 but I haven't used it in about 8 years. Time to blow the dust off and replace the battery I think. If you remove the dials you will notice that there are smiley faces underneath them. :D

[@harjoz]

Great! Mantap!

[@alex70636]

It is a pity that the work on the song is not over and it never went into the next album .. Probably something happened ... (((((

[@jamesbooty]

Other things in my life have taken priority over my own music for a while, but I'm planning on focusing on that again in the next year. The composition at the end of this video will be on the next release.

[@alex70636]

I am pleased that the work will continue. I look forward to the release of the song "dear friend." It is very interesting to me in the rhythmic and harmonic plan.

[@MiltonEllis-te6zy]

I have th MR 76 and got it for 200.00 in 2005, but dont rally use it.

[@circuslead]

and jbl 4208 the best speakers!!!

[@djkoelkast]

Amiga in the background _O_

[@australiaray]

i have a dsk 8 ,,,, can u help me with disks and explane how to use it please