Using the Ensoniq Mirage

[@machinelanguage5108]

About that whine sound...I've owned numerous MIRAGES and they all do that. It is most audible when you sample at extreme samplerate settings (PARAM 73) and with the filter (74) all the way open or closed while sampling. To minimize it, sample sounds with (73) & (74) a few integers away from the extreme minimum and maximum values. 3 or 4 integers up or down always seems to work for me. In other words, don't sample into the mirage with the Input Filter (PARAM 74) at 0 or 99. Try sampling with (74) at 03 and 96. Likewise, instead of sampling with the samplerate (73) at 30, the highest quality (around 33kHz), or 99, the lowest (10 kHz), try sampling with (73) at 33/34 (30kHz), and 95/96 (10.4 kHz). The differences in audio quality are going to be negligible. Experiment. You'll find the "sweet spots" for each individual sample to be different. Also, I've found using a simple ground lift at the end of my power cable does wonders in eliminating hum and whine on some units. On the other hand, the best way to get clean samples into the Mirage is by using MIDI SAMPLE DUMP, via programs like the ENSONIQ MIRAGE EDITOR (on SOURCEFORGE) or the new program WAVSYN by Erich Izdepski. Even though you miss out on the A/D converters, input filters, and everything else in the input signal path, using clean samples loaded into the Mirage via Sample Dump (or disk) just sounds incredible. You still get the Op-amps, D/A converters, resonant lowpass Curtis Filter, and 8-bit texture, without any whine or noise whatsoever (unless you have a unit in need of a new PSU or something).

[@gwEmbassy]

This knowledge is gold! Thanks for the comment, I will pin it for everyone. In the end the whine got a little too much for me, so I opted to sell the unit. Maybe some day I will pick up another!

[@100DollarHeadache]

There was a cartridge available, the ISF-1 Input Sampling Filter, that got rid of the whine. I am very lucky to own one of those with my Mirage. I shared a gut shot of it with the FB group for the Mirage, and now there's somebody building a clone of the cartridge. For sampling musical sources, I like the ISF-1, but for sampling weird KZbin videos, I skip it and let the whine through, I like how it sounds.

[@gwEmbassy]

I would have loved one of those ISF carts!

[@100DollarHeadache]

​@@gwEmbassy Here is a demo of the prototype of the ISF-1 clone. Kits will be available closer to the end of 2023. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4bTZaSLqNdod5I

[@AndrewAHayes]

My friend had a keyboard Mirage, I wasn't too keen on it, he used to have far too many samples loaded into it and so the bandwidth was low, I had quite a few analogue synths and my first digital synth was a D50 and so the majority of my music was recorded and sequenced MIDI on real sounds using the same Alesis MT8, I also had the HR16 and some ROM chips for it with all the fashionable drum hits, I did use a sampler an S900 but I only sampled my own analogue instruments and some guitar parts for live gig work, sometimes sequenced sounds and some sounds played live, I then switched to an Atari ST and an Amiga 1000, I cant believe how simple the software packages were for those computers and yet we managed to knock out some excellent music using them.

[@gwEmbassy]

that’s a cool post! how do you make music these days?

[@AndrewAHayes]

@@gwEmbassy mostly guitar and plugins, and I have a small eurorack modular system and some Behringer copy synths, but Im on my own these days, whereas in the '80s-'90s I had band members and friends collaborating on our music.

[@gwEmbassy]

@@AndrewAHayes you’re doing it and that’s what counts 😍

[@isoldeisobelle552]

I've been poking at my Mirage for almost thirty years now. My synapses are encoded Hexadecimal! Had to re-cap with Nichicon the year before last. Going to get some rack ears for it soon...

[@gwEmbassy]

Great to hear Isolde! There’s nothing like it :)

[@saren6538]

hi my glass fuses keep popping when i put new ones in ...any idea ?

[@gwEmbassy]

Start with a re-cap

[@isoldeisobelle552]

@@gwEmbassy Yes, start with the cap's and also check what the reg's are putting out.

[@BishopEddie5443]

I have a gray colored Mirage. I want to use modern effects on it such as the microcasm. Chase bliss mood and others. Very informative video!

[@gwEmbassy]

Happy you liked it :)

[@johnkelly1083]

Just come across your channel. It's awesome! Thanks for sharing your passion with everyone else!

[@gwEmbassy]

Hey John, happy to have you along!

[@NachoMartyMeyer]

for that sound it's all worth it 🔥 love Mirage

[@gwEmbassy]

Yes, you can’t replicate it any other way!

[@haydnr1631]

Brilliant demo/tutorial. Time to get mine out of its box again!

[@gwEmbassy]

Pleased you liked it. It’s really unique gear!

[@dfreeman120]

Wicked piece of kit

[@gwEmbassy]

yeah it is, nothings quite like it!

[@TheBroDotTV]

Sick video Gwem. Love it. Quite a powerful sampler and a lovely sounds too!!

[@gwEmbassy]

Those analogue filters are where it’s at!!

[@TheBroDotTV]

@@gwEmbassy I think it's really cool because it came out in 1984 and it's 8 part multi timbral and holds 16 samples. Really cool sampler and very usable imo!

[@MorbidManoeuvres]

Super Cool vid thanks, I’m having bother with mine. I’m playing keys and sometimes a note drops out ( nothing plays) but if I keep playing it comes back any idea what can cause this ?? Cheers

[@gwEmbassy]

it’s an erratic box to be honest, could be a broken voice.

[@AversuzMusic]

Thanks for the inspiring video! You mentioned three operating systems in this video, but I only know two - the standard version 3.2 - and MASOS. What other OS is there? Or did you mean the formating disk?

[@gwEmbassy]

there is also Soundprocess

[@AversuzMusic]

@@gwEmbassy Thanks for the info! I didn't know about this operating system. I'll look for it!!!

[@DroppedandSkrewed]

Awesome video gwen

[@gwEmbassy]

Thanks DRSO!

[@MorbidManoeuvres]

Followed the manual no matter how many times despite I have a formatted disc... I press what tell me to save and won’t save Can you please guide me how you would usually save if it be with a floppy?

[@gwEmbassy]

I only used a Gotek with the Mirage. Could be a technical issue with the floppy drive maybe?

[@MorbidManoeuvres]

@@gwEmbassy thanks for replying, ii kept pressing buttons in the region it suggested in the manual and it magically worked haha gota love primitive vintage gear !

[@gwEmbassy]

The Mirage is surely primitive!

[@MorbidManoeuvres]

@@gwEmbassy still, nothing like the beauty it beholds !

[@atetraxx]

You're using this exactly the way I intend to use this thing. To make old jungle breaks and sample my alpha Juno 2 hoovers. I just purchased a mirage this week. I didn't realize the sequencer is not quantized. Guess I'm in the market for a cheap vintage sequencer. You like that alesis you're using here? Would like to see a video on that too. That hex programming on the mirage though.... That might be a bit much for me. Oof

[@gwEmbassy]

The MMT-8 is dope, would recommend. Have fun with the Mirage!

[@SaccoBelmonte]

For the tinkering seems quite fun. But in modern days we have bit crusher plugins.

[@gwEmbassy]

They don’t sound the same though.. nothing like it! But yes, it is fun for tinkering :)

[@FairchlldMusic1]

Hi Gwem! I’ve got that 163x comp, love it. My friend has that mirage rack, should I cop it?

[@gwEmbassy]

The Mirage is a very unique piece. Off putting to use, yet nothing sounds quite like it. If you like the sound, then get one! :)

[@KeithKemp]

Do you have a tutorial video on multisampling?

[@gwEmbassy]

I don’t, but I will make a note of your idea!

[@_Leonardo_Sebastian_]

I finally was able to back to life my old Mirage, after changing some capacitors, fuses and cleaning keypad is working like a charm... my only concern is related to the "monitoring" while sampling. I'm not able to hear the signal during the sampling process. I don't remember if this is the expected behavior. But I've seen a lot of videos in which the signal is audible. I've researching parameters but none of them refers to monitoring... any clue?

[@gwEmbassy]

Hard to say, as I never monitor when I sample on any of my samplers, except sometimes on the Amiga. But I’m pretty sure that the Mirage doesn’t allow you to monitor as you record. Possibly the videos you saw monitored at the input side? Did the audio sound crunchy and 8bit?

[@_Leonardo_Sebastian_]

@@gwEmbassy you are right! there is no "sample monitoring" function in the Mirage, and as far as I remember this was an odd function on early samplers. Anyway, I love my Mirage and I can deal with that!

[@gwEmbassy]

Yes, it’s not a deal breaker at all :)

[@natalietonra]

The disk just failed in my Ensoniq Mirage DSK-1. I bought a Gotek with the latest Flashfloppy installed, I'm struggling to find the needed files to put on the usb to make it work. Is there somewhere i can download the files i need? I was told i just need the USB files and possibly move the little plastic clips on the Gotek floppy? Any help would be greatly appreciated - Subscribed!

[@gwEmbassy]

Thanks for the comment Natalie. Unfortunately I moved on my Mirage to another musician a while back :( What you were told is quite correct, but I cannot check the settings I had on mine.

[@natalietonra]

@@gwEmbassy Thanks for getting back to me. from the wiki I'm learning to change things in the configure file to try to make it work.

[@gwEmbassy]

Good luck!

[@mufti-day]

Great vid Gwen, my mirage seems to just be stuck loading disks, loads over and over again shows .0.05 on decimal. Might just be a crap disk, ive only got one OG disk, I was thinking to Gotek my s700, mirage, amiga and s3200. Where would you recommend to buy a handful of them? Cheers mate

[@gwEmbassy]

I hear Goteks are in short supply at the moment. Maybe try Aliexpress?

[@mufti-day]

@@gwEmbassy thanks mate I'll look there

[@frankjamesbonarrigo7162]

I wanted a dx7 when I was young but was steered into a mirage instead

[@gwEmbassy]

Mirage much cooler I reckon :)

[@Citracid]

What is the max polyphony ?

[@gwEmbassy]

8

[@fernandomiranda9736]

Literally just picked up a Mirage ! How is the replacing of the digital display cost wise?

[@gwEmbassy]

Pro tip : the display on all Mirages flickers as the unit performs certain operations. That’s normal. But if it’s really broken and needs replacing that is affordable to do.

[@fernandomiranda9736]

Wow thanks it sounds awesome man sampled my voice and an android said hello.

[@gwEmbassy]

There’s nothing like a Mirage :)

[@substance90]

19:23 your comparison isn't gain matched. The wet version is clearly about 2,5 dB louder than the dry version, and we all know LOUDER = BETTER. Not saying the grit isn't tasty though 🔥

[@gwEmbassy]

Fair point!

[@godslonelyman4724]

How do I save global parameters? I want to save the midi settings (81-85) so that I can trigger Mirage from an external sequencer

[@gwEmbassy]

They get saved to disk along with the other settings and samples

[@godslonelyman4724]

@@gwEmbassy Nice one! Also every time I press play on my sequencer Mirage reloads the patch from the disc before playing the sound, which means I have to wait for the sequence to loop around once before I can hear it. Any idea how I stop this from happening? The same thing happens whenever I'm working on a different midi track then go back and select the Mirage track on my sequencer

[@gwEmbassy]

Never had that happen!

[@carygeorges]

I sold my Mirage 11 years ago for $200 :-(. I had it for 3 years and bought it for $80. Then moved across country and couldnt take it with. I did take my Ensoniq ASR-10 with me tho

[@gwEmbassy]

The ASR-10 is a pretty dope piece itself ;) shame what happened with Ensoniq

[@EvLoutonian]

@@gwEmbassydid u ever compare to EPS "classic" (original model EPS) as well? I wondered if this may be a sweet spot in the line

[@gwEmbassy]

@@EvLoutonian no, but want to try an EPS Classic so badly!

[@Theaphextwin972]

what Midi controller did you use to trigger the samples?

[@gwEmbassy]

The sequencer is an Alesis MMT-8 and the MIDI controller was a Yamaha CBX-K1

[@Theaphextwin972]

@@gwEmbassy thanks

[@100ThingsIDo]

Lots of fun .. all the way to FF :D

[@gwEmbassy]

🥰🙏

[@klinkske]

Hmmm. Now in 2021 :)

[@gwEmbassy]

I have no idea when I filmed this ;) probably was 2021!

[@alguccia]

The f****** Mirage!😂😅

[@gwEmbassy]

That’s right!!

[@voltron2407]

Cem 3328 filters machine, pure magic. Detroit's secret weapon.

[@gwEmbassy]

Yes, it is magic

[@saren6538]

do all the racks mirages have the 3328 ?

[@voltron2407]

@@saren6538 yes the rack version uses cem 3328ic. Still check your mirage to be sure. There is also another cem 3360ic which is for VCA.

[@gwEmbassy]

Exactly what Voltron said; they have the 3328