SQ-1

Back in 1992, Ensoniq dropped this gem as one of the first affordable workstations packing wave sequencing via its unique 9 transwaves, letting you blend and sequence waveforms for evolving textures that punch above its era's weight.

Housed in a compact 61-key synth action keyboard—light yet responsive, with pitch and mod wheels up top—it delivers 21 voices of polyphony from sample-based oscillators drawing from 121 crisp ROM waves across groups like strings, brass, and inharmonic oddities. Each voice layers dual digital filters (lowpass, highpass, bandpass) with cutoff control but no resonance, shaped by three multi-stage envelopes for pitch, filter, and amp, plus a versatile LFO with seven waveshapes syncing from slow 0.08Hz sweeps to zippy 21Hz. A deep mod matrix ties it all together, feeding into stellar 24-bit effects like reverb, chorus, and rotary sims over three stereo busses, with MIDI in/out/thru, SCSI for storage, and individual outputs for mixing flexibility. The 8-track sequencer holds up to 9,000 events (expandable to 56,000 via cards), making it a hands-on studio in one box.

Owners still geek out over its intuitive workflow and bright, realistic samples that shine in ballads or jazz, though some note the clean 16-bit tone lacks grit for heavier electronic styles—perfect if you're chasing that classic Ensoniq vibe without the VFX bulk.