This is just a quick guide to these two rare and very much under-rated units.

Basically these were Ensoniqs answer to the Akai MPC2000. Both are 32 voice polyphonic, 16 part Multi-Timbral samplers.

Interestingly Ensoniq outfitted both with a very useful range of onboard ROM patches based on the ZR synthesis engine.On powering up you instantly have a useful range of synth, percussion and acoustic sounds along with several drum kits.

Also in common both units have some fairly powerful on board effects available. I will udate this with a ful list later.

Now for the Differences between the 2.

Primarily the ASR-X Pro includes SCSI as standard! if you buy the plain black ASR-X make sure it has SCSI included as the Ensoniq SCSI expansion kit is now virtually impossible to obtain! I am not joking about the rarity of the SCSI card! I would expect to pay upwards of $300 for the SCSI kit alone if it were available anywhere! So consider this carefully before you buy!

The ASR-X OS is stored on EPROM chip, OS upgrades require the replacement of the chips, this is an available option but getting more difficult to find. The ASR-X Pro has a flash upgradable OS which can be updated via floppy disk.

The ASR-X Pro has a hugely useful and unique feature unavailable on any other hardware device, it includes D-Sounds' "Stomper Ultra" synthesis program! this was a windows shareware program which could make all manner of synth sounds. Primarily used to make synth drum sounds. On the Pro you edit parameters then wait for it to generate a sound, it's not real time! taking upto 60 seconds to generate the patch depending on complexity. This is still a great feature and can be a great source of inspiring sounds.

Maximum memory for the ASR-X is 32 megabytes. For the ASR-X Pro it is 64 megabytes. Memory expansion is via 72 pin simms.

As far as SCSI goes the units are very picky over what drives you can use. Zip 100 and 250 drives work fine. CDROM drives are much more difficult to get, only a few models work.

The ASR_X Pro with the latest operating system can import AKAI samples direct from CD roms if you have a compatible CDROM drive. THis allows access to a vast range of sample libraries.

Another thing to look out for is the Ensoniq EXP sound expansion cards. There are 2 extremely rare and highly sought after cards the EXP-03 Urban Dance Project expansion and EXP-01 Real World expansion. Both board contain 24MB of waveforms and patches ready to use in the sampler. The Urban Dance board has some amazing synth and drum sounds. These boards are extremely rare and fetch up to $300 each if you are lucky enough to locate one.

Not much more to add for now. These are great samplers and have a superb warm sound for digital equipment.

Guide Prices:

ASR-X from $200 up depending on features and condition. Expect to pay more if SCSI is fitted.

ASR-X Pro from $300 depending on features and condition.