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Released in 1988/1989, the EPS (Ensoniq Performance Sampler) was one of the first few affordable samplers on the market. The interface was of a simple menu that is displayed via a vacuum fluorescent display. The EPS also used an integrated floppy disk drive (sourced from Sony or Matsushita), or can be upgraded to a SCSI controller via the expansion bay, for use by SCSI hard disk and/or CD-ROM drive units. As with all modern musical instruments, the EPS utilizes MIDI and can be used as a controller to other instruments, to a PC or Macintosh.
Various accessories can be added to the EPS by way of the expansion bay. An example is a Memory Expansion device, which adds RAM to the unit for longer or higher quality samples.
The EPS is also able to have up to eight instruments on reserve, and is able to play all instruments simultaneously.
Construction:
- The keyboard is of thick plastic construction of a dark gray color with 61 weighted keys.
- Assignable pitch, modulation dials, and patch select buttons
- Accessing the unit is simplified by a swinging control panel secured by four hex screws.
Common problems with the EPS:
- Cold solder connections, which disable the VF display - remedied by resoldering the display.
- Key calibration (tuning) errors - remedied by reconnecting the cable or reminding one not heeding the "hands off" warning during startup.
Strengths of the EPS:
- Easy to use and straightforward interface.
- Highly configurable controls.
Limitations of the EPS:
- Proprietary disk format.
- Obvious lack of support from Creative, the current owner of Ensoniq.
- Some operating system releases are buggy.
- Accessories may be difficult to find at a reasonable price.
The EPS was manufactured fron 1988 to 1991 by Ensoniq in Malvern, Pennsylvania. USA
This model has been supersceded by the EPS-16, released in 1992.
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