Sojus Records has released an open-source MAME-based emulator for the Ensoniq SD-1 Synthesizer for macOS and Windows.
Synthesizer emulators have become a major topic in the plugin world in recent years. Among others, the Usual Suspects team has created emulators for the Access Virus synths, the Roland JP-8080, and others.
I reckon this is just the beginning; there are dozens more synthesizers you can emulate this way. Here’s another one. Sojus Records has released an emulation of the Ensoniq SD-1 TransewaveTM wavetable Synthesizer from 1990.
What Was The Ensoniq SD-1?
The Ensoniq SD-1 was a digital Synthesizer based on technology from other legendary Ensoniq synths such as the ESQ-1, SQ-80, VFX, and the VFX-SD.
It was a 12-channel multi-timbral synth with 32 voices (in the SD-1/32 version, using the TransewaveTM wavetable engine. Important, not 100% comparable with today’s wavetable synths. It was more of a combination of wavetable and rompler-style synthesis.
You could achieve with it additive synthesis, using its waveform modulation capabilities. An advantage over romplers of these days was the ability to scan through a sound’s spectrum without having to retrigger it from the beginning, which was a key feature.
It used a wavetable containing 168 waveforms, mainly of multi-sampled acoustic instruments, sustained waveforms, harmonic, and inharmonic structures. Thanks to floppy/cartridges, it was possible to load other wavetables and sounds into the synth,
Alongside the unique TransewaveTM wavetable synthesis, it offered classic subtractive synthesis features.
It included dual multi-mode digital filters, three 11-stage envelopes, LFO, and 15 modulation sources. Alongside this, it also had a 24-bit VLSI dual effects processor with chorus, flanger, delay, and reverb.
Much of the legendary sound came from the four 16-bit DACs, which gave it a distinct grainy character. These are difficult to imitate in an emulator.
Sojus Records Ensoniq SD-1
This new Ensoniq SD-1 plugin follows the same concept as The Usual Suspects’ plugins. To use the Sojus Records Ensoniq SD-1 Synthesizer, you also need the original ROM. There’s no way around it.
This is because it’s based on the MAME multi-purpose emulation framework by Nicola Salmoria. The plugin itself is based on JUICE.
According to the Sojus Records, there aren’t programmers but musicians, so they used AI coding tools to create this emulator. They plan to bring more hardware synths back to life.
The emulator offers all the features of the original, including its 32 voices. You can also load all compatible VFX/VFX-SD/SD1-24/SD1-32 disk images and cartridges (.img .bin .crt, etc)
However, it also has limitations that must be considered. You can run only one instance per DAW at a time due to engine limitations. Also, DAW automation is not visible on the GUI.
The biggest downer for me is the user interface implementation. It’s 100% authentic, yes, but programming sounds requires navigating through a cryptic-looking 1990-style menu system.
First Impression
I downloaded the synth directly and searched for the appropriate ROMs. That wasn’t a problem. You just have to be a little careful to zip the correct files together. To me, the new Ensoniq SD-1 emulator sounds very authentic, but I can’t just tell how close it is.
However, it won’t be the plugin I will program. It’s too critical for me. But it’s cool that the SD-1 is now available as a free emulator. Thanks, guys! According to Giulio Zausa, he is working with The Usual Suspects team, also on an Ensoniq SD-1 plugin.
Sojus Records Ensoniq SD-1 emulator is available now as a free download. It runs as a VST3 plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel) and Windows. To use it, you need the original ROM files that can be found on the World Wide Web.
More information here: Soyus Records (GitHub)
So every time you want to adjust any parameter, you need to hit the appropriate key entry and then move your mouse over to the value slider to adjust the value like on the hardware? Do they not understand the difference between having two hands on a hardware synth and having one cursor on a computer? That’s a wild decision, what on earth is the justification for that?
You can use MIDI CCs to control the plugin.
“wild decision”??? As the article states, the Sojus team members aren’t skilled programmers like The Usual Suspects. So, we can safely assume that they simply lack the skills to implement a modern GUI. It’s a lot of work to do that.
I say emulating the SD-1’s input (buttons) and output (display) is a VERY happy compromise between (a) having no emulator because nothing was ever done on the project and (b) having no emulator because a modern GUI didn’t get programmed.
Yeah, that’s good compromise. Anyway we can’t use CCs unfortunately to map phisical buttons.
There’s a new build with tons of bugfixes and new features like full VST automation for EVERY button, slider etc.
It appears to load a disk image but not Sysex files for adding patches. Any ideas? My patches are all Sysex.
Get the new build with .SYX import!
It is a great emulation.
Very close to the original sound wise.
And all functions work exactly as the hardware version.
I have a SD-1 / 32 and compared it side-by-side in Logic Pro 12 (using a VST wrapper).
It worked flawlessly and does not consume much CPU power on my M4 Pro Mac mini.
It is scaringly close to the sound of the original. Only some spectrum differences due to the TDA1541A DAC – and TL072 opamp chips inside the hardware unit.
Some call it ‘grainy’, while the TDA is a highly regarded clean DAC from the nineties which was used in many CD-players.
Also the Sequencer works great and so does loading floppy images.
Great project!