Ragnar

Hey-hey  ;D Good to see mondo-experts TK and AM weigh in on this.  I may pick up two or three of these ICs soon so that I have something to tinker with once I get back to college this fall.  Perhaps I should consider developing something from scratch rather than shoe-horn this into an MB setup (to oversimplify).  About the pricing on the IIgs: I was being a bit facitious (sp?) in my analysis but the prices I've seen on eBay are still out of whack.  Thanks for posting the link to the old VG/CPU store.  Looks like a great source for this stuff.  Maybe the simplest thing for a guy like me who has less than no real experience engineering things from the ground up (electronically, that is) would be to do some programming directly on a IIgs, use a MIDI i/f (one was made for it, if I recall) and go from there with the intent to use the IIgs as an instrument. Thanks for all of the input.  8)

No worries, Cheater. ;) If my memory serves me, Ensoniq used those 32 OSCs by doubling-down to 15 stereo OSCs and the remaining two OSCs for other processing. They also had CEM analog filters in the chain in the old ESQ-generation instruments . I think that before I try to apply this to a MB project, what I may do is get a hold of an ESQ-1 or Mirage on eBay and see what the architecture can do (at least how Ensoniq applied it). Easier and less expensive to get an old Ensoniq than an Apple IIgs for experimentation ($500 US for a beat-up IIgs...I shudder). What's interesting is that Big-E never published data on this chip, but Apple did for developers. Another name for this IC that I came across is "Q-Chip".

Thanks, Duggle. ;) I had to do a lot of digging myself to get any info regarding this IC. Found a German Ensoniq enthusiast that has quite a bit of info. Here are a couple of links and a PDF: Basic Data: http://www.buchty.net/ensoniq/5503.html Pricing (these chips can be obtained as new/old-stock - they're not 'reclaimed'): http://www.buchty.net/ensoniq/shop.html And a Data Sheet in PDF form: http://www.buchty.net/ensoniq/files/ics1261.pdf I'm not even going to pretend that I understand everything that is being described. It was capable of producing some rather neat sounds in the old Ensoniq synthesizers and gave the Apple IIgs an interesting slant in early computer music. My curiosity came about when I saw the implimentation of the SID chip in the MBHP, so I started contemplating the possibilities of the old DOC chip in a similar application. ;) Like I said earlier, I don't have the knowledge nor experience to work on this now (give me several years and I might...maybe...not?) but I thought I might throw it out there as something to think about. Thanks again.

Actually, I've browsed the FAQ a few times before I registered. The FAQ's comments were circumstances that I had assumed anyway. I didn't expect anyone to tell me how to do it, nor do for me. I imagine that the occasionaly "how do I do this?" question regarding various synth ICs comes up a few times here, but that wasn't my intent. When I re-read my post, I guess that's what it looked like, though. I was just making an "any thoughts on this?" question/comment - entirely conceptual and theoretical. ;) Found some sources on the chip and some data sheets. If I were to get a few more years of serious electronic training/programming experience under my belt, I might give it a try. I guess if I were to do some reverse engineering on some of the old Ensoniq synths that used this IC, I might arrive at something. :P The Apple IIGS used it as well. Thanks anyway. ;D

Howdy, Been a skulker for a while and have been following the MBSid and FM synths for a couple of months now (gotta get started on my own). To call myself a newbie would be a real promotion - what's one rung below newbie-status? ??? ;D Now to my question (probably been asked by someone before - sorry if it has): Has anyone arrived at any theories if the Ensoniq ES-5503 DOC sound chip is 'doable' within the MB design? What little of it I understand, I believe that it's a more complicated IC than the SID, so arriving at a design may be more trouble than it's worth. Thought I'd ask anyway. ;) Thanks for your time. - Ragnar