KVR Audio

poonna · Post by **poonna** » Sun Jun 21, 2026 7:10 am

Perhaps a wrong place to ask, and I haven't tried the ESQ-1 yet, but if I don't have any specific recollection of ESQ-1 sounds, what does it do better than Dreamsynth (which is supposedly influenced by similar synths)?

Teksonik · Post by **Teksonik** » Sun Jun 21, 2026 5:07 pm

poonna wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2026 7:10 am Perhaps a wrong place to ask, and I haven't tried the ESQ-1 yet, but if I don't have any specific recollection of ESQ-1 sounds, what does it do better than Dreamsynth (which is supposedly influenced by similar synths)?

It does ESQ-1 sounds better. Other than that it's a personal choice of which one is "better". Owning both might be an option as well....

IvyBirds · Post by **IvyBirds** » Sun Jun 21, 2026 5:08 pm

poonna wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2026 7:10 am Perhaps a wrong place to ask, and I haven't tried the ESQ-1 yet, but if I don't have any specific recollection of ESQ-1 sounds, what does it do better than Dreamsynth (which is supposedly influenced by similar synths)?

Think of Dreamsynth as Cherry Audio’s modern 'Greatest Hits' of the 80s hybrid era—it's clean, massive, has a smooth 12dB Oberheim inspired filter, morphing oscillators, and as an added bonus whole extra string machine.

The ESQ-1 is a very realistic emulation of one specific 1980s synth. It brings the actual licensed 8-bit waveforms and, crucially, a highly accurate emulation of the Curtis CEM3379 analog filter along for the ride

If you don't have any nostalgia for the ESQ-1, the main thing you'd notice it 'does better' than Dreamsynth is low-end grit, character, and 8-bit lo-fi crunch. Dreamsynth is broad and beautiful; the ESQ-1 is lowfi and gritty, and beautifully rough around the edges

They actually compliment each other beautifully, and if you want 1980s style digital hybrid synthesis you should get both

Teksonik · Post by **Teksonik** » Sun Jun 21, 2026 5:11 pm

Okay here's 29 edited presets from the first two Cartridges. I mostly added FX, bumped up the poly to 32, and added an Arp to some presets.

It's a lot of fun and I encourage everyone to tweak the cartridge presets to your own personal taste. Of course I've made a bunch of my own presets from Init and that's even more fun.

Teksonik · Post by **Teksonik** » Sun Jun 21, 2026 5:17 pm

I've tried the Dreamsynth demo and it really never "spoke to me" even though I'm a huge fan of such synths but I should probably try it again. I just checked and my demo period has expired so I guess it won't be possible now.

Maybe it will pop up in a Humble Bundle one day.......

One thing I forgot to mention is that when saving edits to my custom bank a copy is also saved in the original location creating duplicates:

ESQ1 062126-3.png

I don't know if that's intended behavior or something I'm doing wrong but I thought I would bring it up either way.

stoopicus · Post by **stoopicus** » Sun Jun 21, 2026 11:31 pm

Some of the biggest factors that made it extra attractive back in the day are less of a factor now; it was much, much easier to program sounds on than the other digitals, had a large and very usable display, and a great sequencer for the time.

Sonically the things that made the ESQ-1 special were it's edge - it was a really good synth especially for styles like electroindustrial - and that it was one of the first synths with a good set of digital waveform-based oscillators (think "freezing one slice of a wavetable") and yet it retained very nice sounding and behaving analog filters. This made for a great hybrid approach; you could get a whole lot out of it sonically with an easy to use interface.

All this came together to make it a truly special instrument, and it's why so many of us remember it so fondly.

iPlogger · Post by **iPlogger** » Mon Jun 22, 2026 12:54 am

Thanks for releasing this. The ESQ-1 was my first synthesizer and I've thought about bringing it out this year in celebration of 40 years. I have the dead battery issue, but a coworker does electronics and maybe I'll get it fixed this year.

I've downloaded the demo and it really sounds great. I always used it with the MIDIVerb II (recently released as a VST as well), but the effects in the CA VST really bring it to life in a unique way that goes well beyond the base synth. Quite impressed.

I rarely buy new VSTs and am new to Cherry Audio but with the 3 for $99 deal I'm learning all about them. Trying to narrow down the other two synths. I'm down to Mercury 6 and either Mercury 8 or GX-80.

N 4 LIFE · Post by **N 4 LIFE** » Mon Jun 22, 2026 1:46 am

iPlogger wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2026 12:54 am Thanks for releasing this. The ESQ-1 was my first synthesizer and I've thought about bringing it out this year in celebration of 40 years. I have the dead battery issue, but a coworker does electronics and maybe I'll get it fixed this year.

I've downloaded the demo and it really sounds great. I always used it with the MIDIVerb II (recently released as a VST as well), but the effects in the CA VST really bring it to life in a unique way that goes well beyond the base synth. Quite impressed.

I rarely buy new VSTs and am new to Cherry Audio but with the 3 for $99 deal I'm learning all about them. Trying to narrow down the other two synths. I'm down to Mercury 6 and either Mercury 8 or GX-80.

midi verb 2 is a plug in now? that's great news!

IvyBirds · Post by **IvyBirds** » Mon Jun 22, 2026 2:24 am

N 4 LIFE wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2026 1:46 am
iPlogger wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2026 12:54 am Thanks for releasing this. The ESQ-1 was my first synthesizer and I've thought about bringing it out this year in celebration of 40 years. I have the dead battery issue, but a coworker does electronics and maybe I'll get it fixed this year.

I've downloaded the demo and it really sounds great. I always used it with the MIDIVerb II (recently released as a VST as well), but the effects in the CA VST really bring it to life in a unique way that goes well beyond the base synth. Quite impressed.

I rarely buy new VSTs and am new to Cherry Audio but with the 3 for $99 deal I'm learning all about them. Trying to narrow down the other two synths. I'm down to Mercury 6 and either Mercury 8 or GX-80.
midi verb 2 is a plug in now? that's great news!

And it's free

https://www.temeculadsp.com/mdv-ii

iPlogger · Post by **iPlogger** » Mon Jun 22, 2026 2:27 am

N 4 LIFE wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2026 1:46 am midi verb 2 is a plug in now? that's great news!

Was released somewhat recent. Check out https://www.temeculadsp.com/mdv-ii

I've downloaded it but have not installed. It actually allows for two effects in series. Many of us probably used the ESQ-1 with a MIDIVerb II, so thought it would be relevant here. I used the bloom all the time on pads, and liked the warm reverbs and delays.

I'm really enjoying the effects provided in the ESQ-1 VST. One of my favorite sounds was a pad called "Dark". I might have gotten that off a cartridge. I'm still in demo mode until I figure out two more synths to buy, so I don't have the Voice-80 library yet to check it out.

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