Ensoniq MR

Ensoniq MR-Rack Module

Intro: I never purchased the MR keyboard workstation, because it is reputed to have a buggy OS, bad midi implementation, and poor sequencer. But I did get an MR-Rack because I love the voices.

Disclaimer: I always put a disclaimer into my blogs. I am not a professional reviewer or musician, just a guy with a home studio. There is no editor or fact-checker, so it is quite possible that there are inaccuracies. This is all just opinion, for entertainment purposes only, so don’t make any decisions based solely off this info.

Data Card: There is a PCMCIA card slot on the MR-Rack. I purchased a SDRAM card for saving user patches.

Sequencer: The sequencer and drum machine features from the keyboard were not implemented in the MR-Rack. There is a special card in one of the ROM expansion slots, used to play the MR sequencer demos.

Update: Ensoniq had lost it's edge, and it's focus on quality, by the time of the MR and ASR-X. My MR Rack was nothing but trouble, breaking down, and eventually scrapped. I wanted the great sounds of the MR/ZR, ASR-X, Urban Dance, and World board, but would not waste my money on another buggy/poor quality MR/ASR-X unit, so I purchased an E-MU Command Station instead and got the 2 Ensoniq ROM cards for that unit, the Sounds of ZR with Perfect Piano, and the very rare Ensoniq Project with Urban Dance and World. It would be good study to see what changed at Ensoniq from the time of the TS/ASR/DP to the time of the MR/ASR-X/ZR. In that time period, Ensoniq went from some of the best quality gear even made, to some of the worst - I would like to know how that happened.

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