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Absolutely one of my all time favorite synths. The current editor is a godsend for making patches from scratch. I actually like it’s harsh, kind of gross dry sound. I actually sold my first Fizmo after falling for a bunch of internet talk about the Waldorf XTK being “so much better”. I sold the Fizmo, bought an XTK which I love but it’s really different, then I bought another Fizmo. 2 wonderful, cold, late 90s weirdos.
@@blush_response my friend, for those dark sounds (minute 8) I use for my dark techno backgrounds, I use an FS1R since 1998 for it, I also own a Microwave XT and tons of Yamaha FM oldies. Which one would you get if you were me: hydrasynth 500e, Fizmo (2000 euros one here), Latest Virus,1000e also capable of those dark digital sounds. Thanks! I am obsessed since I watched your video several times. Got 2 DP4 and 3 Ensoniq samplers, missed Fizmo back in the time, thought it was rookie stuff, my fault.
i thoroughly enjoyed that review. usually, you hear the fizmo doing amazing ambient textures. i love how you took those textures and launched them into dark and experimental places. nicely done.
Welcome to the club. The onboard effects on the Fizmo are a key component to the sound design of the machine and sound great IMO....the tap delay is a particular favorite of mine. Also theres a newer editor called 'Fauxmo" that's amazing and opens up the full parameters of the synth that aren't accessible from the front panel as well as some other really cool features like random patch generators. Not necessary but nice to have.
I don’t think the Fx are great, I had an SD1 and ASR10 and they sounded much better there. They sound really whatever in the Fizmo, also I talk about Fauxmo in the video.
@@blush_response i am gonna get one thanks to you for my techno backgrounds, reminds me of my fs1r and microwave xt. never tried a hydrasynth but seems close.
You got a Fizmo! Dude! In 1999 and 2000, I worked at a studio and one of our clients was a now-huge hip-hop label with a rather popular producer who would leave his gear at the studio a lot. He left a Fizmo and I ended up using it on something I was doing and I fell in love with the weird-ass thing. The studio closed in 2000 and we told all clients, come and get your stuff cuz we’re closing. He didn’t come for the Fizmo and I called dibs on it. Alas, he eventually came for it 6 months after we closed. I looked for one for 10 years and couldn’t find one. I then went through a 10-year period where I wasn’t collecting instruments. I got back into instruments a year ago, and was shocked at what people are asking for them, not knowing just how rare they are. I rarely see them actually sell at those prices though. The cheapest I’ve seen them sell for is $2-2.5k. I just can’t pull the trigger even at that price.
Hi Joey, I owned a Fizmo for about three years, but sold it to pick up a Kyra. For me it was the right move. But, the Fizmo was the most fantastic synth for pads and soundscapes I've ever had there is nothing like it on the market today. It is UNREAL!
Really enjoyed seeing you put this through its paces, I've had one for many years, still have the box for it too. Don't plan to ever sell it, though I lean more towards smoother/glassier sounds than the harsher cold sounds. I can hold a note or a chord and listen to this mental thing talk to itself for ages without ever repeating itself, it's just a continually evolving burbly sound. Just make sure you've had the PSU upgraded to enjoy trouble-free Fizmo goodness for a long time to come!
I’m sure you’re all aware, but just in case, these had a lot of problems with the power supply. They basically used some under-specified parts and need an upgrade not to overheat and break over time
It’s the most 90s looking synth I’ve ever seen. I’ve been a big Ensoniq fan since then; A couple of their samplers are the only hardware synths I still use. But I shrugged off the Fizmo because it was weird and I was pretty sure I could never get it to do what I wanted. But watching this demo, I realize I totally missed the point, and now I get why it’s a cult synth (there’s a rack unit selling in eBay right now for nearly $6000). You could make a business out of selling libraries of samples ripped from this thing, not tell anyone how you were doing it, and you’d be a WIZARD
@@compucorder64 I mean, I was being glib, but honestly I don't hate that idea. Would definitely be fun to have an emulation of some kind. Honestly I'd just like the wavetables so I could pull them into something like Phaseplant.
@@compucorder64 SHHH! They'll hear you! Uli's lawyers are everywhere! They'll find us andGAD$%#$AS EVERYTHING IS FINE AND I LOVE THE NEUTRON AND THE 3340 FAB IS COMPLETELY ETHICAL. SINCERELY, TH-cam USER.
Brilliant video @blush_response - Thank You! You've really uncovered all the knob-twiddley deliciousness of the Fizmo. The drummer kindly let's me play his and I get so much pleasure from getting lost in its oddness. On the downside - you've probably raised the price if I'm going to get one of my own. One question for you or a Fizmo player here - I can't seem to get it to respond to external MIDI clock information. I swear I've been through every menu a thousand times and I'm probably doing something dumb. How do you get it to sync to external MIDI clock? Thanks in advance for any help :)
When I was first getting into synths and barely knew a damn thing about them, I remember very specifically drooling over Keyboard Magazine ads for Supernova II and Fizmo. If I had any idea it was all over my favorite Autechre stuff (which I was also quite obsessed with at the time), I think my head would have definitely exploded. I seem to remember reading later that Fizmo had a poor reputation as a novelty synth, which is bizarre to me.
FInally someone shows some love for industrial use of synthesis in hardware classics. Btw FSDP in YAmaha EX5 can give very close textures if not even more trip.
I had 2 at the same time in the 90’s and got them both for $300 each. And after a while, 4 or 5 years It was no longer was fun to use. It actually has a limit to its sound. I sold them as cheap, when no one wanted them. Would I like one today, for sure, but they are so overpriced. I realized at some point while owning it, that other synths could the same and more. But cool sounds you got.
Almost every synth has limits but with 8 layers of wavetables to work with on the Fizmo, the possiblities are nearly endless. I typically only use 2-3 and I've written the equivalent of several ambient albums just jamming on mine. It's capable of soundscapes, pads and textured atmospheres that no other wavetable can touch IMO.
Hey I'm not bagging it, I'm just saying, that after a while, I just felt the same . A Moog will end up like that after a while. I loved the FIZMO but decided to move on. @@Abruzzo333
You are missing out on the internal fx imo, all that era Ensoniq fx are butter and would enhance what you are doing, even still running into something else external! Great demo though, excellent exploration.
@@blush_response Interesting! Thanks for the response. Just looked at the manual for your beast and the fx and fx architecture seem more like the ASR-X Pro/DP-Pro, which I find to be more pristine and less pleasingly crunchy than DP/4 or ASR-10 (esp reverbs). But the Chorus and Phasers should still be usable.
fukin fizmo. had 2 of these. theyre strange beast for sure. they shine when you get lost in them, experiment and dont try to control them. like you did. def make sure you UPGRADE THE POWER SUPPLY! and the vocoder is one of the best imao, run some noise/drum loops through it.
@@bugaljackson494fizmos are like cats. the universe gifts them to you. i worked in music shops in the early 2000s. didnt have at the same time. just got one, sold it. and then another one found its way to me. ended up getting rid of that one too. theyre fun. the vocoder is prime but they have a mind of their own.
@blush_response did you ever tried oberheim ob12? its got fuck all to do with oberheim but it is the best industrial synth ever made. FIZMO alway was my wet dream... it sounds like young gods ready for master . great demo, thank you!
@blush_response the prices are going down again, they got problem with lcd, but easy to fix, and it can sounds seriously like mental institution. th-cam.com/video/2mQDx5iAgjg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=VbWwP988DD8qV1X_
As you love cold, weird and nasty fucked up shit you’ll love the ob12. I bought it new in Germany in 2002 for 777e. One of my most loved digital polys. Fizmo is out there ! Just incredible, nothing quite sounds like it. I missed one in 2009 for 400e … also missed a mint Ion with flight case for 250e. Sold in half an hour online. These 3 alone could keep you busy for a lifetime.
Wow... that sounds good. I bought a WS A/D in '92 and this things sounds so much more high fidelity. Unreal. I had to look up the Fizmo on VSE and there was a rack version?!?
Think I remember an interview video with Jons Hopkins. And they said that the signature kind of bell like tones on Music for Psychedelic Therapy are from a Fizmo. Really interesting synth. We'll probably get an Arturia V-Collection one someday (SQ-80 is cool too). And I'd settle for that. Poly-evolver is another cool, and trippy sounding synth, with the feedback delays, gnarly distortion and sequencing. And these days, the ASM Hydrasynth can go there too.
Blasphemy!!! I have SQ-80, Polyevolver, and Hydrasynt you mention on top of the Blofeld, Iridium, TS-12, VFX and SD-1 from Ensoniq. They don’t sound nor do what the fizmo does. It truly is a misunderstood unicorn 🦄
@@MeAlexSenna Definitely there's nothing like it. I only meant in the sense that they can go to somewhat gnarly psychedelic soundworld. And that I'd prefer if companies like Arturia and Softube would focus more on achieving as accurate as possble emus of these character digital synths than constantly cloning the same classic analogues. Because synths like Fizmo are more interesting, and could probably do more accurate emulations. And they would benefit in some cases, from additional features, modulation, fx in a DAW. Maybe do more work emulating aliasing, distortion, funky DACs and things like that. It's a shame Ensoniq synths like Fizmo and SQ-80 have been very hard to find in Europe, even ten years ago, there's very few around here.
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Absolutely one of my all time favorite synths. The current editor is a godsend for making patches from scratch. I actually like it’s harsh, kind of gross dry sound. I actually sold my first Fizmo after falling for a bunch of internet talk about the Waldorf XTK being “so much better”. I sold the Fizmo, bought an XTK which I love but it’s really different, then I bought another Fizmo. 2 wonderful, cold, late 90s weirdos.
Wow, took me AGES to find one of these! Nice!!!
How did you like it?
@@blush_response it's like a 90s Hydrasynth;)
We have come full circle : "I love how cold this sounds!"
100% agreed. As someone who’s into synths for nearly 4 decades I actually have the feeling that we’ve already come full circle many times.
Finally a proper fizmo demo!
The fucking dream synth
Let’s finish that track together and I’ll use it on it 😘
@@blush_response my friend, for those dark sounds (minute 8) I use for my dark techno backgrounds, I use an FS1R since 1998 for it, I also own a Microwave XT and tons of Yamaha FM oldies. Which one would you get if you were me: hydrasynth 500e, Fizmo (2000 euros one here), Latest Virus,1000e also capable of those dark digital sounds. Thanks! I am obsessed since I watched your video several times. Got 2 DP4 and 3 Ensoniq samplers, missed Fizmo back in the time, thought it was rookie stuff, my fault.
i thoroughly enjoyed that review. usually, you hear the fizmo doing amazing ambient textures. i love how you took those textures and launched them into dark and experimental places. nicely done.
Welcome to the club. The onboard effects on the Fizmo are a key component to the sound design of the machine and sound great IMO....the tap delay is a particular favorite of mine. Also theres a newer editor called 'Fauxmo" that's amazing and opens up the full parameters of the synth that aren't accessible from the front panel as well as some other really cool features like random patch generators. Not necessary but nice to have.
I don’t think the Fx are great, I had an SD1 and ASR10 and they sounded much better there. They sound really whatever in the Fizmo, also I talk about Fauxmo in the video.
I feel like the effects are really unique in a sort of cold and weird way. They can come in handy since nothing really sounds like them
@@blush_response i am gonna get one thanks to you for my techno backgrounds, reminds me of my fs1r and microwave xt. never tried a hydrasynth but seems close.
Man i’m convinced you could make an industrial noise masterpiece with a stylophone.
You got a Fizmo! Dude! In 1999 and 2000, I worked at a studio and one of our clients was a now-huge hip-hop label with a rather popular producer who would leave his gear at the studio a lot. He left a Fizmo and I ended up using it on something I was doing and I fell in love with the weird-ass thing. The studio closed in 2000 and we told all clients, come and get your stuff cuz we’re closing. He didn’t come for the Fizmo and I called dibs on it. Alas, he eventually came for it 6 months after we closed. I looked for one for 10 years and couldn’t find one.
I then went through a 10-year period where I wasn’t collecting instruments. I got back into instruments a year ago, and was shocked at what people are asking for them, not knowing just how rare they are. I rarely see them actually sell at those prices though. The cheapest I’ve seen them sell for is $2-2.5k. I just can’t pull the trigger even at that price.
Hi Joey,
I owned a Fizmo for about three years, but sold it to pick up a Kyra. For me it was the right move. But, the Fizmo was the most fantastic synth for pads and soundscapes I've ever had there is nothing like it on the market today. It is UNREAL!
Really enjoyed seeing you put this through its paces, I've had one for many years, still have the box for it too. Don't plan to ever sell it, though I lean more towards smoother/glassier sounds than the harsher cold sounds. I can hold a note or a chord and listen to this mental thing talk to itself for ages without ever repeating itself, it's just a continually evolving burbly sound. Just make sure you've had the PSU upgraded to enjoy trouble-free Fizmo goodness for a long time to come!
Noise musicians will love this very much
Back in 1998 :). Thanks for sharing the love for real tangible magic!
Thank you, very inspiring tour!
Btw: Our boy got himself a capable barber! (;
best fizmo video of all time
Like a unicorn. Glad you got your hands on one.
Maybe 3rd wave could resurrect an updated take.
I’m sure you’re all aware, but just in case, these had a lot of problems with the power supply. They basically used some under-specified parts and need an upgrade not to overheat and break over time
This is a very hard one to find ! What kind of editor would you suggest? Is it a generic editor? ✌️👽
There's sounddiver, but in recent years someone made an even better one called Fauxmo.
Awesome as usual.
It’s the most 90s looking synth I’ve ever seen. I’ve been a big Ensoniq fan since then; A couple of their samplers are the only hardware synths I still use. But I shrugged off the Fizmo because it was weird and I was pretty sure I could never get it to do what I wanted. But watching this demo, I realize I totally missed the point, and now I get why it’s a cult synth (there’s a rack unit selling in eBay right now for nearly $6000). You could make a business out of selling libraries of samples ripped from this thing, not tell anyone how you were doing it, and you’d be a WIZARD
Make enough videos, it'll generate enough demand for these, and I bet we'll get the "Behringer OZMIF" before long!
Or an Arturia V-Collection one would be nice.
@@compucorder64 I mean, I was being glib, but honestly I don't hate that idea. Would definitely be fun to have an emulation of some kind.
Honestly I'd just like the wavetables so I could pull them into something like Phaseplant.
@@EricOehler01 Oh, yes, I see what you mean about the Behringer Enshoddy Bizmoz practices ;)
@@compucorder64 SHHH! They'll hear you! Uli's lawyers are everywhere! They'll find us andGAD$%#$AS EVERYTHING IS FINE AND I LOVE THE NEUTRON AND THE 3340 FAB IS COMPLETELY ETHICAL.
SINCERELY, TH-cam USER.
Closest thing would probably be the Hydrasynth Deluxe..
lovely
I have one of these. It's truly a weird synth. But believe it or not, it can do "traditional" synth sounds, too.
Brilliant video @blush_response - Thank You! You've really uncovered all the knob-twiddley deliciousness of the Fizmo. The drummer kindly let's me play his and I get so much pleasure from getting lost in its oddness.
On the downside - you've probably raised the price if I'm going to get one of my own.
One question for you or a Fizmo player here - I can't seem to get it to respond to external MIDI clock information. I swear I've been through every menu a thousand times and I'm probably doing something dumb. How do you get it to sync to external MIDI clock? Thanks in advance for any help :)
Thank you. You rock.
Jesus Christ that synth... speechless...
I've had mine since 2000 and I'm still getting to know it too ;)
weight a key, noodle with the parameters, and just wait for the deep soundscapes that she can produce - totally unique synth.
Damn that was sick!
There seems to be a curious fascination with this synth as the price is so high!
Nice. I think you got gnarlier sounds from the alesis Ion though 💀💀💀
When I was first getting into synths and barely knew a damn thing about them, I remember very specifically drooling over Keyboard Magazine ads for Supernova II and Fizmo. If I had any idea it was all over my favorite Autechre stuff (which I was also quite obsessed with at the time), I think my head would have definitely exploded. I seem to remember reading later that Fizmo had a poor reputation as a novelty synth, which is bizarre to me.
sounds awesome, kind of want
FInally someone shows some love for industrial use of synthesis in hardware classics. Btw FSDP in YAmaha EX5 can give very close textures if not even more trip.
I had an EX5R and really regret selling it
Me too! Although programming it from keyboard panel is easier imho @@blush_response
Always wanted to play one.
I had 2 at the same time in the 90’s and got them both for $300 each. And after a while, 4 or 5 years It was no longer was fun to use. It actually has a limit to its sound. I sold them as cheap, when no one wanted them. Would I like one today, for sure, but they are so overpriced. I realized at some point while owning it, that other synths could the same and more. But cool sounds you got.
Almost every synth has limits but with 8 layers of wavetables to work with on the Fizmo, the possiblities are nearly endless. I typically only use 2-3 and I've written the equivalent of several ambient albums just jamming on mine. It's capable of soundscapes, pads and textured atmospheres that no other wavetable can touch IMO.
Hey I'm not bagging it, I'm just saying, that after a while, I just felt the same . A Moog will end up like that after a while. I loved the FIZMO but decided to move on. @@Abruzzo333
I think it sounds pretty cool. They are way too expensive for me though for what they do.
This is definitely up there with DSI Poly Evolver
I would like to get mine back, I sold it some years ago cause I needed money
I always wanted the desktop version. I do have an SQ80.
You are missing out on the internal fx imo, all that era Ensoniq fx are butter and would enhance what you are doing, even still running into something else external! Great demo though, excellent exploration.
I tried them and don’t find them that great, they sounded better in the SD1 and ASR-10
@@blush_response Interesting! Thanks for the response. Just looked at the manual for your beast and the fx and fx architecture seem more like the ASR-X Pro/DP-Pro, which I find to be more pristine and less pleasingly crunchy than DP/4 or ASR-10 (esp reverbs). But the Chorus and Phasers should still be usable.
Been after a Fizmo for years.
Scott @ SoundEngine has entered the chat ...
Blush Response… please make a Silent Hill/Parasite Eve track/EP?
Akira Yamaoka
And make it a live streamed making of a track 😉
Sounds great, but for the price of these used might as well get an Iridium desktop.
Sick
fukin fizmo. had 2 of these. theyre strange beast for sure. they shine when you get lost in them, experiment and dont try to control them. like you did. def make sure you UPGRADE THE POWER SUPPLY! and the vocoder is one of the best imao, run some noise/drum loops through it.
I've been seeing numerous people say they've owned 2 fizmos at the same time. Any particular reason for this?
@@bugaljackson494fizmos are like cats. the universe gifts them to you. i worked in music shops in the early 2000s. didnt have at the same time. just got one, sold it. and then another one found its way to me. ended up getting rid of that one too. theyre fun. the vocoder is prime but they have a mind of their own.
Would you get this w/ Syntrx 2?
@blush_response
did you ever tried oberheim ob12? its got fuck all to do with oberheim but it is the best industrial synth ever made. FIZMO alway was my wet dream... it sounds like young gods ready for master . great demo, thank you!
Always been curious about the OB12!
@blush_response the prices are going down again, they got problem with lcd, but easy to fix, and it can sounds seriously like mental institution. th-cam.com/video/2mQDx5iAgjg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=VbWwP988DD8qV1X_
As you love cold, weird and nasty fucked up shit you’ll love the ob12. I bought it new in Germany in 2002 for 777e. One of my most loved digital polys. Fizmo is out there ! Just incredible, nothing quite sounds like it. I missed one in 2009 for 400e … also missed a mint Ion with flight case for 250e. Sold in half an hour online.
These 3 alone could keep you busy for a lifetime.
But to be fair I guess you make any synth sound freaking awesome. Guys like you are a real threat on the bank account ;)
Wow... that sounds good. I bought a WS A/D in '92 and this things sounds so much more high fidelity. Unreal. I had to look up the Fizmo on VSE and there was a rack version?!?
The rack version was pretty rare. There weren’t many made.
There's a cool rack version on Reverb, but man the $$$$$$$$$$$$
I agree, sounds a lot better than the WS does. Not sure why.
@@temporoboto I think there were less than like 500 of those ever made, and most of them had really flaky power supplies and such.
Maybe i can find one...I have the ASR10 and that's a monster, overengineered....
FIZMO!!!!!!
Behringer should make a clone, LOL..maybe ?? I wish... because it's too pricey...
Think I remember an interview video with Jons Hopkins. And they said that the signature kind of bell like tones on Music for Psychedelic Therapy are from a Fizmo. Really interesting synth. We'll probably get an Arturia V-Collection one someday (SQ-80 is cool too). And I'd settle for that. Poly-evolver is another cool, and trippy sounding synth, with the feedback delays, gnarly distortion and sequencing. And these days, the ASM Hydrasynth can go there too.
Blasphemy!!! I have SQ-80, Polyevolver, and Hydrasynt you mention on top of the Blofeld, Iridium, TS-12, VFX and SD-1 from Ensoniq. They don’t sound nor do what the fizmo does. It truly is a misunderstood unicorn 🦄
@@MeAlexSenna Definitely there's nothing like it. I only meant in the sense that they can go to somewhat gnarly psychedelic soundworld. And that I'd prefer if companies like Arturia and Softube would focus more on achieving as accurate as possble emus of these character digital synths than constantly cloning the same classic analogues. Because synths like Fizmo are more interesting, and could probably do more accurate emulations. And they would benefit in some cases, from additional features, modulation, fx in a DAW. Maybe do more work emulating aliasing, distortion, funky DACs and things like that. It's a shame Ensoniq synths like Fizmo and SQ-80 have been very hard to find in Europe, even ten years ago, there's very few around here.
Me: you have the Ensoniq Fizmo, what type of music you make?
Joey: death!! I make death!!
Want tickets to my next show?
Me: nah, I'm good bro.
Lol. Thanks for doing this. Just don't even know what you're trying to do.
69th like :D
Techs, an analog mod to open it up please