Some of the best and most productive days of my career were at Ensoniq. I started as a Senior Software Engineer there and climbed the ranks to the position of Director of Product Development. That role focused on developing new products that leveraged existing and emerging technologies that the Company had available. 

One of the most interesting technologies (to me, being a synth geek) was Transwaves. I was having a conversation with the Chief Scientist of Ensoniq about Physical Modeling synthesis – about how we potentially could use our “OTTO-FX” chip, and combination sample-playback and effects processor, to research and develop a physical modeling engine. We joked a bout calling it “Phys-Mo.” 

(We pretty much looked nothing like this)

Jokes aside, we needed a synthesizer now, not after a year or two of research, so I recommended moving forward with a Transwave synthesizer – because all of the cool, synthetic, evolving sounds in our MR and ASR series were Transwaves. Why not make a synthesizer dedicated to them?

Simultaneously, the idea of tactile controls – knobs and faders – was coming back into focus in the market. Customers were getting sick of menu diving to program sounds. We modeled a user interface, counted on computer-based editing, and made Fizmo. 

Years have passed, criticisms have been leveled, cult followings have appeared. Fans of Fizmo appear here to stay. There are YouTube videos showing off this unique sounding synthesizer that I have yet to hear duplicated. But, the resources of Fizmo are spread all over the Internet. Some sounds here, an editor there, more videos further on. 

I’ve decided to fix that. I’ve created a Fizmo landing page for all things Fizmo on the web. As I find new cool things – new sound sets, new demos, I’ll post them. The landing page is “fizmo.digital” – just type this in your web browser (or save a link) and you’ll still be on SoundEngine.com, but on the Fizmo landing page.

I hope you enjoy it, as I enjoyed being a part of the Fizmo team. I still use my Fizmo – I’m fortunate to have a rack version. I’m working on a new bank, perhaps two, of sounds for Fizmo, too. Also, if you find some new, cool Fizmo-related items, don’t hesitate to drop me a note. I will add them to the page.