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Bought mine at a Guitar Center in 2000 for %75 (totally no kidding!); it needed work, such as the volume control cleaned (was either full ON or full OFF)... replaced the pot with a factory unit.
Simply cannot ask for a more versatile synth / sequencer if you don't want to spend %5-10 grand and have EVERY single sound on earth pre-programmed... but if you're into synths/seqs, and you don't mind making your own INFINITE number of sounds (and there are a TON of free sound listings on the Net), then you cannot go wrong with this unit.
The METAL case version (1,000 were built with plastic cases... stay away from these, as they WILL crack even if transported with the best care!) is a tank. Weight is heavy, but you're buying quality components. Internal battery can be a pain to change (any good electronics repair shop can do the job in about 15 minutes, and the battery is available at Radio Shack), but the battery life is a good 10 years (a lot longer if you leave it powered up, of course.
The ability to alter sounds, and save them on any type of recording device, is a blessing. Users can easily modify the 40 built-in sounds; if you're into inventing your own, having THREE LFO filters, THREE DCA's, and a separate FILTER menu, STEREO OUTPUT, pressure-sevsitive keys (with the ability to make the sensitivity light, medium, and hard!), and being able to change ANY components of a waveform, then buy one of these units.
You simply cannot go wrong!
I use mine in my studio, and will not trade it for anything, at any price. Yes, I had to do a little work (see above), but the small cost was nothing as far as what I got in return! ESQ1 is able to totally emulate the old and revered Mini Moogs all the way up to today's modern synths and sequencers without breaking a sweat. Pitch and mod wheels can be modified for any sound, and one can put layer upon layer upon layer of waveforms and create anything from a Hammond B3 to a bomb dropping from the sky.
There are not that many people selling these units these days, simply due to the fact that people who KNOW about equipment, and what it is capable of, will not part with these units! So make sure that you get some kind of guarantee when you buy one online, and try to find the metal case unit. The average price on eBay has been in the area of $300 USD plus shipping; what you get in return is a unit which sold new for about $2,000 IN 1988! Tes, they're that old, but just go online and see how people rave about these units.
Return for the investment is astronomically high. If I could find another one locally, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
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