Ensoniq MRC-1 Synth Banks
So you’ve acquired the mighty Ensoniq MR-Rack, you’ve gazed into its vast sea of 886 internal presets, and you’ve boldly decided, “No, I need more.” Pop in the MRC-1 “Synth Banks” ROM Card.
Sliding this PCMCIA card into your rack instantly blessed you with 180 classic analog and digital synth sounds, complete with 32 performance setups. But a quick scan of the preset list reveals that this card wasn’t just a collection of patches; it was a psychological profile of a 90s sound design team heavily caffeinated, deeply envious of their competitors, and armed with a terrible sense of humor.
Let’s dig into the digital madness etched into this plastic rectangle:
In the 90s, if you weren’t making a Roland TB-303 acid bassline, you basically didn’t exist. Ensoniq’s programmers were so desperate to capture this magic that they didn’t just include one homage; they gave us a whole cinematic universe with 000. 303 Bass #2, 001. 303 Raver, 009. Fast 303 Wh, and even 022. SH101 Bass. Nothing says “Ensoniq pride” quite like naming your best patches after your biggest rival’s gear.
How much sub-bass does a track really need? According to patch 014. Laxative, exactly enough to mandate a trip to the restroom. This deeply concerning bass patch is joined by the phonetically spelled 011. Deaoww Bass and the deeply affectionate 023. KissyBass.
The programmers were absolutely unstoppable when it came time to name the synth pads and bells. We get 134. Mouse Pad (a cutting-edge 1996 computer joke!), the Quentin Tarantino-inspired 145. Rezzo-Voir, and 168. Ma Bell, because nothing inspires emotional electronic music quite like a dismantled American telecommunications monopoly.
The sound designers tried desperately to capture the youth culture zeitgeist with patches like 054. MTV and 055. MTV 2. One can only assume these presets sound like a compressed Nirvana guitar riff mixed with the crushing realization that they aren’t playing music videos anymore.
We have 038. Barkus and 088. Quarkus, which sound less like synthesizers and more like two Roman gladiators who got lost in a cyber-dungeon. And then there is 110. Hitz-puh, presumably the Yiddish word Chutzpah, translated into aggressive dance music stabs.
From aggressively ripping off classic analog gear to naming a bassline after a bowel movement, the MRC-1 is a perfect time capsule of the Wild West of 90s electronic music production.
Factory Demos
Presets
000. 303 Bass #2
001. 303 Raver
002. 303Raver2
003. 303 Raver3
004. Aah Bass
005. Acid Bass
006. AnaSinBass
007. DanceBass2
008. EE Bass X
009. Fast 303 Wh
010. Phat Syn Bs
011. Deaoww Bass
012. How Low?
013. Hybrobass
014. Laxative
015. TiteMoog Bs
016. Polybass
017. Flange Bass
018. Rez Bass
019. FormntBs Wh
020. WhlRez Bs 1
021. WhlRez Bs 2
022. SH101 Bass
023. KissyBass
024. Sub-Mission
025. Syn-SunBs
026. TeknoTubeBs
027. SyncoBass
028. PunchySynBs
029. Techno Bs 1
030. Techno Bs 2
031. Tube Syn Bs
032. Wow Bass
033. XPandr Bass
034. Adventura
035. Airy Synth
036. Icy Ana Pad
037. Zip Synth
038. Barkus
039. ChatClav Wh
040. Competent
041. Digi-Harp
042. DiversArc
043. Nvlope-Sync
044. Fuzion Lead
045. HP Velocity
046. SteepRez Wh
047. Rezzy
048. Tite Rezz
049. TiteVel-5th
050. TiteVel-Oct
051. WonderLead
052. FM Clav
053. FM Log
054. MTV
055. MTV 2
056. Ratalog
057. Rez Clav
058. Rez Clav 2
059. Sync Clav
060. Trans Clav
061. 4Voice Lead
062. 5thGlideFX
063. AnaBrassII
064. Ana-Sweep
065. AnnaSyn
066. Basics
067. Brassy Saws
068. Classic Lead
069. El Bolero
070. Fast Glider
071. Funk Brass
072. GR-300
073. GR-300 Lead
074. Kiss Me
075. Lead Syn 1
076. Lead Syn 2
077. Lead Syn 3
078. Lead Syn 4
079. Lead Syn 5
080. Lead Syn 6
081. Lite Rezz
082. Low BSRez
083. TakeTheLead
084. Maxi Mini 2
085. OB-8Str.FX
086. OB-SwellPad
087. Poly-Synth
088. Quarkus
089. RetroLead2
090. Saw-ey
091. SoloAnalog1
092. SoloAnalog2
093. Stab & Hold
094. Sync-Sweep
095. Synth Brass
096. Synth Horn
097. Synth Hornz
098. TELSTAR
099. Squar-ey
100. XPander
101. AcidSeqWh
102. Beginnings
103. Leadthe5th
104. MonoBrsLd-2
105. Smooth 5ths
106. The Classic
107. 4D-SpinCycl
108. Eerie Bells
109. EFX Pad
110. Hitz-puh
111. Formant Syn
112. Lectro Pad
113. SweepyHolow
114. Lead Keys
115. Squeegy
116. FM Organ
117. Funky Mac
118. Noise Hit
119. House Piano
120. Pad o’Bells
121. VelBell Pad
122. Breathruner
123. Brite Bell
124. Bubbly Bell
125. Canyon Pad
126. Clock LFO
127. Env Pulse
128. Ethereal 1
129. Ethereal 2
130. Fast Sweep
131. Ference Vox
132. Glide Pad
133. Pandemonium
134. Mouse Pad
135. Mello Sweep
136. Mini Pad
137. Paddage
138. The Pop Pad
139. Rain Pad
140. Repeats
141. Rezomatic
142. Rez Pad
143. Rezzatively
144. Rez SFZ Pad
145. Rezzo-Voir
146. S&H Pad Whl
147. S&H Filter
148. Salient
149. Sargate
150. Saw Detune
151. Soft Pad
152. Soft SqrPad
153. Spark Pad
154. Stab Pad
155. Steam Pad
156. Sweep
157. XwaveBells1
158. XwaveBells2
159. Urfrey
160. Vel Pulse
161. Lazy Pad
162. Wheel Pad
163. Wheel Pulse
164. X Pad
165. Ana Bell-ey
166. BelAmi
167. Double Bell
168. Ma Bell
169. MultiBells1
170. MultiBells2
171. MultiBells3
172. Simp-Bell
173. Vintge-Bell
174. FM EP-Bell1
175. FM EP-Bell2
176. Brook Pad
177. Tonight
178. Fuzzy
179. Solo Voice
Video