Released in 1988/1989, the EPS (Ensoniq Performance Sampler) was one of the first few affordable samplers on the market. The interface was of a simple menu that is displayed via a vacuum fluorescent display. The EPS also used an integrated floppy disk drive (sourced from Sony or Matsushita), or can be upgraded to a SCSI controller via the expansion bay, for use by SCSI hard disk and/or CD-ROM drive units. As with all modern musical instruments, the EPS utilizes MIDI and can be used as a controller to other instruments, to a PC or Macintosh.
Various accessories can be added to the EPS by way of the expansion bay. An example is a Memory Expansion device, which adds RAM to the unit for longer or higher quality samples.
The EPS is also able to have up to eight instruments on reserve, and is able to play all instruments simultaneously.
Though Ensoniq, based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, has often been blamed for an inconsistent assembly line [a problem which, apparently, has been solved in recent years], they have always been at the forefront of synthesizer technology, taking the music world by storm with the Mirage: the planet's first accessible, affordable sampler.
By the late 80's they had perfected their design in the release of the EPS, and taken electronic music to a level of stage performance that was only dreamed of just a few years earlier.
EPS must have "sys ex on", seems to work in multi mode, "transmit on instru chanl" seems to work, create new instrument so you have some place to send the new sample.
From the factory, the EPS shipped with 512k of sample RAM, and it could be expanded either to 1 Meg or 2 Meg, using either a 2x or 4x memory expander cartridge.
If you are using an EPS or an EPS-16 Plus, you must also have a memory expander cartridge installed, as the SCSI board physically mounts onto the expander.
Not all SCSI drives are compatible with the Ensoniq samplers, and the older samplers work with fewer drives.
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