Ensoniq-EPS-16-Plus

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Ensoniq-EPS-16-Plus

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An Ensoniq EPS-16 Plus Emulator

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# Ensoniq EPS-16 Plus VST3 Emulator

Hardware-level emulation of the Ensoniq EPS-16 Plus sampler for Intel and
Apple Silicon Macs, built as a resizable VST3 instrument.

This project builds on and references open-source work by Karl Stenerud,
Aaron Giles, Christian Brunschen, MAMEdev, Raw Material Software and their
contributors. See [Credits and third-party work](#credits-and-third-party-work)
and [THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md](THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md) for provenance and
licence details.

![EPS-16 Plus VST3 panel and keyboard](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mardlib/Ensoniq-EPS-16-Plus/vst3-prototype/docs/images/eps16-plus-vst3-panel-keyboard.png)

## 1.0.7

- Added the original EPS-16 Plus Level Detect meter. The VST renders the bar
  count and independent Trigger Sensitivity marker sent by the Ensoniq OS/KPC;
  it does not calculate a separate host-side level.
- Fixed live volume-value updates on the LOAD/Instrument page by decoding the
  original OS direct-cell VFD writes; the page remains cursorless exactly as
  transmitted by the Ensoniq OS.
- Fixed live instrument-name editing so cursor movement and replacement
  characters follow the original OS VFD command stream instead of repeatedly
  redrawing the first letter.
- Increased display polling to 30 Hz for responsive metering while keeping
  ROM/resource discovery and status work on a slower cadence.
- Reduced plug-in CPU overhead by publishing display state once per DAW audio
  block and excluding probe-only 68000 diagnostics from release builds.
- Renamed the public plug-in and package from "EPS-16 Plus Prototype" to
  "Ensoniq EPS-16 Plus". The VST3 identity remains unchanged so existing DAW
  projects and presets remain compatible.

## 1.0.6

- Added direct support for the verified EPS-16 Plus 1.00F split main ROMs.
  Place the unchanged 64 KiB U28/upper and U27/lower dumps together in
  `EPS_files`; the plug-in identifies them by SHA-256 and interleaves them in
  memory without creating or modifying a ROM file.
- Existing combined 128 KiB `eps16plus-rom.bin` installations remain fully
  compatible and continue to take precedence when present.

## 1.0.5

- Fixed external-file discovery when the VST3 is installed in the user folder
  but existing ROM, KPC and OS files remain in the system-wide `EPS_files`
  folder, or vice versa. Both standard locations are now searched
  automatically; no file move or DAW database change is required.

## 1.0.4

- Added a Terminal installer that removes download metadata and prepares the
  plug-in before it enters the DAW's watched VST3 folder, preventing a first
  Gatekeeper rejection from being cached by the host.
- Installation now stages, verifies and locally signs the complete universal
  bundle before atomically placing it in the VST3 folder. No DAW database
  changes are part of installation.

## 1.0.3

- Added an expandable 61-key on-screen keyboard with click-height velocity,
  delivered through the original EPS keyboard-controller path.
- Added hardware-style Pitch and Mod wheels. Pitch returns to centre, Mod
  remains latched, and both use the original analog controller inputs.
- Added Intel x86_64 support targeting macOS 10.13 High Sierra. The universal
  VST3 contains both Intel and Apple Silicon code in one installation.

## 1.0.2 Beta

- Standard EPS SysEx messages now pass between the VST3 host and the emulated
  MIDI UART. The original OS and its `MIDI SYS-EX` setting remain in control.
- Fixed `EFFECT DOWNLOAD FAILED` for longer external Waveboy effects,
  including `RESON FILTER` and `FM+FX`, by preserving ES5510 host access while
  the original OS verifies the program and honoring its host-release command.

## 1.0.1 Beta bug-fix release

- Presets saved while a MIDI key was held no longer restore that key as an
  unreleaseable playing note.
- Existing affected presets remain compatible. Snapshot versions 1–4 are
  repaired automatically during restore by releasing the external keyboard
  through the original KPC/OS event path.
- Instruments, sample RAM, effects, display state and mounted disks remain
  part of the complete preset and DAW-project state.

## About the EPS-16 Plus

The EPS-16 Plus is a performance sampler whose character comes from much more
than its sample memory. Its pitch interpolation, voice architecture, filters,
loop modes, modulation, envelopes, effects, sampling path and original
operating system all contribute to the way the instrument feels and sounds.

This project does not replace that workflow with a modern sample player. It
recreates the hardware around the original Ensoniq software: the Motorola
68000 program, keyboard/panel controller, ES5505 voice chip, ES5510 effects
processor, floppy controller, display and audio paths are presented to the
unaltered EPS operating system.

The original EPS OS remains in charge. A click in the GUI becomes the same
kind of hardware event as a physical button press; the emulator does not infer
menus from text or bypass the sampler's own logic.

## Download

### [Download Ensoniq EPS-16 Plus 1.0.7 — macOS Universal VST3](https://github.com/mardlib/Ensoniq-EPS-16-Plus/releases/download/v1.0.7/Ensoniq-EPS-16-Plus-macOS-universal.zip)

SHA-256:
`1e7204eb76468305cccc99797ebc1aa92f47d9920213aaebc672cc3c748c21e1`

The universal package supports Intel Macs with macOS 10.13 High Sierra or
newer and Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 11 or newer. It requires a VST3-capable
DAW and contains **VST3 only**; no Audio Unit is included.

> **Original Ensoniq files are required.** ROM, KPC firmware and operating
> system disk images are copyrighted and are not included in this repository
> or download.

## What is working?

- The original EPS-16 Plus ROM, operating system and KPC panel firmware paths.
- Authentic 22-cell Futaba-style VFD, indicators, decimal points and
  OS-controlled cursor segments.
- Original-OS Sampling Level Detect meter and independent Trigger Sensitivity
  marker, rendered from Ensoniq display traffic rather than host audio levels.
- ES5505 sample voices with hardware interpolation, looping, envelopes,
  panning, four-pole filtering and per-voice behavior.
- ES5510 effects and routing, including repeated switching between ROM effects
  10, 11, 12 and 13 and Waveboy external-input programs.
- LINE sampling and the modeled MIC preamp/input filter, with recording and
  audible playback controlled by the original OS.
- Eight instruments/tracks, layers, wavesamples, stacking and the original
  front-panel editing workflow.
- MIDI notes and velocity, Pitch Wheel, Mod Wheel and channel-1 polyphonic
  aftertouch delivered through the appropriate emulated hardware paths.
- Standard EPS SysEx input and output through the emulated MIDI UART, governed
  by the original OS and its `MIDI SYS-EX` setting.
- Original EPS sequencer controls. Ableton tempo, Start, Continue and Stop can
  drive the EPS through MIDI Clock when `CLOCK SOURCE=MIDI` is selected.
- Independent plug-in instances and complete DAW project/preset restore,
  including sample RAM, instruments, effects, display/parser state and mounted
  disk.
- EPS floppy images: insert IMG or HFE, swap multiple disks, create a blank
  disk and save as IMG or hardware-compatible HFE.
- Resizable, hardware-inspired panel with mouse-operated Data Entry, volume,
  arrow keys and original button layout.

![EPS VFD, disk controls and media name](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mardlib/Ensoniq-EPS-16-Plus/vst3-prototype/docs/images/eps16-plus-vst3-display.png)

## Installation

1. Quit the DAW and unpack the ZIP.
2. Open Terminal, type `/bin/bash ` (including the trailing space), drag
   `Install EPS-16 Plus.command` from the unpacked folder into Terminal and
   press Return. The installer removes download metadata, verifies the bundle
   and prepares its local signature before atomically placing it in the DAW's
   watched VST3 folder.
3. Add your own legally obtained files to the installed `EPS_files` folder:

```text
   ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/EPS_files/
   ```

```text
   eps16plus-rom.bin   combined 128 KiB U28/U27 main ROM
   eps16plus-kpc.bin   32 KiB KPC 2.33 EPROM
   EPS130OS.img        819,200-byte EPS-16 Plus OS disk
   ```

Alternatively, the two unchanged EPS-16 Plus 1.00F ROM dumps may be placed
   in the same folder. The plug-in identifies them by checksum and interleaves
   them in memory; their filenames do not matter:

```text
   eps16plus-100f-upper.u28   64 KiB U28 high-byte ROM
   eps16plus-100f-lower.u27   64 KiB U27 low-byte ROM
   ```

`EPS130OS.hfe` is also accepted. The original filename
   `Ensoniq EPS KPC2 v2.33 27c256.BIN` is recognized without renaming.

4. Start the DAW, rescan VST3 plug-ins and insert the emulator as an
   instrument. A successful boot normally reaches `NO INSTRUMENTS`.

The resulting layout should be:

```text
~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
  Ensoniq EPS-16 Plus.vst3
  EPS_files/
    eps16plus-rom.bin
    eps16plus-kpc.bin
    EPS130OS.img
```

The original EPS-16 Plus manual remains the reference for sampling,
instruments, layers, wavesamples, loops and synthesis.

## Audio and MIDI

Load the plug-in on a MIDI instrument track. MIDI notes 36–96 play the
virtual 61-key EPS keyboard. Notes outside the physical keyboard range are
ignored.

The panel's expandable on-screen keyboard includes spring-centred Pitch and
latched Mod wheels. Both use the original global hardware-controller inputs;
the original EPS operating system remains responsible for their modulation.

Pitch Wheel and Mod Wheel feed the original global controller inputs. The EPS
is not an MPE instrument: member-channel MPE expression is deliberately not
translated into invented EPS functions. Standard Note On/Off remains on the
direct, stable keyboard path.

When the plug-in window has keyboard focus, the computer arrow keys operate
the four physical EPS arrow buttons. Use Left/Right to move between menu pages
or fields and Up/Down to change the value selected by the original OS. The
keys are not captured when another window has focus.

The plug-in provides a stereo main output and an additional stereo
`Sampling Input`. In Ableton Live, route audio to that input with the
plug-in's input/sidechain chooser. MIC/LINE selection, threshold, input filter,
recording and sample assignment are still performed on the EPS panel through
the original OS.

## Sequencer sync

The GUI exposes the original `RECORD`, `STOP / CONT` and `PLAY` buttons.
Recording on the hardware requires holding RECORD while pressing PLAY; in the
plug-in use **Shift-click on PLAY** for the same overlapping button gesture.

Ableton tempo and transport are serialized as standard MIDI realtime bytes and
received by the emulated EPS MIDI hardware. Select `CLOCK SOURCE=MIDI` inside
the EPS to follow the DAW. With `INTERNAL`, the EPS continues to use its own
clock.

## Floppy controls

The four small disk buttons are emulator media controls. They do not replace
the large original EPS `LOAD` mode button.

| Button | Action |
| --- | --- |
| `OS` | Reinsert the configured EPS operating-system disk. |
| `NEW` | Insert a freshly formatted blank 800 KiB EPS disk. |
| `LOAD` | Insert an existing IMG or HFE v1 disk image. |
| `SAVE` | Export the mounted disk, including OS-written changes, as IMG or HFE. |

Use IMG for convenient backups and emulator interchange. Use HFE when the
disk is intended for a compatible Gotek/HxC setup or real EPS hardware.
Each plug-in instance owns an independent virtual drive. The mounted media
name is shown above the four disk icons.

## Presets, projects and multiple instances

Saving the DAW project captures the full running machine state: CPU and OS
state, instruments, sample RAM, effects, display, controller state and mounted
disk. Reopening the project can therefore continue from the same point.

This does not replace the disk `SAVE` command when a separate disk image is
needed outside the DAW project. ROM and OS files are never embedded in the
project state.

## Known limitations

- This is the **1.0.7** release for Intel macOS 10.13+ and Apple Silicon
  macOS 11+.
- VST3 only; no AU is shipped.
- The bundle is ad-hoc signed but not Apple-notarized. Use the included
  Terminal installer so it is prepared before the DAW scans it for the first
  time.
- The original EPS has no MPE voice-expression model.
- There is intentionally no modern host-side parameter editor or sample
  browser. The original OS, panel workflow and EPS manual remain authoritative.
- Copyrighted Ensoniq ROM, KPC and OS files must be supplied by the user.

## Validation

The 1.0.7 universal package contains checked x86_64 and arm64 slices with
deployment targets macOS 10.13 and macOS 11 respectively. It is ad-hoc signed,
strictly code-sign verified and ZIP-tested. Automated and original-OS
regressions cover:

- LINE and MIC sampling, threshold movement, recording and audible playback;
- original-OS Level Detect bars and independent Trigger Sensitivity movement;
- VFD fields and cursor segment masks;
- ES5510 effects 10–13, external Waveboy effect downloads and audio-bus routing;
- bidirectional standard EPS SysEx transport through the emulated MIDI UART;
- Pitch Wheel, Mod Wheel, MIDI pressure transport and Note Off;
- sequencer RECORD/PLAY/STOP and DAW-clock serialization;
- IMG/HFE I/O, disk swapping and blank-disk creation;
- snapshot compatibility, VST state and three independent instances;
- absence of illegal 68000 instructions in the tested workflows.

## Project and technical documentation

This repository also contains the clean-room reverse-engineering and test
foundation used to build the plug-in:

- [VST3 architecture and build notes](docs/vst3-prototype.md)
- [Hardware and original-OS bring-up](docs/bringup.md)
- [Panel/KPC protocol](docs/panel-protocol.md)
- [Parameter and ownership mapping](docs/parameter-mapping.md)
- [KPC firmware reference](docs/kpc-reference.md)

The disk tools can decode HFE v1, validate MFM sectors and CRCs, rebuild the
logical 800 KiB EPS image, inspect the Ensoniq filesystem and create
hardware-compatible HFE output. Development builds use the external
[Musashi](https://github.com/kstenerud/Musashi) 68000 core and JUCE; no
copyrighted Ensoniq binaries are stored in the source tree.

## Credits and third-party work

- [Musashi](https://github.com/kstenerud/Musashi), by Karl Stenerud, executes
  the Motorola 68000 code. The VST3 build applies a small thread-local
  adaptation at build time so independent plug-in instances can run safely.
- [JUCE 8](https://github.com/juce-framework/JUCE), by Raw Material Software,
  provides the VST3 wrapper, DAW audio/MIDI integration, plug-in state,
  windowing and GUI framework.
- [MAME](https://github.com/mamedev/mame) is **not** embedded as the emulator
  framework. Its BSD-3-Clause Ensoniq device implementations were important
  hardware and behavioral references. In particular, the ES5505 voice-chip
  core is informed by the MAME ES5505/ES5506 work by Aaron Giles, and the
  standalone ES5510 execution core adapts pipeline and instruction semantics
  from the MAME ES5510 device by Christian Brunschen.
- The Ensoniq EPS-16 Plus service manual, legally supplied firmware/disk
  images, real hardware photographs and captured OS/KPC traffic were used to
  verify mappings and behavior. Those copyrighted Ensoniq files are never
  distributed by this project.

See [THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md](THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md) for attribution and
license details. The same notices are included in the downloadable package.

## Build

Place JUCE 8 at `work/deps/JUCE` and Musashi at `work/deps/Musashi`. Build the
two architecture slices and then combine them into the release package:

```sh
cmake -S . -B work/vst3-build \
  -DEPS16_BUILD_VST3=ON \
  -DEPS16_JUCE_DIR="$PWD/work/deps/JUCE" \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES=arm64

cmake --build work/vst3-build --target Eps16Plus_VST3 -j 8

cmake -S . -B work/vst3-build-high-sierra \
  -DEPS16_BUILD_VST3=ON \
  -DEPS16_JUCE_DIR="$PWD/work/deps/JUCE" \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES=x86_64 \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=10.13

cmake --build work/vst3-build-high-sierra --target Eps16Plus_VST3 -j 8

cmake -S . -B work/vst3-build \
  -DEPS16_X86_64_VST3_BUNDLE="$PWD/work/vst3-build-high-sierra/vst3/Eps16Plus_artefacts/Release/VST3/Ensoniq EPS-16 Plus.vst3"

cmake --build work/vst3-build --target eps16_vst3_universal_package -j 8
ctest --test-dir work/vst3-build --output-on-failure
ctest --test-dir work/vst3-build-high-sierra --output-on-failure
```

The universal package target verifies both architectures and their deployment
targets, signs the combined bundle and creates one VST3 archive without
shipping an Audio Unit.

Ensoniq-EPS-16-Plus

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