Several of the key personnel at Commodore went on to create products that have touched the ears of most people on this planet in a way that Commodore didn't. They went on to found Ensoniq, a digital synthesizer company, who was later acquired by Emu Systems. Both Ensoniq and Emu synths/samplers were used in a wide array of music crossing many genres in the 80's, early 90's. Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Madonna and a ton more on top-100 radio all used them.
> Ensoniq was founded in 1982 by former MOS Technology engineers Robert "Bob" Yannes (designer of the MOS Technology SID chip for the Commodore 64 home computer), Bruce Crockett, and Al Charpentier. Their first product was a software drum machine that ran on a home computer.
> In January 1998, ENSONIQ Corp. was acquired by Creative Technology Ltd. for $77 million, and merged with E-mu Systems to form the E-Mu/Ensoniq division. The fusion with E-mu sealed Ensoniq's fate: after releasing an entry-level E-mu MK6/PK6 and Ensoniq Halo keyboards - essentially keyboard versions of the Proteus 2500 module - in 2002, the E-Mu/Ensoniq division was dissolved and support for legacy products was discontinued soon afterward.
I once emailed Bob Yannes in 1998 about the C64 SID chip. I mentioned my soft synth (SoftSID) and the Elektron Sidstation. But all he was bothered about was his Ensoniq Fizmo. I'd love to get my hands on one of those now.
I told him of the bad review in Future Music. He was a bit annoyed but explained what they had missed in the review.
> Ensoniq was founded in 1982 by former MOS Technology engineers Robert "Bob" Yannes (designer of the MOS Technology SID chip for the Commodore 64 home computer), Bruce Crockett, and Al Charpentier. Their first product was a software drum machine that ran on a home computer.
> In January 1998, ENSONIQ Corp. was acquired by Creative Technology Ltd. for $77 million, and merged with E-mu Systems to form the E-Mu/Ensoniq division. The fusion with E-mu sealed Ensoniq's fate: after releasing an entry-level E-mu MK6/PK6 and Ensoniq Halo keyboards - essentially keyboard versions of the Proteus 2500 module - in 2002, the E-Mu/Ensoniq division was dissolved and support for legacy products was discontinued soon afterward.
https://www.keyboardkountry.com/blog/the-amazing-ensoniq/