I belive it is, although I seem to remember someting about it not having the ESQ-1's sequencer (I own a ESQ-1, and while the sequencer was neat when it came out, you're not missing much.) Aside from that, Ive had my ESQ since the year it was introduced, and I still use it a lot, espcecially for bell and string patches. By the way, if you know anything about downloading ESQ patches, please look at my posting and see if you can give me any advice.