emusonacid!

Hello all , first off i want to congratulate you on a great forum , an excellent source of information !... thanks .

My dillema :

i've had my trusty e4x since '97 - and since purchasing it - haven't looked back . I do use softsamplers , but as you all know - nothing beats the real thing . I'm in the uk but have a mate across the pond who deals equipment . He's got a Platinum that i can buy from him for $900 . All i know about it at this stage is this :

MAXED out E4 platinum:

128mb
internal HD 20g
16mb Flash RAM
16MB onboard ROM
ADAT exp
8 analog out exp (total of 16)

I'm not sure if it has the dreaded Rfx board .
My question to you is .. should i go for it ?
Obviously the spec on these machines is fantastic , but , having read all the posts on e.o.a. i ask myself the question ' am i not just buying into a whole heap of problems ? ' .

Does anyone know the % of machines that actually suffer from random panning - outbursts - slow attacks - crashes etc ?

As far as i can tell Emu have been bought up by another company who evidently are only interested in going down the soft route - whilst abandoning the hardware owners .
Does it look like any of the above problems will ever be ironed out ?

Heeeeeeeeeelp !!!

Cheers .
Kev .

It has RFX and ALL options, including an additional 4 inputs an 8 analog outputs.

EMU was purchased by Creative back in 93/94. So it aint no recent deal. Obviously they couldn't sell many hardware samplers in a current market of free software samplers. Lets face it, most ppl will use something for free rather than paying for it. EMU needed to get into the software sampler market to survive, of course they were clever enuff to supply their software with hardware (culls piracy).

Now, i don't have a platinum....looks like a dope machine. I have 1 E4XT Ultra fully loaded to the same spec as the Platinum tho. Personally, i wouldn't want that configuration if i was buying my first EMU. I need 16 individual analog outputs and since the RFX is stereo centric its not possible to have 16 individual outputs running since busses are stereo an tied to outputs. Sure u can use the mixer to pan but u cant assign 2 different busses to the same output. The FX sound great, and VERY useful. The EQ and the Chorus is dope but i noticed some problems. Like the random pan, and some other strange shit like total loss of pan control and outputs assignment.

If EMU intended to fix it up with an EOS update they would have addressed it by now but they claim they dont know about it an they can't replicate it. Sounds like BS to me.

Anywayz, if u got external effects look for an E4XT Ultra an try to locate an Octopus card (8 analog out option).


ez

Thanks for your opinion Drayon . Sounds like the rfx is a great option to have - but is flawed by the annoying side issues it causes ...

Does it follow that e4s WITHOUT the rfx installed are trouble free ?

Could i just remove the rfx or does the OS require it to be there ?

Would still like to know what % of Ultra/Platinum users have to deal with OS/rfx quirks as an on going issue ?

k

honest bob II wrote: He's got a Platinum that i can buy from him for $900

E4 Platinum at $900 is a very good deal. If you end up not buying it from him can you please put me in contact so I can purchase it

... certainly info



... interested to see the feedback i get regarding my question first though .

honest bob II wrote:Does it follow that e4s WITHOUT the rfx installed are trouble free ?

well, the outbursts and random panning bugs are ONLY RFX related, so no rfx, no way you'll get these problems.
as for other bugs, i dunno...i'm somehow using RFX with EOS 4.7 bug free...i know of others who are too, yet i know of others who have these bugs. i almost have to suspect the problem somewhere lies in the hardware itself for these problems, not EOS. i'm sure others would disagree, but how can you explain why some get the bugs, some don't using the same OS?

honest bob II wrote:Could i just remove the rfx or does the OS require it to be there ?

you can just pop it out if it gives you problems...the OS won't care...you'll just be stuck with the decent, but pretty damn limited, internal effects.
i wouldn't hesitate on the machine because of the RFX, it sounds like a great deal. if the RFX does give you problems, take it out and sell it here or on Ebay. or you might be lucky like me and have no problems whatsoever with it.

honest bob II wrote:Would still like to know what % of Ultra/Platinum users have to deal with OS/rfx quirks as an on going issue ?

i think we would like to know that too. it's hard b/c most of the people who post about it only do so b/c they have problems...i mean, no one posts and says "hey, i don't have any bugs!" (although sometimes i want to post this just to bragg)

ha ha ! thanks Dugawug .. that sounds like excellent advice -

As i said before , i'm currently using an e4x with EOS 3.00b , out of interest
- would i notice a marked improvement in performance (using a platinum) ? ... i do experience sluggishness with the e4 - and can sometimes find myself 2 steps ahead of it when performing tasks .

I definately notice the RFX bugs however I'm finding ways to minimize their presence. Luckily I have an old e6400 non ultra that I can use if needed.

Whether or not I'd buy one new now, hmm that's a tricky question. The main reason I upgraded to an ultra was for live use. It offered multisetups and RFX. It meant I could get sets together much faster than the old non Ultra and that I could now keep my external effects unit at home. But now with the introduction of programs like Ableton Live, the Ultra seems a bit cumbersome. I am just referring to playing out live. I will still almost always use the Emu for music production. I suppose it depends on what type of music you will be doing, will you be using it live, will it still be an integral part of your setup in 2 years time etc etc

Personally I dont think I would buy one if I was in your situtaion - unless the price was right of course

Just a thought, if you take the RFX out you might be losing out on a bit more - the ADAT in/out, the anlogue 8 outs and 4 ins etc. I might be wrong but I just checked the Sound on Sound review of the Platinum, and it seems like alot of the extras are fed from the RFX board.

Thanks illinformed - I wonder if anyone can confirm wether i'd lose the extra 8 analogue outs or not ? ... couldn't manage without the 16 personally . I make breakbeat based records mainly ... and the emu is an integral part of my setup/sound - would never lug it to a sweaty smokey club to play live though .. i'd rather use my laptop with the exs24 or suchlike .

I think i'll buy the platinum anyway cos it sounds like a good deal - i could always sell it on if it didn't work out - i'd still have the trusty e4x , which is better than nothing .

honest bob II wrote:Thanks illinformed - I wonder if anyone can confirm wether i'd lose the extra 8 analogue outs or not ?

check this page out, under upgrade kits. it will tell you which require RFX:
http://www.emu.com/shop/shopcategory.asp?Category=299

thanks Illinformed for remembering about certain add-ons being RFX dependent. Although, if this is a true E4 Platinum, it should have EVERY option standard on it, am I wrong? I thought that was what the platinum was all about...completely maxed out. (I really wanted one when EMU was clearing them out but they only had the E4XT Ultra left, which I got and love).

honest bob II wrote:I think i'll buy the platinum anyway cos it sounds like a good deal - i could always sell it on if it didn't work out - i'd still have the trusty e4x , which is better than nothing .

yeah, i would get it, but i'm not you so hard to say. i would say when thinking about maybe reselling it, to keep in mind that the value of hardware samplers has dropped SO much. i bought my E4XT Ultra six months ago brand new from EMU for $1200, when two years ago they were $3000. I actually bought two of the E4XT Ultras thinking I was getting such a good deal, why not buy two and sell one?, then I found it exteremely hard to sell the second brand new E4XT for even $1000. So keep in mind you might pay $900 for this platinum but might only be able to sell it for $600-800 or so in a year or two.

I'd say go for it. $900 US I assume is a pretty good deal. Obviously this person will not tell you if any of the RFX bugs are present so perhaps you can ask to give it a trial and see if you experience the problems. It's a bit of hit and miss. I have a maxed out E4XT Ultra (Platinum specs) and I can say I have never had problems with the random pan effect, noise outbursts etc. I have not upgraded to OS 4.7 though (if it ain't broke as they say) but, yes, the RFx routing does have it's limitations but you can work your way around them if patient. the only probelms I have had with this machine is backing up to image files and reloading them. This causes the sampler to misread (to excess) the file(s) size. Nads.

Checked out the link thanks Dugawug - I'm still waiting to hear back for the full spec - i'm with you though , i thought the whole idea of the Platinum was to be a factory maxed out unit . We shall see . I paid about 1400 quid for my e4x some years ago and absoloutely love it - even with all the computer based samplers about i can't ever see myself not using a hardware unit - so i think buying a 2nd one now at the current price is incredible value ! I guess at the end of the day we're all enthusiasts - in years to come there's no doubt in my mind that these samplers will be collectors items ... the value is sure to go up too... maybe not massively , but certainly to more than the current (post computer based sampler) slump .

Cheers Nads Thats two people who're trouble free - encouraging !

Call me naive though but whats 'backing up to an image file' ? I'm guessing it's making a file on your desktop that allows you to backup to your mac/pc ?

Can i do that with my e4x ?

Hey Honest Bob, I've got more advice if you haven't already got that E4.
I've been hawking E-bay for a while and I've purchased an E4 non-ultra for $200 and a non-ultra E4XT Turbo Signature Series for $400. Plus I have an Ultra E5000 that I bought retail. I've been hawking E-bay for EMUs for some time now, always looking for a good deal, so I've been watching the EMU auctions like a broker watvhes the stock ticker. E4 Ultras usually have a reserve price of 5 or 6 hundred US dollars but usually break a thousand, and upwards. So $900 is a good deal.
Technically, you've got enough outputs to do whatever. You could EQ on a mixing desk with each hit in your break coming out of a different channel, bounce it down, then still have however many outputs for anything else.
The fact that it doesn't have an RFX could be good or bad. I would love to be able to assign effects per sample. But with a SCSI card I can, it just takes a little more time. Also , I'm not sure if the effects on the RFX are continuous or static. If they're static I might as well do what I'm doing and apply effects on my PC. If they're continuous I really need to get one.
In terms of glitches and errors, I've got 3 EMU's and I'm relatively free of any. I've had a few but they all turned out to be MIDI/sequencer related problems that I could fix by changing the Master settings. No big deal and not the EMUs fault.
Overall I'd say go for it. The only word of caution I have is regarding the power supply. Aside from problems with the RFX I'd say power supply problems are the most common in terms of harware and functionallity. A power supply problem could exhibit all sorts of symptoms and potentially screw up other elements in the circuit chain. One day your hard drive might come on but not your floppy, or your screen. So figure out if the guy you're buying it from left it on for long periods of time. The good news is that the distributor/manufacturer of EMU power supplies is still in business and has plenty of powere suppllies available, $150-$200.
But anyway good luck with that, get it if it's in good shape.

Thanks mate ...
I've actually received the sampler now .
As far as i can tell it's a complete Platinum ie nothings been removed .
I've been watching e bay in a similar fashion to you , nothing much happens over here to be honest - i've never seen a Platinum spec unit on there . I was lucky enough to meet someone who shipped mine over - ended up paying about $1100 (607 gbp) which still seems like a bargain to me .
Got a couple of questions for the boffins tho :

Anyone know where i can get my hands on a manual for the rfx32 ?

I've got eos6.1 - is it worth going version 7 ? Where do i get this from ?

....... and lastly ... How do i know if the sampler contains a rom ? It doesn't say anything about it when it boots up ....

oh shit .. one more ... the hard drive has the most annoying whine i have ever heard in my life , like a vacuum cleaner being buggered ... it's a 20gig
Quantum Fireball . Can i remedy this -or is there a quiet hard drive on the market that i could replace it with ?

Thanks people .