emusonacid!

currently im undecided, but i'm tryin to choose between either an akai z8 or an emu 5000 ultra. as the 5000 is half the price i might add an rfx card too. hoping you emu experts could answer a few questions:

1) whats the pc editing software like on the emu? does it handle the actual scsi transferring as well as setting up sample maps etc? and is it ok on xp?

2) whats the main diffs between the 5000 and 6400? the only differences i can see (apart from the nice blue screen) are things like ram and hd, which cost fuck all now days anyway. i'm not fussed about extra outputs coz its all gonna be going straight into the pc soundcard

3) are the z-planes REALLY that amazing, or just hyped? is there anywhere i can hear some examples of this, with nuffin else going on?

cheers in advance
parameta

Hi parameta.. let me help you with some answers.

The editing software on the PC is the same for all samplers. If you are using programs like sound forge, wavelab and recycle etc they can all send and recieve samples via scsi in the same matter so no matter which sampler you have you can take advantage of this. There is also a front end made by emu called EOS Link which allows you to control the front panel commands of the emu via your pc without even having to have the sampler physically right there in front of you.

2.) Here are the differences between the 5000 and 6400... and you are right... it is dickall. First off the colour of the screen.. this is no way affects performance and is simply cosmetics. Both are easy to read without a problem even on an angle. 2.) The ram... the 5000 comes with 4mb and the 6400 16mb... both are crap and you will end up maxing it out to 128 regardless of which one you get. 3.) The outputs. The E5000 comes with 2 stereo pairs while the 6400 comes with 4 stereo pairs. This is probably the only physical difference between the 2 in terms of performance. This is a good thing but both will still require the 8 output expansion if you need more which cost the same for each machine. If you are simply going straight into your soundcard 1 track at a time then you won't care about this anyways. 3.) The 6400 comes with a harddrive and the 5000 doesnt. The hard drive that comes with it is pretty small anyways and you will still need to get a new one if you want substantial space. So far you are still putting out money for each machine no matter which you get. Lastly is the polyphony. The 6400 is CAPABALE of 128 simultaneous notes though DOES NOT come standard with this. it is still about a $500USD upgrade and really not mandatory unless you are doing orchestra work, film scores etc to use and need all the polyphony. The 5000 cannot get this upgrade however if desired.

On top of all that the physical motherboard, OS etc are IDENTICAL and there isn't anything you can do on one that you can't do on another. I hope this will help you decide. Both are fairly cheap in price and will both require more ram and a bigger hard drive regardless so if colour of screen and 2 more outputs is what you need get the 6400 otherwise save and get the 5000 with the rfx card as you stated. That is exactly what I have and its quite remarkable.

Lastly.. YES.. the Z-Plane filters are in a class of their own. couple with the rfx card for better routing and you are unstoppable. The filters have gotten even better with the latest EOS V4.70 update which has a better sounding low pass filter as well as resonance being able to be controlled via a controller and no longer strictly to a note-on command.

I hope all this helps and you will become the latest member to the emu family.

thanks for the thorough reply, thats helped me alot. i'm still slightly confused about the EOS link software. i've got a yamaha a4000 atm and a piece of software that enables me to rename samples, set-up sample banks etc. no matter how much i look i cant even seem to find screenshots of this EOS link s/w. to be honest tho, i've just seen an emu 5000 for 340 quid brand new, and ive got ram and a hd from my yamaha so i think a purchase is imminent

Apparently EOS link is cack - but the interface of the emu is good enough to work on in itself. For naming presets via your pc etc you may be better off with Sounddiver.

The Z-planes as they are so called in the digital domain...as oppose to the S-plane (analogue domain) are amazing!!! The Emu has brilliant filters - standard high pass, low and band pass...plus my fave - the last one in the bag - the shelving ones - nasty!!!!

so no-one has any experience with the EOS link? the reason i ask, is coz im probly gonna be tied up for space next year and it could pretty useful if i aint got room to put the sampler somewhere i can see the screen easily

cheers for the help so far guys

EOS link works fine. It makes it really easy typing out names and jetting around, I wouldnt be too worried about it. I rarely use it, but my emu is 8 inches away at eye level so I dont really have a need for it.
Besides I like the silky smooth feel of my baby
*makes humping motion*

haha ok thanks.

cheers for all the help ppl, much appreciated

eos link is quite horrid , could only be useful if your sampler was in another room or completey smashed in front panel (sorry i dont mean to get everyone nervous) but really, the app itself is like first generation beta copy. The concept was good, but the app itself is very poor