emusonacid! legacy

I'm actually quite surprised that this topic has'nt surfaced yet. Which of the emu sampler is the best, and in what order where they released? I mean, a list of which of which samplers are the newest (and therefore the best?) would really be helpful when you are about to buy a new sampler... And there is some unknown samplers I'd like to know a little more about, like, is the E4X Hollywood Gold better than the E-synth classic?

Come on, you experienced emu's, make me a list :)

Well.. the ultra series are pretty much all the same.. just that one sampler may have more polyphony then the other... or perhaps a slot for a certian efx card or something like that. Not too much difference from what I understand.

I think the ultras where the newest hardware samplers from emu before they had gone soft....

Any one else?

snh

i have read from various sources, ppl commenting on the Emulator III as the best sounding sampler. Apparently it sounds much more analog than the E4 series. I have heard from a few ppl the E4 Classic sounded fatter than the Ultra's.

The EmulatorX IMO and many others does not sound as fat or analog as the hardware. With everyone's lust for higher bit and sampler rates i fear we are loosing the raw analog fat sound we all love. Too much gear now days sounds too clean and pristine. Virtual analog hardware synths even suffer from this 'too clean' sound, they may be able to replicate sounds of a subtractive synthesizer but they sound nothing like a real analog beast. When i listen to my SCI Pro One and then listen to my Virus i instantly notice how raw and how much fatter the Pro One sounds, the Virus bottom end while it goes real low, it just don't have the same tight fat timbre. I make the same comparison to my E4 Ultra and the EmulatorX and get the same sense, the EMUX while cleaner and crisper in the top end (drums/pads etc) just does not have the heavy raw sound of the hardware in the bottom end department. Id be very interested to hear an EIII next to the Ultra an the EmuX.

...i heard also that "the Emulator III" has "the" Emu Sound . ( A/D D/A ?)

anyway ..i never heard it. ..but i would. ;-)

So, it's like e4, e-synth, e64, e5xxx and e6xxx, in that order and then comes all the ultra-samplers, which are mainly the same?

Pretty much, but the E4XT and up (Hollywood, etc) have 128 voices standard, the e5000 and e6400 Ultras have 64.

Other than that, it's just options - the Hollywoods have a ton of options pre installed and a bigger hard drive as standard, for example.

yeah , all ultras had the same AD/DA, the classic had different AD/DA to the ultra, some say they sounded fatter an more analog (raw), the ultra while having a hotter output apparently sounds cleaner than the classic.

Im very interested to hear the EIII.

Just by the way: I've got some of the emu EIIIx sound libary cd's, if someone is interested.

best is a bit subjective isn't it?

as far as order goes for the e4 series, it goes something like this (oldest to newest):

E4, E64, E6400, E4X, E4X Turbo (E4XT), E-Synth, E6400 Ultra, E4XT Ultra, E-Synth Ultra, E4 Platinum Series, E4 Platinum with RFX

Not too sure about the platinum series lineup...don't forget there are also keyboard versions of both EOS classic and Ultras, they are usually more expensive and cost prohibitive to upgrade (I guess they all are now though?)

About the EIII, it's a monster, friggin' huge, it's got real analog filters - I knew a guy that had one but it was always broken...

best is a bit subjective isn't it?

as far as order goes for the e4 series, it goes something like this (oldest to newest):

E4, E64, E6400, E4X, E4X Turbo (E4XT), E-Synth, E6400 Ultra, E4XT Ultra, E-Synth Ultra, E4 Platinum Series, E4 Platinum with RFX

Not too sure about the platinum series lineup...don't forget there are also keyboard versions of both EOS classic and Ultras, they are usually more expensive and cost prohibitive to upgrade (I guess they all are now though?)

About the EIII, it's a monster, friggin' huge, it's got real analog filters - I knew a guy that had one but it was always broken...

just realized I missed the E5000, just after the Ultra series (it came out afterwards as a scaled down ultra) but before the Platinum series...

Lurkr wrote:best is a bit subjective isn't it?

Always But then again, I'm really low on money for the time. But, anyway, are there any other series than classic, ultra and platinium? I mean, like the Hollywood-gold version I saw on ebay?

good point...I think they are not quite ultra-series... have you checked out the Emulator Archive?

http://www.emulatorarchive.com

I didn't realize I double posted before...

New to the board. Greetings. So far this thread has been very helpful.

Is the e4 Platinum better than the 6400 Ultra's?

The E4 Platinums are loaded with just about everything, with the newest everything... they are the last hardware samplers that Emu made. The E6400 Ultra is the lowest of the ultra's, usually stripped down unless someone has upgraded the hell out of it...

An E4 Platinum should have AES/EBU in and out, PC101 Keyboard in, 128 voices, a hard drive, word clock and 32 Midi Channels (2 Midi-Ins, 2 Midi-Outs) and possibly RFX.

An E6400 will only have all that if it was upgraded. The only Ultra with less that an E6400 is the E5000...