Anyone know the E-mu Emulator IV?

pajhonka · 23rd May 2008

I just bought an E-mu Emulator IV from someone on eBay for ~$120 USD.
He said it was just sitting in his rack collecting dust...he'd only turned it on three times...played the piano samples and that was it. I'm just wondering how practical of a sampler can I expect this to be by today's standards (file sizes, formats, etc.). I don't know if it has the RAM upgrades, add-ons, ROMS, or what. The posting says it has 128 voices and up to 128 megabytes of RAM.

If anyone has experience with this sampler, I'd love to hear it. It seemed to be top-of-the-line in its time and has a pretty impressive client-list.

seanmccoy · 23rd May 2008

I still have my old EIV, which I paid a hefty $5k for back in about '94—which included a mondo 32 meg of RAM! It's a killer unit, with great response and better filters than anything you're likely to find in any software sampler–not to mention that you can put a different envelope on each and every sample and it won't break a sweat. The severe limitation is the memory, of course, which tops out at 128 Meg. Most sampled drumkits use far more than that these days, so velocity switching layers aren't very practical on an EIV. Still great for drums because of the sound (use the analog outs), nice for sound effects because of the extensive programming and fantastic filters, and can be great for bass or other mostly single note instruments. Tons of EMU samples still available around, many of them very cheap, so have at it. Just make sure all the RAM slots are filled up!

23rd May 2008	#1
pajhonka Gear Head Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 35 Thread Starter	Anyone know the E-mu Emulator IV? I just bought an E-mu Emulator IV from someone on eBay for ~$120 USD. He said it was just sitting in his rack collecting dust...he'd only turned it on three times...played the piano samples and that was it. I'm just wondering how practical of a sampler can I expect this to be by today's standards (file sizes, formats, etc.). I don't know if it has the RAM upgrades, add-ons, ROMS, or what. The posting says it has 128 voices and up to 128 megabytes of RAM. If anyone has experience with this sampler, I'd love to hear it. It seemed to be top-of-the-line in its time and has a pretty impressive client-list.

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23rd May 2008	#2
seanmccoy Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Central Point, Oregon Posts: 1,451	I still have my old EIV, which I paid a hefty $5k for back in about '94—which included a mondo 32 meg of RAM! It's a killer unit, with great response and better filters than anything you're likely to find in any software sampler–not to mention that you can put a different envelope on each and every sample and it won't break a sweat. The severe limitation is the memory, of course, which tops out at 128 Meg. Most sampled drumkits use far more than that these days, so velocity switching layers aren't very practical on an EIV. Still great for drums because of the sound (use the analog outs), nice for sound effects because of the extensive programming and fantastic filters, and can be great for bass or other mostly single note instruments. Tons of EMU samples still available around, many of them very cheap, so have at it. Just make sure all the RAM slots are filled up!