Emulator II

Emulator II, II+, and II+HD

(click on EII for photograph from EII brochure)

When I think about the famous American synthesizer companies, Moog, ARP,and Sequential all come to mind but not always Emu. Considering that only Emu is still making synths today they must have done something that the other guys didn’t. Well they did quite a few things. They built digital scanning keyboards that were used on the Prophet 5 and OB-X. They were involved with the SSM chip that was licensed by Sequential Circuits and used in their Prophet-5. These two item generated a nice amount of royalties for the company.

In the late 1970's EMU started working on completely computer controllable analog synthesizer with 16 individual voices. Peter Baumann, who had left Tangerine Dream in 1977 purchased some of the indivudial voice units. In 1980 Emu displayed this "Ultimate Analog" (as described by Robert Moog), the Audity with a price tag of $70,000. Unfortunately this price tag would keep it from obtaining more than a single order, if that many. (Does anyone know if the Baumann uses the voice units on any of his solo albums?) Fortunately for Emu, (for commercial purposes only) at about the same time Sequential no longer had to pay it licensing royalties. Based upon these two factors, the Audity would receive no more funding. While Emu was displaying the Audity at AES in 1980, Farilight was displaying the Farilight CMI. Emu was fascinated by the sampling section of the Farilight and they figured that they could create a sampling instrument for under $10,000. In 1982 they displayed the Emulator I with a list price of $8,000. The short falls of the Emulator I are enormous but it was just so much cheaper than any other sampler in the market at that time. Sampling for the masses - well sort of.

In 1984 Emu introduced the Emulator II at the same $8,000 list price but the II offered so much more than the I. The instrument was a major success, sampling became very popular and if you look at most professional set ups in the mid to late 80’s there is a very good chance you will see the Emulator II.

The EII is a very powerful instrument but its really just as much as computer as it is an instrument. And like any computer of the mid 80’s it is just not going to compete with a computer of the 90’s. The same is true of the EII when comparing it to the samplers of today. Especially since sampling is memory dependent. But when you factor in its analog filters, a huge sample library, its classic sound, and a used price between $300-$700 its apparent why people still use them.

The EII was available in three models; the EII, the EII+ which offered double the memory of the EII but the memory is located in a different block and only one block can be accessed at a time. Each block of memory is about is about 512K, but with the operating software loaded, an empty bank has 484K for use. (You can switch memory blocks by simply hitting the zero key twice) The main advantage of the + is that you can have the contents of two disks residing in the EII memory opposed to one. The EII+HD was the same as the EII+ but in the second floppy drive area was a 20 meg hard drive. I don’t have the HD version but I understand that it is quite noisy and vibrates.

The units came standard with a single 5 ¼ floppy drive and for $650 a second drive could be added. Note: The drives only work with double density disks not high density disk which were the ones most IBM’s with 5 ¼ drives used. The double density disk was the disk of choice of the Apple IIe, the Commodore 64’s and the early IBM PC. It take about 25 seconds to load a full disk into the EII. The EII’s operating system resides on the disk and the unit will commonly refer to the o/s so the disk must be present for the EII to function properly. (Operating systems range from 1.0?-3.1 and 3.1 is still available from Emu).

The user interface is quite good even though its limited by its single line LCD. Without the manual, I don’t think I could have figured out half of the functions but once you have performed a specific task they usually seem obvious and very easy to remember. What makes the interface quite usable is that the unit is broken down into ‘modules’ with each module’s parameters listed on the front pannel, a 10 digit keypad, and 4 sliders. The module is where you perform your programming, sampling, configuring, etc.

Sampling Module: 17.6 seconds of glorious 8 bit samples at 27.5 Khz. You may store as many samples as you would like in the machine as long as the total length of all samples is less than 17.6 seconds. Sample length may be programmed before sampling or it will default to the maximum allowable length based upon available memory. Sampling may be performed in either of the two fashions:

Force sampling (manual) - sampling begins as soon as you tell the EII to begin.

Threshold Sampling (Rec/pause) - the sampler is armed but won’t begin until it registers a sound that is louder than a previously assigned threshold.

In this module you can have the LCD act as a v. u . meter to obtain the proper sample level and choose an input gain of +0, +20, +40. A sample may be transposed one octave up and down the keyboard from its original sample pitch.

Voice Definition Module: This is a pretty powerful section where you perform most of your digital editing as well as setting up modulation routings (i..e. velocity, pitch bend) to affect the voice.

In the digital editing category the following features are available

Truncate start or end of sample. This allows you to cut off unwanted portions of a voice. It is used to conserve memory, change instrument characteristics, cut off a long delay, isolate a particular section of a sample, etc.

Looping. Probably the most important feature of any sampler - unless you have infinite memory and with the EII its just not an option. Looping will mark off a (loop) section of a voice (you choose the start point and the length of the section) and the voice will play until it hits the end of the loop section than go back to the start point and replays the loop section until it hits the end of the loop and then back to the start point and plays the loop section over and over again. Looping can also be reversed so that the voice will play until it hits the end of the loop point then it plays backward to the loop start point then forward to the loop end point, then backwards to loop start point, etc. Unfortunately with a one line LCD you have no visual feedback to see what loop points make the most sense. If the start and end point have a discontinuity (different characteristics), you will hear a annoying pop sound which will occur on all samplers. The instrument comes with an autolooping feature which will help you find loop points that have minimal discontinuity based upon the manual points you have provided. Therefore by changing your manual point you will adjust the points that autoloop will provide. According to Emu, autolooping works incredibly well, but I think the word incredibly might be a slight exaggeration in this case. It does work well, and they key to getting it to work well is pure practice, patience, and some luck. I find that I’m most successful when using relative small loop section - this is due to the minimal amount of voice change that can occur in a relatively small section. For more complicate sounds that require longer loop section I will some times let the sample run almost to the end where it starts to fade out and then make it loop to a little past the beginning where its still fading in. This causes a slight decrease in the volume of the sound but usually eliminates the annoying pop. This application works better when playing chords than single notes, since each voice will cycle through the wave at a different speed and therefore each voice will decrease a different point in time (making it almost unnoticeable) thus adding a little life to the sound.

Combine Voice will mix two samples together. However it works only on a non looped voice and then if necessary you loop the new combined voice. Once the two voices are combined they may be stored as one sample thus saving memory.

Sound Reversal which reads the sample in reverse order.

Splicing Two samples together. Splicing will mark and end point in one sample and a start point in a second sample and disregard the unused section. As with looping, discontinuity will produce a clicking at the splice point. An autosplice feature is supported.

The modulation routing available in this module are: keyboard velocity controls the dynamics, keyboard velocity controls the VCA attack, keyboard velocity controls the cutoff frequency, keyboard velocity controls the filter envelope attack, keyboard frequency velocity controls the resonance (huge feature!), and the LFO modulates the pitch of the voice. Additionally each voice may be assigned detuned by +/- ½ steps and volume reduction (similar to VCA level).

Preset Definition: Once you have samples in the unit its time to make the preset. (A group of presets, along with the necessary samples, sequencer data is known as a bank- which is all saved to a disk.) A preset can be quite simple or quite complex because each key can be assigned a sample as long as all samples fit into memory (total length of 17.6 seconds). Since each sample may be transposed up to an octave from its original pitch, it takes four samples to create a preset that covers all five octave of the keyboard. Since memory is so crucial this module allows you to see the amount of memory remaining. The process of creating of preset is pretty straight forward once you have been through the routine a few time but hear it is a nut shell:

You create the preset by assigning it a # (1-99) and a name. Letter and numbers are selected via one of the sliders. Cursor position is moved via another slider.

Then you assign the voice(s) (sample) to be used in the preset and their key assignment. Each voice may be assigned an output channel so different voices may be routed to an effect processor. However each output will play only one voice monophonically. So if only one output channel is sellected the voice will only act as a monophonic voice. Three output channel assigned the voice will act as 3 voice unit. Quite odd. However you can assign all voices to route through the mix output and thereby avoid channel assignment and/or you can allow each voice to route through all eight outputs. Once a voice has been assigned it may be de-assigned.

Arepegiator Settings are stored as part of the patch. The arpegiator is quite nice allowing the following parameters:

arpegiator mode: off, up, down, u/d (from lowest to highest then highest to lowest - therefore the highest and lowest notes repeat), random, and program (in the orders the keys are pressed)

arpegiator extension: norm, 1 octave, 2 octaves

key range of the arpegiator - thus allowing you to set up a patch with an arpegiating section and a non arpegiating section.

Note Value: ¼, ¼ triplet, 1/8, 1/8 triplet, 1/16, 1/16 triplet, 1/32, and 1/32 triplet.

Tempo: 40 -240 beats per minute. The arpegiator can follow an external midi clock however the sequencer must be engaged. You can just run an empty sequence and the arpegiator will follow the external clock. However patch changes are not received via midi when the sequencer is engaged, so if you want an automated pc you must either enter it as part of the dummy sequence or turn off the sequencer.

Midi Set up: Midi parameters are stored are the patch level, with is much better than at the global level. The parameters are as follows:

Midi Channel: (1-16) selects the channel that the EII will respond to.

Midi Mode: off, omni, poly,

Preset Change: On/Off

Sequencer Start: On/Off

Local Control: On/Off. The off mode means no sound is made by the EII when keys are pressed yet they still send the applicable data. Very important if you use the EII as your master keyboard.

Assignment of an individual midi controller number for the left wheel, right wheel, and a pedal.

Assignment of an individual midi controller for three ‘real time parameters’ (see real time parameters below)

That’s the essential set up parameters to create a patch. In step two when you assign the voice you may have two voices overlap. When two voices overlap then may simply overlap or the following three options are available:

velocity switch: selects one of the two voices depending on how hard the key is striked.

velocity crossfade: controls the crossfade between two voices based upon how hard the key is striked.

positional crossfade: alters the level balance levels between the two voices depending where on where you play within the overlap range. This is a great option and works really well to get two samples to two sound to interchange seamlessly as you play up and down the keyboard.

Additionally you can set each voice not to transpose as its played throughout the assigned keyboard range. This is good when using the EII as a drum machine.

Real Time Control: This is a pretty powerful section that allows the uses to make the sampler sound a little less like a sampler by using ‘real time’ modulations. The following modulators are available: 1) left wheel (classic center detent, spring loaded), 2 right wheel (closest to you = off, furthest from you = on, no resistance), 3) control voltage (pedal or any cv source from 0 to 10V), 4), 5), 6) three separate individual controllers as defined in the voice module, 7), and 8) two separate foot switches. The following sources are available for modulation: 1) pitch, 2) filter cutoff, 3) volume, 4) LFO’s application to pitch, 5) LFO’s application to filter cutoff, 6) LFO application to volume, 7) attack rate. Additionally the footswitch can be used to turn on and off the above real time control. All seven sources may active at once as well!

Filter/VCA/LFO: One of the nicest things about the Emulator II that is not found on two many other samplers (except the Prophet 2000/2002, Emulator III, Mirage, and DSS1) is its analog back end. The parameters are as follows

Filter Paramters:

Filter Frequency Cut Off (0 to 120)

Resonance (0 to 99)

Filter Envelope (-50 to +50)

LFO Modulation (00 to 15) range should be larger!!!

Keyboard Tracking (00-1.87) 1.00 keeps the sound constant as you play up the keyboard.

Filter Envelope (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release)

VCA Parameters:

VCA Envelope (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release - range for all is 0-32)

LFO Paramters:

Rate (01-99)

LFO Delay (00-99) maximum delay is 2 seconds (that’s it?)

LFO Variation (00-15) (Hmmm that’s a parameter I haven’t seen on other synth - other manufacturers take note please) This great little feature - each key has a different LFO frequency thus sounding slightly different. Perfect for that symphony sample, or analog patch.

VCA depth (00-15)

The filter is quite nice sounding and it allows you to sample quick single cycle waves which are easy to loop and don’t require much memory and then use the filter/lfo/vca to create the desired sound much like a subtractive synthesis unit. The filter will self resonate but there is no bass boost so the bottom falls out relatively quickly when the resonance parameter is turned up.

Sequencer

The onboard sequencer is at best a scratch pad, yet it is a reasonable powerful scratch pad. It is capable of some serious sequencing but it is just so awkward and not flexible enough that I can’t see using for anything more than when you need to get something recorded in memory and you don’t have another sequencer with you. It is a eight track sequencer and it can record up to eight tracks of presets from the EII and up to eight MIDI instruments via the MIDI out port. Sequencer data is saved as part of the bank and approximately 4500 notes (events) is equivalent to one second of a sample.

The sequencer can be synched to almost anything as follows: internal clock, external click track (24,48,96 pqn), MIDI clock, SMPTE time code (24,25,30 fps). It can also write a click track or SMPTE to tape.

What make using the sequencer so awkward (at least in my opinion) is that before you record you must define the sequencer length and the length can not be changed once a sequence has been recorded. The EII supports the following time signatures: numerator 1-16 and denominate 4,8, and 16. The sequencer features auto-correct and punch in (you can set a countdown to get a beat reference) but no step time editing. Tracks may be bounced to a single track as long as they use the same preset. Controls source (i.e. pitchwheels, etc) may be recorded. Sequences may be appended to the end of another sequence. There is no individual measure insert and delete.

So How Does it Sound? / Other

As noted above the sampling is 8 bit at 27.5 KHZ, but it got to be the best sounding 8 bit sampler ever created and it easily competes with any 12 bit sampler. Emu did some serious digital signal processing to get the unit to sound so good but I have no idea what it is? You won’t mistake it for a Mirage!!! Its great for those 80’s sounding horns and orchestra sounds, etc. as well as sampling other synthesizers. Its not the unit to create the perfect piano or realistic orchestra sound. It has a slightly dirty sound that gives it character (something you may not want in a sampler) - great for that thick industrial sound. It has a tremendous sample library available for it and the Internet is a great place to meet other user that you can trade disks with. There are a lot of Fairlight and Synclavier samples that are available for the unit (these are nothing short of amazing).

Optical Media made a CD-ROM player for the unit and there is 3 volume library released by Optical Media that covers over 1500 samples from the their library.

Digidesign made a program (now out of print) called Sound Designer that allows you visually edit samples on the MAC as well perform many of function that you would perform directly on the EII on the MAC using the mouse, keyboard, and the monitor. Interestingly enough when the samples are transferred to the MAC they are imported as 16 bit (save as 16 bit) and when exported back to the EII as 8bit. Sound Designer will only work properly on 68000-68030 (maybe 68040) MACs running system software 7.1 or lower. Additionally a custom cable to connect the Emulator to the mac is required (right click here to download schematic) A program called Alchemy lets you also visually edit EII waves but does not offer control of the EII via the MAC.

Where the MIDI through jack? For some reason there is no midi through jack which means you probably need to keep the EII as the front or end of the midi chain unless you have a midi patch bay.

The unit is quite large and appears to be quite sturdy, the most common complaint after 10 years of use is that the buttons on the unit get a bit sticky and either don’t respond or double the entry. This can be remedied by a quick cleaning of the button connectors inside the unit. Also Emu has a list of recommended hard drives that can be used with the unit and they claim that non recommended units may damage the circuit board. Additionally as far as I know the hard drive must be mounted inside where the second floppy drive sits but I can’t see why it can’t use a stand alone drive. The + and HD units did not hit the market until about a year after the II came out (in 1985) so there these units may commonly be the newer units.

Listen to the Emulator II (Real Audio)

Interested in trading sounds - right click here for my disk list

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