E-mu emulator
| Sampler | |
|---|---|
|
|
| General | |
| Surname | emulator |
| Manufacturer | E-mu Systems |
| Sound synthesis | digital, sample |
| Period | 1981-1983 |
| Price (year of publication) | US $ 10,000 (Mark I) US $ 8,000 (Mark II) |
| properties | |
| Polyphonic | 2-8 |
| Multitimbral | No |
| filter |
Low pass with fixed frequency (can only be switched on and off) |
| LFO | 1 (vibrato only) |
| Effects | - - |
| Keys | 41, not velocity sensitive |
| Int. Game aids | Pitch, modulation wheel |
| Ext. Controller | - - |
| Interface (noun) | - - |
| Sequencer | yes (mark 2) |
| D / A converter | 8 bit |
| Samples | 8 bit, up to 27 kHz |
| Storage spaces | 2 |
| ROME | - - |
| R.A.M. | 128 KB |
| Ext. Memory | 5.25 " floppy disks |
The emulator , later also called Emulator I , was one of the first commercially available samplers .
The emulator was brought onto the market in 1981 by the company E-mu Systems and by 1984 around 500 pieces were built in two series. E-mu developed the emulator to catch the expiring license payments from the sales of the successful Prophet-5 from Sequential Circuits . It appeared at a time when the Fairlight CMI was the only sampler available. In order to be able to offer the emulator more cheaply than the Fairlight, one limited oneself to a pure sample playback (one cannot therefore speak of a real competitor product to the Fairlight). Both a VCA and a VCF were missing ; In other words, you could neither change the tone nor the volume of the sample. The first models were polyphonic with two to eight voices, depending on the level of expansion. Technically, the emulator based on a Z80 processor with DMA - microcontroller .
In 1982 a revised version of the emulator appeared. The Mark 2 now included a VCA and a software sequencer at a lower price . Production was discontinued at the end of 1983, and the E-mu Emulator II, the much more successful successor , only appeared in 1984 .
Legend has it that developer Edward Rudnick (1948–2008) found the name while searching a thesaurus , which was not only a fitting name for the instrument (project name: The Sampler), but also perfectly matched the company name.
use
The first buyer of an emulator is said to have been Stevie Wonder . Other well-known artists who have used the emulator are David Bowie , Depeche Mode , Damon Edge , Herbie Hancock , Genesis , New Order , OMD , Jean-Michel Jarre , Kitaro , Vangelis , Yes , Philip Glass and John Carpenter .
Web links
- E-mu Systems Emulator on theEMUs.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ E-mu Systems Emulator on vintagesynth.com