Members depulse Posted December 7, 2008 Members Share Posted December 7, 2008 Having the possibility to buy an Emulator II for a good price, I just wanted to have your opinion of it. I love many of the groups that used the EII in the 80s, but how does it stand up today? I'm getting it partly for nostalgic reasons, partly to have something a bit less polished to be used occasionally. My questions also relates to anyone having an Oberheim DPX-1 since these can also playback EI sample disks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members setAI Posted December 8, 2008 Members Share Posted December 8, 2008 are you kidding? do you need to listen to Music for the Masses to be reminded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members depulse Posted December 8, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 8, 2008 Yes, DM and Pet Shop Boys and anything else produced in the mid-late 80s. I know my history But what are you using it for today? Playing old 80s songs? I can image adding a bit of lo-fi sampling to a modern mix can do wonders, but is this true in reality? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Don Solaris Posted December 8, 2008 Members Share Posted December 8, 2008 Having the possibility to buy an Emulator II for a good price How much "good" price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flat earth Posted December 8, 2008 Members Share Posted December 8, 2008 Hey! If it was good enough for Ferris Bueller, dont even look back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members depulse Posted December 8, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 8, 2008 How much "good" price? Around 600 dollars (I'm in Europe and the Euro-Dollar exchange rate seems to be changing by the day) with a 5 1/4" drive and a 3 1/2" drive plus a few hundred disks. It's in good shape (recently serviced). A heavy beast though and big and I have to drive a few hundred miles to pick it up, therefore my hesitation to buy it. I might get a DPX-1 instead, just because it's easier to ship (not 100% an EII, but probably closer than an E-Max?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Don Solaris Posted December 8, 2008 Members Share Posted December 8, 2008 Great price! I was offered one by the same amount year ago but i didn't took it because i'm really stupid sometimes. Oh well... later i found something else, similar. Keep in mind, E-II doesn't sound like a conventional sampler. It has full analog signal path, analog filters, VCAs with their own saturation, and a lot of PUNCH. It has that 8 bit sound that cuts through the mix like a razor, even if you don't apply the fantastic SSM filters or pump the VCA gain stage. Grab it. Given they are analog, with 8 bit engine, they'll just go up in price. In fact, they are already twice as much $$$$ than last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChipCurtis Posted December 8, 2008 Members Share Posted December 8, 2008 Just a couple of years ago you couldn't sell an EII for over $300, now it seems people want them for nostalgic reasons (Bueller?) and will pay. There are other 80s samplers with similar specs (VCF/VCA) and sometimes higher bitrate (12 bit) for cheaper 2nd-hand prices. Examples are Korg DSS1, Emu EmaxI, SCI Prophet 2000/2002. Some of those machines even out-spec the Emulator (example, Osc Sync on the DSS1). So if you want that sound but don't want to shell out for the nostalgia, get one of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Don Solaris Posted December 8, 2008 Members Share Posted December 8, 2008 Just a couple of years ago you had invasion of a dozen software samplers some of them even freeware. When people realized how {censored}ty they sound in the mix, compared to the things like E II and specially E III there was no much to think, but to buy them back. Same thing happened in analog synth department 6-7 years ago. Corrected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members depulse Posted December 8, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 8, 2008 I've had an EMax rack in the past and also the DPX-1. I sold these when moving but I still miss the "low bit rate sample through an analog filter" sound. It made the sound somehow alive, not something I can say about the Kontakt 3 or EXS24 I am using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChipCurtis Posted December 8, 2008 Members Share Posted December 8, 2008 Originally Posted by Don Solaris but "attributed" to Chip Curtis:Just a couple of years ago you had invasion of a dozen software samplers some of them even freeware. When people realized how {censored}ty they sound in the mix, compared to the things like E II and specially E III there was no much to think, but to buy them back. Same thing happened in analog synth department 6-7 years ago. I didn't say a thing about software samplers, I was comparing EII to other Sample/VCF/VCA machines -- not software. Of course when used as a "sampling synth", software pales by comparison, but there may be other reasons people want a software sampler (stitching together phrase samples, etc.) that make them more user-friendly than old hardware. Of course old hardware SOUNDS better, we all agree on that. I don't think EII prices are reflective of whether or not software sucks, though. Those other hardware samplers I mention don't have the "bling" factor of the EII but in most cases sound just as good if not better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xpander Posted December 8, 2008 Members Share Posted December 8, 2008 i own one. my verdict: too big. the UI doesn't really justify keeping it setup, so i quickly removed it. i'd love to replace it with a rackmount Emax I. i use Kontakt now which you can't even record samples into -> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Don Solaris Posted December 9, 2008 Members Share Posted December 9, 2008 I didn't say a thing about software samplers, I was comparing EII to other Sample/VCF/VCA machines -- not software. Of course when used as a "sampling synth", software pales by comparison, but there may be other reasons people want a software sampler (stitching together phrase samples, etc.) that make them more user-friendly than old hardware. Of course old hardware SOUNDS better, we all agree on that. I don't think EII prices are reflective of whether or not software sucks, though. Those other hardware samplers I mention don't have the "bling" factor of the EII but in most cases sound just as good if not better. I just corrected your "nostalgic reasons" (Bueller?) to more obvious reason. I know people from business and more / less what they do. There's no point in having such a huge box in a studio for "nostalgic reasons". Both the studio space and time slots are way too precious for things like that. It's the sound - not the nostalgia or features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members depulse Posted December 9, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 9, 2008 When will we see the first new retro sampler? A hybrid of old and new technologies, made to be played:- USB connections- Graphic screen- 256 MB static RAM- Real analog filters- Real time controllers- 8 voices- 37 key keyboard The offspring of the Nord Wave and the Prophet 8 with some more screen real estate..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members deadvolvo1 Posted December 12, 2008 Members Share Posted December 12, 2008 I acquired an Emulator II this summer with the entire Universe of Sound library. Verdict: No fun without "EMU II scene disks", Universe of Sound library, a few boxes of blanks, and an entire DESK worth of space. If anyone wants it and lives in the Northeastern US - especially in the Philadelphia area - LET ME KNOW! It's in great shape, has about 600 floppies as mentioned above, including several boxes of blanks, flight case (Calzone), foot control, all manuals, tons of articles on it written by Craig Anderton himself (belonged to a friend of his), and more goodies. Make me an offer I can't refuse and it's yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chroma Posted December 12, 2008 Members Share Posted December 12, 2008 I've never had an EII, but I've had an emax. I thought it sounded awful. I have also had a prophet 3000, EIII, dss-1, and all those sound great (though the DSS-1 isn't really very useful as a sampler per se, it's a 'digital sampling synth' and best used that way, even if drums do sound good on it). I actually like the sound of my E4 though too, more or less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TechEverlasting Posted December 12, 2008 Members Share Posted December 12, 2008 I used to have a few Oberheim DPX-1s and my impression was that they sounded nowhere near as good as the Emulator IIs - very muddy and flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OPEN OCEAN Posted December 12, 2008 Members Share Posted December 12, 2008 its an ok sampler but please dont forget that sound on records is not achieved only with a specific sampler or synth its the whole production outboard and mixer used each...classic value though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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