Anybody know anything about the Emax sampler?
ins_...@jhunix.uucp
>Does anbody know anything about the [E-Mu] Emax?
The Emax was reviewed favorably in the second issue of
MUSIC TECHNOLOGY. See also the latest (December) issue of ELECTRONIC
MUSICIAN for some specs on ALL available samplers, Emax included.
>-- What are the specifics on the polyphonic and polytambre ability (how
>many voices and how may different sounds at a time)?
It is an 8-voice, 2-oscillator-per-voice instrument. This means
you can have 2 different samples per voice, and still maintain 8-note
polyphony (YEAH!!!).
You can have up to 122 split points. (YOW!!)
I read (although the source could be mistaken) that the Emax
has only 5-octave response, just like the Ensoniq Mirage.
>-- How good does it's "equivalent to 12-bit sampling" sound? (better
>than a Mirage? better than a Fairlight? better than a... oh, wake up--I
>must have been dreaming)
E-Mu claims that it uses the same sampling format as the
famous E-Mu Emulator II. It also has a better sampling rate (42KHz)
than the Emulator II! Sampling time at this maximum rate is (according
to two different sources) either 8 or 12 seconds. Sampling time at the
Emulator II rate is over 17 seconds. At the minimum rate, sampling is
around a minute.
>-- Did I understand the blurp I saw on the Emax to mean that in addition
>to the stereo ouputs, it has a couple extra mono audio outputs which can
>be assigned to a given MIDI channel? (similar to a drum machine--if so,
>that's great!)
The Emax has (I think -- this is from memory) 8 outputs. You can
(I think) assign any of the 8 voices to any of the 8 outputs.
>-- How extensive is the voice library for the Emax?
At the moment, it's probably non-existent. It's a pretty new
instrument.
>-- How easy is it to do your own sampling on the Emax?
The reviewer at MUSIC TECHNOLOGY said that the operating system
is one of the best he has seen.
>-- I've never thought much of appegiators. Is the Emax appregiator
>anything to write home about? (or write on the net about?)
Again, MUSIC TECHNOLOGY said it was very advanced.
>-- Finally, what's the price?
Around $2600 with keyboard, $2400 rackmount. In addition,
Digidesign is working on a Sound Designer version [visual sample
editor for the Macintosh] for the Emax.
-- Dan