E-MU Audity 2000

Very easy to use. The preset sounds are wonderful, editing patches is pretty easy, but it seems like you can never really get away from the original intended sound. And the manual is great, it's not Roland. :)

Feature-wise this is your standard E-Mu unit. There is space for one (maybe two?) expansion cards. Good arpeggiator, like all E-Mu units. Fairly standard.

The variety of sounds is pretty good, but all in the electronic genre. Nice drums, good leads.

UPGRADE TO v2.0! The unit isn't reliable at all without it. The arpeggiator will get stuck on, freezing the entire machine. I upgraded to 2.0 but I'd be VERY wary about doing anything live with it.

Wonderful. Upgraded mine to v2.0 for free.

This unit + the Techo Expansion card = the Xtreme Lead with the output addon.

The manual is very informative (I'm a newbie). It describes what different filters do, etc. and also does a pretty good job of explaining how to use the module. I didn't have any problems setting it up with my computer despite not having done something like this before.

There is 64 voice polyphony with the latest OS version..however if you use certain filters, etc. a patch can eat up 4+ voices. The old OS (Version 1.0, which is what I have) has problems releasing (?) voices correctly and you can run out of polyphony fairly quickly. However the new OS (Version 2.1) supposedly fixes this. (I'm a little unclear on the specifics). Anyways, I called EMU and they said that they'd do the upgrade for free, but that it would take over a month.

It has nice reverb, chorus effects...the part I REALLY LOVE about this module are the resonant filters. They give you a lot of control over the patches and are essential for anyone making trance or acid. These are preset to transmit over a certain range of midi controllers and are very easy to use through a sequencer. Also, there are knobs on the front that you can use to change filter settings on the fly. Very nice.

You can check out a song I made SOLELY with this module without making my own patches at:

www.mp3.com/ResonantF

Check out 'Boost'. It demonstrates some of the filtering capabilities and sounds of the module.

The instruments are pretty much all geared towards dance tracks. You probably don't want this module if you're doing jazz or rock, etc. The presets aren't all that inspiring (some are good) - a lot of them are repetitive. However, there's a lot of potential in making your own patches. As mentioned before, the filters provide a way of making each sound very unique - kind of like an analogue synth. They really make this module. I tried out the Yamaha CS2X, as well and like the default patches better, but I like the Audity's filter capabilities better.

Prior to getting this, I was using the SB Live sample playback to make music - and I was used to the channelized reverb/chorus on EACH track. Thus far with the Audity, I can only get it to do all the tracks or 1 of the tracks at a time. (Although you can output to 2? dry channels that have there own separate output jacks). This is kind of annoying, since I really like to drench stuff in reverb for trance but if I do all the tracks then my drums get reverbed too - which sounds ratty. I guess if I got a mixer, I could fix that problem. Maybe I'm missing something on how to use it?

Wouldn't know

Seemed pretty straightforward...I've heard some bad things and good things...I'll find out when I get my OS upgraded I guess..

I would definitely buy this again. It does everything I need and some. I got it for just $475 new too. Get this if you do trance, progressive, techno, acid, etc.

The Audity 2000's bugs as mentioned in previous reviews have been fixed in OS 2.01, and it seems to work very well now.

This review is an update from an earlier review (submitted as "frustrated"). Although it took while to find out what was happening, E-Mu did fix the bugs that were present in the 2.0 OS. They have a downloadable upgrade to OS version 2.01 free on their web site.

Now that the bugs have been fixed, it is a great unit to use. Incredible, unique, flexible sounds.

Version 2.01 is now available as an upgrade from the 2.0 O/S at the Emu wesite as a free download. Manual is good. It takes time to get the full benefit from the Audity. Amazing rhythmic possibilities, but I was able to take it out of the box, hook it up to my midi controller and get instant gratification with only minimal manual use. Personally, I like the presets.The more you read, the more you realize just what a beast you are playing with. Not too hard to edit, just read the manual and be ready for button pushes and knob turns to get to the variuos levels. Remember this synth is oriented more towards the dance electronica crowd, but with so much blending of styles your imagination and creativity are the limit.

More than enough polyphony. Effects are first rate. Xtreme upgrade is available from Emu for a reasonable price ($149.00)for even more sonic possibilities. Excellent midi control possible. On board arpeggiators make for some wild sounding rhythms.

Have only started to use the Audity. "Realistic" is an unfair moniker as this synth makes no attempt to sound as such. Sounds are mostly electronic and done very well. Onboard effects are good. Reacts well to midi and your ability to control many parameters is great. I beleive the term "modulation matrix" has been used to describe the flexability of control. Emu has done very well with this.

So far, So good.

Upgrade has been made available for free with a good explanation of how to install it. (both pc and mac) I have talked to Emu and like anywhere else some personalities are more pleasant to deal with than others, But I have always been basicially treated well.

Nothing else I have is like it. I have some other more "realistic" sample playback synths, some virtual analogs and some softsynths. Each for its own strenghts. This piece stirs creativity in a way other synths cannot. If it were lost or stolen I would replace it. It seems to do so much for such a little blue box. If you like to explore with multi-rhythmic grooves get one. You won't be disappointed.

Deep, but a VERY thorough manual.

Like all synths it has strengths and weaknesses. With proper programming this thing is a juggernaut...Filthy raucous squeals ect...
Very unique sound.

There is a system bug with the Audity2000 that
I believe is constrained to the 2.0 operating system.
EMU is aware of this problem. I want to share it with as many
other people as possible. I encourage you to test out
your Auditys with the process below to see if you encounter
the problem.

1) Start any MIDI sequencer (Cakewalk, Cubase, Logic, etc)
2) Assign two channels to the Audity. (doesn't matter which, 1-16)
3) On Channel 1, set it to the 'Mantis' preset drumkit.
4) On Channel 2, set it to the 'Angelika' preset vocal pad thing.
5) Okay, now write a short one-bar drumloop on Channel 1,
keep it simple. Do a kick-snare thing, but add a bunch of
sixteenth note hihats in there. tiktiktiktiktik, etc
6) Now, copy and paste that one bar you just wrote onto Channel 2,
so that you have BOTH channels playing the same thing.
7) Finally, either loop that one bar so it keeps playing over and over,
or copy paste it so that it goes on for about 25 or so bars.

What will you encounter?
If you listen (especially with headphones) that for -no reason at all-
you will notice that some sounds are being panned hard left and
hard right. Especially those hi-hats you made.

Now why did I choose Angelika and Mantis? It's easy to hear
what's going on with these two patches playing together, but the
problem DOES arise in other combinations of patches. Sometimes
panning is the result, othertimes, filtering changes.

I have tried this on about five different Auditys. All the 2.0
units I tried had this problem. I tried a 1.0 Audity and couldn't
get it to reproduce the problem, so I'm thinking it's something
they did in the 2.0 OS that screwed it up.

Now I had said that EMU knows about this. That's right.. I called
them, spoke to a tech, and the tech was able to reproduce it himself.
The 'offical' word from EMU is that they are now aware of the problem,
fixing the problem would require a new hardware OS upgrade. And they
"aren't sure what I priority it is for them to fix it"

So it seems they have forsaken their Audity owners, so that they
can work on and market their next four modules.

Please! Complain, email them. Be respectful, but be demanding.
They owe it to us to fix their bugs of the products we buy from them.

EMU SUPPORT PHONE : 831/438-1921
EMU SUPPORT EMAIL : support@xxx.xxx

Calling will be better. I have found that it is not a big
tech support. Everyone with an Audity, try to make the problem
happen on your unit. If it happens, talk to EMU. If not, hm...
and if you can get the problem to happen on a 1.0 Audity, let
me know.

good luck,
wolfe@xxxx.xxx

See above...I can't seem to get a definative answer from these guys.

Great synth..no, really,it's a great synth. Just fix the bugs EMU...You won't get a lot of repeat customers if you don't support the ones you have(even if not many people bought one).

This is the Emu Audity 2000 with OS version 2.0. Presets sound good and are very diverse. I'm not aware of a computer patch editor for the Audity, but it's not necessary. The menus and buttons are very well designed. It's easy to modify/create patches.

Polyphony is sometimes stated as 64 voices, other times as 32-64 voices depending on types of filters in use. The unit holds lots of patches (512 user patches plus 640 preset patches). There's a "patch cord" system for editing, which makes some things very flexible and easy. (For example, you can make a patch cord going from an LFO to the patch's volume. This will make the patch fade in and out over time.) It has some built-in effects, but the patches sound almost as good with no effects. The only thing really missing is the ability to create drumkits from scratch. The closest you can get is by making a 4-level keyboard split with different existing drumkits.

This rating is tricky. The Audity actually sounds very good, when it works. There's a problem, though, with OS version 2.0. If you play certain combinations of patches together (as tracks in a song), the Audity messes up completely and requires a reboot before it will play correctly again. Sometimes it will skip 1 note out of 20, or it will pan 1 note out of 20 hard to the side. Sometimes it will change the entire tone of a patch, so it sounds tinny or faint.

This is a major problem if you're planning on actually using the Audity to write music. It basically means that if you're lucky and pick the right patches for your song, your song will be fine.. but if you pick the wrong patches, your song will skip notes, or occasionally randomly pan notes, or change tonal quality, all without you having any way to stop it (besides rewriting your song to use different sounds).

This problem with the Audity made me return my first one, thinking it was defective. I got a new one, anxious to write some songs. It turned out that the new Audity had the same problem. And since then, two other people have heard this same problem, on 2 other new Audity modules with OS 2.0.

If you have an Audity with OS 2.0 to test, try using MANTIS and Angelika (preset bank 3 patch 39 and preset bank 2 patch 52). If you play these two patches at the same time in a song or from a controller keyboard, you'll notice that every once in a while (maybe one time every 25 notes) a drum hit gets panned hard to one side. There are many other combinations that cause various similar problems.

See the expressiveness/sounds section. Can't depend on it - it doesn't correctly play the notes that get sent to it. I wouldn't even consider using it at a gig with the current problems. I find it hard to believe that Emu released a module without noticing such a major bug.

So far I've emailed Emu twice, and got a short (one-sentence) response the first time. Someone I know talked to them on the phone, and has been waiting about 2 weeks for a reply. I'm still waiting for a response to my second email. Unfortunately we don't know whether or not they're actively looking into the problem. If we get some positive resolution, I'll post the results...

Since I bought this unit, my music writing has slowly ground to a halt. It has very nice filters and inspiring sounds, but with the current playback glitches (see comments) it's unusable. It keeps giving me great ideas to start songs... but I get three measures written and I notice that the Audity is messing up again. To reiterate, this isn't a single defective unit... it has happened on every Audity 2000 w/OS 2.0 that I and the people I know have tried.

Software Version 2.0.
The Audity 2000 was already an amazing instrument; with the 2.0 upgrade, the sound is even more wide-ranging and spectacular. This is truly an instrument for the next century! The default presets are profoundly richer with the upgrade, since the reverb is beautifully spacious and detailed now, better than most present in a built-in fx unit for a synth.
Although the LCD display is small, E-Mu has one of the most intuitive and simple interfaces out there. With some experience, you can learn how to handle the "virtual patchcord" modulation matrix on this thing with ease, and a number of enhancements have been made to the interface to simplify getting to various functions. Still, a patch editor would help; good support, for example, from E-Magic's Sounddiver (E-Magic is waiting on the 2.0 upgrade version to create support for the A2K), would be desireable.

The manual is a benchmark for the kind of manual every synth maker should supply with their units. The Audity 2000 is an advanced instrument, in many ways not unlike the Nord Modular, and the manual provides excellent explanations of the unit's unique features. The Z-Plane filters, for instance, are very wide-ranging and dynamic in capability, and learning how to morph them in real-time with the many envelope options requires careful understanding of the well-written manual.

The only reason the A2K is at all difficult to use is that it is a very deep synthesizer; almost nothing out there, save the Nord Modular, will give you as much deep editing ability built in, with as extensive a modulation matrix, as this thing. That all takes time to absorb, but once you've learned, you'll see how intuitive the design really is.

Polyphony was originally 32, but is now 64 voices if you are using anything other than the 12th-order (!) Z-Plane filters (there are 50 different filter types in the Audity 2000). You can layer up to 4 Instruments in a Preset, and each Instrument is essentially a separate sample. You can have all 16 MIDI channels playing back simultaneously, with 4 instruments per channel so, for example, if you maxed out all the Instruments for the 16 Presets in Multi MIDI mode, you'd only be playing one note at a time using 64 different Instruments; or, alternatively, if you were playing one Preset with 2 Instruments, you'd be able to play 32 voices simultaneously (i.e. hold down 32 keys). This is important to pay attention to when working with the Audity's built-in advanced arpeggiator (see below for more on that).

Although the A2K is a synth module only (it would be fantastic as a Waldorf Q-style keyboard unit, with 60 knobs, though!!), it contains a large number of different velocity curves you can choose from, so that you have lots of fine control over the unit's responsiveness to keyboard velocity. You can have the Audity be very compressed or very wide-range dynamic in its response to keyboard input; there's very fine control over this.

The built-in effects (2 effects units, basically) have gone from "okay, they're there" to "wow! wow! wow!" in the Version 2.0 upgrade. E-Mu has made the effects much more integral to the synth, and the presets really showcase the unit's variety in ways they didn't in the the 1.0 version with the careful integration of the beautiful new reverb. The reverb is simply astoundingly beautiful in Version 2.0; there were always lots of reverb options on the unit, now the differences are very clear. You have the choice of 40 different effects, and one of the substantial new additions to Version 2.0 is that you can now use the Patchcord modulation matrix with the two effects units. So you can basically connect up various effects parameters in interesting parallel or series ways. Like the Waldorf instruments, and like Acess' Virus, this has the potential of providing an incredible amount of flexibility and sound sculpting capability to an already almost overwhelmingly capable unit.

The Audity 2K now accepts the XTREME ROM, which is basically the Planet Phatt and Planet Orb modules on one ROM. For those who know and like both of the above, a huge value for the current price.

MIDI capability is solid, especially since there's nothing in the way of lag with 16 channels going on with full and independent arpeggiation on each. With the four knob controllers on the front being completely reassignable to any MIDI CC, you have maximum MIDI flexibility. You couldn't do any more in this area than the Audity 2000 provides.

As for the onboard arpeggiator, nothing out there touches the A2K in this area; not only can you manage separate arpeggiation for each of the MIDI channels, but you have full control over the patterns you can use. There are 100 built-in patterns, and 100 user-editable patterns, and pattern-editing is quite simple and versatile. Anything you want to do here is possible. Only the Nord Modular and Novation Supernova are anywhere near competitive in this area, and both have substantially less on offer than the A2K.

Realism should not be a goal for the owner of an A2K; it is a 21st-century instrument, dedicated to making sounds which have never been heard before, and thus is not a sample playback instrument in style. For example, some of the weirdest tonal sounds you can make will result from playing with short percussion loops -- not immediately obvious, but an example of the advanced approach to music synthesis you have to take to work with this instrument.

All that being said, however, there are a number of presets which make it clear that with some care you can do a full emulation of a number of classic synths, from Oberheim Matrixes to CS-80 strings to Prophet VS leads and more. The presets showcasing the "VA" capabilities of what is essentially an entirely different instrument make clear that the Audity is very competitive in the "VA" arena.

Using the instruments is not easy; you have to change the way you think about using the samples in this unit, not just play them back. Using the Z-Plane filters and envelopes and LFOs (LFOs have _17_ different styles of oscillation available....!) on the samples, looping them with the loop options for the envelopes, cutting them with the gating and modulation processor options, all takes time to understand. When you realize that you're actually working with an instrument that has capabilities that are really more typical of a modular synth _and_ a sampler, yet is neither of those _nor_ a simple sample playback synth, you're finally on the way to realizing what kind of instrument you really have.

The Audity 2000 does advanced music well. Not just simple rock, classical or dance, but truly experimental music. It's good for rock, good for dance and trance and (with the XTREME ROM especially) _really_ good for trip/hip-hop and acid jazz, but what it offers goes way beyond those categories. It would be an especially good addition for anyone doing movie soundscoring, since its combination of strange samples and massive control allows for really interesting additions to the typical scoring repertory.

The onboard effects are now SPECTACULAR with the version 2.0 OS, as indicated above. Lots of variety, lots of richness _and_ detail in the reverb especially, a difficult balance to achieve. No muddiness in sound, and the characteristic default "edginess" of the 1.0 instrument has been rounded out nicely by the massive improvement in the reverb section for 2.0

The instrument is very lively in reaction to play, but with the built-in arpeggiator, it's also an excellent compositional tool. You can use it for leads, bass, etc. but working with its percussive/rhythmic/tonal focus means going beyond the usual division into bass/drums/lead.

I had to return my first unit due to a heat-related hardware failure (it happens, it's not a perfect world). E-Mu support has been very good in response to issues; I got very prompt and decisive phone support the next day after bringing a minor problem with my specific update process to E-Mu's attention.

E-Mu has been patient, friendly, has allowed access to people with lots of experience in the company for a nobody like me, and has gotten the right person to address the problem to me in record time. I am very satisfied with their customer support at this point. The long time between the A2K's release and the OS2.0 upgrade apparently had to do with factors beyond E-Mu's control (as does the nature of the upgrade process), but the amount of decisive and reliable improvement offered with this free upgrade should make anyone who takes advantage of it feel almost guilty for getting so much for free.

If lost or stolen or broken, I would replace it immediately; I'm almost considering getting another one as a back-up unit.

I can't imagine anything more I could want from this unit, except perhaps for some more string-oriented samples and/or filter algorithms. I would consider a PC-based editor but I hate the idea of being reliant upon a buggy computer for my music-making.

I would rate this as one of my two favorite instruments. I hope I can keep it running for many years. I hope that E-Mu has the opportunity to make a next generation of it, perhaps with a 4-line LCD as the only serious interface improvement. And more knobs. :)

This is my second review of the Audity. I hope this is allowed, but I know it a lot better now, so I thought it would be useful to give a more complete picture....... Still using version 1 software, seems ok to me. The presets sound pretty thin as I said before, but the good news is that for a 1U synth it's incredibly easy to tweak. Just playing with the huge number of basic voices can change any preset quickly into a killer patch. Everything is a quick twist of the knob away. Compared to my Superbass station this is a delight to use. Manual's not bad either, though I only needed to use it for the first week.

I said before that I don't often give 10's but I'm afraid I have to give this full marks. Taking into account the low price, this is just too good. 32 voices on 16 channels, 16 arps with user patterns and quantise functions. Now most people probably wonder what they'd use them all for and so did I. Try selecting a percussion patch, and dialling in the arp, then scanning through the patterns. Then scan the keys. All sorts of percussion can be added from hihats to congo beats to nifty little snare shuffles. Then try the same with a pad. Great for thickening up your track. Purists will be glad to know that this thing won't write your song for you, but it's damn good at adding that little extra that your tune's been waiting for. The filters are amazing, so powerful and varied (there are dozens of preset filters, with Freq and Q control) plus rez and cut-off etc on the front panel. Last but not least, virtual patchcords to feed almost anything to anything and old-timers will understand the power of this even better than I do. Seems like I could be playing with this thing for years....

ok like I said before the presets are pretty weak, but I've already made dozens of great noises from basses to pads to screaming leads. It's a digi synth so it can't compete with the very best out there, but it's still very capable of blowing your doors off. Be warned, though, this is for Techno or DnB only, there are almost NO general-type sounds unless you make them yourself.

It's been fine so long as I switch off the front panel before the main power, otherwise loss of user presets(basic commonsense but took me 2 weeks to suss THAT out). There is some doubt in my mind about E-mu's long term support for this product due to it's poor sales. Mind you, they seem a bit iffy about long term support for everything,(or is it me?)

Again, they promise expandable Rom, extra presets etc, but don't hold your breath. This is E-mu, and their CS department is way behind their designers....

Lots of people chuck 10's around like confetti, but this really IS fantastic value. For the cash-strapped techno hound this has got to be the one. It could be used as the only synth in that kind of small studio, or would work even better coupled with a good monosynth/lead and a drum machine or sampler. Maybe it'll never sound like a Supernova, but this is LESS THAN A GRAND.

I've had the Audity for a month now, and it's really an easy synth to get into..... with 600 presets, you can get cracking making tunes straight away. I've only got into the basics of patch editing (I'm looking forward to getting to grips with what appear to be very strong/versatile filters. Using Software version 1, and there's an upgrade out soon but that'll have to wait.

Features are where this box really scores. 32 voices with 16 channels of sound, 5 banks of patches. And then there are 16 arps, 1 for each channel. What's more, the factory patterns are really quite good (there are 200, that's twice as many as on the Super Bass Station for example) plus 100 slots for user patterns. Each pattern can be "quantised", and sub-divided etc, locked to midi or otherwise. It really is so easy to make "dancy" noises.

At this stage I have to base my rating on the presets, cos I've still to create any killers of my own, and this is where the Audity loses some points. Some of the pads, leads, bells etc are very good. Some, however, are crap. Bad presets? Who knows, many synth makers seem to rush their presets, not really getting the best out of the box. The fact that about half the sounds are reallly cool leads me to think that E-mu haven't really done the synth justice with the others. E-mu's web site has a page for the Audity marked as "Bonus Presets....coming soon"......maybe they'll be a bit better programmed. Some of the sounds are quite digi, and have a narrow octave range, you know they sound great in the middle frequencies but if you go down the keyboard you just get a buzzsaw, and if you go up you get a casio. Lets not be too harsh though, there are still LOADS of great sounds. Add to that some pretty good FX, and the fabled z-plane filters and you see that all is in fact not lost.

It's reset itself a couple of times, I don't know if this will turn into a bug....

no contact yet...

I like this synth, and I think there's a lot to work with in making new sounds....If I lost it I'd buy it again, particularly at the present price. I use it with a QSR and a Super Bass Station and it complements them very well. It helps me enormously, particularly in adding extra rhythm to a track. I LOVE the arpeggiators, they could even be used on their own to make tunes so why would anyone ever need a groovebox with this on the market ? As a straight synth it has limitations, basically because it's not analog. But as long as you don't want to replace your Nord with it then I think you'll be impressed. Some of the presets are, however, a bit dodgy. The only thing it lacks are MORE KNOBS, which is the way of it for most rack synths. Ah well....

Very easy, especially for people familiar with EMU synths. However, it could be organized a little better (I've never been a huge fan of EMU's menu/rotator thing -- nothing beats a big LCD)

FEATURES: Awesome. You know what's in it -- visit the EMU website.

Sounds: Awesome. I love it. I haven't had this much fun with a synth since my first Nord Lead. This synth has that special quality that makes you want to make music. Sure it has some limitations -- especially the genre -- but it really is worth the money.

No problem so far, and I'm, sure it lives up to the EMU standard.

Don't know -- never had a problem with an EMU machine. I did have one contact with customer service for upgrading my Audity and I was impressed.

Absolutely replacement material if I lost it. I liked it so much I just bought a Proteus 2000 to match. This unit is a 10+. Remember when the Nord Lead came out? This had almost the same impact on me.