E-MU Emax2

Well, I don't want to have to power it up to see the OS, but I'm sure it's the latest.

Presets were non-existant. I transferred all the samples from the Emax I library - thank goodness for some backwards compatability! I can tell a difference in the sound quality when those old samples were converted. Nearly noiseless and a finer "sheen" to the sound. Sounds as good as what you put into it - maybe a bit warmer, with a slightly dampened high end due to the 39kHz max sampling rate. It will play back samples up to 44.1, though. Strange.

Editing patches and defining presets is a breeze. Like it's predecessors, all the main parameters are silk'screened on the front panel in "modules." The manual is hardly needed except for referencing a few deeper functions and procedures. I've worked with E-mu samplers going all the way back to the original Emulator. Some of the most user friendly samplers ever made and this one is no exception.

The manual itself is extremely well written. It takes the user on a guided tour of all the modules and functions. A child could understand it.

I believe it has 16 note polyphony (gotta check that manual), but this isn't too bad. The keys have a nicely lightly-weighted feel that still enable you to make pinprick jabs. Keys are only velocity sensitive.

The only built in effect is a nice chorusing - that really is just a detuning. User selectable depth, unlike the original Emax.

The machine could be expanded at one time, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone with these parts. My machine came fully expanded with a 600Mb hard drive and the full eight megs of memory. It's serial number marks it as a Turbo model according to emulatorarchive.com
Due to the inclusion of a SCSI port, storage expansion is no problem. Zip drives, external hard drives and CD-ROM's are easily implemented.

Full MIDI capability for the time - but only two ports: IN and an OUT/THRU. Has multiple individual or stereo-configurable outputs. Has the same specialized Macintosh interface as the Emax and Emulators.

Has an onboard, 16 track sequencer that is expressly meant for dumping externally compsed sequences to. Has no time correction or other editing features.

Since this is a sampler, and one that had no library to speak of when I got it, it sounds as good as what you put into it. The original Emax library transferred quite nicely. The ability to transpose samples across a five octave range is nice too. Pity that feature wasn't available on the original.

Any type of musician could benefit from this sampler. Easy to use - rugged and good solid sound.

It should be known that the filters are digital... and resonant. Being used to analog ones used on the Emax I and Emulator II, this baby's filters are quite good. They can sound a little weak compared to the real deal, but very good nonetheless.

The inclusion of a very flexible arpeggiator makes this unit a very welcome addition to any rig. Nothing like a bit of arpeggio for instant new wave sparkle.

As I've said before, I've been using E-mu samplers since their first model, and these machines are quite sturdy and heavy. This one isn't nearly as heavy nor fussy as the others. I would definitely gig with it. My only worry would be jarring the hard drive. Depeche Mode toured heavily with them, so I feel that there really would be nothing to fear in moving it around.

I've only ever had to deal with E-mu a couple of times, but not concerning this product. They seemed to be a much more responsive company before the Ensoniq merger. Who knows if they would even acknowledge this older machine these days?

I would most certainly get another E-mu sampler, maybe even this model again as there really aren't many keyboard based samplers on the market anymore. Makes a great controller.

VERY good machine for the money. I've seen them sold for as little as $200. Just make sure you buy one with a memory upgrade and double check to make sure it has the stereo sampling capability - some of the early versions don't.

Has sort of a standard menu this menu that Operating system. It certainly isn't that difficult to use but it has the standard kind of operating system for samplers that could easily benefit from a good editing program so that's what I do most of the time and simply transfer samples over SCSI. Please know though that a hardware sampler would have to be really special to get a 10 from me in this. It is Defininity easier to use than the Casio FZ-1 it replaces in my system.

Great Poly and filters for a sampler from the early 90's. Neat sound routing and 8 outs. The onboard sequencer isn't good for doing tunes but it is PERFECT for dumping your finished sequences to and saving to hard drive. That way you have nearly unlimited notes. Great for gigs because of this and it's weight(real light). Also the SCSI makes transport of samples a joy. No aftertouch, but the keys feel good.

Again good filters and quality of sound is fantastic for those "nearly 44.1k" samplers. No FX, but you can do an FX loop from the ring of the outputs. It's got some synthesis capabilities but I haven't tried them, to me it's just a sampler but a good one.

It seems well built. I would gig w/ it since you can put a lot of gear on top of the large surface area. I have had one big problem though. I've gone through several internal harddrives as they seem to be burning out. I will be switching to ZIP drives and CD rom soon. Also mine seems to have an extremely intermittent electrical problem, but that is to be expected since I got mine from a Salvation Army (SCORE!!)

LOVELY CUSTOMER SUPPORT!! I got an answer to my email within a day or two and an operating disk free upon request. Their website has the manual on it. COOL!! Roland are you listening? (Roland once took 7months to get back to a major university I worked for)

Take a lesson from EMU!!

I would replace this with something else if it was gone because I don't use samplers much, but I still suggest it. Nothing beats it's price (even a normal used price). I was so impressed with it's digital filter that I would own anything in their current line and have bought the Carnaval module since.

This is just a wee review of the EMAX II sampler. No presets, but
there's some fun stuff lurking in the original sample library...some
very cool orchestral patches (which beat the crap out of the ones
in my XP-80), waterphones, neat additive synth patches (and also a
additive synth engine which, believe it or not, isn't half bad!!)
SFX, and of course (drum roll) the EMU II shakuhachi.

Editing patches is a breeze. As a matter of fact the entire operating
system is a thing of beauty - everything is silkscreened on the front
panel, which looks a bit naff, but makes getting around *so* easy.
Fantastic manual, written by Craig Anderton, I believe.

16 voices, which can also be configured as stereo pairs - ie. 16
stereo voices - pretty damn good for a 10 yo.+ machine. Keyboard action
is lightweight, but passable. No Aftertouch, but senses velocity. No
built in effects, save a chorus which works by detuning two voices.

I was lucky enough to get mine with the 8 meg daughterboard - the
machine to get, apparently. No other expansion options really, maybe
apart from a bigger internal hard disk.

Quite capable MIDI wise, responds multitimbraly on 16 channels, with
a basic modulation matrix. I've heard reports about its dodgy timing
slop - I submitted a review of a Proteus FX a couple of years ago, and
that thing was *shocking*, but really, as long as you don't throw too
much at the EMAX, it's fine. No, really.

It has got an onboard sequencer, but it's purely scratchpad.

Samples at 39Khz with 16 bit resolution. Really quite lovely sound
quality. Filters are digital (as opposed to the analog design used on
EMAX I and SE), but really quite liquid and nice. Envelope generators
are primitive, but functional - your garden variety AHDSR. 1 LFO per
voice which can modulate cutoff, rez, freq, or pan - as can velocity.
Simple yet flexible voice design.

I don't really use the EMAX for playing per se, rather than use it
for playing custom drum samples created in software and loops.

Would work well for any type of music...even dance, which is what I'm
using it for. Granted, it's not exactly a K2500 when it comes to
sound design possibilies, but it's not what you've got...

She's quite old now, I bought it off a friend who has had it since the
early nineties. The memory is a daughterboard of EMU design (I HATE
proprietary technology) so if that goes...likewise, I'd have difficulty
finding a hard drive for it too if the internal one went.

My EMAX has had the shinola beaten out of it though, some keys don't
work, but it's more or less still fully functional. Yeah, I'd use
it in a gig, and take solace in the fact that it's gone almost 10
years without a problem (hehe).

Haven't dealt with EMU yet. Probably won't have to either (see below)

I've had the machine almost six months and absolutely love it! I've
been into music tech for six years, and am an experienced synthesist
and sound designer. I paid $1000 for it used, with internal hard disk,
removable catridge drive and full sample library - an absolute
bargain. Let me put it this way...the Boss Dr Sample SP-202 has a RRP
of $700 here in New Zealand. The EMAX II is a remarkably mature instrument
for its time...I'd love to check out some of EMU's latest products
and see what they're doing now. New E5000 looks tasty! Much as I love
this instrument (it does help me to make music, and how) I don't think
I'd replace it with another one if it got damaged or something.
Obsolescence (sp) is not a pretty thing, and finding memory or
storage media for it would probably be more trouble than it's worth.
But then again, if I had funds, maybe I would augment a newer sampler
with another EMAX II...it's just a cool machine, and I'd love to
always have one around.

Hey, anyone out there who can't afford the latest machines and are looking
'round for something cheap an' good - I don't think you can get
much better than one of these. I've heard the EPS 16+ is a good machine
too, but apart from that or the s1000/1100...you could do a lot worse
than an EMAX II.

I'm giving this machine a "10", because in the "rating for this
category" field in the submission form, a 10 is "fantastic value",
and my EMAX II was just that.

I think the Emax2 has the simplest sampling process; Moreover, the manual is easy to read.

Polyphony - 16 pair of stereo voices(which have to be configured as stereo pairs) Effects - a really nice, smooth and quiet chorus effect(which is much better than that of the ESI32) It has built SCSI and is expandable to 8meg, stereo sampling option, Velocity sensitive keyboard, mod wheel... On board sequencer - 16 track primitive "recorder" with no note editing capability; But one can transfer midi sequences from external sources like computer or sequencer via MIDI(The Emax2 can record 16 channels simultaneously)

The sampled sounds are nice since it is a 16 bit, 39 khz machine. It is definitelr good for dance, techno music because..... The filter sounds REALLY GREAT!! - anoloque sounding, smooth, warm... Expressiveness is also excellent - velocity, mod wheel can be routed to filter, resonance, ASDR envelop, panning......

Yes, it is highly reliable. I think you can save everthing from sounds to sequences to the same bank on the hardisk and here you're ready to gig!!! (It can be installed with an internal hardisk)

Well, the technical support is pretty helpful at Emu; They are willing to answer any question even if the Emax2 is already out of production. (They even mailed me the most recent OS upon request!)

If you have limited budget or if you are looking for a 16bit sampler with nice filter then this is the best thing you can possibly have.