E-MU Proformance/1+

This is a preset-machine, no editing, no tweaking. Connect, twist buttons and play.

The (conveniently sized) manual is simple and clear, but if you've got any basic intuition for this kinda stuff, you shouldn't need it... Except maybe for the good old 'warnings', 'cautions', some troubleshooting and a handy list of what each preset is called and used for according to the developers.

Oh, one more thing: the unit hasn't got a power on/off switch, so remove the power plug to turn it off. A slight inconvenience, so I give Ease of Use an 8.

16-note polyphony: enough for a one-preset-a-time piano module. Troublesome if you should use this module to layer parts through midi and using more than 16 notes at the same time. But in practical use, when playing the piano, you will hardly ever exceed even your 10 fingers, so the polyphony is largely sufficient for this use. Note: you can connect 2 of these units and thus increase polyphony to 32.

No effects present... which is both a pro and a con. A con, because the samples could really be brought more to live with, say, a nice reverb. A pro, because anything added to this basic, stripped down principle, probably would've been of mediocre quality to prevent it from getting too expensive. No, it's better this way: just the sounds, so you can add any desired effects yourself externally.

Front panel (l-r):
Power LED (flickers when producing sound), volume control, fine tune, transpose (to all keys, +/- 1 octave, +/- 2 octaves), midi channel control (1-14, omni, demo), preset toggle control (1-15 + midi).

Connectors (all on back, l-r):
Midi in, out, thru, left/stereo output, right/mono output, 9v AC in.

A 7, because in this case more would probably be less.

This is the Proformance /1+, so it doesn't only have piano sounds, but also additional keyboard sounds, with a total amount of 32 presets. NOTE: PRESETS 1-15 CAN BE ACCESSED ON THE PANEL, 16 AND BEYOND CAN ONLY BE ACCESSED VIA A MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE COMMAND! (I haven't done this yet, so can only talk about 1-15.)

I shall speak mostly about the pianos.

After browsing sounds for about a minute, it soon became clear that PRESET #3 is definately the most realistic piano patch on this machine. It's called Mellow Ivory and is described in the manual as "Medium touch sensitivity and overall dark tone creates very soft moods and textures." This is basically a good description. It's very suitable for classical music and jazz. Probably won't cut through too much in a live-rock band mix (you'll be needing preset #4 if you want that).

Patch #1 (Dark Grand) is similar to #3, only with a brighter response and attack. Patch #2 (Classic Grand) is very bright and reminded me a bit of a Fortepiano (a Baroque instrument, predecessor to the Grand Piano). Sounds a bit more toinkish, but still fairly realistic and usable for certain pieces.

Listening critically, a lot could be noted of the sound quality. For instance, there's a slight artificial 'distortion' to the attack in the pianos, the samples are a bit short and no multi-sampling is used. The pianos sound better in the lower/middle region than in the upper. (The higher you go, the less realistic the sounds become.) The overall piano sound is a bit thin. But this is all very reasonable given the age and the price of these machines. The pianos could easily blow away the Rolands and Yamahas of its age. Even today the pianos are very workable and satisfactory to anyone who wishes to improve on their old keyboard's sounds, make nice recordings or have a live-back up piano-box. Serves it's purpose very well.

I'm sorry to disappoint the electronic-sound lovers: E-pianos, Organs and Vibes are almost completely useless: unrealistic, artificial... Preset #11 is an Acoustic bass/piano split. Nice to play around with, but the double bass is very artificial as well.

It reacts 'okay' to my playing (could be my keyboard as well though)... Not too static, but there is a point that when you want to play softer, it won't go any softer. This is a reasonable margin though. Besides, I've never played a machine that reacted realistically to my playing like a real piano does. Knowing that, and knowing it was designed back in the late 80s/early 90s, I'd say it does a pretty good job.

I'd like to note that some external help will hugely improve the sound of this box. An equalizer could get rid of some of the miniscule disturbing sounds and add some low into the whole for more body. A nice reverb could smoothen out and broaden the sound substantially. These would be valuable additions.

An 8: very reasonable piano sounds, realistic despite its age, horrible Rhodes and organ sounds, no access to the full library except through external midi control.

It's a plastic box, but it has survived previous owners over at least one and a half decades. I received mine in very good condition though. Shouldn't let you down if you treat it right. I guess it doesn't live eternally and it is over 15 years old now, but it seems to hold up alright. I would play with this box without a backup as much as with any machine: preferably not, anything could happen. But if you must, do it.

Not a clue.

This box turned out to be an amazing bang for the buck. I've been play music all my life and I have a good ear to sound quality. However, I do know how to relate things to price range, age and quality standards. (If you expect a Steinway to come out of a box like this, don't buy it. Buy a Steinway instead.)

If you're looking for an affordable (these things are very cheap nowadays), nice sounding piano box, this is it. I've found nothing for the price that could compete with it. (All comparable modules are actually more expensive than this one.)

Be reasonable in your expectations, and with some external tools and some fantasy, you can easily close your eyes and imagine yourself playing in a concert hall, jazz cafe, or on a festival stage...