E-MU Proteus FX

When I bought the E-MU Proteus FX I discovered a new mode of synth setting ( before I had Korg Wavestation and a KORG 05R/W). Programming is very different to the Japanese Synths, but it's not so hard.

Polyphony is 32 notes, the standard of instruments of the age of the module. It's useful the functionality for MIDI Overflow so if you need more polyphony just buy another one :-)
Proteus FX has got a FX unit. It's quite noisy, and it's not so useful ( like KORG's models ) : effects settings it's not joined to patch but it's a unit a part. You can just set the FX's MIX for each channel or patch.

Proteus FX contains the sound of various E-MU Proteus models ( Orchestra, Pop Rock... ). I think the acoustic sound are very good ( oboe, acoustic guitar, violins, french horn... ). Acoustic Piano it's weak on middle samples, but quite good on lower notes.

Proteus it's a good piece but cannot be the unique in a Setup. It's not a synth but a good wavetable synth with little set of parameters.

Proteus FX is not a vintage synth, but nice for acoustic sounds.Price is not so high for a used piece.

Easily used synth. Patch and channel selection are intuitive. I bought the thing new many years ago, and I don't know if I ever bothered to consult the manual. Editing individual patches is something of a chore, but that's the case with any rackmount synth that features a few buttons, knob and a screen.

32 note polyphony, depending on the patches used. The built in effects work, especially in a mix. Standing alone, they can sound thin, depending on what you are asking it to do. Just for noodling around, it's fun to hit and hold a note, tweak the patch change knob, and play a new sound. Multiple sounds per channel, I guess you'd call it.

The sounds are OK. Others reviewed this synth and said that a sound card has better realism. Yeah, I guess I'd agree, but keep in mind that this synth is older than virtually all sound cards in use. For me, the sounds are good, especially when combined with other synths. It reacts well to velocity and aftertouch, depending on the patch selected.

Never had a spot of trouble with it.

Never needed support.

If you are on a budget, and need a multi-timberal, polyphonic synth with a large variety of sounds, grab one of these. If mine broke, I don't think that I'd go looking for another one (I'd get something newer and fancier), but if I found one on eBay for cheap, it would be hard to say no.

Easy to use - its a rackmout unit!

Editing patches can be a pain - tho I expect most people would use a software editor!

Some of the presets sound ok - I have used quite a few of them straight out of the box, with maybe just the odd tweak.

Without manual, hard to work out what certain things do, but no matter.

As said above, 32-note poly

Built in effects are fairly poor, but then if you need huge effects, buy an outboard effects unit. Some effects are easer (and better) re-created with the patches!! (eg layered tune-tweaked patches for chorus!)

Sounds are ok - some of the sounds are quite harsh, and the pianos sound fairly poor, but still just about useable.

No expansion

General all round module. Starting to show its age now, but strings work well - mostly what I use it for. Possible to get some quite wierd and impressive sounds out of it with some patch editing.

Effects like I said before are poor, but then I didnt get it for the effects.

Responds to velocity, cant say about aftertouch (I'm on a budget rig at the moment!)

overall, most of the sounds are useable, with the possible exception of pianos and electric guitars, effects arnt great, but it all works, and I use it on gigs without problems

I always gig with it, never had problems up till now. Never lost any data or anything on it. Its a sturdy rackmount unit, ive dropped it before now, and its fine.

If it was lost or stolen, I would probably look for somthing newer, but I wont go out of my way to replace it.

These days, its easy to get a cheap one, and it is ideal for adding to your sound.

Not the greatest of modules, but a handful of steps up from the current basic modules of Yamaha and the like.

Although I put 7 overall, cant decide between a 6 or a 7...

Somewhat easy to use if you've never seen one. Keep your expectation low.

It's got some stuff, but not motivated to look.

Three word review:


They sound O-L-D.


Well, it is an old budget unit.

I have no idea.

Right.

What did I expect? It was $50 I'll never see again. Old technology and it sounds like every year. *yawn* Best be prudent with those impulse purchases.

This module is EASIER to use than a roland D110 but not by much. Programming really needs an external software app that you can then upload your patches via MIDI. typical of older synths..

first off the built in sounds completely stink. This is advertisied as a Sampling/Sampled synth with realistic sounds. A cheap computer Sound Card sounds better than this thing for realistic sounds. now, if you are into techno/dance/new-wave and do NOT want your sounds to sound realistic then this synth is great. everything sounds computer generated or modulated. the effects are very limited in this module and if you start layering you run out of polyphony really fast. I can get it to stop playing notes really easy if you layer more than 2 sounds on one channel.. I'd not call this a 32 note poly, but really a 16 note poly that is only good for some background pad's.

as I said the sounds are HORRIBLE for something that is advertised as a "sampled synth". this is not useful for anything but machine generated types of sounds.

It has locked up a couple of times, replacing the battery inside fixed that... Although it does not see much use anymore as the thing sounds like junk.

Ha! Emu support? that is funny. do not expect any support on this other than what is available on the internet.

Do NOT buy this unles you already know you want it. if you are not a master at making synth sounds and patches and want to make the "wierd" or synthey sounds then look into it, do NOT get this if you want anything useable for rock or even classical...

It's easy to use. It has a very simple interface that is fairly quick to get up to speed on. Learned it without a manual, but then got one. The manual is useful for some hidden functions, and having printed out maps for perc, drum, orch. key layouts.

Other reviews have already gone into the features. Good for 1995 when it was new, just fine for what you need out of this module in a rig.

Rock/Pop sounds from the Proteus 1. Orch sounds from the Proteus 2. Combined in one unit with 2 built in FX processors (the original Proteuses had no FX). All samples taken from the 16 bit Emulator 3, the first 16 bit samples available. You are probably already aware that this unit has it's strong and weak points. Ignore the reviews that completely diss it as worthless crap. These people are ignorant or don't know what they're doing (or both!). Excellent utility synth for filling in orch sounds (solo and ensemble), woodwinds (oboe is a standout), some electric basses are excellent (upright and fretless aren't), some lead and pad synths, although the unit has no filter control. As those who have seem to have worked with MIDI a lot have already stated, this is an excellent resource for extra and fill in voices for sequencing or live work. I owned a U-220 for 10 years. I had most of the expansion cards. I kick myself for using that as a utility synth all these years when the Proteus has been around. The U-220 is definately not better sounding, not close. Pro studios have used Proteuses (Proti?) for years. The new Pro2K is basically an update to this unit. Not staggeringly better, just an upgrade. I am giving this a rating of 9 for the useful, good samples. If I were to be rating it overall, the weak pianos and other sounds would probably dip that rating to about a 6.

I've never owned any gear, and I've owned a ton, that I had ongoing serious problems with. All this stuff is reliable (unless you get a lemon) if you take care of it properly - i.e. hard cases, good racks, no banging around, and no spilled drinks on them. It's not brain surgery.

Oh that lame lost or stolen question. Well, if it were lost or stolen, I would get a Pro2K, or better still, a used Ultra Proteus. But for my needs now, the FX will hunt. I've been playing professionally live and in studios for over 20 years. I only use instruments that will do the work I need, and sound good. I have no complaints about Proteus modules. There are obviously better all-in-one devices available at this time, but for a cheap way to add clean, useful strings, winds, basses, perc., of the used options available, I think this one works the best. Sounds the most in tune to me. 10 because it says "fantastic value" on the scroll down screen for rating, and I think for a few Benjamins, this is a great value.

Although you just dial up your patches, it seemed a bit time consuming to find the sound you want. Editing patches refrains to sub-menus and the fact that no filters are included does hinder the overall ability to create more interesting sounds.

Plenty of polyphony for a single module, but as usual...who doesn't want more? The built in effects are weak ( as is its output ),therefore; use outboard gear if you really want to effect its sounds. No expansion capabilities..ohwell...by a Roland or Korg or just something newer.

Now heres were the module must really count and here is where some people get really confused and just don't get it. No..this is not your stand alone / all in one synth. And because the effects are so weak, one can confuse this issue in whats really at hand in this beast. Synthesist isn't really just "pick a patch and go". Its cooking timbres and sound design to create that good bowl of chili. Combining and layering sounds is not an option...its a necessity. All synth manufacturers create a slightly different pallet than one another. And samplers and large meg files are another animal. The sounds on the proteus FX range from outstanding ( such as the "Quartet" patch- it always turns heads and try layering this patch with a thicker Korg or Roland string sound and listen to what the reson on the Quartet patch does..) to piss poor ( the pianos for example). But, where it really shines is as a treasurechest of sounds. Its orchestral stuff is very useful. The chromatic percussive stuff is inpressive. Even some of the pads are lush ( to a certain extent). Turn off its effects and add your own from a decent stand alone effects product and this beast is superb. Its playback architecture is what it is and was meant to be. Every synth I've ever owned or played has had its strengths and weaknesses, this one is no different...but a definate plus to add on to any rig for more. Although not the most pristine of sounds,they're clean and ready to be combined in your stew.

Had some operating system problems...but still working and in the combat field after many years.

Don't know...never contacted them.

If it were lost or stolen...I'd contact my insurance company and buy something newer. But as long as I have it...I'll use it ( amongst my other gear ). It was alot of sounds for the buck back when...and its made its way to many a television show ( unstbeknowingly to the public). Since this is not a new axe anymore, I would suggest that if your in the market for a sound module as an extention for your rig and can pick one of these up for dirt cheap...its a good buy. If price isn't an object ( how often is that?), the go to Guitar Center and have at it. Theres alot of great stuff out there now.

If your going to just plug and play...this unit shines!!! The essence of a great synthesizer is ease of use and high quality sounds. In this department, the Proteus FX blows!!!! The manual was consise and was cool that they included it with the module. I found that editing the patches thru its sub-menus was both thought provoking and a gas!!!

Polyphony up the wazoo!!! And 16 channel multi-timbral! ( sure beats my trusty DX7 ). The effects to me, rival the fancy Lexicon's I've used in top studios. So subtle, yet so effective! Man, I love this synth!!!!

If you want real strings...look no further. Fat brass sounds...they're in there. Incredible piano sounds compared to my DX7!Marimbas that groove, timbales that excite, ethnic percussion that turns you into a World artist! I especially appreciate the meticulous sampling that EMU put in this module to get the"Proteus" sound. The Proteus FX works well for all the types of music I compose ( such as Mid Eastern Hip Hop, Country and Western Polkas, Louisville Bluegrass and radio commercials for local pool halls and bars ).

I've had this module for 2 months now and I can attest to its reliability as being great! I've taken it to 5 studio sessions and it always works.

I haven't had a need to call them...however, if I did; I'm sure it would be good!!!

If it were lost or stolen...I'd totally freak! I love this module more then my girlfriend. A matter of fact, I'm looking to sell some of my other synths ( Kurzweil K2000, Korg O1W, Roland D50, Roland JP800 and Akai s3000 samplers )and purchase a few more used Proteus Fx units. For me, its my entire sound! Whenever I've taken it to the studio, the engineer can't stop raving about the recording quality and incredible sounds. The other session players jaws drop when I bring up the piano sounds ( although the engineer always insists I use the studios acoustic piano for piano ). Last week I was aquisitioned to do a commercial for Leddy's Bar and Grill, and they wanted areal orchestral sounding piece. Since I don't do that type of thing, I called my good friend Bruce Templeton to arrange it. We used nothing but the Proteus FX and it was hard to distinguish it from a complete full orchestra. The owner of Leddy's Bar and Grill couldn't believe that it was not a real orchestra. Bruce never arranged better!
If you want the ultimate all in one/ desert island synth.. this is the one!!! Buy it...buy it...buy it!!!

Simple, only 2 menus which are self-explanitory as to what they do. Editing patches is extremely easy, just move the cursor to the factor you want to change and rotate the data knob until you like the way it sounds. The patches before you start editing sound great enough though. All of the Strings, VOX, Chromatic Percussion, and Woodwind sounds are SUPERB. It has the greatest synth Oboe EVER. The Brass and other sounds are still great though. The manual is very thick, but I never found a need to open it.

My only complaint is that the polyphony is only 32, but in the time this was made having something that was over 32 polyphony was unheard of. But one feature it does have is and overflow, where it sends all notes it can't play to the MIDI Out where you can then send it to another synth, or ideally another Proteus FX. There are two layers of effects you can add, FX A and FX B. FX A are your standard reverbs with rooms and such, and are excellent. FX B is your special effects, such as LFOs, Fuzz, and Flanger effects, and for the most part they're all great too.

The sounds are fantastic. As I said before the Woodwinds, Strings, VOX, and Percussion sounds can't be beat. The Brass, Organ, Guitar, and other sounds are still great, but they don't stand out as much as the others do. But it's also worth getting the module just for the patch "Rockets." The module pre-dates aftertouch, so it is not compatable with it, but it reacts excellently to anything you send it. I use the module along with a Proteus 2000, and the FX has no trouble keeping up.

I've had mine for about 3 years, I got it because I heard someone else's, and he's had his for about 6 years, and neither of us have had any trouble with it.

Never had to use customer support

I own a Proteus FX, Proteus 2000, and Korg NX5R. Out of all of these modules, the FX is still my favorite. It's the oldest, and yet a lot of the sounds on it are better than in the other 2.

I tried to build sound just one time and many months ago.I found it very different than other models ( japan synth ).

32 poly, 2 FX processor ( with different set of effects for each processor ), wide selection of sounds ( 128 patches x 4 banks ). Useful MIDI controller matrix, to assign to many parameters of sound.

With 32 notes of polyphony I can use P-FX as multitimbral module for 3 channels ( normally some orchestral sounds, drum sounds and synth bass ). The FX unit on board seems
to be quite noisy. I need to put the high frequency on eq. near to 0 db to not ear white noise. It's very nice the rich MIDI controller matrix. It's a nice module for
any kind of music. Best sound I found ( presets ... I have not much time to build my own ! SIGH! ) are human voices, strings and some piano ( not so cool as I wanted ).

I haven't yet use this module for a real sound creation : I use just the presets sound, and I know, it's not the best way to understand the powerful of an instrument.
At moment I can just say this : it's a not so cheap module ( compared to japanese products ), and sound is not so warm as I believed ( I thought that american / west sounds
are warmest that japanese sounds .. but sometimes that's not true ! ). But I think, when I'll have enough time to work on, FX will give me more, waiting and working on the right time !

Proteus FX is very easy to use.

Proteus FX has 32 voices, 16 multi-timbre, 2 effects. It can set effects on/off for individual instrumentals. But, there's no way to specify different effect send level for each instrumental. Common effect level can be specified for all.

Proteus FX has (former) EMU sounds. Most instrumentals are very realistic. Strings, brass and drum sets are nice. It is not an universal sound module, but application is all-purpose! On-board effects are not bad. Generally, Proteus FX works quickly. It recognizes velocity and channel aftertouch. And, doesn't recognize expression (CC#11). It seems stereo output level is smaller than other sound modules, even if volume knob set to MAX.

I think Proteus FX is reliable.

If it were lost or stolen, I do need it again. However, I would buy Proteus 2000 with Proteus Sound ROM. Proteus FX has been my primary sound module for several years. I think it is worth what I paid. I wish to replace it with Proteus 2000 (or E4 sampler maybe).

The unit is easy to operate. The nice thing is that all Emu rack synths have similar operating system.

It's all the whistles and bells, but very bad ones. The onboard effects are probably as bad as they come. It's good aspects are the multi-timbral functions, multi-outs, etc.

Sounds really really suck! There are over 500 presets and there isn't one sound that I liked. Someone should shoot the synth programmers at Emu. They make great samplers, but synths have to go. The sounds are very harsh, no expressiveness, and just plain crappy. I can't emphasize how bad the sounds are.

Mine had problems 2 months after I bought it brand new. The rack would make rattling noises with no sound coming out of the outputs. I had to bang on it to make it work.

Emu's got a good customer support, but they can't do much for the bad ROM sounds.

The operation system is cool. If it had some good sounds, that would make all the difference. If anyone is even thinking about buying this unit, or is tempted by the number of presets. Please think again! I finally sold mine recently. It took a while to sell. Overall, I think Emu makes bad synths, and this is a prime example of it.

I also read the "Kiwi dissing" of this module and felt I had to add my .02 (USD). I sort of agree with reviewer #2, although I'm not quite as enthusiastic about the Protues F/X as he was.
I don't recall my software Rev, I bought the module (in 1995) about a year after it came out (1994), so I guess it's an early to mid Rev.
The presets sound ranges from very good to very bad. I know that's kind of a non statement, but it's true. The piano sounds are very thin and lifeless, I wouldn't even bother layering them with another synth. Some of the brasses are ok, most are kind of wheezy (I've made some decent ones with some editing). The strings are very good, many of them have a lot of "rosin" to the attack. Also the woodwinds (except the saxes, which are horrible) are excellent. I'm sure classical musicians would find fault with the sounds, but I think the things like oboe, english horn, clarinet, etc. are very good. The pads are great too, there are some synth sounds that are good, others are pretty bad. I would use the synths more as layers or effects, not for leads. The organs run the gamut, from as bad as the pianos, to as good as the strings. Unfortunately many of them have the "fake leslie" effect programmed in with an LFO. Nice try, but I would just run a straight sound and use a leslie patch from an external unit. The basses are pretty good, although some don't seem to have much punch. The mallets and percussion sounds are very good, I don't know much about the drums because I never really used them.
The effects are serviceable, but are global. You can cut them on or off for each patch in a multi.
This is a VERY EASY unit to program. I was up and going within a few hours of bringing it home. It's the standard Proteus interface; you use the data knob (which wasn't on the original by the way)to scroll thru a linear array of edit screens, and then a cursor key to jump to the value. Then you can use the knob to edit the value. There is a dedicated global button for things like the effects, midi channels, etc. One real nice thing is that the presets have labels, showing which sound category they are in. They are arranged in groups, so if you keep the sounds that way in the RAM, you always know keboards are the first 20, etc. There is also a dedicated display for midi volume, which I find very helpful. There is only a two line display, so you can only look at one midi channel at a time, but it's easy enough to spin to another one.
A patch editor is nice (I use Midi Quest 4.0), although not really necessary. The editor mainly helps with the envelopes, since the display can only show numbers.
ONE VERY BIG CAUTION ABOUT USING AN EDITOR!!!! Make sure you've saved your preset before you start. There is an edit buffer for the Proteus F/X, but it only works with the front panel. If you call up another patch with your editor, IT WILL OVERWRITE WHATEVER EXISTING PATCH IS SITTING IN RAM!!! Needless to say, I found this out the hard way. Also, if you go to edit the existing patch with your editor, the only way to restore the patch to the orignal values is to either recall it from computer disk (the original version), or if your editor has it (most do) use the "return to original preset" or whatever it's called.
If you're editing, chances are you don't like the sound anyway, so this may not be a big deal, just be aware of it.
The manual is pretty good (about 12 times better than a Roland one), it has a nice index in the back of all of the waveform names, and the presets that use them.
Some bits are a little sketchy - for example the part about using bank change messages to call up different banks. I could never get this to work (calling up banks) until I contacted tech support - the manual was not exactly wrong, but it was very vague.
Another thing the manual does not make clear is the multi setup. I remember calling E-Mu before I bought it and asking how many multi timbral setups it had. The tech guy was like HUH????. What the ads and the

32 voice polyphony, but not really. Most of the decent sounds use two oscillators, so that brings it down to 16 voice polyphony. In 1994 when this unit was introduced, 32 voices was a little better than average.
It's a module, so there's no keyboard. Apparently the Protues MPS is very similar to the F/X, so if you want a keyboard, you might check that out.
The built in effects are ok, but pretty basic. There are two effects processors, A and B. You can feed B (which is stuff more like chorus, phase, flange, distortion, etc.) serially into A. The effects are global, but you can select per midi channel whether it's effect A, effect B(which will be B+A if you select to run B into A), or none. The delays are not quite long enough, the chorusing sounds ok, but not too thick. The distortion is really wank, but I was able to program a useable organ distortion patch using it (I'm kind of cheating by layering it with a straight organ from another synth).
No expansion abilities whatsover. There are 256 programs in RAM (banks 0 and 1), and 256 Programs in ROM (Banks 2 and 3). With 8 mb of sample ROM, there's a fair amount to work with sample wise though so lack of expansion slots is not that big of a deal. The original Proteii (1, 2, and 3/World) only had 4 mb of ROM. Apparently the F/X is kind of a best of the 1 through 3 (without the digerdoo!)
The midi capabilities are pretty extensive. You can modulate the effects via midi, and the modulation matrix is very nice. There are 4 dedicated routings (A, B, C, D) which can basically be routed to any parameter. Unlike a lot of cheap modules, there is a midi thru and a midi in and out. The sysex dumps are very well implemented, you can dump everything, only a patch, only a bank, banks, tuning tables, effects, globals, etc.
No on board sequencer (although the built in demos sound pretty good).

As I said the orchestral instruments are really the best out of this module, along with some of the non piano keyboard sounds. Pads and synths are also good. The strings and woodwinds in particular are very realistic (english horn isn't my cup of tea but this thing does that real well).
Forget the pianos, no punch, no sustain, no life. This is usually the achilles heel of most units, so I wouldn't gig or record with just this module.
With no filters, it's not exactly a dance machine or minimoog substitute either. Use it for what it's good for and you'll be happy.
Good for Rock, great for classical, forget dance or anything that needs crunchy or greasy sounds.
The effects are pretty good, the reverb isn't too fluttery, the delays are nice, and other than the flanging/chorusing being thin the effects are not bad (better than my JV-90). The distortion (called FUZZ and FUZZ LITE) really bites - it sounds like a Wal Mart distortion pedal.
This module is very responsive to velocity, especially at the lower end of the scale (esp. with the orchestral sounds). You can program in all sorts of velocity scalings. Unfortunately though there is no real filter. There is a filter, but it's global with no resonance. Basically all it's it for is to roll off a little highs from a patch as you go up the keyboard (keyboard scaling).
The aftertouch response is very nice, especially since most of the presets have an aftertouch routing built into them.
One thing I really have to rave about is how quiet this module is. You can turn the output all the way up, and turn the samples all the way up, and there is hardly any noise. The output is a little weak (depending on the patch), but the lack of noise kind of makes up for this.

I've never had a mechanical problem with it, although I think the step back from the original Proteus by having a wall wart instead of an internal power supply sucks. (Just how much did E-Mu save me by taking out the internal power supply?)
My keyboard player's PC-88 ocasionally freaks the Proteus F/X out though. When doing some of our organ songs, I have a midi controlled leslie patch programmed into a quadraverb. When he really gets going toggling the leslie, bringing it's volume in and out - the Proteus will sometimes hang up and the oscillators get thrown like 2/3 of a step out of tune. Cycling the power usually fixes it.
It also suffers from stuck notes sometimes. The Proteus suffers from these kinds of things more than any other instrument in my midi rig (my DW-8000 and Matrix 1000 also freak out sometimes, but hey they're a lot older) - it's not the end of the world, but if I was using it on a gig and it did it it would piss me off.
I would gig without a backup, but have the rack handy to turn the volume down in case it wigged out.

Pretty good. I called about my bank select problem and the guy was pretty prompt, but I don't think he really understood my question.
His suggested fix didn't work. A few months later, I emailed them and got a reply the next day. this time it worked - I think being able to write what was going on helped the tech support. The second guy did comment that what I had been told by the first guy was wrong.
I never got an upgrade (do they even exist?), or needed repairs. E-Mu is still milking the Proteus (not bad for a nearly 10 year old product) with their new dance and latin modules. Apparently the only straight Proteus still available is the Ultra (probably not for long, how that they are coming out with the Audity 2000).
E-Mu did offer some additional sound sets for the Proteus F/X on disc.

I don't think I would replace the Proteus F/X, I would try to get something with resonant filters. At the time I bought it (3 years) ago there were not a lot of modules on the market (the flurry of modules released from 1988 to 1993 or so had kind of died down). The main competition was from GM modules, that were either really bad, or really overpriced (at the time the Korg O3RW was about $800!). I never really looked at anything else, since I was after the "Proteus Sound".
I've been dabbling (I'm really a bass player) with synths for about 11 years. Besides the Proteus, I have a Korg DW-8000 (my first synth) with an Angel City Turbo mod, a Kawai K-1, a Roland JV-90 (with the VE-JV1 voice expansion board and a SR-JV-80 Piano board), a Yamaha CS1-x, an Oberheim Matrix 1000, the Proteus F/X and an Alesis D-4.
WHAT I LOVE - The easy programming interface, the string and ensemble sounds, having decent built in effects, a front panel headphone output, decent quality of the buttons and data wheel, the midi volume display in the preset name screen. The lack of noise in the outputs.

WHAT I HATE - The lack of resonant filters (the Morpheus was 3 TIMES the cost when I bought the F/X, so it really wasn't an option), the lame piano sounds, the output volume is kind of weak, the fuzz F/X just bite, it's propensity for wigging out with a thick midi data stream, THE FREAKIN WALL WART POWER SUPPLY, the fact that there is not edit buffer when editing via midi.
Like I've said, this is a good module for part of a rig, but not a stand alone, do it all box. My keyboard player has used this and a PC-88 for some gigs and we got by.
It's funny that he doesn't really like the Proteus very much, yet when we go through my keyboards looking for new sounds, I can call up the same Proteus F/X patches he says he doesn't like, and he'll say, "oh that's cool, what's that sound?". I've done this to him about three times - it usually stops his bitching for a month or two. I tell him it's HIS responsibility to buy a K2500 if that's the sound he's after.
I would buy the Proteus F/X if you want string and orchestral sounds, but if you need good pianos and organs, forget it (you can get a decent organ sound, but many other units do much better).
The NZ guy really dissed this module, I guess maybe he paid a lot with the exchange rates and all - a lot of what he said was true, but I think he overstated the case. I think a used JV-880 would be a better deal, but if you can get a Proteus F/X used for under $300 I would do it.
I would say that overall, considering what I paid for it, and the vintage of the technology (1994) I'm happy that I bought it.
We'll probably all be talking in 2003 about how crappy JV-2080's sound anyway - age in keyboards has a way of making them sound not so hot.

Note : I saw there was only one review for the P-Fx on this site, and the reviewer completely dissed the module. I believe the other reviewer missed the whole point. True, there are a lot of missing items on the P-Fx (e.g., the filters), but this is also true of other machines. So, it's not for techno (Orbit is !!). What it is : a good all-around box for working out arrangements, if you're into mainstream pop or classical. The acoustic sounds (strings, brass, reeds, woodwinds) have enough realism to enable listeners to "suspend judgement". The sounds don't get in the way of the music. For acoustic sounds, and considering the price, nothing comes close to the P-Fx.
I first bought this unit in 1994. Sounded great and realistic in the studio, but wimpy on stage, so I swapped it for a Korg X5. I missed the orchestral sounds so much that I bought one again recently.
Proteus units are generally easy to use (read: we just got used to their O.S.). The presets are great so that you may not feel like editing them, although editing is quite easy if you decide to do so (this inspite of the 2 line LCD). The manual is great, as US company manuals generally are.

32 note polyphony. for orchestral music, you'd wish there was more. Effects are akay. The reverb is quite subtle (not metallic like Korg's), but not very editable. Not much bells and whistles, just a real workhorse module.

The whole point about the P-Fx is the quality of the acoustic / orchestral sounds. The realism is great. The strings (ensemble and solo) are very expressive. The brasses and woodwinds are powerful.
The pianos and organs (B3) rate okay (very usable). The basses and guitars are average. The synths and drums ARE wimpy, because of the lack of filters.
I used the solo strings extensively in our 1996 album, and some album reviewers thought we used real players.
As mentioned before, this unit is for pop / rock / classical / orchestral. The strings may work for house. Definitely not for techno.

Lousy AC adapter. My firts unit conked out.

No comment.

I DID BUY IT AGAIN !!! I really missed the great orchestral sounds and the general usability of the other P-Fx sounds.
I'm now into techno / dance music. I also own a roland MC-303, U-220 and Yamaha CS1x / SU10. These boxes sound great for dance, but the P-Fx has it's place as a great source of orchestral sounds.
I was planning to buy instead a roland M-SE1 for strings. the M-SE1 does sound good, but it's not as versatile as the P-Fx. I think the Proteus has more character.

This is just brief summary of my experiences with the "Proteus Sound", courtesy of the Proteus FX.

The Proteus FX is a 1U rackmountable unit. It has a 32 character display, a few buttons, and a data entry wheel. Patch editing with the Proteus is surprisingly easy - if you can be bothered with the task at all...but more on that below.
32 voice polyphony, and a small selection of very boring effects. Also includes a distortion effect which Emu call "fuzz"... It is appallingly bad.
Fairly standard MIDI implementation. In this regard the Proteus does nothing poorly, but nothing particularly well either.
Peculiarly, the Proteus FX has (wait for it) NO FILTERS. That's right, a supposedly professional module from Emu systems, and it has no filters. Not resonant. Not multimode. Not even a low-pass design of poor quality. No filters. Anyone even remotely interested in advanced sound design, or electronica - forget it.
Not expandable.

Right. Let's get one thing straight. THE PROTEUS FX SOUNDS AWFUL!! I have *never* heard more thin, weak, tweezy pus-filled sounds than the ones which this box farts out. 8MB of waveform ROM is stretched across some 600-odd patches, none of which sound any good. Pianos, brass, basses, strings, and most other "traditional" instruments come off the worst. This would be almost forgivable if the Proteus could deliver solid electronic timbres. But it can't - Not even.
With no filters, any expression to be squeezed out of the module is reduced to things like vibrato/volume/pan.
All up, truly terrible sounds. Don't even bother trying to program it, as the time you'll spend doing so will NOT justify the end result.

It's a rackmount module - nothing much to go wrong.
Operating system appears robust.
I wouldn't use it on a gig in any case. I'd rather play spoons.

Never dealt with customer support.

At the ridiculous retail of NZ$1795, no I *wouldn't* buy it again. I don't even know if it qualifies as a novelty drinks coaster, or a doorstop.
And this is meant to be Emu's famed "Proteus Sound"?