EMU E-III Opinions

[tmix]

Well,
I wanted to get a sound module for piano and string sounds. I am NOT a keyboard player by any stretch of the imagination, but rather a drummer / guitar player.

I have a chance to pick up a Emulator E-III reasonably inexpensively (In my opinion) with a 10 CD sample library.

What are you guys opinions as to the sound quality and / or ease of use?

I tried doing all kinds of searches both here and n google and came up with zilch.

[brzilian]

The EIII was E-Mu's first 16 bit sampler which came out in the late 80's. Nothing special really - very anchient compared to what you could buy even 5 years ago.

[tmix]

I wonder how it compares to the S2000-S3000 akai samplers?

I may have made a mistake in promising to buy it, I was hoping for something better that an Alesis Nano Piano.

Any other opinions?

Tom

[stray411]

Originally posted by tmix
I wonder how it compares to the S2000-S3000 akai samplers?

I may have made a mistake in promising to buy it, I was hoping for something better that an Alesis Nano Piano.

Any other opinions?

Tom

The Emu is a full blown sampling workstation whereas the Akais are strictly samplers. The Emu can only hold 8 mb of sample whereas the Akais can hold 32 mb.

The Emu can not only hold samples, but also has a keyboard to play them with and a sequencer to record them with. The Akais will require you to have another keyboard and/or sequencer.

A better comparison would be the Akai S2000 and Emu ESI32, almost exactly the same feature wise. Except for SCSI, which is optional on the ESI and standard on the S2000.

Akais are said to be good for drums while Emu are supposedly more musical sounding (better for realistic instruments).

You didn't mention the price, but $350 is probably the most I'd pay for the Emu. The Akai S2000 and Emu ESI32 can be had for less than $200.

For reviews:

www.harmony-central.com
http://www.sonicstate.com/synth/

For pricing info:

www.prepal.com

Good luck

[tmix]

Stray,
Thanks for the links.
This is a rack mount unit. It may be the e III xp.
I paid $250 for it and the 10 CD sample library.

So maybe I did not do so horrible after all if it sounds good.

I'll find out pretty soon.

Tom

[stray411]

Originally posted by tmix
This is a rack mount unit. It may be the e III xp.
I paid $250 for it and the 10 CD sample library.So maybe I did not do so horrible after all if it sounds good.

Woops, I was giving you info on the EIII. I'm not familir with the particular model but the Emulator lines gets pretty good reviews so you'll probably be happy with it. Seems like a good price too.

Enjoy.