EMU Emulator VST

[richielg]

Hi an Arturia employee recommended to post this suggestion up on the forum. I think it would be really great to have all the classic Emu Emulator samplers bundled into one VST where you can just switch the modes for the different samplers. I'm quite familiar with the sounds of these things but in terms of the models I think the classic ones are the version 1, 2 and 3. I would need to check and read up on that but so basically in my mind lets say for arguments sake EMU 1, 2 and 3 in a VST with the samples from all of them and the ability to switch sampler modes. Model the filter and the saturation and all that and chuck in some extras and I think it could be a really nice addition to the Arturia suite. What does everyone think?

[mrpingu]

Yep, I'd be all over this. An Emulator II with a good chunk of the original library and user-sampling would make me very happy indeed.

[MarkBog]

I think that's a great idea.  I would be very excited about such an addition.

[MajorFubar]

I'd be up for it but mainly just to access the original EMU sample libraries which I hope would come with it. Because let's be honest, it's the sample libraries we all want, not so much the EMU Emulator, which was really just a large primitive (by modern standards) hardware sampler. I'm sure every DAW in the world has a built-in sampler. Logic Pro that I use certainly does. Even GarageBand on my iPhone does.

[MarkBog]

I agree in part.  A huge attraction definitely would be the library (and the ability to read Emulator files). That said, I have purchased Emulator sample collections from third parties and run them through a really good DAW sampler and they don't sound right.

Although I never owned the Emulator hardware, I hear that it was its filter that gave it a characteristic sound.

[MajorFubar]

I hear that it was its filter that gave it a characteristic sound.

It did have wholly analog filters, which probably contributed to a certain sound and feel, as did its technical limitations, such as only being able to play 8-bit samples and the sampling frequency being no higher than 27.7kHz.

[MCMorrise]

The biggest draw for me would be accessing the EMU libraries on a software sampler purpose-built to play them. Having the libraries most likely comes down to the cost of licensing that data from the copyright holders at Digital Sound Factory.

Arturia must certainly have enough money to license it, considering how much they charge us to upgrade to each new V Collection … 

[MajorFubar]

True, and they've done in before with both the CMI and the Synclavier.

Though I doubt any new VSTs will turn up in the V Collection until they launch V Collection 7. Which I thought we may have seen released last Christmas (2018), but instead it turned out their software engineers had been busy developing Pigments instead.

So I can't see us getting V Collection 7 for a while yet 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Although, a browser styled gui "drag & drop" sampler where you can drag samples to specific keys would be quite nice.
I'd then be able to launch samples from the Keith McMillen 12 Step foot controller since the Roland PK5 & PK6 are discontinued.

[MajorFubar]

A browser styled gui "drag & drop" sampler where you can drag samples to specific keys would be quite nice.
I'd then be able to launch samples from the Keith McMillen 12 Step foot controller since the Roland PK5 & PK6 are discontinued.

What DAW are you using? Most DAWs surely have a built in sampler that will allow you to assign different samples to different keys. Even GarageBand does.

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I'm on Pro Tools 12, but I'm talking about for live use with a Laptop.
I use my MacBook as the brain & just take the controller with me for live use, but I'd like to use a foot controller for specific functions ala Geddy Lee.
I could do that now with the iPad using the iMini for the Taurus pedal sounds using a 12 Step or a PK5/6, but for launching one shot samples, I haven't really found a functional, easy to configure application yet.
Something that would drag into one of the current V Collection 6 apps would be great, then I could remain in AL3 for an entire gig.

[MCMorrise]

Synclavier V does sample drag and drop. The problems I can already foresee with your set are first, that you'll have to have it open to a partial page rather than the main interface; second, that you may need to adjust the detected key of the sample; and third, that if you're using multisamples, configuring key ranges for each partial in Synclavier V is a right pain in the arse.

EDIT: CMI V also does drag and drop, but it's got the same 3 problems: you have to have the screen open to drop a sample on one of the 10 slots, key detection sucks, and you'll have to fiddle with the key range editor if you want multisamples.

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

May have to consider Spark as an option, or see if Arturia would develop a foot controller/sampler in one unit with an editor down the road.
Kind of like a Roland PK 5 with built in sampling.

[MarkBog]

Disappointed that V7 dropped with no Emulator VST.  If it had, I would have been tempted to spend $199 for the immediate upgrade from V6.  Oh well....

[MCMorrise]

Disappointed that V7 dropped with no Emulator VST.

… AND that Mellotron V, their attempt at a sampler in this VC iteration, can't even do more than 8 user samples in a patch. All the factory patches use racks of samples for all 35 keys. So silly that they didn't make a proper patch creator for end-users; it's a straight disappointment.