My homie wanted to buy the purple joint because of an ad with RZA. Then we went to his cousins lab and he showed us a bunch of beats on his mp7, and we were like these are dope. So we dropped cash to buy the beats from dude. Then eventually my homie bought the purple emu. The beats dude sold us were stock beats that came on the emu.
Actually, they did ask producers for guidance. I know this as I myself had been among those they got involved with the 2.0 OS for the Command Stations. In fact there basically was a whole group of us that existed that EMU was actively interacting with (this is back in the day of "Yahoo Groups"), really fun and exciting time. We came up with a whole load of additional features, which ultimately included X-Mix (basically a more powerful version of Roland's "Megamix" idea on the MC-505), the ability to change pattern length time, and a load of other things, all in real time. The major draw back that I feel resulted in how much EMU listened to us was that there ended up being a whole bunch of double button commands and things one needed to know in order to reach things..... as one of those actively involved in the final 2.0 OS, even I was ultimately stammered and couldn't help but feel "dear lord, what have we done?"...... it was sorta like having to memorize all the special move and combos for a character in Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, or what have you. Not that intuitive at all. The PX-7 came out POST these additions and was the only one of the Command Stations that had a guide of sorts put on to the face of the machine to assist users in all the additional things that could be done. So while the PX-7 came out pretty o.k., the rest were a trial in hidden konami game cheat code insanity. Another draw back to the Command Stations laid in simply how in depth they were. Simple fact stood (and very arguably stands) that most people into electronic instruments and synthesizers weren't exactly into synthesis or sound design itself. EMUs Emulator/Proteus engines were in many regards developed into modular sound designer play grounds and about the only things hardset on them were that oscillators were at the beginning of the signal path, they fed into filter, and that filter went to an amp.... EVERYTHING ELSE WAS FREELY ASSIGNABLE. So Envelopes, LFOs, multipliers, summers, key tracking, even what the physical UI knobs on the unit did and such were all defined by the user in the modulation matrix. The ONLY reason knobs on the unit corresponded to any function as listed on the hardware was purely out of the EMU sound design team making them correspond to the displayed listed function AND NOT because the knob had anything to do with said function by default. So in many regards it was a modular synthesis system that presumed one knew something about synthesis and sound design...... GREAT for people into such, but not so great for those that really don't know much about signal and signal flow (and signal modification). So you had this really powerful synthesis system that the greater majority of the consumer market really had next to no idea about how to seriously even dig into and had no idea of how or why to appreciate it.
Regarding sampling..... EMU's flagship at the time were the E 64 Ultra samplers, and there was some cross over with those and the Command Stations. Sampling for the Command Stations did come up quite a bit, but the hardware simply wasn't capable of it. In essence, as in the past, the Proteus line (of which the Command Stations were an extension) was the NO sampler/user sample memory version of the Emulator samplers. HOWEVER, what EMU had done to compensate for this was make it possible for user created ROM sticks to be added to the Command Stations (there were 4 slots on the machines, 1 taken up at the start and 3 left open for a user to fill with premade sticks from EMU or their own). Suppose the problem here was that one needed to purchase special burnable ROMs to put the waves on AND still needed access to an E Ultra in order to get their waves on to said ROM to begin with. Compounding the problem, the burnable ROMs fairly quickly became hard to obtain. However, it's worth noting, a fully ROM stocked Command Station/P2500 provided TONS of waves to work with for synthesis and sound design. What really finished EMU off was after being acquired by Creative (now also under), EMU accepted that the days of the hardware sampler were largely finished. Gigasampler, Kontakt, and other software based sampling solutions were becoming all the rage. The amount of storage space and RAM one could get with PCs versus what could affordably be put on independent hardware had grown worlds apart and the ENTIRE hardware sampling world was being crushed as a result. As the "Emulator" samplers had ALWAYS been EMUs flagship, the Proteus ROMplers simply being the cheaper non-sampler versions of the Emulators, EMU (now under Creative) went to focusing on putting their Emulator focus in the software direction, Emulator X was the result. Now again there would be much cross over in relation to Emulator X and the Command Stations in as much that if one happened to have a Command Station they automatically had basically the most ideal controller in the world for the Emulator X software; a relationship very akin to the later Ableton Push controller to Ableton Live. Emulator X (and it's final X2 version) arguably still stands as one of the most in depth sample and synthesis engines to ever hit the consumer market, but none the less, the third party sample pack market was going into a darn near pure focus on things Giga and Kontakt at the time. Will note here that EMU hadn't total dropped all things hardware, as they did continue rolling out MIDI controllers AND Creative basically started using EMU as their front for addressing the growing DAW and otherwise PC and software based producer market. Creative, the once totally dominate holders of the PC sound market, would begin losing their grip more and more..... but it wasn't just Creative mind you, things were just boiling down into more of a singularity period. Eventually Creative would bite the dust and with them, what remained of EMU. Moving forward to the current day, really just shy of ANYONE made it out alive. Akai (music) Professional, arguably the kings of the hardware sampler market would bite the dust by 2004-2005 and be assimilated into Enterprise (specifically inMusic) to continue existence in basically name only. Alesis would go out in a blaze of glory and firing guns in both hands with their Fusion sampler/synthesizer before biting the dust and being assimilated into Enterprise (again, specifically inMusic) to continue existence in basically name only. Novation would bite the dust and be assimilated into the Enterprise (more specifically, Focusrite). More recently, Roland would bite the dust as Ikutaro Kakehashi (Roland founder) was given the boot (arguably in hostile take over) and the company was assimilated into Enterprise (specifically Taiyo corp). Native Instruments, Dave Smith/Sequential (now also Focusrite), the list goes on and on. In essence, much like how ESPN, ABC, Pixar, Fox, and more all equal DISNEY in actuality, similar would come to occur through out much of consumer synthesizer (and sampler) world.... so many channels, so few actual channel sources. There's a certain front/company that currently has it's own 20 to 30,000 some odd employee live in city in China..... the Enterprise musical version of Walmart one might say.... seems it's out to help finish the consolidation off all things into Enterprise job off.
Wow..Dope facts and perspectives!..Really sad these great companies got to go under like this..But I guess thats how it is with new management and time..Thats why I respect companies that really take pride in there work and in giving the consumer the ultimate experience..I think Akai is really trying and Native Instruments was doing it right for a long time.
I was in that Yahoo group. Emu was very responsive when it came to issues like pauses during program/pattern changes and would have a fix in the next update.
Thanks for this video! A couple additions, if I may: There's also a third Command Station; the PX7 in silver, with the DRUMS ROM. Also, these 3 Command Stations share the same engine as the E-mu Proteus 2500 and 2000 (each has 128 voice polyphony), but they add the black pads. The 2500 is also rackmountable. The internal effects were only Reverb and Chorus/Delay. The synthesis engine inside each, however, contains a set of the best digital filters ever made, all based on analog filters from the E-mu line. Lastly, they shipped with a single 32mb ROM inside, which was a bank of hundreds of sounds for that model number. One of my favorite parts about it is that patches were sorted by type, so you could scroll through only Piano sounds or only Drum Kits. Each Command Station 4 ROM slots altogether so you could load up a single PX7, for example, up with ROM's from the MoPhatt, Xtreme Lead, Drum, and Composer--- which was straight out of the Proteus 2000/2500. This would give you 128mb worth of built in sounds and patches, up to thousands in each category. There were 18 ROM's you could purchase, containing most of the classic E-mu Emulator library, including many SP1200 samples. To me, the best part is this: making music with it is fast because you turn it on and go, and once you get used to it, it's very very fast workflow to get ideas down into finished songs!
@@circleback8874 Thanks bro..If there for the right price..In good condition and your getting all the sounds your supposed to get I think it would be cool..But the MPC One is the best thing going for the price..And its a sampler..But if you dont need a sampler and you can get a MP7 XL7 or a PX7 for 400 or less I say go for it.
I bought an E-mu PX-7 in 2005 that was loaded with the drum ROM, MP7, XL7 and vintage keys ROMs. I still have it and I'm still learning new things about it.
Bro.. Thanks for what you're doing.. I've been making beats since 92 when I bought my ASR-10 and have grown into almost all the joints you do videos for.. Your a blessing to community.
@@DyReckProductions It'd be cool to see you do more on software as I'm sure your like me and remember all the great XP stuff.. loved the video on ACID . That was my first DAW when I used it just to track in from the ASR.
@@SonnyCrackBeats No doubt fam..I got software commin up..And acid is dope!..Thats my daw..Every time I try and switch to a new daw I just end up going back to acid..Im too fast on it and too comfortable.
@@DyReckProductions ACID is like the SP-1200 of DAWS.. Anyone can learn it in an hour.. lol Somewhere around 2002 a producer friend of mine showed me Nuendo and what he could do with stuff in the Box and I was sold although I still tracked vocals in ACID.. Mainly because the artists I was working with could track themselves and couldn't figure out Nuendo. lol
@@DyReckProductions I should say.. It wasn't Nuendo which sold me but NI Battery.. original version.. I was like holy shit - I can get my beats done WWWWWWWWWWWAY faster than on my ASR! ahahah I felt a certain kind of way at the time because I was trying to be a purist and there were only a handful of people I knew using software at the time.. I never really looked back other than for nostalgia reasons.. I still have my ASR and Fantom X but use them as controllers pretty much and won't part with them (for nostalgia reasons again). ahah keep up the awesome work bro!
Definitely near and dear to my heart is the E-MU line. I own a PX-7, and the entire Proteus 2000 set. Also several other E-MU pieces. You hit the nail on the head with its shortcoming being the lack of a sampler. But for producers like myself, that plays... It was a GOD SEND having all these functions. For today's creatives, its sought after by those that know. The CS line could if nothing else, be used as sound modules in a DAW setup. And those DRUMS... Easily tweaked via the knobs for extra grittiness. Keep up the great works. Peace...Netm8kr
I still got my emu mp7 with the Bible of an instruction manual. Got mine in 2002 when Mars Music started closing down. Paired it with an Roland MV8800 I got a few years later, then I was able to sample my emu sounds through my MV. I still hit them drum pads when I just need to scratch that beat making itch.
There was a way you could get your own samples inside it. You could get an EMU 32MB flash rom, place it inside an emu sampler of that era (maybe ESI series or E6400?) and save your samples onto it and then install it in any of the rack modules, keyboards or command stations and have access to your sounds. Never bothered trying it though. Was too much of a hassle since I had dedicated samplers for this. But it would be soooo sooo convenient to have all my custom and go to drums and drum breaks already installed in the machine.
I tried this with an Emu Ultra 6400 and 5000 and was never able to get it to work. Very sad about that, because I would’ve been so happy to have my Emu samples in a workstation format. I’d love to hear from someone who got it to work...
Man was a subscriber to Keyboard Magazine all thru the 90s and the 2000s and I remember reading about all this gear you are talking about on your channel. You are about to send me on a vintage gear hunt.
I still have my Emu MP7 and all the software sounds when they transitioned to the virtual instrument world. I still use my MP7 and will continue to use it. I even wrote the MIDI scripts for Cubase, Logic X and Cakewalk to remote control the MP7 sound changes. Don’t let the secret out of the bag. I’m still looking at adding the XL-7 to my collection.
By that time E-MU had already went to panic mode with these because they never asked true producers for guidance on how to make a good dope product plus design is everything
I remember when this came out. I had my beloved ASR X PRO at the time (early2000s) and couldn’t help but notice the resemblance. I wanted to get this unit but like you said the fact that it didn’t have a sampler made it not worth the price. Right now it looks pretty tempting. Great video as usual. ✌🏿
You **could** burn flash rom for it if you had a E4 series rack sampler. But hardly anyone did. I mean if you had a E4 series sampler it was better than one of these, imo. I wonder if you could use one of these to control a E4 series sampler? that would be dope. Those z plane filters are pretty cray.
@@customerservice9602 Yeah I feel you..There is a way to get samples on them by burning them into the rom through the Emulator IV..But you have to have that rack sampler.
Funny thing is when I first bought my MP-7 (that I once had) and discovered the power of it's sound engine, I wanted to use it with my own samples. Therefore, I bought an E-MU E4XT Ultra shortly afterwards. I still have the sampler til this today.....sold the MP-7 long ago....but I also miss the sounds/presets in MP-7. I did look into the idea of burning roms back then but didn't feel it was worth the extra expense or effort since I already had the sampler itself.
@@kvmoore1 Maybe you can answer my question then. Were you able to use the command station to control the E4's corresponding functions? I assume you can. But is it in real time?
Got my mint XL7 hopefully arriving in the next two days and pretty damn exited about it. I've purchased a bunch of gear in the last few decades. Figuring out what I like and what I love. Bought a shit ton of groove boxes in that time and not very many have stayed around for very long. the E-MU sound is a special, distinct one and the 90's are something that will always have a deep root in my heart. For that reason I tracked the unit down. I like the late 80's and early 90's machine workflow. Way more than about 99% of these new contemporary machines. I already know this will be a for life keeper. I'm most certainly willing to sit down and create the sounds from scratch. That's the exact reason for me tracking one down that's in proper condition. Great explanation of these units and your metaphors in this vid, I get em🤣. Good stuff man. Digging your channel and happy I found it.
Thanks bro!!..The XL is Dope!..One of the best Rom sounds..All the sounds can still be used perfectly in today's music..There's alot of cool tricks on the xl7..It has a feature where it automatically creates patches for you..And you can have outside audio come through the sound engine of the XL7 by sticking a input jack half way in in one of the slots in the back of the unit..I'll be posting some videos on it soon.
This was my first piece of E-mu gear. Looking back I wish I kept it. I sent it back to the store to get an MPC2000XL which oddly they both cost around the same price. I had the MP7 and this was the Timbaland/Kanye/Swizzbeatz era of music. A Sampler was a must. I recall sitting in my dorm room in front of this box thinking that it sounded kind of dated cause it did. It had lots of 90's hiphop sounds but damn it wasn't fit for the hiphop storm to come in those early 2000's. This little box just couldn't cut it but right now yeah it would fit right in cause it has those old sounds that are in style again.
had a phase last year when I thought about buying some E-MU modules that were cheap. Obviously, as with Akai rackmount samplers a couple years ago, they all disappeared from Kijiji here in Montreal. You'll see one once in a while but twice the price. awesome vids, man!
I still have my XL-7. I had no issues with it other than the fact that the control knob never worked properly. If you spun it too quickly it would take you to an arbitrary setting. I always called it the "randomizer" knob. Also I never found a decent crash cymbal sound. They all sounded like beating a trashcan lid. Besides all this, I LOVED the XL-7. It was a great unit. Lots of great memories. Thank you, Emu!
Been using an MP-7 for nearly 20 years. A lot of gear comes and goes, but this one's a keeper. Great for throwing down patterns and songs, has been my main sequencer too for my other outboard gear. Thank you for showing it some love!
I loved my mp-7! I played with one years before I got my own, got it on Ebay for cheap... I used it MIDI with cubase and my mo6 yamaha back in the days.. made some HEAT! I miss it, honestly. Still have the sounds/samples, but not the actual machine. LOVED IT!
Missed the chance to score an MP7 locally for cheap. But I got the Planet Phatt and really love it. I wonder if Berhinger would ever re-make the Fizmo like they did with the WASP and SH-01.
Great sequencer, but it can hiccup if you are running low on memory. Several different ways to sequence that complement each other nicely. You can also use the 16 knobs to sequence both note on and velocity amount in step mode. Amazing way to create really glitchy, complex beats.
I still have mine. Bought the mp7 dirt cheap on ebay around 2004 and installed the PROM and XL1 expansion too. Did many beats on it, made a few good mixtape and albums with it. Thinking of refurbishing it and selling it on eBay or Reverb but I hate to see it go... Still thinking i might use it again one day as much as i did back then.
@@customerservice9602 was hunting the px7 rom back then but i couldnt find it. i ended up getting the PROM1 instead. Also wanted to get the Definitive B3 ROM but was hard to find too.
Fantastic story. I've always wondered why E-Mu thought a non-sampling drum with everything but sampling could compete with the likes of the MPC and SP-1200. They were groove boxes ahead of their time for sure.
It's pretty amazing the features all this '90s stuff has. Like crazy MIDI implementations that give you 16X multitimbral parts on each channel and CC control of everything but then also user-definable modulators where you can pick any CC and map it to any destination. But then just when you think it's the best synth ever you notice that half the samples in the thing are record scratches, and the first modulation option is how sensitive do you want the pitch bend wheel to be when you scratch with it LOL. And the touch strips. OMG everybody thought the touch strip was the hot feature. Like that Yamaha VHS-tape looking sampler that doesn't have any controls except a touch strip and can't sync to a MIDI clock but hey the touch strip makes scratch sounds!
Yeah..I felt the XL7 sounds were better than the MP7..The XL7 got alot of synth and atmospheric sounds that fits perfectly with the music today..You can always buy a new sound Rom on the aftermarket..But some of them are real expensive..You kinda gotta wait for a good deal.
Nah I dont think so E-MU was always a different kind of company and putting a sampler in these units would have definitely made them more expensive..And at the time they were going through financial problems. So they just probably thought keep the price reasonable and omit the sampling.
I never was able to get my hands on one of these I’ve always wanted one, later on ended up getting the Sound Modules Mophat Proteus 1000, 2,000 and all the sounds cards
@@DyReckProductions thanks. I listened to 1-2 videos here on TH-cam and they sounded similar to the Electribe 2 Synth … really needs a bit of a sampler functionality and could rereleased.
I forgotten all about those. Basically just a Mophatt with a sequencer. Most people did want MPCs around that time. If it had a sampler, it probably would have did better.
Had both ,both worth it in the end for various applications. Could always just get the Planet or Mo Phat racks if you don’t need the other capabilities. Kinda nuts how many sounds you remember hearing from various tracks in the 90s early thousands. Emu sound designers are on tons of hit records.. Sold a few years ago because my time with them were done.
I remember the turn of the century. One of my College dorm mates was running a CD burning operation in his room. #MultiDiskBurner #Napster It was because of all this sampling suing fiasco that helped the Neptunes rise to fame. I think you spoke on that once.
Gets a little getting used to as far as navigating around the system..But the the sounds are great..And the way you can manipulate them with the filter and on board knobs is awesome.
I had the mp-7 & the px-7. The problem with these units is the drum pads would go bad overtime. The pads will get stuck as your hitting the pad, so u will be recording a kick drum over & over to get it right. Also when u hit a pad it will trigger the next sound on the next pad. Example: u hit the kick drum, the hi hat will trigger at the same time causing frustration. Also please save your beat after each track u lay down, if not, the beat is gone if u make a mistake & hit that next song button. So if u have a MPC as your main sequencer & midi it up to these units, you will be straight
I still have my XL-7 that I bought the first month they were out. Actual cost was around $1250 at the time. Dropped down to $1000 after a year. Bought an MP-7 then. These were Ableton Live in hardware before Ableton Live. Dudes were doing shows with them.
Great video. I bought my E-MU MP7 back in 2003 and I still have it. It still works great and I love messing with the synth knobs. Great little machine but it defiantly could have been MPC status if it had a sampler. Luckily I had my Boss SP 202 and SP 303 for that back in the day. I still have them both as well. I finally picked up my first MPC and I love it. Always wanted one but they were a little too pricey for me back then. I picked up the limited gold eddition MPC One a few months back and that thing is amazing!
Hey maybe you can answer a question about the mp-7, I've had it since early 2000's, for some reason like a year ago or so, it won't save anymore patterns/songs, everytime I try to save it says 0% memory, I tried to erase songs, but don't know if I'm doing it right, maybe someone can help me out?
@@doja-3652 Edit the song or track and look for delete/erase option and then the save/copy button should be flashing. Push it and you should be good to go.
YOOO I been binge watching, keep going! Just wanted to point out: It's crazy how much the Beat Thang resembles this. Secret Successor maybe? Idk, but cool anyway.
Alot of them are..But some with synthesizer and unique workflows could actually be pretty useful and quicker than software..Gear like these two workstations could be really useful as midi controllers with the 16 knobs and additional buttons.. And if you add that simultaneously with the original sounds and programing of the machine that could be pretty dope.
I owned one years ago, and I LOVED IT!!!!!! The only issue I had was that it reset itself and erased ALL MY LOOPS!!!!!! But, surprisingly, it kept all the sounds I made...now I want another one LOL
i owned the purple beast !! i never learned it enough to use it efficiently.. got a lot of samples out of it and sold it.. i heard its sequencer was tighter than an MPC.. ??
0:33 OMG Tomax & Xamot LOL. Whenever I have two of something I can't tell apart I put a scratch on one and call it Xamot. Well maybe just a piece of red electrical tape. It depends.
I super regret selling mine (I had the rare silver PX-7). but I traded it for a ESX-1 & microKorg (because I got >$500). I disagree that the synthesizer was amazing, I mean the filters were extremely good, but I wasn't super into the sounds (then again, I didn't properly try to make my own sounds). I was really, really happy with the PX-7's soundset, but as far as a synth I'd had the PK-7 Composer ROM keyboard and felt like a fool regarding the cheesy "pop" sounds, the acoustic piano was laughable.....yes totally agree this unit is the perfect fit for today, IF ONLY they gave it the sample playback capabilities. Who cares if it can do the sampling itself? It had USB-MIDI, it had SPDIF, the dual stereo auxiliary outputs are wired for insert effects such that a mixer isn't even needed! My MC-909 is too big/heavy to take to gigs, its velocity 'pads' are terrible compared to the command stations, external control of MIDI CCs is possible but extremely convoluted - how has nobody swooped in and released a Command Station for today's' era? It's good to go almost as is, assuming that instead of running on 32MB EMU ROMs it would run on user-replaceable samples (and even w/o inbuilt sampling if it had the audio inputs to merge all the external MIDI devices' sounds together into a mix.....banger. It's what everyone is dancing around!
Thank you for doing this video. I believe I asked you to cover this unit on the last video. I know someone that had the purple unit. I wasn’t crazy about his production and I can see why. No sampling, stock beats, and synth sounds. I wasn’t making beats at the time. But I know that machine wasn’t for hip hop production. I do remember the unit had a warm sound. But you’re right about it’s being ahead of it’s time because the lack of sampling in today’s music. It’s probably I dope companion unit to other gear.
I had one , but the only thing was the sampler I used to sit in the studio frustrated because I knew it lacked a sampler , I believe this machine would have had a hand in changing the course of hip hop in the direction it was going it would have been the mpc killer it would have kept on with the sp1200 legendary following .....on another note that fizmo was the shit super dope I still regret selling mine
I think people still sample but we've heard them so many times now that no one remembers where they came from. A lot of gear comes with samples and loops already loaded in to the point where people are using samples without even realizing it. In fact unless you're an anologue purist making your own drums and synth patches most of what's heard these days is sample based. It's just the art (or crime depending on your point of view) of chopping bits of old funk and soul records for new tracks has faded over the years or maybe the samples just became more obscure.
Yeah your right..I was talking more about sampling vocals and melodies from famous records..Im starting to see alot of the younger guys staying away from that..But I feel you most gear do use sample presets in them.
I made a few bangers with the mp7. After awhile you get tired of some the cheezy sounds but it would have been super dope if it had a sampler. Still a decent piece of gear.
I've seen enough of these to know the Zoom Rythmtrak AR-48 would be up your alley, 12 voices of synth or sample, 12 pads assignable to each sample and pad, a SP404 type effect section, you can turn quantisation off, FOUR BARS OF SEQUENCING, the "glitches" that plague reviews aren't glitches, they are just unfamiliarity with the unit, plus you can swap out the ring (which sensitivity does suck) for a different usb controller. The sampler is good, it has a sample cutter, you can also resample it flopped because it was round and looked like a rainbow tamborine. (If I already commented this I'm sorry lol, I just love this underrated device)
Hey maybe someone can answer a question about the mp-7, I've had it since early 2000's, for some reason like a year ago or so, it won't save anymore patterns/songs, everytime I try to save it says 0% memory, I tried to erase songs, none are erasing, I don't know if I'm doing it right, maybe someone can help me out?
Hey bro I feel you.. The Command Stations are tricky machines I had to reset mines to default setting twice because I touched something by mistake at one point and it messed everything up Lol..They have a pretty good Facebook group maybe someone there can help.
Sampling makes everything possible , and its plenty of sample based subscriptions that are royalty free so sampling is a must and will always be a must , its no way around it .
If you replay a sample you avoid having to pay owner of the master recording but still have to pay whoever owns the publishing of the song that you used.
I had so much lust for these machines. I have the Emu MoPhatt and I wanted the hands on version for a more engaging experience than the rack mount gear. I never did get one. I am still sad.
I feel you. Its never too late..If you can find one in good condition for the right price..Go for it..Even using them as a midi controller with all the faders an sequencing features is dope!..But its got to be for the right price.
I got this unit new paid 1499 GC I returned it and about 7 Yrs later I picked up a used MP7 and I added I Composer and the Extreme lead cards and I still have my purple sweetheart Today. Won't sell it as it really sounds crisp and phatt and clean too. God Bless You all
If only Emu and/or Roland could've fused the SP-808 with these (or vice versa), they'd be INCREDIBLE for sure! But for Emu to make a last stand with a synth groove box is like Pontiac coming out with a motorcycle! I always associated E-mu with samplers.
i had the mp7 bought it from ebay with no manual and no real internet back then. Never really fully understood how to use it so i sold it and get an mpc1000 and learned how to sample my drums
They should have just reissued the SP with the ASR-X specs and effects, since they absorbed ENSONIQ before these units were released, if memory serves.
Excellent video 🤣🤣🤣👍🏾 I have the purple Emu , I brought it 12 years ago and didn’t really know to work it. I brought it used on eBay….. by then I had other machines like the Roland Mv and korg Oasys that was messing with. Timberland used a lot of his sounds from it.
@@DyReckProductions when it first came out, it cost 10 g’s. I brought 5 years later on eBay for 4 thousand. There is a story behind the oasis that would make Wah had happened was😉. Triton and Karma keyboard had the same exact sounds..,.just one was a master Arpeggiator and the other was a sampler. Combine both worlds and you get the oasis, but it was too expensive, so released the korg M3, then the Kronos .
My homie wanted to buy the purple joint because of an ad with RZA. Then we went to his cousins lab and he showed us a bunch of beats on his mp7, and we were like these are dope. So we dropped cash to buy the beats from dude. Then eventually my homie bought the purple emu. The beats dude sold us were stock beats that came on the emu.
Lol
Your man's sold you demo project beats 😆
😭
Y😂🤣
hahaha!!!
Actually, they did ask producers for guidance.
I know this as I myself had been among those they got involved with the 2.0 OS for the Command Stations. In fact there basically was a whole group of us that existed that EMU was actively interacting with (this is back in the day of "Yahoo Groups"), really fun and exciting time.
We came up with a whole load of additional features, which ultimately included X-Mix (basically a more powerful version of Roland's "Megamix" idea on the MC-505), the ability to change pattern length time, and a load of other things, all in real time. The major draw back that I feel resulted in how much EMU listened to us was that there ended up being a whole bunch of double button commands and things one needed to know in order to reach things..... as one of those actively involved in the final 2.0 OS, even I was ultimately stammered and couldn't help but feel "dear lord, what have we done?"...... it was sorta like having to memorize all the special move and combos for a character in Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, or what have you. Not that intuitive at all.
The PX-7 came out POST these additions and was the only one of the Command Stations that had a guide of sorts put on to the face of the machine to assist users in all the additional things that could be done. So while the PX-7 came out pretty o.k., the rest were a trial in hidden konami game cheat code insanity.
Another draw back to the Command Stations laid in simply how in depth they were. Simple fact stood (and very arguably stands) that most people into electronic instruments and synthesizers weren't exactly into synthesis or sound design itself. EMUs Emulator/Proteus engines were in many regards developed into modular sound designer play grounds and about the only things hardset on them were that oscillators were at the beginning of the signal path, they fed into filter, and that filter went to an amp.... EVERYTHING ELSE WAS FREELY ASSIGNABLE. So Envelopes, LFOs, multipliers, summers, key tracking, even what the physical UI knobs on the unit did and such were all defined by the user in the modulation matrix. The ONLY reason knobs on the unit corresponded to any function as listed on the hardware was purely out of the EMU sound design team making them correspond to the displayed listed function AND NOT because the knob had anything to do with said function by default. So in many regards it was a modular synthesis system that presumed one knew something about synthesis and sound design...... GREAT for people into such, but not so great for those that really don't know much about signal and signal flow (and signal modification). So you had this really powerful synthesis system that the greater majority of the consumer market really had next to no idea about how to seriously even dig into and had no idea of how or why to appreciate it.
Regarding sampling..... EMU's flagship at the time were the E 64 Ultra samplers, and there was some cross over with those and the Command Stations. Sampling for the Command Stations did come up quite a bit, but the hardware simply wasn't capable of it. In essence, as in the past, the Proteus line (of which the Command Stations were an extension) was the NO sampler/user sample memory version of the Emulator samplers. HOWEVER, what EMU had done to compensate for this was make it possible for user created ROM sticks to be added to the Command Stations (there were 4 slots on the machines, 1 taken up at the start and 3 left open for a user to fill with premade sticks from EMU or their own). Suppose the problem here was that one needed to purchase special burnable ROMs to put the waves on AND still needed access to an E Ultra in order to get their waves on to said ROM to begin with. Compounding the problem, the burnable ROMs fairly quickly became hard to obtain. However, it's worth noting, a fully ROM stocked Command Station/P2500 provided TONS of waves to work with for synthesis and sound design.
What really finished EMU off was after being acquired by Creative (now also under), EMU accepted that the days of the hardware sampler were largely finished. Gigasampler, Kontakt, and other software based sampling solutions were becoming all the rage. The amount of storage space and RAM one could get with PCs versus what could affordably be put on independent hardware had grown worlds apart and the ENTIRE hardware sampling world was being crushed as a result. As the "Emulator" samplers had ALWAYS been EMUs flagship, the Proteus ROMplers simply being the cheaper non-sampler versions of the Emulators, EMU (now under Creative) went to focusing on putting their Emulator focus in the software direction, Emulator X was the result. Now again there would be much cross over in relation to Emulator X and the Command Stations in as much that if one happened to have a Command Station they automatically had basically the most ideal controller in the world for the Emulator X software; a relationship very akin to the later Ableton Push controller to Ableton Live.
Emulator X (and it's final X2 version) arguably still stands as one of the most in depth sample and synthesis engines to ever hit the consumer market, but none the less, the third party sample pack market was going into a darn near pure focus on things Giga and Kontakt at the time.
Will note here that EMU hadn't total dropped all things hardware, as they did continue rolling out MIDI controllers AND Creative basically started using EMU as their front for addressing the growing DAW and otherwise PC and software based producer market.
Creative, the once totally dominate holders of the PC sound market, would begin losing their grip more and more..... but it wasn't just Creative mind you, things were just boiling down into more of a singularity period. Eventually Creative would bite the dust and with them, what remained of EMU.
Moving forward to the current day, really just shy of ANYONE made it out alive. Akai (music) Professional, arguably the kings of the hardware sampler market would bite the dust by 2004-2005 and be assimilated into Enterprise (specifically inMusic) to continue existence in basically name only. Alesis would go out in a blaze of glory and firing guns in both hands with their Fusion sampler/synthesizer before biting the dust and being assimilated into Enterprise (again, specifically inMusic) to continue existence in basically name only. Novation would bite the dust and be assimilated into the Enterprise (more specifically, Focusrite). More recently, Roland would bite the dust as Ikutaro Kakehashi (Roland founder) was given the boot (arguably in hostile take over) and the company was assimilated into Enterprise (specifically Taiyo corp). Native Instruments, Dave Smith/Sequential (now also Focusrite), the list goes on and on.
In essence, much like how ESPN, ABC, Pixar, Fox, and more all equal DISNEY in actuality, similar would come to occur through out much of consumer synthesizer (and sampler) world.... so many channels, so few actual channel sources.
There's a certain front/company that currently has it's own 20 to 30,000 some odd employee live in city in China..... the Enterprise musical version of Walmart one might say.... seems it's out to help finish the consolidation off all things into Enterprise job off.
Wow..Dope facts and perspectives!..Really sad these great companies got to go under like this..But I guess thats how it is with new management and time..Thats why I respect companies that really take pride in there work and in giving the consumer the ultimate experience..I think Akai is really trying and Native Instruments was doing it right for a long time.
Damn, excellent history!
Thanks for sharing. ✌️
You filled in so many knowledge gaps with this post, appreciate you for taking the time mate. Much love from Australia!
I was in that Yahoo group. Emu was very responsive when it came to issues like pauses during program/pattern changes and would have a fix in the next update.
Bruhh, your sense of humor is infectious
Lol..Thanks.
Thanks for this video! A couple additions, if I may: There's also a third Command Station; the PX7 in silver, with the DRUMS ROM. Also, these 3 Command Stations share the same engine as the E-mu Proteus 2500 and 2000 (each has 128 voice polyphony), but they add the black pads. The 2500 is also rackmountable. The internal effects were only Reverb and Chorus/Delay. The synthesis engine inside each, however, contains a set of the best digital filters ever made, all based on analog filters from the E-mu line. Lastly, they shipped with a single 32mb ROM inside, which was a bank of hundreds of sounds for that model number. One of my favorite parts about it is that patches were sorted by type, so you could scroll through only Piano sounds or only Drum Kits. Each Command Station 4 ROM slots altogether so you could load up a single PX7, for example, up with ROM's from the MoPhatt, Xtreme Lead, Drum, and Composer--- which was straight out of the Proteus 2000/2500. This would give you 128mb worth of built in sounds and patches, up to thousands in each category. There were 18 ROM's you could purchase, containing most of the classic E-mu Emulator library, including many SP1200 samples. To me, the best part is this: making music with it is fast because you turn it on and go, and once you get used to it, it's very very fast workflow to get ideas down into finished songs!
Dang! you should have done the video lol..Thanks for the info..I think there great machines.
I'm puting my home studio together for first time... Should I get an Emu and which one? Thanks for posting it was a good video
@@circleback8874 Thanks bro..If there for the right price..In good condition and your getting all the sounds your supposed to get I think it would be cool..But the MPC One is the best thing going for the price..And its a sampler..But if you dont need a sampler and you can get a MP7 XL7 or a PX7 for 400 or less I say go for it.
@@DyReckProductions Thank You _m/
@@circleback8874 No doubt fam.
I bought an E-mu PX-7 in 2005 that was loaded with the drum ROM, MP7, XL7 and vintage keys ROMs. I still have it and I'm still learning new things about it.
Nice.
Bro.. Thanks for what you're doing.. I've been making beats since 92 when I bought my ASR-10 and have grown into almost all the joints you do videos for.. Your a blessing to community.
Thanks bro!.. I appreciate it.
@@DyReckProductions It'd be cool to see you do more on software as I'm sure your like me and remember all the great XP stuff.. loved the video on ACID . That was my first DAW when I used it just to track in from the ASR.
@@SonnyCrackBeats No doubt fam..I got software commin up..And acid is dope!..Thats my daw..Every time I try and switch to a new daw I just end up going back to acid..Im too fast on it and too comfortable.
@@DyReckProductions ACID is like the SP-1200 of DAWS.. Anyone can learn it in an hour.. lol Somewhere around 2002 a producer friend of mine showed me Nuendo and what he could do with stuff in the Box and I was sold although I still tracked vocals in ACID.. Mainly because the artists I was working with could track themselves and couldn't figure out Nuendo. lol
@@DyReckProductions I should say.. It wasn't Nuendo which sold me but NI Battery.. original version.. I was like holy shit - I can get my beats done WWWWWWWWWWWAY faster than on my ASR! ahahah I felt a certain kind of way at the time because I was trying to be a purist and there were only a handful of people I knew using software at the time.. I never really looked back other than for nostalgia reasons.. I still have my ASR and Fantom X but use them as controllers pretty much and won't part with them (for nostalgia reasons again). ahah keep up the awesome work bro!
Still got my XL7 & MP7 fully loaded. Never getting rid of em. They'll be highly sought after years from now just like all vintage gear.
Nice.
What's the difference between the two?
Definitely near and dear to my heart is the E-MU line. I own a PX-7, and the entire Proteus 2000 set. Also several other E-MU pieces. You hit the nail on the head with its shortcoming being the lack of a sampler. But for producers like myself, that plays... It was a GOD SEND having all these functions. For today's creatives, its sought after by those that know. The CS line could if nothing else, be used as sound modules in a DAW setup. And those DRUMS... Easily tweaked via the knobs for extra grittiness. Keep up the great works. Peace...Netm8kr
Thanks bro..I appreciate it.
I still got my emu mp7 with the Bible of an instruction manual. Got mine in 2002 when Mars Music started closing down. Paired it with an Roland MV8800 I got a few years later, then I was able to sample my emu sounds through my MV. I still hit them drum pads when I just need to scratch that beat making itch.
Nice!!
There was a way you could get your own samples inside it. You could get an EMU 32MB flash rom, place it inside an emu sampler of that era (maybe ESI series or E6400?) and save your samples onto it and then install it in any of the rack modules, keyboards or command stations and have access to your sounds. Never bothered trying it though. Was too much of a hassle since I had dedicated samplers for this. But it would be soooo sooo convenient to have all my custom and go to drums and drum breaks already installed in the machine.
ah that would be so awesome. I wasn't a big fan of the ROMs
I tried this with an Emu Ultra 6400 and 5000 and was never able to get it to work. Very sad about that, because I would’ve been so happy to have my Emu samples in a workstation format. I’d love to hear from someone who got it to work...
Man was a subscriber to Keyboard Magazine all thru the 90s and the 2000s and I remember reading about all this gear you are talking about on your channel. You are about to send me on a vintage gear hunt.
Lol..Be careful it can get expensive.
@@DyReckProductions I can only imagine.
"Sue you! Sue you!" lmao! 😂😂😂
Great video again!
Lmao! thanks fam.
so funny 🤣🤣🤣
I love this series
@@bubuAudio Lol..Thanks bro.
Nga said "Sue-U University" I'm in a coffin now!
Lmao!
I still have my Emu MP7 and all the software sounds when they transitioned to the virtual instrument world. I still use my MP7 and will continue to use it. I even wrote the MIDI scripts for Cubase, Logic X and Cakewalk to remote control the MP7 sound changes.
Don’t let the secret out of the bag. I’m still looking at adding the XL-7 to my collection.
Lol Yeah I feel you..I was wondering should I have mentioned the Ebay stuff. Cause low key im definitely getting one.
Can I get the Cakewalk Midi scripts from you please
Can I get the Cakewalk midi scripts from you please?
@@dwhite3120 Happy to share. Please send me your contact
@@Da1Prophessor sent you my info, thanks
By that time E-MU had already went to panic mode with these because they never asked true producers for guidance on how to make a good dope product plus design is everything
I feel u.
I remember when this came out. I had my beloved ASR X PRO at the time (early2000s) and couldn’t help but notice the resemblance. I wanted to get this unit but like you said the fact that it didn’t have a sampler made it not worth the price. Right now it looks pretty tempting. Great video as usual. ✌🏿
Thanks bro..Yeah alot of folks didn't like that it didn't have a sampler.
You **could** burn flash rom for it if you had a E4 series rack sampler. But hardly anyone did. I mean if you had a E4 series sampler it was better than one of these, imo. I wonder if you could use one of these to control a E4 series sampler? that would be dope. Those z plane filters are pretty cray.
@@customerservice9602 Yeah I feel you..There is a way to get samples on them by burning them into the rom through the Emulator IV..But you have to have that rack sampler.
Funny thing is when I first bought my MP-7 (that I once had) and discovered the power of it's sound engine, I wanted to use it with my own samples. Therefore, I bought an E-MU E4XT Ultra shortly afterwards. I still have the sampler til this today.....sold the MP-7 long ago....but I also miss the sounds/presets in MP-7. I did look into the idea of burning roms back then but didn't feel it was worth the extra expense or effort since I already had the sampler itself.
@@kvmoore1 Maybe you can answer my question then. Were you able to use the command station to control the E4's corresponding functions? I assume you can. But is it in real time?
Got my mint XL7 hopefully arriving in the next two days and pretty damn exited about it. I've purchased a bunch of gear in the last few decades. Figuring out what I like and what I love. Bought a shit ton of groove boxes in that time and not very many have stayed around for very long. the E-MU sound is a special, distinct one and the 90's are something that will always have a deep root in my heart. For that reason I tracked the unit down. I like the late 80's and early 90's machine workflow. Way more than about 99% of these new contemporary machines. I already know this will be a for life keeper. I'm most certainly willing to sit down and create the sounds from scratch. That's the exact reason for me tracking one down that's in proper condition. Great explanation of these units and your metaphors in this vid, I get em🤣. Good stuff man. Digging your channel and happy I found it.
Thanks bro!!..The XL is Dope!..One of the best Rom sounds..All the sounds can still be used perfectly in today's music..There's alot of cool tricks on the xl7..It has a feature where it automatically creates patches for you..And you can have outside audio come through the sound engine of the XL7 by sticking a input jack half way in in one of the slots in the back of the unit..I'll be posting some videos on it soon.
This was my first piece of E-mu gear. Looking back I wish I kept it. I sent it back to the store to get an MPC2000XL which oddly they both cost around the same price. I had the MP7 and this was the Timbaland/Kanye/Swizzbeatz era of music. A Sampler was a must. I recall sitting in my dorm room in front of this box thinking that it sounded kind of dated cause it did. It had lots of 90's hiphop sounds but damn it wasn't fit for the hiphop storm to come in those early 2000's. This little box just couldn't cut it but right now yeah it would fit right in cause it has those old sounds that are in style again.
Yeah man I feel you..Back then you needed a sampler.
had a phase last year when I thought about buying some E-MU modules that were cheap. Obviously, as with Akai rackmount samplers a couple years ago, they all disappeared from Kijiji here in Montreal. You'll see one once in a while but twice the price. awesome vids, man!
Thanks fam..They pop up in Ebay every now and then for good prices.
I still have my XL-7. I had no issues with it other than the fact that the control knob never worked properly. If you spun it too quickly it would take you to an arbitrary setting. I always called it the "randomizer" knob. Also I never found a decent crash cymbal sound. They all sounded like beating a trashcan lid.
Besides all this, I LOVED the XL-7. It was a great unit. Lots of great memories. Thank you, Emu!
No doubt bro!
Do you still use the XL-7 or is it part of your collection?
Been using an MP-7 for nearly 20 years. A lot of gear comes and goes, but this one's a keeper. Great for throwing down patterns and songs, has been my main sequencer too for my other outboard gear. Thank you for showing it some love!
No doubt fam!..Alot of good things with the MP7.
RIP headphones users.
Lol.
I loved my mp-7! I played with one years before I got my own, got it on Ebay for cheap... I used it MIDI with cubase and my mo6 yamaha back in the days.. made some HEAT! I miss it, honestly. Still have the sounds/samples, but not the actual machine. LOVED IT!
I feel u.
I have the e-mu pk-6 keyboard but the rotary knob is wonky. I wonder how these units hold up with all their hardware like their buttons and stuff?
Thats a nice keyboard..Pretty much the same sounds as the groove boxes.
Another awesome video.
Thanks fam!
Missed the chance to score an MP7 locally for cheap. But I got the Planet Phatt and really love it.
I wonder if Berhinger would ever re-make the Fizmo like they did with the WASP and SH-01.
That Fizmo!!!! Yes I found my Mp7 for $40 at pawnshop. It was a great day. Got rack planet phatt I rarely use
@@titanjake8640 Dang! 40 bucks!! you came off!
That would be dope if they did that.. I would buy it.
Found this channel and series through searching info about the SP-1200. I'm young, it's all new to me. This series is great.
No doubt fam..Thanks!
Great video on the Emu MP7 and XL7.
Thanks fam!
Can you do a video for the Yamaha RM1-X?
I love this channel.
Thanks bro.
Didnt know about those units, thank you for the content 🙏🏾
No doubt fam.
Just heard someone praising the midi sequencer in this joint the other day.
Yup!
Great sequencer, but it can hiccup if you are running low on memory. Several different ways to sequence that complement each other nicely. You can also use the 16 knobs to sequence both note on and velocity amount in step mode. Amazing way to create really glitchy, complex beats.
@@AlchemicalAudio Wow..Nice.
E-MU XL7 is super hard to find. There is one on reverb for $900.
E-MU MP7 is about $600.
Oh wow..Lucky I got mines..Ima update the Rom though.
I still have mine. Bought the mp7 dirt cheap on ebay around 2004 and installed the PROM and XL1 expansion too. Did many beats on it, made a few good mixtape and albums with it. Thinking of refurbishing it and selling it on eBay or Reverb but I hate to see it go... Still thinking i might use it again one day as much as i did back then.
I feel you man.
the px7 rom has dope sounding drums, for sure.
@@customerservice9602 was hunting the px7 rom back then but i couldnt find it. i ended up getting the PROM1 instead. Also wanted to get the Definitive B3 ROM but was hard to find too.
I have the E-MU PX-7
Nice.
I bought one 4 years ago for 100 dollar's played with it last night the mp-7
Nice!
Nice :) Can you do one on the E-MU MoPhatt/Proteus/Planet Phatt?
The legends..No doubt.
Fantastic story. I've always wondered why E-Mu thought a non-sampling drum with everything but sampling could compete with the likes of the MPC and SP-1200. They were groove boxes ahead of their time for sure.
Yup!
Still have mine. I got then for $250 each at music go round. Had them for years. Love them
Nice.
Dope vid
Do the SP 505 I'm curious what was the story behind that machine.
Got that already on the list fam.
It's pretty amazing the features all this '90s stuff has. Like crazy MIDI implementations that give you 16X multitimbral parts on each channel and CC control of everything but then also user-definable modulators where you can pick any CC and map it to any destination. But then just when you think it's the best synth ever you notice that half the samples in the thing are record scratches, and the first modulation option is how sensitive do you want the pitch bend wheel to be when you scratch with it LOL. And the touch strips. OMG everybody thought the touch strip was the hot feature. Like that Yamaha VHS-tape looking sampler that doesn't have any controls except a touch strip and can't sync to a MIDI clock but hey the touch strip makes scratch sounds!
Yeah..I felt the XL7 sounds were better than the MP7..The XL7 got alot of synth and atmospheric sounds that fits perfectly with the music today..You can always buy a new sound Rom on the aftermarket..But some of them are real expensive..You kinda gotta wait for a good deal.
I'm puting my home studio together for first time... Should I get an Emu and which one? Thanks for vid @DyReck Pro _m/
Do you think they may have been paid or made not to put in sampling capability somehow by their partners or competitors?
Nah I dont think so E-MU was always a different kind of company and putting a sampler in these units would have definitely made them more expensive..And at the time they were going through financial problems. So they just probably thought keep the price reasonable and omit the sampling.
Nice! Just ordered one to play with my MPC1K and assorted hardware.
Oh ok cool!
I sold the Purple joint to Shock G. from Digital Underground when I was working at Guitar Center
This is a great series for sure
Thanks bro.
I never was able to get my hands on one of these I’ve always wanted one, later on ended up getting the Sound Modules Mophat Proteus 1000, 2,000 and all the sounds cards
Nice..you pretty much have the sounds..But I feel you.. It would be nice to use other programing functions of those groove boxes.
So why are there 2-3 versions of this? What are the differences?
The blue one's sound rom were geared towards hiphop..The Yellow torwards techno..But both units could use any of the roms.
@@DyReckProductions thanks. I listened to 1-2 videos here on TH-cam and they sounded similar to the Electribe 2 Synth … really needs a bit of a sampler functionality and could rereleased.
I forgotten all about those. Basically just a Mophatt with a sequencer. Most people did want MPCs around that time. If it had a sampler, it probably would have did better.
Yup.
Howzabout a video on the Yamaha RM1x? Total legend. Also Quasimidi Rave-o-lution.
Gonna put them on the list.
XL-7 Here with 3 roms
Nice.
Had both ,both worth it in the end for various applications. Could always just get the Planet or Mo Phat racks if you don’t need the other capabilities. Kinda nuts how many sounds you remember hearing from various tracks in the 90s early thousands. Emu sound designers are on tons of hit records..
Sold a few years ago because my time with them were done.
I feel u fam.
I remember the turn of the century. One of my College dorm mates was running a CD burning operation in his room. #MultiDiskBurner #Napster It was because of all this sampling suing fiasco that helped the Neptunes rise to fame. I think you spoke on that once.
Yeah sampling was out of control Lol!..But if you did it right you was good.
I need this. I dont really sample but I love workstations and synths. I like making presets speak
Gets a little getting used to as far as navigating around the system..But the the sounds are great..And the way you can manipulate them with the filter and on board knobs is awesome.
I have the XL7, it is a great piece of gear. wont be geting rid of it any time soon
Nice.
I remember these coming out. I wanted one. They couldn't get over the mpc.
I feel you.
I had the mp-7 & the px-7. The problem with these units is the drum pads would go bad overtime. The pads will get stuck as your hitting the pad, so u will be recording a kick drum over & over to get it right. Also when u hit a pad it will trigger the next sound on the next pad. Example: u hit the kick drum, the hi hat will trigger at the same time causing frustration. Also please save your beat after each track u lay down, if not, the beat is gone if u make a mistake & hit that next song button. So if u have a MPC as your main sequencer & midi it up to these units, you will be straight
Wow didn't know that ..Thanks for the info.
I still have my XL-7 that I bought the first month they were out. Actual cost was around $1250 at the time. Dropped down to $1000 after a year. Bought an MP-7 then. These were Ableton Live in hardware before Ableton Live. Dudes were doing shows with them.
Yup!..Your right..The amount of morphing you can do with the filters is insane!
i used the E-5000 and E-6400 samplers
Nice..I heard the 6400 was a beast!
Great video. I bought my E-MU MP7 back in 2003 and I still have it. It still works great and I love messing with the synth knobs. Great little machine but it defiantly could have been MPC status if it had a sampler. Luckily I had my Boss SP 202 and SP 303 for that back in the day. I still have them both as well. I finally picked up my first MPC and I love it. Always wanted one but they were a little too pricey for me back then. I picked up the limited gold eddition MPC One a few months back and that thing is amazing!
I feel you fam..The ONE is the best thing going for the money.
Hey maybe you can answer a question about the mp-7, I've had it since early 2000's, for some reason like a year ago or so, it won't save anymore patterns/songs, everytime I try to save it says 0% memory, I tried to erase songs, but don't know if I'm doing it right, maybe someone can help me out?
@@doja-3652 Edit the song or track and look for delete/erase option and then the save/copy button should be flashing. Push it and you should be good to go.
YOOO I been binge watching, keep going!
Just wanted to point out: It's crazy how much the Beat Thang resembles this.
Secret Successor maybe? Idk, but cool anyway.
That Rza ad made me want it but it had no sampler. That would be the killer back then if it’s sampled. But in 2023 it would be a great sound module
I feel you.
My thing with these type of old workstations is that the *styles* are archaic, unless you're trying to capture that feel.
Alot of them are..But some with synthesizer and unique workflows could actually be pretty useful and quicker than software..Gear like these two workstations could be really useful as midi controllers with the 16 knobs and additional buttons.. And if you add that simultaneously with the original sounds and programing of the machine that could be pretty dope.
This box was not "Twins"... It's Triplets. *PX-7*
Your right it came a lil later. But its definitely a part of the team.
I owned one years ago, and I LOVED IT!!!!!! The only issue I had was that it reset itself and erased ALL MY LOOPS!!!!!! But, surprisingly, it kept all the sounds I made...now I want another one LOL
Ima definitely get one.
i owned the purple beast !! i never learned it enough to use it efficiently.. got a lot of samples out of it and sold it.. i heard its sequencer was tighter than an MPC.. ??
I feel you..I heard it was pretty close.
0:33 OMG Tomax & Xamot LOL. Whenever I have two of something I can't tell apart I put a scratch on one and call it Xamot. Well maybe just a piece of red electrical tape. It depends.
Lol!!
But this shit could be a beast if you midi this with a S - 950 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT ! This is nice
I feel you on that.
I super regret selling mine (I had the rare silver PX-7). but I traded it for a ESX-1 & microKorg (because I got >$500). I disagree that the synthesizer was amazing, I mean the filters were extremely good, but I wasn't super into the sounds (then again, I didn't properly try to make my own sounds). I was really, really happy with the PX-7's soundset, but as far as a synth I'd had the PK-7 Composer ROM keyboard and felt like a fool regarding the cheesy "pop" sounds, the acoustic piano was laughable.....yes totally agree this unit is the perfect fit for today, IF ONLY they gave it the sample playback capabilities. Who cares if it can do the sampling itself? It had USB-MIDI, it had SPDIF, the dual stereo auxiliary outputs are wired for insert effects such that a mixer isn't even needed! My MC-909 is too big/heavy to take to gigs, its velocity 'pads' are terrible compared to the command stations, external control of MIDI CCs is possible but extremely convoluted - how has nobody swooped in and released a Command Station for today's' era? It's good to go almost as is, assuming that instead of running on 32MB EMU ROMs it would run on user-replaceable samples (and even w/o inbuilt sampling if it had the audio inputs to merge all the external MIDI devices' sounds together into a mix.....banger. It's what everyone is dancing around!
I still cry when I think about when my Mp7 stopped working... :,( Such good times...
Lol I feel you.
Thank you for doing this video. I believe I asked you to cover this unit on the last video. I know someone that had the purple unit. I wasn’t crazy about his production and I can see why. No sampling, stock beats, and synth sounds. I wasn’t making beats at the time. But I know that machine wasn’t for hip hop production. I do remember the unit had a warm sound. But you’re right about it’s being ahead of it’s time because the lack of sampling in today’s music. It’s probably I dope companion unit to other gear.
Exactly..If you combine one of these with other gear now.. It would be something.
This machine is a beast when its rommed out. And its a sleeper. People hate on it because there's no sampler. Keep it Gangster and Rompler out..
I had one , but the only thing was the sampler I used to sit in the studio frustrated because I knew it lacked a sampler , I believe this machine would have had a hand in changing the course of hip hop in the direction it was going it would have been the mpc killer it would have kept on with the sp1200 legendary following .....on another note that fizmo was the shit super dope I still regret selling mine
Yeah the Fizmo was dope!
I STILL GOT MINE, BEEN HAVING IT SINCE 2003.I bought it from Musician Friends.
Nice!
Both kick of em kick ass.
Man, you crack me up.
Lol.
I think people still sample but we've heard them so many times now that no one remembers where they came from. A lot of gear comes with samples and loops already loaded in to the point where people are using samples without even realizing it. In fact unless you're an anologue purist making your own drums and synth patches most of what's heard these days is sample based. It's just the art (or crime depending on your point of view) of chopping bits of old funk and soul records for new tracks has faded over the years or maybe the samples just became more obscure.
Yeah your right..I was talking more about sampling vocals and melodies from famous records..Im starting to see alot of the younger guys staying away from that..But I feel you most gear do use sample presets in them.
I sample all the time , but by the time I’ve mangled it ,you’d never know where it’s from
@@valley_robot Thats how you do it fam..Nice.
EMU was way ahead of it's time. Was sad to see them go. I have still a few proteus racks but always wanted the mo phatt command.
I feel u.
dude you gotta do the sp303
Lol No doubt.
I made a few bangers with the mp7. After awhile you get tired of some the cheezy sounds but it would have been super dope if it had a sampler. Still a decent piece of gear.
I feel u.
I've seen enough of these to know the Zoom Rythmtrak AR-48 would be up your alley, 12 voices of synth or sample, 12 pads assignable to each sample and pad, a SP404 type effect section, you can turn quantisation off, FOUR BARS OF SEQUENCING, the "glitches" that plague reviews aren't glitches, they are just unfamiliarity with the unit, plus you can swap out the ring (which sensitivity does suck) for a different usb controller. The sampler is good, it has a sample cutter, you can also resample
it flopped because it was round and looked like a rainbow tamborine.
(If I already commented this I'm sorry lol, I just love this underrated device)
No doubt bro..Zoom had alot of dope affordable products..Ima definitely put that on the list.
Love your videos man
Thanks bro.
Been waiting on this one.
No doubt bro.
Dope machines! Me and my bro had XL7 n MP7
Nice.
Hey maybe someone can answer a question about the mp-7, I've had it since early 2000's, for some reason like a year ago or so, it won't save anymore patterns/songs, everytime I try to save it says 0% memory, I tried to erase songs, none are erasing, I don't know if I'm doing it right, maybe someone can help me out?
Hey bro I feel you.. The Command Stations are tricky machines I had to reset mines to default setting twice because I touched something by mistake at one point and it messed everything up Lol..They have a pretty good Facebook group maybe someone there can help.
I actually had the XL chip in my Proteus 2000. Never got the Mo Phatt
Oh ok.
Sampling makes everything possible , and its plenty of sample based subscriptions that are royalty free so sampling is a must and will always be a must , its no way around it .
I feel u..I love samples and always will.
You had to buy the expansion board to get all the em sounds lets not forget that, I had both units.
No doubt.
This gear is way better than a MPC.
If it had a sampler..I definitely think so.
If you replay a sample you avoid having to pay owner of the master recording but still have to pay whoever owns the publishing of the song that you used.
Great video.
Thanks bro.
I had so much lust for these machines. I have the Emu MoPhatt and I wanted the hands on version for a more engaging experience than the rack mount gear. I never did get one. I am still sad.
I feel you. Its never too late..If you can find one in good condition for the right price..Go for it..Even using them as a midi controller with all the faders an sequencing features is dope!..But its got to be for the right price.
I think RZA used one of those.
Yeah he did.
You can add your own sample now
I got this unit new paid 1499 GC I returned it and about 7 Yrs later I picked up a used MP7 and I added I Composer and the Extreme lead cards and I still have my purple sweetheart Today. Won't sell it as it really sounds crisp and phatt and clean too. God Bless You all
Nice..Thanks fam.
If only Emu and/or Roland could've fused the SP-808 with these (or vice versa), they'd be INCREDIBLE for sure! But for Emu to make a last stand with a synth groove box is like Pontiac coming out with a motorcycle! I always associated E-mu with samplers.
Lol..I feel u.
i had the mp7 bought it from ebay with no manual and no real internet back then. Never really fully understood how to use it so i sold it and get an mpc1000 and learned how to sample my drums
Oh ok cool..Yeah back then there was no TH-cam Lol.
They should have just reissued the SP with the ASR-X specs and effects, since they absorbed ENSONIQ before these units were released, if memory serves.
That would be cool.
Excellent video 🤣🤣🤣👍🏾 I have the purple Emu , I brought it 12 years ago and didn’t really know to work it. I brought it used on eBay….. by then I had other machines like the Roland Mv and korg Oasys that was messing with. Timberland used a lot of his sounds from it.
The Oasys cost a grip!..I think it was 8gs!
@@DyReckProductions when it first came out, it cost 10 g’s. I brought 5 years later on eBay for 4 thousand. There is a story behind the oasis that would make Wah had happened was😉. Triton and Karma keyboard had the same exact sounds..,.just one was a master Arpeggiator and the other was a sampler. Combine both worlds and you get the oasis, but it was too expensive, so released the korg M3, then the Kronos .
@@ricardomilice2470 The Oasys laid the blue print for the Kronos.
@@DyReckProductions Triton was first , if you ask me 🤷🏾♂️
@@ricardomilice2470 Lol..My bad I meant to say the Kronos Lol!!..So many samplers out there it gets confusing Lol..Had to do a quick edit Lol.
Great video,I was messing around with one of these at the NAMM show back in the day, but bought a Roland MV8800 instead.
Obviously for the sampler😀
Lol..I feel you.
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