E-mu XL-7 Command Station

Price Paid: US $350

Ease of Use: 8
Sets up and you get going on this thing easily. Lot of knobs and visual displays. Sequencer is a breeze.

Manual is thorough and menus are layed out and acessed logically.

There are 2 displays: a 2 line LCD display and a 3 digit LED display. The lcd is for edting, the 3 digit LED can show tempo or track the beat.

Features: 8
Sequencer reminded me of the old alesis mmt-8 in its use of patterns and how easy it is to throw something together. Works great with external modules. Could use more memory for storing sequences.

Has a short-throw ribbon controller for pitch shifting. Could use one for modulation.

Only 1 octave on the keypads can be limiting. Keypads work well for playing velocity on rhytmic parts. You can connect a keyboard to play and sequence if you want multi-octave control.

Knobs provide quick editing of the sounds but deeper editing requires going in through the menus.

Internal power supply.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 6
Not a lot of variety on the sounds (don't have any of the expansions). Haven't been able to get the kick drums to sit in a mix well (with other gear) and most have a distinct airy 'POC' on the attack transient. Sounds are divided into types, and the presets within those types are fairly similar. Can sound like a toy at times. Many presets have layered percussion/FX or are 5ths.

While their are a lot of filter types, the range in sweeping the filter is very limited. I'm used to gear where you can turn the lowpass all the way down and not hear anything. The filter range is something like 400hz to 4khz. Makes it tough to get bass sounds with the filter closed more.

The analog outputs are just plain bad. You can hear zipper noises with trails, and I get audible hiss/noise interfacing with DI boxes I don't get with any other gear. The SPDIF output seemed to solve all of these issues when I connected it to a DAT.

Reliability: 9
Has been reliable

Customer Support: 9
no issues

Overall Rating: 8
This is a versatile unit that can sequence and serve as a sound module for synths and drums. The sounds work great when used as a self contained unit but working with other gear YMMV.

The sequencer is a snap to use--it's like a modern MMT-8--although I had issues trying to dump sequences to motu performer through an event ezbus. No clue how it compares to the Akai MPC sequencers.

If you don't need a sequencer, I'd recommend you look elsewhere. It is a nice unit if it is your first, your learning, and you want to make something techno-y.

Submitted by anonymous at 05/30/2005 21:56

Price Paid: US $400 used

Ease of Use: 10
Upgraded to OS2.0 as soon as I got it. The addition of USB support doesn't seem to provide any enhancements apart from slightly speeding-up the loading of patterns. It seems like it could be capable of soooo much more, including possibility the upload of your own samples (though I'm no expert)

The presets give an excellent taste of the XL-7's sound, even if they are mostly Hard-House & Trance (ugh!).

Thankfully, you won't spend much time using the presets because this unit is pretty easy to get to grips with, though a thorough read of the excellent manual is in order if you want to start editing the sounds in any meaningful way.

Features: 8
Polyphony is a generous 128 voices.

The drum pads are layed out like a 1-octave keyboard - these have a nice response, with aftertouch. An external midi keyboard can be hooked-up without bother for those performance moments.

The effects are of a very high quality, though it would have been nice to run external audio through them.

Expansion is via ROMs bought seperately - the best ones are rapidly disappearing and e-mu (aka Creative)will not be making any more. Go get them! I managed to track down the Ensonoq Project, Vintage and POP ROMs :-)

MIDI capabilities are more than sufficient - this is a 'command' station after all and will happily control internal parameters as well as external gear (2 midi outs!).

The sequencer is excellent and intuitive, though this is my first hardware sequencer - so no comparisons available.

Overall, the features get an 8. This box has the potential to be a true all-in-one music-making solution - if you could upload your own samples. However, I'm a happy camper. I suppose I'm lucky to have a sampler on my laptop....

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
Absolutely a 10 when considered with a full compliment of ROMs.

The instruments are realistic and expressive once tweaked to one's liking. All genres are covered here - there are well over 1000 instruments at your disposal. Just thinking about it makes me smile.

The sound quality is just superb. Although there's no dedicated EQ for the sounds, the filters can be used for this purpose - rudimentary but effective. I intially thought that this would be a problem, until I found that you can apply different filters to each layer of an instrument (not to mention dozens of patchcords!).

Reliability: 10
Oh yeah - the word tank has been used for good reason. I bought mine off e-bay, had it shipped from the US to Europe - it took 6 weeks and the box looked like it had been through the wars, but XL-7 was sitting pretty, begging to be abused some more.

I happily obliged :-)

Customer Support: 8
When I called e-mu (europe) to get ROMs I was given the impression that these products were being discontinued in favour of Creative's software/soundcard ethos. This seems to have been confirmed by the release of emulatorX.

So get 'em while you can - some bargain prices out there. I think this thing will hold out until I fry its chips. I'm sure that e-mu will continue to service the command stations for the forseeable future...

Overall Rating: 10
I spent two years pissing around on my computer, always configuring but never actually producing any music.

Within a week of having the XL-7 I had produced a couple of decent tracks, and within a month I was incorporating it into my DJ sets to explosive effect.

Just get one (or MP-7 / PX-7 - same things, different ROMs), hunt down the extra sounds and start making music! Just hope you have an understanding girlfriend/boyfriend.

Highly recommended, a fantastic bargain, and a new-found joy in my life (sad bastard that I am).

Submitted by Jarlath at 03/31/2004 08:30

Price Paid: US $425 used

Ease of Use: 5
I use OS1.0, and try to upgrade to OS 2.0.
One thing needs to emphasize is.......Can't use USB cable for upgrading OS!!! Oh my GOD!!! How I can find a out-of-date GAME/MIDI port cable to do that?

Features: 10
128 polyphony is excellent cool!!! I bought it from ebay just cost 425usd. Internal effect is kick ass! very easy to use.
Btw, not only offer totally 4 ROM slot but reserve 1024 Patterns, 512 User banks, trully programmable design mindset from EMU engineer! I LOVE THEM!

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
All of the instruments are great! But this gear with Trance even I add TECHNO ROM and Beat Garden ROM. Command Station with Techno/Beat Garden/XL-1 ROM or even add a MP7 ROM, can make a kick ass MONSTER MACHINE for DANCE! Anyway, I am crazy now!!!

Reliability: 8
I can not do anything without it!
I totally have XL-7 & MP7.

Customer Support: 8
I had ever asked some OS upgrading question, and they feedbacked me very soon! I like EMU engineer. so friendly!

Overall Rating: 10
i boug htXL-7 & MP7 put in my room. I can not leave both of them alone. actually, no other brand has this kind of dance GEAR easy for use.

finally, i need to ask all of XL-7 partner, where can down PATTERN & User bank for XL7& MP7? I think I have to upgrade my XL7/MP7 internal data for more cool performance!

THANKS!

Anyway, I just can say, both of XL7 & MP7 are fantasic DANCE GEAR in the world!!!

Submitted by StevenYJ at 01/18/2004 09:56

Price Paid: US $649

Ease of Use: 9
Upgraded to version 2 I think, updating OS couldn't be easier... although maybe it could because you cant actually update via the USB it must be done via MIDI. I experienced no problems.
Presets Sounds are awesome for your run of the mill Dance/Dnb but not for hard trance, if you want real analog sounds get your self a nord/virus.
Comprehensive patch editing, lots of comibations when using the patch chords.
really good manual, heaps of detail, this thing is HUGE - heavy like a brick, not light reading but definately worth spending some time reading through what this beast can do!

Features: 9
128-note polyphony, havent had any troubles even with some big patterns. Nice 1-oct keypads good for triggering drums and external samples, no good for actually playing anything more than a simple pad or lead. Effects implemented well, Reverb/Delay is all I use as I had some bad experiences with some bad roland FX, anyway program it, fx should be the icing on the cake and not the basis of your patch

I originally wanted the MP-7 for the hip-hop sounds but at the time that I had the $$$ there wasnt an MP-7 to be found, so I opted for the XL-7 w/ the Mo PHatt expansion, and let me say this thing kick ass. I love the hip-hop kits... couldn't live without them.

Awesome Sequencer and MIDI capabilities, but it could do with an extra MIDI IN, its an awesome piece of gear but the only thing it lacks is a 2nd MIDI IN and a standard 3.5" Disk Drive

Expressiveness/Sounds: N/A
unless you've added some of the pop expansions, dont expect many real intruments on the XL-7, the MoPhatt has a good selection of guitar presets but if I needed a guitar id probably reach for my Talman rather than the shit wah guitar presets.
This machine is aimed at the dance market but having such a powerful sequencer, expansion and MIDI capabilities this could easily be the centre of your hardware studio for any style, much the same as it is for me. I am no way computer illiterate but I dont believe that music and computers should mix in a way where you are making a full CD, tweaking ur presets w/ the mouse! hehehe just kidding.
anyway as I've established im a Hardware fan and I dont think youll find a better all-in-one-bar-sampling workstation than this.

Reliability: 8
Have gigged a few times, but getting into it a bit more now....
I have only had the thing crash a couple of times, but thats a couple too much if your frequently playing live. you decide.

I love this machine but I definately cant afford another one for a backup, so im gigging without one.
word of warning... WATCH OUT FOR THE SOFT POWER OFF BUTTON
it gives you a countdown b4 completely powering off, but keep an eye on it Just in case

Have read some stuff about the main rotary failing on some peoples but I think would come from abuse, I bet they are just preset surfers that wear it out!!!!

Customer Support: N/A
Never had to deal with E-mu, im in australia and I got one shipped over from US(www.audiomidi.com), the Australian E-mu Dealers are shit, wouldn't bother dealing with them if the XL failed, so lets cross our fingers and touch wood for me.

Overall Rating: 10
If it were lost or stolen, I would you buy it again, or maybe as an alternative an AKAI MPC200XL and the modules(XL-1 and MP) as I need a better sampler.
Im currently using the XL-7 w/ the following gear:
Nordlead 2 Juno-106
Yamaha SY-2 E-mu Proformance+1
Fostex VF-160 Roland SP-505
Roland MC-307
& a heap of outboard gear, as you can see my setup is very much hardware based and the only time I need a pc is for samples(I hate the sp-505 - dont buy it) or OS updates.

I beleive that the XL-7 was worth every cent I paid for it.
Here in Australia we have shit rip-off music stores, the XL-7 w/ the Mo Phatt expansion would have cost me $5,400AUD RRP, which is around about $3,500 USD!!!!!!!!
HAHAHAHAA they wish they could steal my money, fools.

I've been playing guitar for around 10 Years, and I bought my first keyboard(Juno-106) around 3-4 Years ago, from there I bought some shit gear, then I sold that to get some good gear. It was at the bad gear that I developed my hatred for roland groove products, but thats a different story all together.

In conclusion I LOOOOOVE the XL-7 and couldnt live without it. the only things I wish it had was a knob hold function(momentarily disable front panel knobs so they can be set to their correct internal values, while im wishing can I have endless rotaries w/ LEDS like the NL3), a 2nd MIDI IN, and a 3.5" Floppy Drive for easy transfer of MIDI files.

This is an excellent tool for hands-on music creation, get one!

Submitted by boywithpez at 11/25/2003 16:17

Price Paid: US $399

Ease of Use: 10
Version 2.0
The presets are specialized for a futuristic sound that can be and is very often used in documentaries, films, tv, commercials, and of course in the dance clubs. Can be expanded with 3 ROM boards. EMU has a wide selection.
Editing patches is easy and fast right from the extensive control panel.

Manual is ok, but haven't had to use it that much. Easy to figure many operations out yourself, that is unless you kind-of-slow,....... that is with this sort of thing :)

Features: 10
128 Poly, no keyboard, but velocity sensitive 1 octave drum pads with plenty of assignable knobs. Sturdy quality - in fact the XL7 seems it was built for use on a construction site. Case color not withstanding.

One MIDI in, two MIDI outs with plenty of routing options, 32 midi channels.

Full featured on-board sequencer, linear recording, pattern recording. etc. Many realtime performance aids included. This makes it a lot fun to use and inspire/create slammin tracks.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
Not a GM unit, but can be turned into one with great sounds. On board effects - very good, except no remarkable groove-related effects like on yamaha or roland, slicer, ring mod, etc. With the right expansion cards, this synth is the leading industry sound module, that is in my humble opinion. I've either owned or extensively used almost all of roland's and korg's equipment, old and new. With the right choice of expansion boards, the XL7 can easily be best sounding all-around Rompler and also one of the most effective ways of making music on-the-fly and with a PC too, all that and having a great time doing it. It's all hands-on.

Reliability: 10
Like I said earlier - can be used on a construction site. Solid metal chassis - controls/data wheel/pads are high quality and buttons are sufficiently tactile and seem reliable enough for years to come.

Customer Support: 10
great - everytime I called emu, they always answered quickly and efectively. Very friendly and personable too! These people are experts at what they do, no doubt about it. Never had to deal with any repairs, because all the emu equipment I've owned so far still works perfectly.

Overall Rating: 10
here's a review I wrote in the XL7 yahoo users group:

Hey there everyone,

I got mine from guitar center for $399, that takes into account the $50 rebate from guitarcenter, not from emu. You got to ask the salesman or manager for the rebate form it seems. I called emu, and they don't give you the rebate.

What a deal this is! BTW, guitarcenter is blowing out the redsound virtual analog darkstar xp2 for $130 - it's an great virtual that's very close to the real thing with some types of sounds. Especially once you start messing with the presets. That in combination with an xl7 takes care of everything along side a sampler of course. Check out some of the sounds of the darkstar on my website.

As far as the expansion cards go, I've been going thru the demos on emu.com I'll tell you right now that I have the emu esi2000 with the cdrom, the protozoa. This is the same sample/preset collection as the $99 protozoa exp card. In my opinion if you dont have this cd and dont have a sampler, and want more bread and butter sounds right away that aren't the greatest, but usable, then for under a hundred you'll get pleny of samples.(standard kitchen sink, orchestral, and world - some nice plucked stringed instruments too) The samples themselves don't exploit the fidelity and low noise of that our xl7's are capable of. Basically an xl7 has pretty much the same circuitry as the high end emu samplers - actually it's even better in some ways. At any rate it's a hell of a synth engine.

I think the planetphatt soundcard is the best one to start off with if you want to turn your xl7 into a bread and butter, and even better all-around sound module - it will give you the biggest bang for your buck to start with, plus it's a great addition to the xl7's futuristic/groove/dance oriented soundset. I personally think it's the best one. With these types of world timbres and the excellent sample fidelity, especially the percussion, they'll act as a very cutting-edge compliment to the existing xl7 style. Of course you still can use these sounds in a more traditional way too. And they sound brillant in the mp3 demos. I think they make the most of the sampler-quality engine in the xl7. This sound set clearly makes it a state-of-the-art sound machine. Even better than those "slick" korg combis that everyone seems to like so much. Some of those combis are really great, I'll have to admit. But this sound set puts the xl7 way ahead of anything korg had or has. That goes for Roland too. Then you can get the ZR76 exp card - 16 meg piano and a 3.5 meg piano with a bunch of other rather decent sounds - much better than the proteus 1000/2000/2500 set. Keep in mind that ensoniq had a kick-ass 1 meg piano with the sq+ series. It only got better from that point on. I read some poor reviews of the ZR card, but I don't believe it. Go to emu's site and download the halo mp3's(ZR soundset). Compare them with the 2000/2500 sounds. Keep in mind that these 2000 demos are using the filters more to get that contemporary sheen to you hear in these 2000 demos as compared to the ZR demos. You can get this particular quality just with the xl7 soundset too, or any exp card, if you do some simliar filter programming. That "sheen" is mostly in the filter programming, and some in the effects. Well the filters and effects are the same on everyone of these modules. So there you have it.

Then last but not forgotten is the pure phatt card to round off the entire sample/pattern set. You can't help but spend half you're Saturday afternoon on these patterns. Way too cool. I think with this combination you may never have to use your sampler for much other than vocals. Also dually noted is the virtuoso card set, except it takes 2 slots, but sounds like it makes the most out of the xl7 engine too. I heard from other people that the PS Orch exp was good, but I'm skeptical. I already have the sample cds for this library and its great, but I noticed there's not much of a sele

Submitted by Brian Franklin at 06/27/2003 03:23

Price Paid: US $499

Ease of Use: 9
Currently using OS v2.00 - loads of excellent new features and much better stability!

Features: 10
This machine is absolutely packed with can't-live-without-em features! Superb sounds (utterly top-notch, especially for such a budget machine by recent price drops), extremely intuitive for such a complex machine, amazingly powerful sequencer, and plenty of space to expand. Hell, if you fill up your pattern and song space, you can simply back them up to your computer and start over again.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
The synths are all reminiscent of Playstation's Wipeout soundtrack. The sounds themselves are also extremely versatile and all of them together make for one killer soundset.

Reliability: N/A
I can't fairly judge this aspect, so I'll leave out an opinion. It's been very stable thus far, but I have noticed a majorly irritating and frequent sticking of notes when I've made patterns by using the realtime record method. Otherwise, rock solid. No hangs, no freezes, nothing else that would make me question its reliability at a gig.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't dealt with em. The user group at Yahoo groups has been able to answer all Q's so far :)

Overall Rating: 9
I'd be crushed if this machine went missing or got smashed to bits. I love it to pieces I do - currently I use it to control music software (Synapse Audio Orion Platinum, specifically) and it works like a dream! It's also plenty awesome when mixed with the Alesis AirFX - can do some really stunning transitions with that combo! Looking forward to using it to control future Midi gear!

Submitted by Jacob at 05/25/2003 21:53

Price Paid: US $1300

Ease of Use: 6
Many good sounding presets, but I haven't found too many of them to be usable, however they do make good starting points for writing your own patches. The interface isn't terrible, but I do not find it to be intuitive (but I guess I may be spoiled by my kurzweil).

Features: 7
Generous polyphony--never had a problem there (unlike other gear I own). Never really bothered messing with the onboard effects, I was never impressed by them. Never got any expansion cards, it's hard to justify when the cards run almost 50% of the price of a new unit. I've used the sequencer extensively and written some good stuff with it, but I would have to say the sequencer is this instrument's main weak point.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
The sounds out of box really are pretty good, much much better than mc-505 (which i also own). Not just do they sound good, but the sound quality is very good too, much better than similar products.

Reliability: 8
Reliability--I've had some problems with it...
but I would not be afraid of it crashing at a gig.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't dealt with emu support.

Overall Rating: 8
If it were stolen I would absolutely buy another. Especially now that the price is down under $700. Amazing synth for the $$. I have recommended it to friends. I bought it when it first came out and paid over $1300 for it and even then was not disappointed with it. I think that this is one of the best synths you can buy for under 1000, if my ratings do not seem to reflect that, it is because I am comparing to other, more expensive gear that I own. Compared to similarly priced gear, this thing is an absolute 10!! However, in the grand scheme of things compared to workstations, samplers, etc. a solid 10.

Submitted by Anonymous at 03/28/2003 22:19

Price Paid: US $550

Ease of Use: 10
I'm using the latest release of the software, version 1.5 I think.

upgrade your software and learn to use the Eloader application before trying anything and download the newest manual that goes along with the new OS release.

Once you get into it and get a feel for how things work, it's easy to get around and edit. Very very easy.

Features: 10
I bought this thing to be the nerve center of my studio and it performs well. 32 channels of MIDI over two outputs, effects send and recieve, internal effects engine, 200 arpeggio patterns, 16 assignable synchronized arpeggiators, a whole host of filters and wav files that you can build up your own patches with. 3 mode sequencer too. arpeggiators and sequencer transmit over midi along with bank and preset change info. Very very cool.

Bang for you buck is all I can say.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 3
The XL7 uses the XL1 ROM. I couldn't wait to light this thing up and get it going. When I did I was dissapointed. The presets and songs were kinda hokey and packaged almost as a starter ROM. You do really need to explore editing patches, but even then the base sounds are a bit weak. I would reccommed getting a flash ROM and uploading your own sounds to edit. This has a great engine with lots of effects and filters. It really is a studio in a box, sans a good sound ROM. My biggest dissapointment with the ROM is it was packaged more as the "hottest sounds of todays music" and they really sounded terrible when applied to atypical chord structures other than the "pop" sound the seem to be intended for.

The apreggiator kicks serious ass. I've made tons of great sounding patterns on everything but the XL1 rom.

Reliability: 10
I can depend on this thing totally. I totaly plan on taking it live to sequence my gear. I of course would have the patterns I made backed up on my laptop.

Customer Support: N/A
Never had to use them.

Overall Rating: N/A
Really i bought it to use as the center of my home studio, to control and sequencer other gear. It's performed flawless to date. I never had a problem getting the Eloader to work or anything. I was running several software apps for sequencing and didn't like the click and drag feel of trying to write music. I also got really sick of the finger pointing that goes on between software people, the soundcard people when stuff quits working. The XL7 has allowed me to take a very hands on approach towards making music and playing it live. I really realy love this thing. I may add one or more ROMs to boost the sound set and plan on buying a Korg EM1 to add a more liquid/electro sound to my music. I also use a Triton le and Korgpoly 800.

Submitted by Anonymous at 03/20/2003 09:23

Price Paid: US $999

Ease of Use: 9
OS Ver 1.31
This is the most physical sequencer/sound module I have ever used, and I like it! I came from a Yamaha QY100 and that little thing needed cursor movements out the wazoo to make any adjustments. The XL-7 is control heaven. The XL-7's synthesis engine is insanely tweakable and even though the manual is excellent, the sheer depth of programming capabilities boggles my mind. The only thing missing in the XL-7's sequencer is an Undo feature, which I sorely miss from the QY. HOPEFULLY, E-mu will add such a feature in a future OS revision.

Features: 9
128 Voices
The one-octave velocity-sensitive keypad is worthless to me. I just use a MIDI controller keyboard and that works much better.
Effects are of good quality, I just wish there were more than 2 effects units in the machine. But thanks to the 2 Sub-outs, I can hook up external effects gear, which is quite nice.
3 extra ROM slots, 16 freaking arpeggiators, frequent OS updates, USB file transfers, S/PDIF coax digital output, internal power supply.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
The X-Lead sound rom presets contained in the XL-7 are usually good, but sometimes E-Mu went a little nuts on layering and some layers were semi-transposed to make fifths and other annoying pre-chorded things. As far as sample quality, the samples are crisp, full, and low-noise. And thanks to the massive tweakability, you can transform the presets into entirely new sounds and save them to the User bank. I also have the Proteus 2500 ROM, which was a nice addition of instruments to the techno-biased X-Lead ROM. And I have a Sounds of the ZR76 ROM coming in a few days, which will hopefully give me a really high quality piano plus even more instruments. I still haven't found a sound module that sounds totally realistic, so all these ROMs won't replace real musicial instruments, but some come pretty close.

Reliability: 10
This thing is a tank. Because I am gentle with my equipment and always fearing the evil ESD, I would feel pretty confident using this without a backup. In some complex sequences, an occasional clicking in the music occurs, but I think that's either me tweaking too many parameters, or I'm running out of voices.

Customer Support: 10
Sent a few e-mails to E-mu, and they responded in a reasonable timeframe, and were quite helpful. Plus, with the OS updates, E-Loader updates, and their very own XL-7 forum, E-mu provides the most customer interaction I have ever seen! Roland, Korg, Yamaha, etc. just slap down a sparse webpage for their product and most of them do not feature easily upgradeable firmware containing new features.

Overall Rating: 10
I haven't had time to record many songs on my XL-7, so if it were to vanish, I would just probably try to buy it again. However, once I have a bunch of songs recorded and it vanishes, then I will go on a man hunt and find it! Sure, I have my sequences backed up to my PC, but I don't want some punk stealing my music, literally. Anyhoo, the XL-7, IMO, is a very powerful MIDI computer stuffed into a bright yellow metal enclosure.

Submitted by Carter at 08/28/2002 00:59

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: N/A

Features: N/A
Features are very good.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 4
Think carefully about buying this. I tried one in the shop and I just didn't think it was very good. I'll probably go and try again because I could be wrong and they go for £699 now- when I tested it they were asking £999 for it- no way- it isn't good enough! I think it may have the same rom as the XL1 so if you want more opinions go and check what the XL1 users think. I want to think this is a good box but I don't yet.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/13/2002 10:49

Price Paid: US $775.00 used

Ease of Use: 10
using version 1.00
Some prestes patterns sound good. I'm using the mp7, same internals just different sound banks. The sounds itself are what is to be expected if your looking to get into hip hop, I love it!
Editing patches are pretty easy once you read the first few pages in the manual on what controls what.
I downloaded the PDF version offline EMU's website. But the manual is very easy to understand. I have read it back to back twice already.

Features: 9
128 Voice Polphony. Since it uses 13 velocity pads, it can be a little tricky to get the desired velocity from them. But thats what grid recording is for.
It has 2 effects processors with sends on each FX to route your 32 midi channels. The Effects are great! The possibilities are limitless. Sort of tricky to figure out....READ THE MANUAL!!! It gives a defination of what everything means. It explains, in very good detail, how to operate the FX's and it even gives you examples to try for yourself. Try reading a Roland product manual and you might be more confused then when you started.
It has 4 rom slots to hold 128 mg of sounds. No smartcard port though.
But it does have a usb hookup to connect to a computer to upload midi files and OS updates that hopefully fix any bugs you might encounter.
The EMU is a 32 track multi sequencer. One midi in and 2 outs (midi out A, B) The seqencer is VERY powerful. VERY easy to use. The grid recording feature works wonders and the quantize while record feature gets an A+. It's very flexable and making songs are a snap.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 8
The instruments can be a bit more realistic. If your looking for better sounds, go hire someone who plays the instruments. The sounds are more than enough. If they aren't, EMU has about 10 extra sound roms of various types of music from World, to Dance, to Orchestra music. You can a much more realistic sound from the presets if you apply filters and such. Again, READ THE MANUAL! It does sense velocity and aftertouch.

Reliability: 6
Ummmmm....should i lie or be honest? It has never locked up, but I have gotten three stuck notes in the past week. this was only due to changing filters and effects that weren't supposed to be changed in realtime. The manual explains in detail which ones are realtime and which ones aren't. but i've never had any problems changing presets, patterns or instruments live. yes I would use it on gig.

Customer Support: N/A
Never had any dealings with EMU. The manual has clear pictures on how to upgrade the roms and detailed instructions to read.

Overall Rating: 9
I have owned my EMU for about 2 weeks now. I wouldn't trade it, sell, or lose it for the world. Other equipment I own is a Roland MC 505, Korg Electribes ER-1 and EA-1. The EMU is worth every penny and would buy another if needed. before i baught the EMU, I went to Mars Music and played with all the other seqencers 4 times and nothing comes quite close to the EMU's except for maybe the KORG Triton and Roland Fantom Keyboards. Since i don't like the keys and love the pads, the EMU was a sure winner. Few features I wish it had. Onboard sampler, no biggie though, thats what I have a computer for. Just for and overall opinion, EMU has outdone itself. this is one nice piece of equipment. The features are awesome and the machine is VERY easy to use. I started recording, literary. in the first five minutes! But for even a beginner user, you will be soon on your way to making some tight, quality beats. BUY one, IF ANYONE SAYS THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE EMU, THEN THEY OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T READ THE MANUAL.

Submitted by MIKE at 06/14/2002 03:02

Price Paid: US $999.99

Ease of Use: 8
After the initial confusion of a hardware based sequencer for someone who is used to software sequencers, I found the controls to be quite intuitive.

Features: 8
Features are excellent. The sequencer, in my opinion is pretty hard to use. I found myself constantly switching between realtime mode and grid mode recording, very tedious.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
The presets are nice, a few a cheesy. But I believe the true power in this unit modifying sounds. I found that after a few minutes of tweaking a sound, it was *perfect*.

Reliability: 4
No way could I ever understand how a "professional" musician would even consider using this. Three times in a period of one week, my xl-7 crashed. All controls froze forcing me to unplug the device and lose current song data. Quite annoying. Twice during the transmission of midi data, and once while tweaking the arpegiattors.
How could you perform live if switching between presets, even the default ones, caused a temporary lag or pitch modification in sound? Not good at all.

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 6
Thank god for my 30 day return policy.. Hopefully the proteus 2500 won't be as buggy.

Submitted by Anonymous at 11/27/2001 13:22

Price Paid: US $1875.00

Ease of Use: 7
I found it a bit aquard at first but I was coming almost directly from a computer sequencer. I had the RM1x for about a month before I found out it's drawbacks. Now that I have had it for about 3 months it is all good. I like alot about using a hardware sequencer but there are some things I wish I could see.

Features: 9
128 note polyphoney is just great. I don't think you can ger more outs one synth right now. I like the internal FX. They are striped down compaired to my rack stuff but the quality is there. The keyboard action is good but notes stick sometimes when I play a sharp hit. Lot's of room to add sounds. Huge MIDI flexability, like this is one thing I love about it. 32 outs and multi channel per track just rocks. The quantize is nice as well it just feels good.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
As for the synth presets on this thing, I don't like most of em but that is just me. If you are making trance or very comercial dance they are the bomb! the kit sounds on the other hand are totaly amasing, the best i have ever heard in a single little box. As for responcive it is alright, not alot of use of aftertouch but that can be added with the huge editability of the synth patch cord section. I am now learning what all the indavidual samples are and am able to wright alot of the sounds that are in my head. Usaly more raw and nasty sounds that typicaly come outa old synths.

Reliability: 9
I can depend on it the thing is built very well. It feels good and has only crashed on me once in three months. And i was not just playing sequences at that time. For proformance there is noting out there that touches this thing.

Customer Support: 10
EMU are totaly amasing in this way, i have been talking directly with a couple of the guys that are wrighting the new OS for this thing. And they are actualy listening to what myself and others are recomending!!! At this time i will add that the current OS has alot of bugs and missing peices but that will be fixed by the end of november, so it is said anyway.

Overall Rating: 10
I would totaly buy this again, nothing out there beats it. I have been making music with electronics for about seven years now, I have owned a fair amount of gear over that time and have used ALOT of gear in other peoples studios. There is alot wish it did but alot of it is on the way. This thing helps me in making music in a way that i cant even tell you, and when i am done wrighting my set I will pick up the 10 rack space road case i have it and my EMU E5000 and my YAM. REV100 in and hit the clubs so hard that they will wonder what the hell is in that little black box! One totaly amasing thing that it can do is this.... It has 6 outs and the 4 subs can be used as send/returns! I dont even need a mixer when I make music now! it is totaly nutts. I have a Mackie in the studio but latley it has been used to record to my computer and as a mic pre amp when recording my samples. Like check it out, the E5000 main outs run into the 5&6 inputs as a return and i use the REV100 as a send return on 4&5 and use it in a true stero setup, my mackie cant even do that! it kinda hurts my head when i plug in my headphones into the XL and i am listening to the hole BOX!!

Bottom line is this, I feel that latley alot of companies have stoped making instraments and started making toys and EMU is still making instraments. There ya go that is my openion.

Peace

Submitted by mike at 11/18/2001 23:29

Price Paid: US $1250

Ease of Use: 9
I heard about the pattern glitch with the 1.00 software, but my new unit is running on .01 and the problem seems to have been remedied (but more on that later). Anyway, ease of use is, uh, easy. I've been using keyboards and computers for a long time now, but am very inexperienced with the groovebox-type instruments. In about 30 minutes, and without really cracking the manual, I was laying down beats and writing arps.

Features: 8
Polyphony is, what, 128 or something? At any rate, it's pretty ample, though I've noticed that when running concurrent arps and only a moderately complicated beat, sometimes the notes are clipped. Anyone else experience this? Not all the time...but enough to piss me off.
Effects are average. Though I'm new to the world of owning a groovebox-type unit, I've been hustling external effects for a while. Frankly, it's a little unfair to expect E-MU to accomplish EVERYTHING in one box. Still, the effects are lacking, but competent when you consider that the unit isn't dedicated.
Expansion slots are nice, though I've yert to use them. I've heard the Pro 2000 personally and hear nothing but love about the tech construction yard. I paid cash for this box, so after I can actually buy some groceries again I'll look into the roms.
Keyboard is funky. Seems a little spongy, and the velo isn't as tweakable as the keys on my N364 and Triton. It's not that the pads suck...they're fine for what they are (pads, what can I say); I just like the feel of an actual key. Also, I have to agree with a previous reveiwer about the single octave. That touchstrip is a joke (could you have at least given us a wheel, if not an extra octave with smaller pads?) I find myself frantically working my mojo on the transpose button...which would be fine if I weren't giving all my love to the knobs at the same time. Last night I almost woke my fiancee at something like five in the morning because I wanted her to work the transpose while I was hitting the modulator.
Which reminds me, I'm having problems getting the knob effects to stay put in pattern record mode, even after saving all data. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Filter mods always record, as do most others, but the amp sustain and a coupla others won't stick...hence me wishing I had four hands on the fly. Any comments?

Expressiveness/Sounds: 7
Presets are nice, but I like the ease of creating my own sounds. The unit is very user-friendly in the edit / create department.
All but a few of the pads suck. Most of the preset arps are great, but the point is that I can write my own, which , as I understand, hasn't always been an option in the groovebox world. I listened to the sampled instrument sounds on the sister MP-7 and was blown away...but the XL-7 has no such verisimillitude, but what the f*ck? It's a dance machine, and I got over it. Real instrument samples are for dedicated modules.
Again, to agree with another reveiwer...WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH ALL OF THOSE PRESETS (especially pads and keys) SET IN FIFTHS? I like to edit as much as the next guy, but man. Sometimes I just want something I can use.

Reliability: N/A
I've noticed a few things in this area. Often notes stick or get clipped under very undemanding circumstances. Once the unit totally froze, PC-style, while shifting patterns on the fly (even with 1.01 OS). To be fair, it was only once. But I've only owned the thing for a month. If it happens againg I'll be concerned.
Judging from feel alone, I'd probably take it to war with me, or at least my future father in-law's house. It's solid; only my Korg, which is housed in actual metal, dig, is more inspiring by looks and touch alone.

Customer Support: N/A
I dealt with E-MU yeeeeeears ago when I was using one of the older Proteus modules. To be honest, I can't even remember why I called. But I recall them as being friendly, helpful, and even funny. You can tell that this is a company of musicians and engineers who want to be.

Overall Rating: 8
If lost or stolen, I'd defintely get it again, even though I've had a hard-on for the MC505 for some time, no matter how old it is.
I love the fact that the XL-7 can competently (not spectacularly) accomplish all of the functions that until recently required a d*ckload of outboard equipment. I'm using it as my Master and giving less and less love to my boards (seq. and preset-wise). One thing, though...I hate the way it looks. The whole 'splash of color' gig just doesn't set with me. I'm a stainless / solid color kind of guy. But what the hell? This is a productive and incredibly intuitive all-in-one instrument. Congrats, E-MU!

Submitted by Brian at 11/15/2001 00:41

Price Paid: US N/A

Ease of Use: 5
Ease of use is fair, but the mc505 is quicker, and with no pattern change glitches after pattern mods.

Features: 8
Polyphony is 128. Effects ok. Sequencer ok, but no as good as the rm1x.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 7
The sounds seem very good. Maybe not 24b/96KHz, but better than the competition. This may be the best aspect of the box.

Reliability: 3
Reliability, unknown. Seems to have bugs to begin with. Waiting for next OS.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 5
The big problem with these boxes is that emu has come up with a new processor that is faster than that of the proteus. They are releasing a proteus 2500 command module (and a new orbit v3) with this new processor soon. It sounds like the proteus 2500 may be designed to handle the sounds and patterns of the mp/xl-7. I'm waiting to see how all of this technology change settles out.

Submitted by astronomer at 10/24/2001 14:06

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 7
I use the downloaded 1.01 Version. It helps much.The presets in the XL7 seem geared towards a Housey thing while the MP7 has a lot of Hip-Hop grooves. I like some of the MP7 percission soundsets better, while the Synth sounds of the XL7 rock better on the melodic spectrum. I own both units. It can be a bitch editing, sometimes. The manual is huge but could be done better. It doe explain things in Synthesis that many manuals will not have. It's very educational.

Features: 9
128 voices polyphony means creating sounds so dense You cannot bear it... The effects a very decent. Takes getting used to to edite effects, either individually on preset sounds or globally...
Yeah , I put in the World Expansion on the MP7 and the Techno Construction Yard on my XL7. Works for me. Lots of amazing sounds...the MIDI is exhaustive. I use these boxes to control and fire off an Alesis Andromeda synth's voices. Oh, that sounds evil, trust me... Like the Phattest Drum Machine on the planet... The sequencer is superb.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
You know, E-MU really does do digital sounds its own way. I don't think in terms of emulation here. The Filters are steep. But getting a filter change to stay as a modded preset, I haven't gotten down. Pisses me off... I use either box for Dance music... the onboard effects are 24/24 bit effects. Good. I like the weird keys but wish there was at least a 2 octave keyboard here. These take some getting used to, but are way cool.

Reliability: 10
Yeah, the MP7 and XL7 are built like tanks... They look very aesthetically cool. Everyone creams looking upon them. E-MU created the coolest new instrument this year for sure...I have used both on gigs without a backup, but I do my own shit, not those fucked up factory presets. I got it for its voices, sequencer, and sounds. I compose and do my own things with them simply MIDI'd together. I have utterly blown people away...I mean utterly blown them away...

Customer Support: 9
E-MU are very cool to deal with. Yeah I downloaded the upgrade the week I got it. I was one of the first cats in the USA to have both machines, anyway... These were my first ever E-MU purchases. I'm one very happy MF, dig.

Overall Rating: 9
If either were lost or stolen, I'd be one bummed MF. They are pricey toys. Yeah, I'd have to buy them over again. They are the only digital grooveboxes worth a shit out there. I have been doing Electronica since 1991. I love the voices and way You can create a killer layered groove. I don't like the goddamn edit features and have a time trying to make my edits copy... I have used the Roland, Korg, and Yamaha stuff. No comparison... I own Analogue stuff, too, and each thing stands in its own thing. E-MU has the most killer filters and arpeggiators, I think. Oh, yes, these boxes were an Epiphany for me. Great job, E-MU.

Submitted by Chaos9 at 10/20/2001 13:11

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 10
This is with out question the best grove box in this area! I have owned all of them it seems like (QY-10, QY-20, RM1X, ASRX, Quasimidi Serius, MC505, MC202, MC303, both of the first Korg boxes) + tons of other stuff Im sure you get the idea. I really love the XL-7 for its ease of use!!!

Features: 7
This is a mixed bag here, the XL7 is a monster in the fact that you can add other Roms to it and the polyhony cant be beat. Its built like a tank and has a great lay out. But 2 major draw backs, 1 the screen truly sucks! my $159.99 microwave from Walmart has a bigger and better screen. The QY-20 and RM1X have better screens. The other bad point is a one octive key pad. EMU should have ditched the touch strip and given the box a 2 octive key pad even if the pads needed to be re-sized. The sounds are top notch but the effects are a bit on the week side but good enough to get the job done. I love the nice light lamp a true + The sequencer is good but not the best one in the groove box world. I prefer the RM1X, But what I would really like to see is a new type of groove box all togeather as opposed to another copy of an 808/202 with different pre's, The RS-7000 looked like it might be the answer but I have found that it has quite a few week points as well.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
What can I say it's an EMU and I love Emu's sounds. I have owned there samplers the E-synth dance the Orbit and now the XL-7 all are great units in this area!

Reliability: 9
This thing is a tank!

Customer Support: 10
Emu are great ! I have never had a problem with them.

Overall Rating: N/A
This is a mixed bag as well, If it were stolen I would not buy another one. Not because it is a bad peice of gear but for the most part just because I dont hang on to any one peice of gear for a great deal of time. Also the XL-7 just dose not do much for me, at the moment IM finding that IM a bit over the Groove box thing. I want somthing new and different but none of the big guys (Emu, Akai, Yamaha, Roland, Korg) are doing shit in this area. Just the same thing over and over with a different face. Over all the box is a killer but I really wish they would have put a sampler in it and given it a bigger screen. Word is a sampler is on the way (Kinda a Tribe thang Ya know) and I know that Emu have better screens on other gear. The ASRX had a sampler, Rom slots and a week sequencer but not much weaker then the XL7 The same screen. So Whats up. The ASRX is over 5 years old and this is the best Emu can do. Over all its a killer unit but its not the greatest thing sence sliced bread. IM sticking with my Novation KB an RM1X and Logic Audio Plat + Logic's sampler till someone makes a groove box thats not just another box.

Submitted by Rys at 09/09/2001 21:29

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: N/A

Features: N/A
For those of you worried about the sequencer timing, it has been fixed in version 1.01 (already released).

Expressiveness/Sounds: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Anonymous at 09/05/2001 12:32

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 8
I just flipped through this thing for a couple of hours at the local store. Considering that the display is very small by today's standards, I found the whole remarkably easy to navigate. And I've never touched an E-mu product before! That said, I would prefer a larger screen that would allow more information to be shown at once.

Features: 9
Personally speaking, the effects section is just about the only weak point I can see in this whole package. There's 128-voice polyphony; there's three sets of outputs plus a digital output standard; there's a set of fully assignable knobs; three expansion slots; and a nice big sequencer plus USB for communications with your computer.

Expressiveness/Sounds: N/A
I don't think I'm qualified to answer this yet, maybe after I've actually purchased the baby and played around with it for a while.

Reliability: 8
Now here's the real reason I wanted to put my 2c in. Having previously contemplated buying this machine for myself, I decided to test the XL-7 because of concerns raised by a previous reviewer regarding pattern playback. It seems to me - and correct me if I'm wrong here - that the glitch between patterns only occurs when the soundset is also at the same time substantially altered. In which case, I'd be a little more forgiving. Implementing 32 channels' worth of program changes at once is bound to be a huge task. Having said that, of course I'd like the sequence to run smooth as silk in all situations, so I can't help but chime in the request for a software revision: but even without one, I'm fairly confident that in a "typical" situation where you change only some instruments at a time mid-stream you'd have no serious problems. Feedback, anybody? Anyone been using this for a longer period?

Customer Support: N/A
Had no contact with E-mu ever.

Overall Rating: 10
Oh yes, I'm going to get it. It looks like a wonderful product, as close to all-in-one as you can get. I was considering a used Yamaha RM1X but this just does so much more in all areas.

Submitted by Taneli Kukkonen at 08/23/2001 19:56

Price Paid: US $1150

Ease of Use: 10
Software version 1.00; this is the most well-thought-out, well-laid-out, intuitive, and simple to operate groovebox-type piece of kit I've ever used; huge kudos to E-Mu!!!; I'm a pretty smart, musically experienced guy, but I go into Guitar Center and try to mess with a groovebox, and I can never figure them out (at least in 10 min.), but with this box, I was rocking in no time! Granted, at that point you're only scraping the surface of this deep unit, but still... The presets are good - Proteus 2000 quality - and in E-Mu fashion, infinitely editable (almost); E-Mu manuals have always been decent (at least compared to Roland!), and this one's even better; a good tutorial in layman's terms at the beginning helps a lot, and the friggin' thing's almost 2 inches thick, and bound in plastic spirals (nice touch)

Features: 10
128-voice polyphony right off the bat! 32 MIDI channels, 32 simultaneous arpeggiators at one time possible, each with 32 notes! One of the failings of the P2K/X-Lead/etc. was the inability to write your own arps, and this is remedied in these units with 100 user pattern storage spaces, as well as song-storage ability (the arps are SO tweakable, too!); 512 presets in ROM, 512 user presets, 3 open ROM slots for expandabilty; the regular (P2K) built-in dual E-Mu effects engines, with all the patch-cord modulation and routing options, and global bypass option as well; the keypads are velocity and aftertouch sensitive, and there's 16 knobs whose functions can be changed instantly in real-time to control various filters and parameters of the preset or pattern on hand, or to send any MIDI contoller data you want to an external device or your computer; to be honest, I haven't thought of a single thing this thing doesn't have that it should yet! Oh, it also has a USB port for direct upload/download of OS updates and MIDI files and sequences!

Expressiveness/Sounds: 8
Expressiveness is excellent because of E-Mu's 4-layer system of patch construction, and extensive filter and modulation control; like the P2K family, the sounds are good - not crispy 24-bit samples, but good; D/A is a respectable 20-bit; I'm pretty critical of FX, and haven't found a box like this yet that I can really say has great onboard FX, but E-Mu is certainly ahead of the curve (and most of it's competition) in this department; this unit is all about electronica (techno, house, trance, etc.);

Reliability: 8
I haven't gigged it yet, and haven't had it for long enough to thoroughly evaluate this characteristic yet, but I'm gonna give it the benefit of the doubt because A) it's built like a freakin' tank, B) it seems like E-Mu has REALLY made a huge effort to built on their past successes and correct some past shortcomings, and C) I'm a nice guy and I'm really impressed by the unit overall...

Customer Support: 8
I've dealt with E-Mu's Tech Support and sales staff in the past, and while they're not exactly Ghostbusters, I feel that they're better than average. Even when they haven't helped me, they at least pretended like they cared, which is more than I can say for most companies' tech support!

Overall Rating: 9
If I lost it, I'd get another. I have tried all the "grooveboxes" out there, and this one outright shames them all; as I mentioned before, I haven't found anything yet that I could reasonably expect of this box that it doesn't do, and have been continually (and pleasantly) surprised at how easy it is to use and how incredibly DEEP and POWERFUL it is; my ONLY beef is that the sound quality isn't 24-bit crisp, even though it is very good; and this is the 1.00 software version!!!

Submitted by Mark Mitchell at 08/13/2001 07:34

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 8
Sounds great, patches are easily edited via the realtime knobs on the front. If you've used any groove-based producted before, it is pretty intuitive to get around.

Features: 3
64 voice poly (I think) w/ cool efx and a nice resonant filter.
DC adapter for gooseneck light is excellent for gigging.
Pads are more like MPC2000's not like the ASR-X.
Sequencer-MAJOR DISSAPPOINTMENT. Full featured, w/ track muting, etc, BUT, you can hear a tiny glitch/stutter when going from pattern to pattern. I'd like to hear someone say otherwise, because I really want to like this box! Maybe they'll fix it in a new software rev. You can't bring this out live if it's going to glitch when manually changing patterns on the fly!!!
Kudos for EMU giving the box an internal power supply!

Expressiveness/Sounds: N/A
Sounds great. Heavily focused for the dance crowd. Very responsive w/ tons of realtime control!

Reliability: 7
Feels solid as a rock. Power cable, knobs, buttons, etc. I just get over that sequencing glitch!

Customer Support: N/A
na

Overall Rating: 7
If they fix the pattern change glitch, I'll be first in line for this box!

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/06/2001 10:09