Price Paid: US $130.00 used
Ease of Use: 9
It's a ROM so the ease of use depends on the OS of the synth it's in. (I find the E-Mu Proteus 2000 range to be fairly easy to use...as menu-based editing goes.)
As someone else mentioned, they're a bit more difficult to install than Roland expansion boards but still not too bad.
Features: 10
The audition riffs sound pretty cool and are inspiring to me.
Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
The sounds included with the TSCY ROM are absolute top-notch both in terms of preset programming and sample quality. The extra bank of patches available at Rob Pappen's website is worthwhile to download and load into a user bank.
You can learn a lot by looking at the preset patch parameters to see how Rob Pappen programmed the magic into these sounds. (This ROM also makes good use of many of the more esoteric types of E-Mu filters; something the other generally ROMs don't do.)
Reliability: 10
Customer Support: N/A
Overall Rating: 10
I'm in agreement with what the previous reviewer stated.
The Techno Synth Construction Yard ROM is on a whole other (i.e. higher) level than any of the other E-Mu ROMs that I've used (Pop/Composer, XL-1, Vintage, Sounds of the ZR, Ensoniq Project). If you have one of the E-Mu P2000 synths then it is an absolute "MUST HAVE" for electronic sounds.
Submitted by Dan at 07/22/2005 13:51
Price Paid: 125 (sterling)
Ease of Use: 5
This is a ROM to be fitted inside the Proteus 2000, etc.
I needed to open up the unit (7 screws) and it took a while for me to figue out the way to put the ROM in (no instructions as the shop had lost them!).
Once in, the ROM was recognised by the Proteus and appeared as more "stuff" further up the dial.
Features: 8
Adds 600 more waveforms, from old synths and including 808 and 909 drum machines.
This is the Techno ROM, aka Techno SYnth Construction Yard soundset etc by Rob Papen for the Proteus 2000 series of romplers (ie P2K, Vintage Pro, Mo Phatt, Virtuoso)
Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
OK the important bit.
I was very sceptical that a new ROM would give me much, because - on the face of it - it's just waveforms.
But it does - I find I'm playing a different instrument that somehome makes me play techno riffs and ambient pads, all by itself. You know how some instruments just want to be played?, well this does that. Very odd. Rob Papens programming of the presets must be to thank.
Definately the best of the ROMs i've heard so far.
I've no opinion of the drums because I use something else but the BASSES are very smooth, deep and firm; the pads are etheral or warm and there are some good sfx.
Synths sampled include the MiniMoog - both as bass instruments and as waveforms - and the Prophet 600, as bass inst and synced instruments.
Especially valuable are the pulse width modulation samples (PWM) which is something old synths did but the Proteus 2000 can't - it creats a rich detailed sound for use in bass or pads or leads.
Multiple versions of the same waveform may seem like filling, but if you are using layers, you can layer different versions of the wave without the horrible phasing that you would get layering the identical waveform more than once.
Just using the MiniMoog wavforms and the P2K filters, I can get VERY close to the sound of a real MiniMoog - honestly - as long as I program carefully and the sound does not require the filter to be overdriven (the P2K can't do this).
I'd recommend this ROM to anyone with a Proteus 2000 and an interest in Techno or Ambient or just in vintage synths, except that it would probably be unnecssary for anyone with the Vintage ROM (or Vintage Pro) soundset already; it would duplicate quite a lot on that ROM, though would save you some programming.
Reliability: 9
Socket seems to hold ROM very securely.
Customer Support: N/A
Rack gear and ROMs are NO LONGER dealt with by E-Mu.
To get this ROM I had to ring around loads and loads of little music stores in the UK until I found one shop that said they had it knocking around somewhere in the back room... They rang back a week later when they'd found it :-)
Overall Rating: 9
Not a ten because it is quite an expensive ROM - and getting more scarce by the day. If you have an interest and a P2K, try and get it now.
Submitted by Anonymous at 12/10/2004 08:45
