E-mu Vintage Collection ROM

Price Paid: 175 (Euro) used

Ease of Use: 9
The Proteus knob matrix, makes main editting very easy. In the booklet from the ROM card the use of the knobs is described (the function of the knobs varies from ROM to ROM)

Features: 9
Polyphony depends on the EMU you use. I have a PK-6 which has 64 notes polyphony. The ROM doesn't have built in effects, but the synth has. Some presets are ARP, which are synchable to an external MIDI clock, which makes them very useable

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
The sounds on this ROM are very, very good. Almost all the vintage sounds, like tonewheel organs, rhodes pianos, strings, drumkits/percussion, and mellotron sounds are there, and can match up with my extensive AKAI sample CD collection, about 10 times worth more than this ROM. I'm very enthousiastic about the expressiveness and realistic character of the presets.

Reliability: 10
100% reliable.

Customer Support: 9
EMU still gives excellent support on the Proteus family.

Overall Rating: 10
I love this ROM, more than all the others, because of the life in the sounds, and the diversity of the sounds, and I will never sell it.(unless my PK-6 breaks down) Still (2005) worth every penny I paid for it.

Submitted by Menumte Olumbay at 05/09/2005 04:31

Price Paid: US $126.99

Ease of Use: 10
Its a ROM, it can only fit one way folks.

Features: 10
Organization of sounds is easy, as with all E-Mu stuff. Easy to get to the category and find your sound you need.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
Outstanding. The B3s and Mellotrons are perfect for getting that 70s sound replicated my band was needing. The Oberheim and Synth leads lend back to the mid-late 80s and are all useful and gives you quite a arsenal.

Reliability: 10
Its a ROM, only a meltdown of the entire module could hurt it.

Customer Support: 9
Even though its out of production, EMu still answers and has usually only taken about 12 hours to respond to emailed questions. I have used them for help on my Halo, and my XL-7.

Overall Rating: 9
I would definitely be on the hunt for another one if lost.

Submitted by Anonymous at 10/20/2004 11:05

Price Paid: 129 (€)

Ease of Use: 10
easy installation, as always with E-MU ROMs
takes about 2min and your E-MU al of a sudden features over 500 new Presets and all from completly new ROM-samples *sweet*

Features: 9
32MBs of sounds...
of really good sounds!

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
perfect addition to the XL-1 ROM. now i got cutting edge synth stuff and retro organs/keys all in one neat little package. the guitars are useless (I am a guitar player) and a waste of ROM space, but the MS20 drumkit for exsample is too cool to believe. Clavinets are awesome, nice organs and some really cool synth stuff. pretty good programming job, too. very easy to tailor the sound to your specific needs, tho.

Reliability: 9
its in a rack, so what could go wrong?

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 10
perfect, exactly what i wanted. great price, too. too bad I ran out of expansion slots...

Submitted by Don at 06/24/2004 01:26

Price Paid: US $149

Ease of Use: 10
Snapped right into place in my Halo -- no problems. Manual is quite good so far, and the presets on this ROM are great.

Features: N/A
64 or 128 Voices -- depending on what you pop it into.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
You would think they'd have corrected the spelling of "expresiveness" by now! Anyway, the sounds of the Vintage Collection ROM have really opned up my Halo to a whole new level. A definite must-have for any Emu owner -- get one before they're gone!

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: 1
What support! There will essentially be none -- in fact, if you do not already know, the ROMs are becoming extinct.

Overall Rating: 10
Despite Emu caving in to Creative and discontinuing many of its products -- and the ROMs seem to be first on the list to disappear along with the Halo, PK-6 and other 6-series boards, you simply can not beat these products for the close-out prices they're being sold at.

The sounds on this ROM are, of course, the reason to get it. Anyone who owns an Emu product that supports these ROMs should probably get the Vintage Collection!

I currently own four other synths:
1. Roland A-90ex
2. Roland A-70jv
3. Alesis QS-7.1
4. Korg N5ex

While each of my other synths has its definite purpose in my studio, the Halo has become my main live-performance board and with the Vintage Collection ROM, it is capable of sounds that none of my other synths are capable of. I'm certain I will use it often for recording as well!

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/11/2003 02:49