E-mu Vintage Pro

Price Paid: US $450.00 used

Ease of Use: 9
Version 2.26. Pretty easy to use. Installing sound ROMs was very easy, MIDI is easy, programming is as easy as it can get with a menu-driven OS. Four real-time knobs on the front give you almost instant access to twelve synth parameters--very nice. Since most people do only minimal programming, these knobs will probably be enough to provide a one-knob-per-parameter setup. One thing I love is that there's an LED next to each knob that lights up when you've changed a parameter, but most importantly, it goes off again when you turn the knob back to it's original value. Brilliant! That one feature makes this synth MUCH easier to tweak. I also love the internal power supply--thanks, E-mu! And the "user" bank is filled with duplicate sounds, so I can store the ones I program and use there without having to scroll all over the place to get to them, or without having to spend hours copying and pasting patches to organize them in a useful way. Since more knobs can't fit on the front, I won't ding them for making me page around to program. The manual is great, unlike those Roland things. It has a nice description of the awesome filters, a programming tutorial, and explains WHY you'd want to use many of the features (instead of just telling you to push the X button to activate the X feature). Overall, very easy for a 1-u rackmount.

Features: 9
Three words: Z-plane filters. 50 of 'em! Those, plus great waveforms, matrix modulation, and 128 voices make this a VERY powerful synth. In addition to being great for sequencing, having 128 voices means you can set up very complex, evolving sounds without taking too much of a polyphony hit. Nice. Excellent expansion capabilities (see more below), 32 MIDI channels, sound auditions, category searches, digital output, six analog outs, Setting up controllers over MIDI is easy. Effects are very nice. My only experiences with effects have been with those built into synths, and these are as good as any I've heard. Multi-thousand dollar Lexicons are probably better. Two features it doesn't have that I'd like are a USB port and a MIDI file player. I'd love to be able to program it on my computer (I eagerly await the OSX version of SoundDiver), and an SMF player would let me take sequences to gigs.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 8
The sounds in this machine are great. The CP70 sounds are so nice, and it's great to have a selection of them. Roland's SRX card has only one, and in typical Roland fashion, it's way too bright. E-mu does not EQ up the high and low frequencies, so the sounds have a lot of punch. Analog emulations are definitely good enough for live use, but a careful listener would know they're digital in a studio. Electric pianos, Farfisas, and Voxs are all great. I do have a grip or two: One is that there's no good acoustic piano. I know it's not electromechanical, but it was in use in the 60s-80s! Roland's SRX card has a very nice piano on it. E-mu wanted you to buy their ZR ROM for it's "perfect piano," so they didn't include one here. The bummer is that their "perfect piano" is not even close to perfect. My other big gripe is the Leslie simulation. They cross-fade samples with and without a Leslie! It sounds really bad, and I'm not even a Hammond purist! What were they thinking? My virtual analog has a real Leslie simulation, why not a dedicated vintage module? This one is hard to forgive. Leslie issues aside, the Hammond sounds are great--lots of variations on stops, percussion, etc. Unfortunately, I'll either have to buy an effects unit to get a real Leslie effect, or use the inferior organ sounds from another synth.

Overall, this synth has all the benefits of a ROMpler, but without the overly polished, awash-in-reverb, me-too Roland/Yamaha/Korg sound. I'd give it an 11 because of the Z-plane filters, but the lack of a real Leslie simulator on a synth designed to emulate vintage keyboards is pathetic.

Reliability: N/A
To new to say, of course. In general, E-mu stuff is very sturdy and lasts for decades. This unit lives in a rack, so it should be fine.

Customer Support: 1
Forget it. E-mu was bought be Creative (the maker of Nomad mp3 players). First they dropped all their pro instruments, now they've even dropped their groove boxes, modules, and plastic romplers to focus solely on their software sampler. E-mu used to make fantastic instruments and used to employ people who knew and cared a lot about them. Those days are gone. Email them, and you'll get a reply two weeks later consisting of a link to their website. Welcome to the era of corporate consolidation and profit optimization.

Overall Rating: 9
Overall, I like this module a lot. If forced to replace it, though, I would seriously consider a Kurzweil PCR. I have an E-Synth with Z-plane filters, and Morpheus or Ultra Proteus modules with gobs of Z-plane filters are very cheap now on Ebay. The Kurzweil module can now be fitted with an electric piano ROM that contains a number of CP70 samples, so it rivals this module in terms of vintage emulation. I'm a serious amateur, not a pro, and my needs are mostly for weird synthesis and keyboard sounds, with only occasional emulations of other acoustic instruments. This module fits that bill, but the Morpheus/PCR combination would do so as well. Hmmm. This option was cheaper, though. If the Vintage Pro had a Leslie simulation effect, I wouldn't consider switching. If it had a USB port and an SMF player, I'd laugh at the suggestion. Those things will never come, since E-mu is essentially defunct for those of us who play real keyboards. I've been playing for ~10 years, and I also own an E-Synth, a Waldorf Microwave XT (so freaking awesome), a Novation Supernova II (also rocks), and a Roland RD700.

Submitted by Robert Haines at 09/14/2004 18:38

Price Paid: US $399.99

Ease of Use: 10
Emu rack modules are the easiest to operate in my opinion. Very simple menus but plenty of knobs to work with for real time control. very well laid out and the manual is deep.

Features: 8
As an owner of the old Vintage Keys Plus, i can say that i am thoroughly delighted with all the new features in this module. It is so far beyond my old vintage keys that that one is a relic now.
I do not like the Eloader thing at all. It is funky! It does NOT work with Mac! Its basically a nightmare. Too bad its the only way to do OS upgrades. Damn Emu! Get it together! I really dont like that the only way to upgrade is with a PC. Anyway the unit comes with 2.26 OS so you probably will never need an upgrade. 2.26 is AWESOME by the way. It really smokes!! Im takin 2 points off for the Eloader joke.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
The EMU sound simply kills the roland sound no question. Much better depth (lows) and crisp highs. Roland sounds mondo to me like everything you hear in a commercial. The variety of key in this module puts the old vintage keys to shame.

Reliability: 10
I own a ton of EMU stuff. Its built very sold and tough. It will last.

Customer Support: 2
Oh boy, here's where EMU needs serious help. They must have fired all the "nice" techinical assistants. Politeness training for the remaining techs would be great. They are rude, uptight, and condescending, just like many techs. too bad. with a good tech dept., EMU might succeed for the longterm. But I dont think they have a clue how to deal with people. So, bye bye!

Overall Rating: 10
Im giving this baby a strong 10 even in spite of the Eloader crap and the rude tech dept. What the heck could i replace this with? nothing at this moment. Get one of these and load it with ROMS. You will be very happy with it. Lotta value packed in for $400.

Submitted by Rhonda at 12/24/2003 13:45

Price Paid: US $599

Ease of Use: 6
This Vintage Pro is version FI 12482 rev.a, according to the manual--I'm assuming it's the latest software. Anyway, after using a Triton touch screen for 3 years, this unit is kinda user unfriendly! I loved the presets when I tried them out in the store, but digging through the edit menus and categories can be a chore. Display screen is small. Thank God for the front panel knobs. The manual is intense but worth the read, however.

Features: 7
Lots of polyphony (128 voices) which is important when you stack up or "link" the programs. Built-in effects are OK, but seemed a bit lacking at times. (I'm used to the variety and ease of use with the Korg Triton.) Maybe I just need to work at them. Expansion is available for additional EMU sound ROMS, which have dropped in price substantially, as has the Vintage Pro. MIDI implementation is excellent, but requires reading and effort. The Vintage Pro has a double set of MIDI connections. No sequencer....has what EMU calls "beats" and "riffs" but these aren't user-programmable. Lots of them are fun to play with, but some are kinda "K-Martish."

Many filters to play with. I was amazed....not just 2,4 and 6 pole analog-type filters but a vast array of EMU's Z-plane filters. One odd note--some filters are complex and limit polyphony. I thought they dropped the ball with that one. I've never owned a synth that stole notes to support filtering. :(

Expressiveness/Sounds: 7
The sounds.....ah yes. Some programs are decent replications of Moogs, Arps, Oberheims, Mellotrons, Fairlights, etc. But let's start with the latter 2.

I really purchased the unit for Fairlight and Mellotron samples--let's be honest. I was naturally disappointed when I searched the sample listing in the manual and found only ONE Fairlight sample, which is the ethereal, breathy "ahhh" sound you hear from bands like Tears for Fears, Psychodelic Furs, Icehouse, etc. Tasty, but just one Fairlight sample? Come on EMU! As far as the Mellotron category goes, there are strings, vocals, flute and brass samples to pick from. Much better. Instant Moody Blues "Nights in White Satin." Requires some editing but well worth the effort.

At the opposite end of the program spectrum there are way TOO MANY pianos, wurli sounds, clavs, organs etc. I'm an synth player so those sounds aren't of interest. Many other users may find them valuable, however, most sounds in this category are too thin and suffered from volumes that are way too LOW.

The vintage synth sounds are good but need "fattening up." You can chorus them, stack them, and add effects, but overall the finished product is a bit thin and digital--almost like a DX-7. Lots of mid-range and too little bass. Spending time with the filters and volume levels helped. There is a tasty Moog-like sound that reminds me of one Rick Wakeman used on the Close to the Edge album. Nice portamento and resonance.

The unit offers reverb, delays, overdrive and chorusing, plus variations therof. As I said before, you can also "chorus" individual sounds or "layers" (EMU calls them) in the edit menu, but as stated above, this steals polyphony. ???

The unit responds to velocity, but this requires tweaking. Many factory patches seemed a bit lacking in this category. With time and patience, I've gotten adequate results, but remember that most of the synths the Vintage Pro is trying to replicate didn't offer velocity sensitivity!

Reliability: 7
I hope the unit holds up well. I've only had it on one gig. I ran it through my Triton....used the on-board effects in the Triton to fatten up the Vintage Pro. It worked, although often clipped the signal. It's just gonna take practice.

Customer Support: 8
I've callled EMU with pre-sales and "after purchase" questions. Both sales and tech support were great. Nice people, plenty of information and all that. I hope they stay around though. Prices have dropped substantially, so I'm not sure where EMU is going.

Overall Rating: 7
Would I buy it again? At the current lower price--YES! Fortunately there was price protection from the place I bought it. I'm waiting for my $200 credit.

I've been playing analog and digital synths for almost 20 years and still have my first synth-Sequential Circuits Six Trak. Plus an Ensoniq ESQ-1, Roland D-50, Yamaha FM module, and of course the Korg Triton (4 stars there).

I didn't compare this unit with anything because I didn't see any other module like it! I wish the Vintage Pro was warmer, but hey, it's just a collection of pristine samples from the EMU Emulator. One really unique thing about it is its collection of what I call "non vintage" sounds--cosmic pads and layered sounds that are a pleasant suprise. They're easy to edit with the front panel knobs and provide wonderful ethereal backgrounds to that special song.

Bottom line, I wish it had more vintage synth samples, more Fairlight samples and some samples from the revered Synclavier as well. EMU shouldn't have wasted precious memory on the excessive piano and organ samples. Most keyboard players have more than enough of those.

And as long as we're talking excessive...the drums are cool, but they take up valuable real estate that could be used by what I've mentioned above. Overall, it's a nice toy, and I'm looking forward to using it live with the band as well as in some of my original music.

Submitted by Scott at 11/23/2003 15:48

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 5
This review is actually for the Vintage Collection ROM, which is the soundset of the Vintage Pro. I have this installed on a P2k module.

Ease of use is somewhat poor. This is primarily due to the small display and endless menu layers. The synth engine is pretty deep, so you may find yourself digging a lot to get sounds out. What can one expect from a single-space rack module at this price point? This is largely compensated for by the excellent manuals that come with all the P1/2k modules. Give it a 3 for ease, and an 8 for the manual.

Features: 7
128 poly on a p2k module. That's enough for me. Effects are so-so. The Bad: Distortion/overdrive are pathetic. It would be nice to have some tube emulation on the electric pianos and organs. Also missing is a rotating speaker effect. SOme of the organ patches crossfade between samples with fast and slow leslies. They sound great, but the crossfade is a poor imitation of spin up/down.
The Good: Reverbs, delays, chorus, etc., are all very useable. The reverb suffers during program switching, however. I get some transient garbage (pops, crackle) that are undesirable.

Expansion options are good. I have my P2k loaded with the B-3, ZR-76, and Vintage Pro ROMs. This is a very comprehensive sound set for keyboard sounds.

2 MIDI INs make this box real easy to set up for performance. 1 piano action controller, one organ-weight, power amp, speakers, and I'm good to go.

Additional notes: No sequencer, some "beats" mode stuff that I don't have an interest in figuring out, a nice patch selection capability that lets you browse by instrument category, 4 knobs for tweaking on-the-fly.....lots of stuff for a really decent price. Given that you can get ROMs on ebay for a good price, this is an excellent value.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 8
I won't rate the synth-type sounds on this ROM, since I didn't buy it for that, and I really don't much care if they're any good. I bought this for Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clavinets, and the collection of odd organs other than B-3.

Rhodes: 8. There is a good collection of Dyno type pianos. The older variants are not as well represented. There is no program that sounds really close to my 73 Mk1, but I found a couple that are close enough that I'm not missing it. Autopan effects plus reverb makes these all sound pretty nice. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the Rhodes set.
Wurlys: 9. I'm no expert on the Wurlitzers, as I've never owned the real thing. However, there are several patches that play quite nicely. I'm pleased.
CP70's: They sound pretty damed good. However, I don't know why anyone would want to sound like a CP70. I've always disliked their sound, and I dislike the Emu samples just as much. I guess that means they're pretty good.
Misc: Clavs - good. Odd misc organs - good.

My only complaint about the sounds is that there are a lot of patches that sound kinda close to each other.

Reliability: 9
This is a well-build module. Connectors are all panel-mounted, so you're reasonably well-protected in the event of violent patch cord removal. Internally, there are two boards: one processor, one power supply. Simple, smartly constructed.

Customer Support: N/A
Never had to deal with them.

Overall Rating: 9
If you're a keyboard player and want a single module to give you a comprehensive keyboard sound set, I don't think you can go wrong with a P2k platform. The Vintage Pro covers all the EPs very nicely, the ZR-76 ROM gives you an excellent acoustic grand piano, and the B-3 does a fine job (for a non-organ player like me, anyway....if you're a real B-3 player, look elsewhere). The going rate for the P2k is about $400 on the used market, and ROMs sell on ebay for around $200. I got my one-module-does-all-in-a-compact-and-light-package setup for under $1k. I'm happy. Excellent value.

Submitted by Pete at 08/09/2003 23:36

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 8
(I have the Vintage Pro SIMM installed in an XL-1). The 4 control knobs are helpful for quick edits but deep editing requires a lot of menu diving which is always a hassle but...I realize that's just the way it is with single rackspace ROMplers.

Features: 9
As with all P2K based EMU products it has many filter types, Superbeats, 16 Arps, expandable...

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
IMO it's between a 9 and 10 but I'll round the score up to a 10. Although, a few of the sounds may seem useless at first, the audition riff really gives a good example of how the sounds would be used in a song. The EPs and Wurlitzers are good, The mellotrons are superb, the synth sounds are good too. This synth acomplishes what it sets out to do in that it really could be a do-it-all synth for bands that cover classics from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. (In my town that accounts for 90% of the bands.) A few of the sounds are a lot louder than others but I've experienced that problem with most of my synths.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9

Submitted by Dan at 07/07/2003 11:47

Price Paid: US $0

Ease of Use: 5
OK ... I didn't buy this but tried it extensively one afternoon in Guitar Center. I am a user of the Roland JV series with the Vintage Synth card and was looking for sounds that would compliment my setup or even replace it! I was really looking forward to this. Using it was pretty easy - some knobs, and you can control the sounds (even presets) and modify them in real time. A definite plus if you want the flexibility of old analog with the reliability of a rackmount digital unit.

Features: 5
I didn't explore the sound creation too extensively, so I won't really comment on that. Decent arpeggiator, but it would have been nice to have even a basic sequencer to some degree.

Expressiveness/Sounds: N/A
OK ... here's my major gripe. Some of the sounds are pretty good - the Sample and Hold is dead on (sounds like an Obie, for example). Others are just plain horrible. Couldn't find a decent Moog sound in the presets. Ugh! And no PPG emulation (other than some basses). Some of the Obie sounding stuff was decent, although it lacked some cojones IMHO As a whole, the presets sounded too digital to me - way too clean. The ROland, in comparison, really does sound pretty good and live, does fool folks (the OB-XA is dead on for stuff like "Subdivisions" and "Camera Eye"). As I said, some sounds on here are really, really good. But as a whole, I was not impressed with what E-MU had to offer here.

Reliability: N/A
Couldn't tell you ... seemed fairly sturdy.

Customer Support: N/A
Couldn't tell you ...

Overall Rating: 5
As I said, I didn't buy this, but found that my current setup with the Roland Vintage Synth card was better all around. I was definitely disappointed by this given the rave reviews of previous versions (Classic Keys, Vintage Keys, Vintage Keys Plus). Don't get me wrong, it had some good sounds, but wasn't worth $550 for the rackmount. Now, if you don't have a synth that can do any kind of vintage synth soundds, wait for the keyboard version (the VK-6), and that may be a great deal for you! If I had no access to the Roland or something else to compare this to, I probably would have loved it. But this thing underwhelmed me. I was looking forward to plunking down the $, and glad I auditioned it prior to purchase.

Submitted by Glad I Tested This! at 03/09/2003 02:29

Price Paid: US $575

Ease of Use: 9
This is the brand new one, not the c.early 90's version or any of it's updates (Vintage Keys or Vintage Keys + or Classic Keys). Easy? It's a synth module -- where do you insert the difficulty? MIDI it to a controller or your computer-based MIDI rig and away you go.

Features: 10
As far as I'm concerned, it's a loaded synth module.
512 presets of up to 4 layers each, all sounds initially duped in a 512 slot user-editable RAM bank. 128-voice polyphony, 32 MIDI channels (via 2 inputs), expandable via 128Mb SIMM chips, built-in FX, cool programmable arpeggiator feature (no sequencer on board). Any of their product lit can give a more thorough breakdown. Pretty nice interface, good looks. 4 front panel knobs give real-time control of 12 selectable parameters; several buttons for navigating; data entry jog wheel.

Manual is adequate to good so far.

MIDI implementation is thorough and seems fine. I haven't had it vex me yet. (and that's 5 bonus points for use of word "vex" in review).
6 analog outs, S/PDIF stereo out.

Whole new sample set in this box. Overall: very nice. Details follow.
Keep in mind that this is essentially a Proteus module w/ a specific sound set and controls to emulate the use of that sound set. It's a full-on synth, not just a sound box.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
If the name didn't tip you, this is a box that emulates "classic keyboard sounds of the 60's, 70's, and 80's". And it does it pretty damn well.

Presets range from unbelievably accurate to downright dumb:
Good - most B3 and Wurli patches are SCARY sweet, Mellotrons are right on, great on vintage synths from ARPs to Oberheims to MiniMoogs to PolyMoogs to MemoryMoogs. CP-70 sounds are also very nice.
Bad - most of the Rhodes patches are a little subpar, the whole superBEATS mode is somehwat lame (like a casio on steroids), and the clavinets are only mildly better than average.

I would say if you're a DJ or electronic musician looking to just score some quality analog lead synth sounds, you will find them here. But you might end up with a bunch of sounds you have no use for. But if you play in a cover band that does classic rock-style material, this is a one-box live rig, good to go.

Reliability: 8
Seems solidly built -- I haven't tried to stomp on it or anything. It will live in a rack box, so I don't expect to be pouring any malt liquor on it or dropping from a 5-story tower either.
One thing I noticed was that in our electrically overtaxed practice room, it seemed sensitive to the varying current flow. Would reboot periodically until I swtiched to another outlet, but seems fine now.

Customer Support: N/A
Don't know, hope I don't find out.

Overall Rating: 9
If this thing were lost or stolen, Hulk smash. I would need to replace it, but could only do it w/ help from insurance. There is no comparable machine available, barring the previous incarnations of the Vintage Keys boxes.

Submitted by Andy Tegethoff at 02/17/2003 09:55